			       MS-DOS KERMIT
       FOR THE IBM PC FAMILY, COMPATIBLES, AND OTHER MS-DOS COMPUTERS

			  Version 3.0, January 1990
				       

This file contains a brief summary of the commands and features of MS-DOS
Kermit 3.0.  For detailed information, tutorials, installation and cabling
hints, troubleshooting procedures, examples, diagrams, and advanced features
of this Kermit program, consult "Using MS-DOS Kermit", by Christine M.
Gianone, published by Digital Press, Bedford, MA, 1990, order number
EY-C204E-DP.  The book includes a 5.25-inch MS-DOS Kermit 3.0 diskette.  To
order, call 1-800-343-8321 (USA, toll free).  It is also available from Kermit
Distribution at Columbia University and wherever computer books are sold.  A
technical reference by Professor Joe R. Doupnik is in preparation.

Kermit programs for other computers, as well as documentation and other
information, can be obtained from:

  Kermit Distribution
  Columbia University Center for Computing Activities
  612 West 115th Street
  New York, NY  10025  (USA)

MS-DOS KERMIT PROGRAM INVOCATION

MS-DOS Kermit can be run interactively, from a batch file, as an "external"
DOS command, or with redirected or piped standard input and output.  Upon
initial startup, the program executes any commands found in the file
MSKERMIT.INI in the current disk or DOS path, or the file specified by "-f
filename" on the Kermit command line.

* Interactive Operation:

To run MS-DOS Kermit interactively, invoke the program from DOS command level
by typing its name, usually "kermit".  When you see the command's prompt,
"MS-Kermit>", you may type Kermit commands repeatedly until you are ready to
exit the program.  The commands EXIT or QUIT return you to DOS.

While typing commands, use the Backspace key to erase the character most
recently typed, Ctrl-W to delete the most recent field, or Ctrl-U to delete
the entire command, and enter the command by pressing the Enter key or Ctrl-L.
A question marked typed at any point in a command (except in a filename or
character string) will give you a brief hint about what's expected at that
point.  Pushing the Esc key will complete the command current field, if
possible, and position the cursor at the next field.  If completion is not
possible, Kermit will beep.  You can cancel any command during its execution
by typing Ctrl-C.

Use question mark (?) to "feel" your way through commands and find out what
the options are.

* Command Line Invocation:

MS-DOS Kermit may be invoked with command line arguments from DOS command
level, for instance:

  A>kermit set port 1, set speed 9600, connect

In this case, help and completion are not available and MS-DOS Kermit will
exit back to DOS after completing the specified commands unless you include
the "stay" command.  Several commands may be given on the command line,
separated by commas.

* Batch Operation:

Like other MS-DOS programs, MS-DOS Kermit may be operated under batch with
command line arguments.  If your batch program invokes it without command line
arguments, it will run interactively, reading commands from the keyboard and
not the batch file.  When it exits, batch processing will continue to the end
of the batch file.  An ERRLEVEL number is returned by Kermit to assist batch
file controls.

SUMMARY OF MS-DOS KERMIT COMMANDS

* Notation:

  <parameter>   - Replace this with an actual number, or filename, etc.
  <number>      - Replace with an actual decimal number
  <filename>    - A file specification, which may include disk & directory
  <hh:mm:ss>    - Time of day in 24-hour notation, less than 12 hours from now
  [<parameter>] - An optional field, which may be omitted
  {A,B,C}       - Choose one of the items listed
  [{A,B,C}]     - Optionally choose one of the items listed

* Program Management Commands:

EXIT or QUIT
  Exit from MS-DOS Kermit.
TAKE <filename>
  Execute commands from the specified file instead of the keyboard.
PUSH
  Go to DOS prompt.  Return to Kermit prompt by typing the DOS EXIT command.
TYPE <file>, DELETE <file>, DIRECTORY <file>, CD <path>
  These DOS commands are also built in to Kermit and work the same way.
RUN <command>
  Run any DOS program or execute any DOS command, e.g. RUN EDLIN AUTOEXEC.BAT.

* Commands for Getting Information:

HELP
  Display a brief help message about MS-DOS Kermit.
SHOW
  Display current settings, definitions, statistics selectively
  (type SHOW ? for a list of categories that can be shown).
STATUS
  Show values of all SET parameters.

* Commands for Setting Communication Parameters and Connecting to a Remote Host

SET PORT {COM1, COM2, etc}
  Select communication device (SET PORT ? for list of available devices)
SET SPEED <number>
  Communications port line speed: 1200, 2400, 9600, etc.
SET PARITY {EVEN, ODD, MARK, SPACE, NONE}
  Character parity to use during communication
SET DUPLEX {FULL, HALF}
  Select full or half duplex communication
SET HANDSHAKE {XON, CR, LF, CODE <ascii-value>}
  Half-duplex line turnaround character
SET FLOW-CONTROL {XON/XOFF, NONE}
  Select full-duplex flow control method
SET TERMINAL {VT320, VT102, VT52, HEATH-19, TEK4010}
  Select type of terminal to emulate (VT320 by default)
SET TERMINAL <parameter> <value>
  Set various termal emulation parameters (SET TERMINAL ? for list)
CONNECT
  Make a terminal connection to another computer on the currently selected
  port using the current communication settings.  Use Alt-X to return
  ("escape back") to the MS-Kermit> prompt (hold down the Alt key and press x).
HANGUP
  Hang up a dialed modem connection.

* CONNECT-Mode Escape-Level Commands:

During terminal emulation, you may type Ctrl-] (hold down Ctrl and press the
rightbracket key) followed by any of the following characters:

  ?   Help -- prints the available single-character commands
  0   (the digit zero) Transmit a NUL (ASCII 0)
  B   Transmit a BREAK signal                                 (also Alt-B)
  C   Close the connection and return to Kermit prompt level  (also Alt-X)
  F   File the current screen in the screen dump file         (also Ctrl-End)
  H   Hangup the phone (or network connection)
  L   Transmit a Long Break (1.8 seconds)
  M   Toggle the mode line, i.e. turn it off if it is on & vice versa
  P   Push to DOS; get back to CONNECT by typing EXIT at the DOS prompt
  Q   Temporarily quit logging the remote session
  R   Resume logging the remote session
  S   Show the status of the connection
  ^]  (or whatever you have set the escape character to be)
      Typing the escape character twice sends one copy of it to the host

You may use SET ESCAPE to change the escape character from Ctrl-Rightbracket
to some other character, or you can use the Alt-key equivalents noted above
on the IBM keyboard, or you can use SET KEY to assign \Kexit or other
"Kermit verbs" to the keys of your choice.  \Kexit is also assigned to Alt-X
on IBM keyboards.

* Commands for Transferring Files:

SEND <filename> [<alternate-name>]
  Send files to remote Kermit receiver or server
RECEIVE <parameter> <value>
  Wait for a file to arrive from the other Kermit program, which must
  be given a SEND command.
GET <remote-filename>
  Ask a Kermit server to send the specified file(s).
SHOW STATISTICS
  Display efficiency and other statistics about file transfers.

* Interruption Commands While a File Transfer Is in Progress:

  X or Ctrl-X: Stop sending the current file and go on to the next one, if any.
  Z or Ctrl-Z: Stop sending this file, and don't send any further files.
  E or Ctrl-E: Send Error packet to the remote Kermit.
  C or Ctrl-C: Return to Kermit command level immediately.
  Enter key:   Try to wake up a stuck file transfer.

* Commands for Acting as a Server:

DISABLE <parameter>
  Disable various capabilities of the server (DISABLE ? for list)
ENABLE <parameter>
  Enable various capabilities of the server (ENABLE ? for list)
SET SERVER <parameter> <value>
  Set various server-related options (SET SERVER ? for list)
SHOW SERVER
  Examine server-related parameters
SERVER [{<seconds>, <hh:mm:ss>}]
  Act as a Kermit server, optionally for or until the given time

* Commands for Talking to a Server:

BYE
  Shut down a remote Kermit server and log out its job
FINISH
  Shut down a remote Kermit server, put it back at command level
GET <remote-filename>
  Ask a Kermit server to send the specified file(s)
SEND <filename> [<alternate-name>]
  Send files to remote Kermit receiver or server
REMOTE <command>
  Send file management & other commands to a remote server (REMOTE ? for list)

* Setting Nonstandard File Transfer Parameters:

  SET BLOCK-CHECK, SET DEBUG, SET DELAY, SET FILE, SET INCOMPLETE, SET RETRY;
  SET SEND (or RECEIVE) END-OF-LINE, START-OF-PACKET, PACKET-LENGTH, PAUSE,
  TIMEOUT, PADDING; SET TRANSFER CHARACTER-SET, SET FILE CHARACTER-SET,
  SET FILE TYPE, SET FILE WARNING, SET WINDOW.

Use SET ?, SET BLOCK ?, etc, for further information.  Use SHOW FILE, SHOW
PROTOCOL to examine current file transfer settings.

* Commands for Recording:

LOG TRANSACTION [<filename>]
  Log file transfer names, times, etc, in given file (default TRANSACT.LOG).
LOG SESSION [<filename>]
  Record terminal session in given file (default SESSION.LOG).
LOG PACKETS [<filename>]
  Record file transfer packets in given file (default (PACKET.LOG).
WRITE {PACKET, SESSION, TRANSACTION} {DATE, PATH, TEXT, etc}
  Write the given quantity to the specified log file.
CLOSE {PACKET, SESSION, TRANSACTION, ALL}
  Close the specified log file and stop logging.
SHOW LOG
  Display names and status of logs.

FILE TRANSFER EXAMPLE USING HAYES MODEM

All commands are terminated by pressing the Enter key, except Alt-X, which
is produced by holding down the Alt key and pressing the x key.

  C>                              DOS prompt
  C>kermit                        Run MS-DOS Kermit
  MS-Kermit>                      This is MS-DOS Kermit's prompt
  MS-Kermit>set speed 2400        Set the desired transmission speed
  MS-Kermit>connect               Begin terminal emulation
  ATDT5551234                     Type Hayes dialing command
  CONNECT 2400                    Hayes responds when call is completed
  Welcome to ...                  Press Enter, see remote computer's greeting
  Username: xxx                   Log in to remote computer
  Password: yyy                   Type your password (probably won't echo)
  $                               Remote computer's prompt
  $ kermit                        Run Kermit on remote computer
  C-Kermit>                       Remote Kermit's prompt
  C-Kermit>server                 Put remote Kermit in server mode
  Alt-X                           Escape back to MS-DOS Kermit
  MS-Kermit>send oofa.txt         Send a file to the remote computer
  MS-Kermit>get foo.bar           Get a file from the remote computer
  MS-Kermit>bye                   All done, terminate your session
  C>                              Back at DOS prompt

See "Using MS-DOS Kermit" for other examples.
