TOPIC
This information was provided by Claris Corporation on 16 March 1998, and incorporated into Apple Computer's Tech Info Library.
DISCUSSION Communications issues can be divided into 3 areas: making the connection, sending/receiving text, and transferring files. These correspond to 3 commands in the Settings menu, Connection, Terminal, and File Transfer. When troubleshooting, first determine which of these 3 areas is the issue. 1. Connecting With the Modem - Make sure you have chosen Open Connection from the Session menu. - Make sure that the modem is plugged in and switched on. - Check if you have the right port selected by choosing Connection from the Settings menu. Also set the baud rate at the speed of your modem. With the BBS or Online Service When you successfully connect with a service using the Apple Modem tool, you will get a message: "Connection established at 2400 baud" or whatever baud you connected at. Press the OK button to enter Terminal mode and begin your session. Sometimes it is necessary to press the Return key after this to trigger the host to begin sending you data. - Successful Connection but no signs of life - Proceed to the section below entitled "Terminal." - Unsuccessful Connection - Since the Apple Modem tool insulates you from the connection process, it can be useful to switch to the Serial Tool when having connection issues. Using the Serial Tool to Troubleshoot Choose Connection from the Settings menu and select the Serial Tool. Make sure the correct baud rate and port settings are selected and press OK. Open Connection and type AT. The modem should answer with OK. If there is no response, type AT&F. This resets your modem to factory settings. Once again, there should be a response of OK. If there is still no response, the modem is either not connected properly, not functioning properly, or you do not have a proper cable. If you get an OK response from the modem, type ATDT followed by the phone number to dial. In essence, you are manually doing what the Apple Modem Tool does automatically. You will commonly see a string of messages such as: DIALING RINGING MODEM CONNECT 2400 If you are able to connect, but still nothing else happens, even after pressing the Return key: - Choose Connection from the Settings menu. Make sure you have the correct baud rate and other settings for your modem and the service you are calling. The 2 most common settings are: a. parity - none, data bits - 8, stop bits - 1, handshake - none b. parity - even, data bits - 7, stop bits - 1, handshake - none - If the steps above fail, proceed to the section below entitled Terminal. Apple Modem Tool and Initialization Strings If you are able to connect with the Serial Tool and not with the Apple Modem Tool, it is likely that your modem doesn't like the initialization string the Apple Modem Tool is sending before dialing. Switch back to the Apple Modem Tool in the Connection dialog and choose Custom from the modem popup menu. If you don't see a Custom option, hold down the option key and try again (you have an older version of the Apple Modem Tool). Delete the initialization string and press OK. Try connecting using the Apple Modem Tool now. 2. Terminal (Unless specified otherwise, all directions refer to the Terminal dialog: select Terminal from the Settings menu.) If you are able to connect but have trouble sending or receiving data: - If you have not already done so, make sure the baud rate and other port settings are correct for your modem and the service you are calling (Connection Settings dialog). - Not receiving data - Verify that the On Line option is checked. - Strange characters scattered throughout incoming data - Connection settings are probably incorrect. See above for the 2 most common settings. Also, the terminal type may be wrong. Try switching to another terminal tool. If none of this works, call the System Administrator of the service to ask for details about what settings to use. - Unexpected characters appear or characters lost - Bad connection. Log off and call back. If the issue remains, try reducing the baud rate or changing to a different handshake method in the Connections dialog. - What you type doesn't appear on screen - The host computer is not echoing what you are sending. Turn on Local Echo. - Data appears as double characters - Turn off Local Echo. - Incoming data writes over last character on the first line - Turn on Auto Wrap to Next Line. - Incoming data writes over same line - Turn on New Line on a Return. - Lines of incoming data are double spaced - Turn off New Line on a Return. - Data loss when pasting - Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and set a character paste delay. If the issue seems to be at the beginning or end of a line, set a line delay. 1=1/60 of a second so start out with a number like 10. 3. File Transfer - Not enough room to receive file - If you have enough hard disk space, the file may have corrupt header information. If the file doesn't have a resource fork (is not an application or a document with resources) switch the file transfer method to Straight XModem in the File Transfer dialog. If you have ClarisWorks 2.0 and the service supports Kermit, another option is the Kermit tool. The XModem Tool included with ClarisWorks 2.0 offers improved MacBinary handling of files which will prevent this issue from happening in the first place in many instances. For more details see the document "Out of Memory or Disk Space when Downloading Files." - Transfer Failures - If a transfer fails, it could be due to a bad connection or phone noise. Try connecting again and when downloading the file, notice in the status dialog if there are errors in blocks being sent or received. If there are, increase the Timeout and Retry numbers in File Transfer Settings. Text Transfer Tool If data is lost when uploading via a Text file transfer, try slowing down the rate of transmission by increasing the Delay Per Character or Line (File Transfer dialog). You can also try using handshaking (Connection dialog). |
| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Apple Software |
| Category: | Claris Software |
| Sub Category: | ClarisWorks |
Copyright © 2000 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.