Copyright © 1996 Viêt-Tâm Luu.
This document may be freely distributed, but it may not
be modified (with the exception of conversion to other
formats) without the expressed consent of the author.
2. Installing and Configuring BlackBook
BlackBook was developed and tested on the author's machine, equipped with a Pentium 100MHz CPU, 64MB of RAM, and a 1GB SCSI-2 hard drive. As a result, there is no way for him of knowing with certainty whether or not it will run on a less powerful system.
The following are (conjectured) minimum system requirements needed to install and use all of BlackBook's features, on OS/2 Warp and OS/2 Warp Connect:
Additionally, the following software should be installed for you to take advantage of all of BlackBook's features.
NOTE: BlackBook uses ``long'' (non-8.3) filenames, and therefore requires a non-FAT filesystem such as HPFS to install. If you wish to install to a non-HPFS partition, you will have to rename some files (which will break the installation script, unless you also edit Install.dat), including the documentation files (which will no longer be accessible from BlackBook). FAT is an archaic, outdated filesystem that belongs in the back pages of computing history. If you are masochistic enough to be still using it, you deserve whatever terrible fate befalls your data.
BlackBook's archive is a self-extracting Info-Zip format file. Be aware that an executable file such as BBK100.exe may have been tampered with (e.g. may be a "Trojan horse" program), or could be infected by a computer virus. If you wish to play it safe, you can use an unzip utility to extract the installation files. (In such a case, BBK100.exe may be processed like a normal zip file.)
To save the settings entered and close the BlackBook Setup dialog, select the button labeled ``Okay''. To reset all the settings (not just the ones on the page that you see) to ``factory defaults,'' select the ``Defaults'' button.
To close the dialog window without saving any changes, use the ``Cancel'' button. This will discard any changes you have made to the settings since the Setup dialog was opened, including the reset-to-defaults action.
Each field is explained in detail below. Some fields may not be available if certain options are selected; others may only be available if certain options are selected.
WorldWide Web Browser
Command Line: Enter the full command line to execute the WWW viewer or
browser you wish to use for viewing HTML pages. This may include the full
path of the program, any additional arguments, etc. In the command line, enter
the keyword $URL$ (spelled in all capital letters as shown) where
BlackBook should substitute in the Universal Resource Locator (URL) of the
HTML document. Any URL inserted in this manner will replace the $URL$
keyword in the command line. If the command does not contain $URL$,
BlackBook will add the URL to the end of the command. This option determines
the HTML browser used to open the URL for a certain record, and also to
display the BlackBook User's Guide. The default command line is
explore.exe -q $URL$ which executes IBM's WebExplorer browser, if it
is installed.
Modem Setup
This group of fields lets you specify the configuration for your modem, for
use with the BlackBook Dialer. Modem
configuration here is not critical, unlike in other software, since the modem
is used only to dial phone numbers.
Initialization String: Enter the initialization string to be sent to your modem before dialing. Please refer to the documentation included with your modem for available modem commands and explanations of the latter. The default command is ATZ, which resets the modem to the first configuration saved in the modem's non-volatile RAM. This works on most Hayes-compatible modems.
Dial Prefix: Enter the modem command, and any additional prefix (such as *70, to disable call waiting) used to dial the phone number with the modem. BlackBook appends the number to dial to this prefix. The default for this field is ATDT, a standard Hayes modem command that causes the modem to dial the given number using tone (as opposed to pulse) dialing.
Area Code: Enter the local telephone area code. BlackBook uses this field to determine whether or not a phone call is long-distance, and modifies the phone number to dial accordingly. To disable this feature, simply leave this field bank. The default is no area code (blank).
COM Port: Set this value to the serial (COM) port to which the modem is connected. The default is 2, a common (but by no means universal) COM port used by many modems.
Directories
BlackBook Directory: Enter the main directory for the BlackBook
application. This is the directory where the BlackBook executable
(BlackBook.exe) is located. This setting determines, among other
things, the directory where BlackBook will look for the documentation files.
The default directory is /BlackBook. The installation program
will set this option to the directory where you installed BlackBook.
On Open
These options control BlackBook's behaviour when an existing database is
opened.
Read-only mode: Puts BlackBook in read-only (i.e. editing disabled) mode when a database is opened. See Section 3.2, Menus, for more information on read-only mode. This option is turned on by default.
Go to first record: Selects and displays the first record in the database when it is opened. Otherwise, BlackBook goes to and displays ``no record'' when a file is opened. This option is off by default.
Reply-To: line: Enter what you wish to appear on the Reply-To: line of any E-mail message sent from BlackBook. This follows the same format as the From: line, described above. Use the Reply-To: line if you wish replies to your E-mail to be sent to an address other than the one specified in the From: line. Leave this blank if you do not wish the message to contain a Reply-To: line. This field is accessible only if the ``Use external mail program'' option has not been selected.
SMTP Server: Specify the full name or IP address of your SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server (a.k.a. mailserver, mail gateway). This address should be provided by your Internet service provider or network administrator. This field must be specified for Internet mail to be sent properly. This and associated fields are accessible only if the ``Use external mail program'' option has not been selected.
Port: Enter the SMTP port BlackBook should use on the specified SMTP mailserver. Leave this blank if BlackBook should automatically determine which port to use by looking it up in your services file (typically located in /MPTN/etc or /tcpip/etc). The SMTP port is almost universally 25, but may differ on your specific mailserver.
Timeout: Enter the number of seconds BlackBook Mailer should wait for a response from the SMTP server before giving up (and cancelling the E-mail transfer). If you are on a slow network connection and/or your SMTP server is distant (network-wise), you may wish to specify a longer timeout value. The default timeout is 30 seconds, which is long enough for most E-mail transfers to work reliably on a modem (PPP or SLIP) connection to the Internet.
Use external mail program: Select this option if you wish to use an external E-mail program, instead of BlackBook Mailer, to send E-mail. The default setting is to use BlackBook Mailer, BlackBook's internal mail program. Selecting this field enables the ``Mail Command'' field.
Mail Command: Enter the command line BlackBook should use to invoke the external mail program. This is typically the full path of the mail program, additional options, $DEST$ where you wish BlackBook to fill in the destination E-mail address, and $FROM$ where you wish BlackBook to fill in your E-mail address (specified in the ``From: line'' field). The default mail command is MR2I.EXE /E$DEST$, which opens MR/2 ICE, a full-featured shareware Internet mail client for OS/2. This feature is compatible with versions 1.05 or later or MR/2 ICE.
MR/2 ICE is a separate piece of software available at many OS/2 FTP sites, the OS/2 Shareware BBS (703-385-4325), and from BMT Micro. Note: BlackBook is freeware, MR/2 ICE is not; should you choose to use the latter, please register it as per the MR/2 ICE license agreement. Please direct any questions about MR/2 ICE to nick@secant.com, or consult the MR/2 ICE Frequently-Asked Questions document.