ANT Internet Suite - Chapter 4

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4. Configuring the Suite

ONCE you have completed the initial installation you will need to enter some configuration details before you can use the Internet Suite effectively. This chapter describes the procedures you should follow within the Suite's main Configuration utility.

4.1 Configuring the Internet Suite

Before you use the Internet Suite you will need to specify details of, for example, your email accounts or your network configuration.

Do this using the Configuration utility included in the Internet Suite. You can update your configuration at any time if any of your details change, such as changing modem or Internet service provider.

Loading the Configuration utility

To load the Configuration utility:

1 If the Suite is not already loaded, open the filer window into which you installed the Suite, and double-click on !InetSuite to launch the Internet Suite control panel:

2 Click Select on the Internet icon on the left side of the icon bar.

3 Double-click on Configuration to open the Configuration icon in the ANT Internet Suite panel:

4 The Internet Suite configuration window will open:

Each item in this window opens a further dialogue box or boxes, each of which leads you through setting up a part of the suite. You may not need to go through all the sections.

5 The LAN and Modem options will be ticked or not depending on the information you entered when installing the Suite. If an option is not selected, the button to access its setup dialogue is greyed out.

6 Click the Help button to display Interactive help messages throughout the Configuration process.

4.2 Provider setup

You should not need to alter anything in this section as the information you entered when installing the Internet Suite is used here. However, you may need to access this section if you need to:

Do not edit these values unless you are sure of the new information: any inaccuracies will prevent the Suite from working correctly.

To display your current settings and change any if needed:

1 Click the Provider setup button in the Internet Suite configuration window.

The Provider setup dialogue will open, displaying the information you entered when you installed the Suite:

2 Choose a Country from the pop-up menu.

3 Choose an IS Provider from the pop-up menu.

4 Choose your Point of Presence under Town/City from the pop-up menu.

5 The telephone number(s) listed are those of the selected PoPs.

6 Your Host name depends on the type of service provider you use:

testing.demon.co.uk

fred-P.testing.ac.uk

7 Your IP address will appear in numeric form if your provider uses fixed IP.

8 Click in the field and edit details as required for Login name, and Password. These must be given exactly as given to you by your service provider.

9 Your provider's Name server is listed with its address in numeric form. It is unlikely that you will need to edit this entry.

10 Choose the access protocol you require. Normally you should leave this set to PPP, unless your provider has told you to use SLIP or CSLIP. If a choice appears, PPP is usually better.

11 When you have finished making changes, click Close.

You must choose Save in the InetSuite configuration window to confirm and save the changes you have made.

The following table summarises the options in this dialogue box:
Option Setting  Effect  Notes
Country country name  Identifies your country Choose from the pop-up list.
IS Provider service name Identifies your service provider. Choose from the pop-up list.
Town/City  city name Chooses point of presence (PoP) to dial Choose from the pop-up list.
Telephone phone number Lists number of your PoP Edit if necessary: do not add dial prefixes here.
Host name  computer name   Should be set automatically by the installation process
IP Address  number Sets your unique address on the Internet Fixed IP address ISPs need this information
  dynamic IP address allocated on log-in Option is greyed out if your ISP does not require it.
Login name username Your username is stored by the Suite. Can be left blank and entered on log-on.
Password ------- Your password is stored by the Suite  
Name server  number(s)  IP address of your name server Appears automatically. Check with your provider if there are any problems.
Protocol  PPP Uses PPP protocol The correct choice for your provider should be shown: change if necessary.
  SLIP/CSLIP Uses SLIP or CSLIP protocol

   


4.3 LAN setup

If you are using a network connection you must complete the details needed in the LAN setup section of the configuration utility.

1 Click the LAN setup button in the InetSuite configuration dialogue box.

The Ethernet driver dialogue box will open:

2 Some details may already be completed, but you should check and work through each field in the dialogue box.

It is vital that these options are completed correctly. Incorrect information in any of these options could interfere with your network and will certainly prevent the Suite from working. Consult your network administrator for the information you need: do not attempt to guess values in any section of this dialogue.

3 Choose the Ethernet Driver in use on your computer from the pop-up list.

4 Enter the Host name of your computer.

5 Enter the IP Address of your computer. On some networks this can be obtained automatically by choosing one of the available options from the pop-up list at the right.

6 Enter the required IP Mask. Choose Class B and Class C address formats from the pop-up list.

7 Enter the IP address in numeric form of the Name server on your network, if there is one.

8 Enter the IP address of the Gateway machine on your network, if there is one. If there is not, this option will be greyed out.

9 Once you have entered all the requested information, click Close. Remember to click Save in the main InetSuite configuration dialogue to confirm and save the details you have entered.

The following table summarises the options in this dialogue box:

 
Option  Setting Effect  Notes
Driver Ethernet driver Selects correct Ethernet driver for your interface. Choose driver from the pop-up menu.
Hostname machine name Enter the name of your machine. Check with network manager
IP address nn.nn.nn.nn  Shows correct IP address for your computer.  Use available options from pop-up menu to determine address automatically.
IP mask nn.nn.nn.nn Set mask for your network. Choose class of address from pop-up menu. Check with network manager.
Name server nn.nn.nn.nn   IP address of your local name (DNS) server. Check with network manager. Greyed out if none available on your network.
Gateway nn.nn.nn.nn  IP address of your Internet gateway machine.  

 


4.4 Modem setup

This section helps you enter details of the modem you will be using for dialled connections and also make some choices about dialling.

If you are using a modem to connect you should complete this section before attempting to connect with the Internet Suite: while the default settings may work, there may be more suitable choices for your particular setup, particularly if you are using:

To complete the Modem setup dialogue box:

1 Click the Modem setup button in the InetSuite configuration panel.

The Dialup driver dialogue box will be displayed:

2 Display the pop-up list of Modem drivers by clicking on the Modem menu icon. If there is a specific driver for your modem, choose it; otherwise choose Default.

3 Specify the (Serial) Port to which the modem is connected. In most cases this will be the default option Internal.

4 Select the maximum Speed of communications between computer and modem. For a 14.4K modem this is normally 57600 (bps) and for a 28.8K modem this is 115200 (bps).

5 If you need a Dial prefix ensure that this option is ticked.

Type in any dial prefixes. Examples of dial prefixes are: 9 for external line, call waiting barring, and Mercury PIN codes.

6 Choose the option you prefer for Demand-dialling. If you turn this on, news and mail can be fetched automatically at scheduled intervals. Also:

7 Set the Modem speaker volume to on or off. Use the arrows to set a volume level between 0 and 3.

8 Enter settings for Redials. This enables the dialler to try to connect again automatically if it fails to connect.

9 Enter settings for Idle hang up.

10 Set Tone dial on for tone dialling or off for pulse dialling.

11 Choose Log all calls if required. You may find this useful for monitoring your calls to the service provider.

12 Once you have entered the settings you need, choose Close.

Remember to click Save in the main InetSuite configuration dialogue to confirm and save the details you have entered.

The following table summarises the options in this dialogue box:

 
Option Setting Effect Notes
Modem Default  Uses default modem driver If there is an entry for your modem in the pop-up menu, choose that.
  Other Uses specific driver.
Port Internal  Use standard serial port. Choose from the pop-up menu if you are using an additional serial port: Default is the internal serial port.
  Other  Use specified serial port.
Speed number  Shows maximum combined transfer speed in bits per second Select the appropriate value for your modem, ie 57600 for 14.4K, 115200 for 28.8K (V.34).
Dial prefix  On (ticked) Prefixes PoP phone number with the listed codes. Enter external access codes, call waiting barring, Mercury PIN, etc. Separate each item with a comma.
  Off (unticked) No dial sequence used.  
Demand-dialling On (ticked) Modem will dial when requested by software.  Enables scheduled downloads whenever required.
  Off (unticked) Modem only dials when you request it.  
Modem speaker volume On (ticked) Lets you hear modem connecting Set volume level on/off or between 0 and 3.
  Off (unticked) Modem remains silent.  
Redials, max On (ticked) Enables automatic redial on busy signal, failure to connect etc Set number of redial attempts and wait in seconds before each attempt.
  Off (unticked) No automatic redialling.  
Idle hang up On (ticked) Hangs up when no activity is detected. Do not choose too short a time
  Off (unticked)    
Tone dial  On (ticked) Tone dialling   
  Off (unticked) Pulse dialling Very rarely supported by exchanges.
Log all calls On (ticked) Calls logged in file !InetSuite.Internet.Logs.Calls  
  Off (unticked)    

  


4.5 Mail setup

This section helps you to set up details of your email accounts. Basic details are added as part of the installation process. If you want to make more complex use of the Internet Suite's mail facilities, such as setting up multiple local mail users, you will need to make some changes here, for example:

To work with mail setup:

The Mail setup dialogue box will be displayed:

This dialogue lists the current mail accounts which are served by the Internet Suite. In most cases there will be:

From this dialogue you can access further dialogues to:

You can also set the default for mail transfers for dialup users:

Mail accounts

If you are using a POP mail service and have more than one POP account you will need to add further mail accounts to the Internet Suite to fetch mail addressed to these additional accounts. For example, if you have several addresses provided as part of your account such as:

tjones@provider.co.uk

cjones@provider.co.uk

You can also edit existing mail accounts to change their details or settings.

To add a mail account:

1 Click Add in the Mail setup dialogue. The Mail account dialogue will be displayed:

2 Enter details of the Server. This will probably be the same as your existing POP account.

3 Select the required Transport protocol from the pop-up list: check with your service provider.

4 Enter the POP User name and Password.

5 Select the local user to whose mail box the mail adddressed to this account will be delivered from the pop-up menu. The chosen user will be shown in the Mail to field.

6 Select mail transfer options:

7 Click Set to close the dialogue boxes.

The changes will not be saved until you click Save in the main Internet Suite configuration dialogue box.

To edit a mail account:

1 Select the required mail account from the list in the Mail setup dialogue box.

2 Click Edit in the Mail setup dialogue box.

The Mail account dialogue box will be displayed with the current settings.

3 Change the settings as required.

The changes will not be saved until you click Save in the main Internet Suite configuration dialogue box.

To remove a mail account:

1 Select the mail account you want to remove.

2 Click Remove.

The account will be deleted. However, if you close the Internet Suite configuration dialogue without clicking Save your original settings will be restored.

Aliases and mailing lists

Aliases allow you to redirect mail to a particular account or to a group of recipients. For example:

To work with mail aliases:

1 Click the Mail aliases button in the Mail setup dialogue.

2 The Mail aliases and mailing lists dialogue will be displayed. Existing aliases are displayed in the window:

All lists contain an entry which shows that all mail not sent to a specified user will be sent to the root user. If you are a Demon user and any mail arrives addressed to a recipient for which there is no local user/inbox, it will be sent to this default user.

Adding an alias

To add a new alias to the list:

1 Click Add in the Mail aliases and mailing lists dialogue.

The Mail alias or mailing list dialogue will open:

2 Enter the recipient name in the Addressed to field. This could be a group alias (such as support) or a different form of a user's name (such as Frederick instead of Fred).

3 Enter the user(s) to whom the mail should be sent.

4 Tick if this is to be a Private remailing list. This means that only local mail will be remailed to the alias: incoming mail cannot be sent out to it.

5 Click Set when you have completed all the details. The new alias will be added to the list.

You can edit existing aliases in the main alias window, or remove them from the list.

To edit alias details:

1 Select the alias in the list of aliases.

2 Click Edit.

3 The Mail alias or mailing list dialogue will open.

4 Change the details as required and then click Set.

To remove an alias from the list:

1 Select the alias in the list of aliases.

2 Click Remove.

3 The alias will be deleted from the list.

Local users

If you have multiple mailboxes you will need to use the Local user section of the Configuration dialogue box to enter their details. For example, if you have a Demon account, or multiple POP3 mailboxes with another service provider, you may want to collect mail addressed to several users at your address.

To access the Local users dialogue:

1 Display the Internet Suite panel.

2 Double-click on Configuration.

3 Click the Local users button.

4 The Local users dialogue box will open:

The list already contains one entry, root. This is the default user to whom all mail will be delivered unless it is explicitly directed to other local users.

Adding a local user

For each address you wish to create you must set up a local user. To do this:

1 Display the Local users dialogue.

2 Click Add. The Local user dialogue will open:

3 Type the user name in the User name box. This can be any name you like - it need not correspond to any actual email address.

4 Enter the user's real name in the Real name section.

5 Each user must have their own directory. This includes their own !MarcelDir (Marcel resources and information utility) and other setup information.

6 Each user may have their own password, of at least six characters. This is used to open their News and Mail in boxes. If you leave this blank, no password is required.

7 Once you have completed these steps, click Set. The user will be added to the list in the Local users dialogue.

Editing user details

To edit user details:

1 Select the user's entry in the Local users list.

2 Click Edit.

3 The Local user dialogue for that user will be displayed. Amend details as required.

4 Click Set to confirm the changes. The Local user dialogue will close and you will return to the main list.

Removing local users

To remove a local user from the list:

1 Click on the user name to select the entry in the list.

2 Click Remove.

3 The user will be deleted from the list and you will no longer be able to access their inbox.

4.6 News setup

This section helps you to set up details of the Internet newsgroups to which you subscribe and the way they are stored on your computer.

Use this section to:

To work with newsgroups:

1 Click the News setup button in the Internet Suite configuration panel.

2 The News setup dialogue box will be displayed:

This dialogue lists the newsgroups which are currently subscribed to by local users. Only these groups will be downloaded by offline users.

Group names are shown along with a flag, if any options have been set in the Edit newsgroup dialogue:

3 The news server suggested by the installation process is listed: you can change this to another news server to which you have access by entering its name here.

4 Use the Transfer since option to determine the cut-off point for fetching older news.

5 Choose an option for transferring news.

6 Add newsgroups to your list and set individual expiry options as described below.

For details on how newsgroups are organised, see Chapter 6.

Working with the list of all groups

To see the list of groups available to read, click the All groups button in the Newsgroups dialogue box. The following window will appear, containing the list of groups supplied with the ANT Internet Suite:

Note that this is not a complete list of groups on the Internet. If you want to fetch a complete list, including the local categories and other categories excluded from the supplied list:

1 Click Menu within the All groups window to display the Groups menu.

2 Choose Refetch list.

3 A warning window will be displayed, asking if you are sure that you want to delete the existing list. Choose Delete.

4 Next time you connect and transfer news, a full groups list will be downloaded from your service provider. Note that this list is very large indeed and may take several minutes to download by modem.

To see the available groups within a top-level heading, double-click on a folder. A window will open listing each newsgroup:

To help you find groups in these windows, there is a search option.

  1. Click Menu to display the Groups menu.
  2. Slide off the Search option to display the Group name box.
  3. Type in a search term, for example acorn and press Return.
  4. A window will open displaying all the group names in the parent window which contain your search term:

New groups

As new newsgroups are created, your service provider will send you details of them. These are listed in the New groups dialogue box.

Used groups

The list of Used groups shows all the groups which have been subscribed to by users through the news subscription mechanism within Marcel.

Getting details of groups

There are three forms of information held on most newsgroups. They can all be accessed from the Group submenu inside the News setup dialogue box, or from the Groups menu inside any groups window.

When new newsgroups are set up, information is sent to news servers and from them to your computer. Click the New groups button to see the list of groups added since you last downloaded a full groups list.

Subscribing to newsgroups

There are two main ways to subscribe to newsgroups. You may:

Click the All groups or New groups button, and display the group you want.

Click once on the group's name to select it, then click menu and choose Subscribe from the Groups menu. Alternatively, simply drag the group's icon into the Newsgroup list in the News Setup dialogue.

Click Menu inside the Newsgroups dialogue and slide off the Subscribe option. Type in the name of the group you want. Note that this method will only work for groups with entries in the All groups list. If the group you want is not in the list, you may need to fetch a new group list from your service provider by deleting the existing one.

Once you have subscribed to a group within the Configuration Utility you will need to amend your list of newsgroups within Marcel to add the new group to the list - see Chapter 6.

Newsgroup management

Further options on the Newsgroup menus help you manage your subscribed newsgroups.

When you read news offline, the downloaded articles can take up a lot of space on your hard disc. The expiry options let you set limits on how much space is used and/or how long files are kept for.

You can also opt to download only the headers of a newsgroup's articles. This saves time when downloading: you can use Marcel to select articles of interest and download their full text later.

To set individual newsgroup expiry options:

  1. Select the subscribed group(s) in the News setup dialogue whose options you want to change from the list in the News setup dialogue box.
  2. Click menu inside the dialogue and choose Edit from the Group/Selection menu, or double-click on the required group:
  3. Tick the Expiry time for news option to set an expiry period for the group(s). Use the arrows to set the expiry period you want. The default is 3 months.
  4. Tick the Maximum size on disc option to limit the amount of hard disc space which can be used by articles from the group, if required.
  5. Type in the amount of space to allocate to the group in Kbytes. Consider the level of traffic in the group when setting this option: once the limit is reached articles will be deleted oldest first.
  6. News will only be transferred for the group if Allow news transfer is selected. You may want to turn this off to prevent news from being downloaded.
  7. Tick Transfer article headers only to download only the headers (describing the title and author of each article).
  8. Click Set to exit the dialogue.

To confirm your options you must choose Close in the Newsgroup dialogue, then Save in the Internet Suite configuration dialogue box.

To count the downloaded articles from a group:

  1. Select the subscribed group(s) from the list in the Newsgroup dialogue.
  2. Click Menu inside the dialogue and display the Group/Selection menu.
  3. Choose Count from the Group menu.

A message will appear listing the number of downloaded articles in the group and the total number of bytes used on disc.

To purge all downloaded articles from a group:

  1. Select the subscribed group(s) from the list in the Newsgroup dialogue.
  2. Click menu inside the dialogue and display the Group/Selection menu.
  3. Choose Delete articles from the menu.
  4. A warning box will be displayed. Choose Delete.
  5. The articles will be deleted.

To resign a subscribed group:

  1. Select the subscribed group(s) from the list in the Newsgroup dialogue.
  2. Click menu inside the dialogue and display the Group/Selection menu.
  3. Choose Unsubscribe. The group will be removed from your list.

4.7 Other options

This section helps you to complete a variety of tasks for customising the Internet Suite's interface, and for recording Internet Suite activity.

To open the Other options dialogue box:

  1. Display the Internet Suite panel.
  2. Double-click on Configuration.
  3. Click the Other options button.
  4. The Other options dialogue box will open:

Running files on connection

The Run on connect section of the Other options dialogue lets you specify applications to run when the Internet Suite connects to the network or your service provider.

To specify an application to run:

Logging levels

This section of the Other options dialogue box sets how much information is displayed about Suite activity and how much is stored.

The first two options, General levels and Modem levels, let you choose the type of warnings to display in log windows or save in log files.

The third option, Auto-open windows, specifies whether the transfer dialogues showing the progress of certain activities (such as mail and news transfers) are displayed or not.

The four options Mail, Mail delivery, News and News expiry specify the detail of information displayed or saved about each activity on a scale of 0 to 5. The default setting is 3: if you experience any problems, you may want to increase the number to include more detailed reports of activity.

The final two options, Session window and Session file, specify whether information should be displayed on screen or stored in a file. If you experience problems you should turn both these options on. Session files are stored in the directory !InetSuite.Internet.Logs.

By default these options are switched on. Turning them off can improve performance and save disc space.