Acropolis Online Help
FILE TRANSFERS

March 1993 - by Fred Gotfredson
December 1993 - Last revision by Ryan Gesler
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> Acropolis File Transfers
--------------------------
    Most Boards with file transfers have a separate file transfer section.
Acropolis, however, integrates file trasnfers right in the rooms along
with the message base.  For this reason, it is much different than other
trasnfer systems you may have encountered.  
    File transfers are located in "Directory Rooms".  Directory rooms are
indicated either by the directory room icon at the end of the roomname
(the "]" icon), and also indicated in the room info.
    When in a directory room, you can see what files are in the directory
by typing <R>ead <D>irectory.
    
> Choosing your protocol
------------------------
    Acropolis currently supports Xmodem, Ymodem, and Zmodem file transfers,
with a variety of different options for each.  The protocol and options you
select depend mostly on the terminal program and the type of modem you are
using.
    To choose your protocol, enter the <O>nline parameters menu and select
"Transfer Protocol".  If you choose Zmodem, there are no other options to
worry about so you can skip to the next section.  If you choose Xmodem or
Ymodem, you'll need to determine the packet size you would like to use.
Generally, if you're using a slower modem or get a lot of line noise it's best
to use a smaller packet size.  If you're using a faster modem or get very few
errors when online, a larger packet size will speed up the transfer.  Next,
you'll need to select any options you'd like to use.  If your terminal program
supports Binary ][ or ProDOS options, you should use one of those because it
will preserve the actual filetype and file length during the transfer.  If
you don't have either of these options available, choose Standard.
    The protocol that you've selected here in the <O>nline Parameters menu
will be the one Acropolis uses when you do a <D>ownload/<U>pload <F>ile, or a
<D>ownload <B>atch.

> Downloading (receiving files)
-------------------------------
    If you want to get a description of one of the files, just type
<D>ownload <F>ile.  You will be asked for a filename, and then you will see
some stats for the file and a description of it.  After the description, you
will be asked if you would like to download the file.  If the file looks
interesting and you want to take the time to download it, simply answer
<Y>es.  Acropolis will then ask if you wish to terminate your call after
the transfer.  This will close your connection with Apple Seeds once the
transfer is done, and is very convienent if you don't want to sit around
waiting for the transfer to finish.
    Acropolis will then remind you of the protocol you've selected and will
start sending the file.  You should then tell your term program to start
receiving.

    If you don't want to use the transfer protocol that you've selected in
the <O>nline parameters menu for a particular transfer, you can override it
with the commands <D>ownload <X>modem <Filename, <D>ownload <Y>modem
<Filename>, or <D>ownload <Z>modem <Filename>.  This will send the file with
that protcol using the standard packet size for that protocol (128 byte
checksum for Xmodem, 1k CRC for Ymodem).

    If you have selected, in the <O>nline parameters menu, any batch protocol
(that is, anything except Xmodem Standard or Xmodem ProDOS), you can download
a batch (more than one) of files.  To do this, simply go to around to the
rooms with the files you want to download in the batch, and type add to
<B>atch <Filename> with the file you want to add.  Once you've added all the
files, type <D>ownload <B>atch.  Acropolis will then send all the files you've
added to your batch.

> Uploading (sending files)
---------------------------
    To upload a file to a directory, just type <U>pload <F>ile at the main
prompt.  You should then tell your terminal program to start sending files.
Once the upload is finished, Acropolis will ask you to name the file if
necessary, and have you enter a description of the file.  If you've selected
a Batch protocol you can also upload a batch (more than one) of files.
Once the batch upload is finished, Acropolis will have you enter a description
for each of the files you included in the batch.

    As in the Download section, you can also override your default protocol
with a command like <U>pload <X>modem, <U>pload <Y>modem, or <U>pload
<Z>modem.

> Reading Textfiles
-------------------
    Acropolis has a feature that will type the contents of any ASCII text
file to the screen.  Be careful, though, that you don't accidentally
choose an archive instead, because very often, they are saved as TXT
format.  When you type <R>ead <T>extfile, you will be asked which file to
read.  You can abort the displaying of the file at any time by pressing
<S>top.

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