                           RCom

This file describes RCom, the PC software which is for use with the
Psion 3Link lead and DOS based PCs. This file tells you how to
install RCom on your PC and how to use it to set up a link between
your PC and Psion. If you need information about files and
directories, file formats for file transfer, or the Comms application
that is supplied on the 3Link lead, you should refer to the PsiWin
manual. Otherwise, though, you may not need to refer to the PsiWin
manual at all. Instructions for you to follow are indicated with
numbers. Extra notes, which you may find useful, are indicated with a
+ symbol.

RCom supports:
  Computers in the Psion Series 3, MC and HC ranges. For the sake of
  convenience, only the Series 3 is referred to in this document.
  (The Series 3a, MC and HC are referred to where instructions
  differ from those for the Series 3.)
  PCs with DOS versions 3.3, 4.x, 5.x, 6.x.


What is 3Link?
==============
The 3Link lead converts the expansion socket on the left side of the
Series 3 into an industry-standard RS-232 serial link. When used
with RCom, it allows you to:
*  transfer files between your Series 3 and PC and control file
   transfer from either computer.
*  backup files from your Series 3 to the PC.
*  access files on the PC directly from your Series 3, even from
   within the Word processor, Database etc.
*  print from your Series 3 to a printer that is attached to the PC.
The PC half of the 3Link lead can be replaced by different leads for
connecting to printers, modems, etc.

Connecting the 3Link lead
=========================
1.Connect the two parts of the 3Link lead.
2.Connect the plug on the 3Link lead to a serial port on the back of
  your PC.
  Use the one that is labelled COM1, if it is available, if not, use
  COM2. Make a note of the serial port that you have used - you will
  need this information when you come to set up RCom.
  + Modern PC ATs have 9-pin sockets on serial ports; older ones
     have 25-pin sockets. If you have just one serial port, its name
     is usually COM1; a second serial port would be called COM2, and
     so on.
3.With the Series 3 switched off, insert the small 6-pin plug on the
  3Link lead into the expansion socket on the left side of the
  Series 3.
4.Turn the Series 3 on and move to the System screen (the Desktop on
  the MC, or the Command prompt on the HC).
5.On the Series 3: select the `Remote link' option on the `Special'
  menu and set `Remote link' to `On'. Make a note of the setting on
  the `Baud rate' (communication speed) line - you will need this
  information when you come to set up RCom.
  On the MC: select the Link icon on the Desktop.
  On the HC: type LINK at the command prompt.
Important: You should now install and set up the RCom software on
the PC.

When 3Link is in use
  Important: If you open either of the SSD drive doors, the PC
  cannot communicate with the Series 3 until you close it again.
  Although you should not lose any information, it is safest not to
  open either of the SSD drive doors when using 3Link to link the
  Series 3 and PC.
  +  If the link fails to re-establish after opening and shutting an
     SSD drive door, try switching the Series 3 off and on again.
  The 3Link lead is powered by the Series 3 when in use. If your
  Series 3 is powered by batteries, using 3Link will reduce the
  battery life to some degree. As soon as the 3Link lead is
  disconnected from the Series 3, power usage returns to normal
  (even if the 'Remote link' option is still set to on). When
  battery power is too low to use 3Link, the Series 3 may turn off.
  You cannot print from the Series 3 to a printer attached to the PC
  when 3Link is in use. For example, on the Series 3 you must set
  the `Remote link' option on the System screen to `Off' before
  printing, and then set it back to `On' to use 3Link and RCom for
  file transfer.


Installing RCom
The following installation procedure is for PCs with DOS versions
3.3, 4.x, 5.x, or 6.x.
1.Insert the PsiWin Disk 1 in your PC's disk drive and make sure that the
  DOS prompt is displayed.
  + If you have a hard disk, you may wish to use the DOS command MD
     to create a new directory in which to install RCom. You can
     then use the DOS command PATH to set up a path to the RCom
     directory and use PATH in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file; you will then
     be able to run RCom from any directory on your PC. See your DOS
     manual for more information.
2.Type A: (or B: if you have placed the PsiWin disk in the PC's B:
  drive).
The default installation sets RCom to communicate with a Psion
computer attached to the COM1 serial port at 19200 Baud (suitable
for the Series 3a and MC).
If the default installation (described above) is suitable for you:
3.Type DOSSETUP followed by the PC drive and directory in which you
  wish to install RCom, for example:
  DOSSETUP C:\PSRCOM
If the default installation (described above) is not suitable for
you:
3.Type DOSSETUP followed by the PC drive and directory in which you
  wish to install RCom, then the name of your Psion computer ("S3A",
  "S3", "HC" or "MC") and/or the name of the PC serial port to which
  it is attached ("COM1", "COM2", "COM3" or "COM4"). For example,
  you might type:
  DOSSETUP C:\PSRCOM S3 COM2
  or
  DOSSETUP C:\RCOM COM3
Important: You must not type spaces as part of the name of the
computer. It should be typed as follows: S3, S3A, HC, or MC. If you
don't specify the computer that you wish to connect to the PC, RCom
is installed set up to communicate at 19200 Baud, which is the right
setting for the Series 3a or MC.
You can now run RCom and use the RCom commands (as described in the
following sections).

Using RCom commands
===================
Important: If the directory that contains the RCom software is not
in your PATH, you need to change to this directory before typing the
command line to display the RCom command prompt.

Displaying the RCom command prompt
==================================
RCom is initially set to use the following settings:

Baud 19200 or 9600, according to the Psion computer that you specified
when you installed RCom. 19200 Baud is used for the Series 3a and MC;
9600 for the Series 3 and HC.

Port COM1 

You should have noted the settings that you need for `Port' and
`Baud' when you followed the instructions for `Connecting the 3Link
lead' earlier in this document.

If RCom's initial settings (see above) are appropriate for you:
Type RCOM and press Enter, to display the RCom command prompt.

If RCom's initial settings (see above) are not appropriate for you:
Edit the appropriate lines in the RCOM.INI file from which RCom
takes its default settings. This file is copied to the root of the
directory in which you installed RCom as part of the RCom
installation process. You can use a program editor or your DOS
editor to edit RCOM.INI. See your program editor or DOS User Guide
for details of how to do this.
When you have edited the RCOM.INI file appropriately, you can type
RCOM and press Enter, to display the RCom command prompt.

Parameters in the RCOM.INI file can also be overridden using
switches on the command line to display the RCom command prompt. The
/B switch is used to set the Baud rate, and the /P switch to set the
Port. For example:
RCOM /B9600
RCOM /PCOM2
RCOM /B9600 /PCOM2

Type RCOM /H at the RCom command prompt for more information.
  + Switches are commonly used with DOS type commands to specify
     particular options for the command that they follow. See your
     DOS manual for more information about switches.

If you use a non-standard serial port: you must edit the RCOM.INI
file and change the "Physical" line to:
PHYSICAL=IxAAA
where I is the interrupt request line and AAA is the base I/O port
address (in hexadecimal format). For example, PHYSICAL=9x2e0

When the RCom command prompt is displayed, you must set up the
letters that represent the drives on your Series 3 before using RCom
commands to transfer information.

Setting up letters to represent Series 3 drives
===============================================
RCom is initially set to use the following letters to represent the
drives on your Series 3:
Series 3 drive	Letter used to represent Series 3 drive
M: (Internal)	I: (for "Internal")
A:		L: (for "Left hand SSD drive")
B:		R: (for "Right hand SSD drive")

If you wish to use a different letter to represent a Series 3 drive:
1.Type SUBST followed by the letter that is currently set to
  represent the Series 3 drive, followed by the /D switch and press
  Enter. This deletes the current setting.
  For example, SUBST I: /D to delete the default setting of I: to
  represent the Series 3's internal drive.
2.Type SUBST followed by the letter you wish to use to represent the
  Series 3 drive, followed by REM:: ("REM::" stands for "remote")
  then the Series 3 drive that the letter should represent.
  For example, SUBST Q: REM::M:\
  This sets Q: to represent the Series 3's internal drive.
  (The Series 3 SSD drives are specified on the SUBST command line
  with REM::A:\ and REM::B:\)

Alternatively, you can edit the RCOM.INI file from which RCom takes
its SUBST settings to include the letters that you wish to represent
the drives on your Series 3. This file is copied to the root of the
directory in which you installed RCom as part of the RCom
installation process. The lines that you need to modify can be found
towards the end of the file under the heading [rcom]. You might, for
example, change the line:
subst2=YI:-REM::M:\
to:
subst2=YQ:-REM::M:\
to set the new PC drive Q: to represent the Series 3 internal drive,
instead of the initial setting of drive I: to represent the Series 3
internal drive. (Ignore any "Y" or "N" in front of the PC drive
letter.)

You can now use the RCom commands.

Using RCom
==========
You can use RCom at any time; you do not need to reboot first, and
you do not need to have any memory resident programs loaded.
Important: Make sure that the link is set up on the Psion computer
before attempting to use RCom to transfer any information. On the
Series 3, for example, the `Remote link' option on the System screen
must be set to `On' .

Backing up information from the Series 3 to the PC
==================================================

Important:
* It is a good idea to turn off any automatic switch off
function on the Psion before backing up. On the Series 3,
use the `Auto switch off' option on the `Control' menu on the System
screen and set `Auto switch off' to `Off'. This prevents the
Series 3 switching itself off - if the Series 3 is switched off
during your backup, RCom exits.
* The BACKUP and RBACKUP commands cannot copy 
open files to the PC.You may therefore wish to use RCom's XSTOP 
command to stop programs that have open files on the Series 3 drive,
or manually close any open files on that drive, before starting to 
back up. See `About Rcom commands' later for more details.

Backing up all the Psion computer drives:
You can use the RBACKUP.BAT batch file that is copied to the PC as
part of the RCom installation process, if you wish to back up all
the drives on your Psion computer.
1.Make sure that the Dos prompt is displayed.
2.Type RBACKUP. RBACKUP starts Rcom and uses a file called 
BAK.BAT to backup the drives. This copies files on the Psion 
computer to the C:\PSION backup area on the PC; files in each of
 the Psion computer drives are copied to a separate subdirectory of 
C:\PSION. For example, files on the Series 3 internal drive are copied 
to C:\PSION\I, files on an SSD in the Series 3's A drive are copied 
to C:\PSION\A and files on an SSD in the Series 3's B drive are 
copied to C:\PSION\B.
If you do not wish to use the default letters to represent your Psion 
computer drives, or wish to back up to a different backup area on the PC,
you must edit BAK.BAT before using RBACKUP.BAT.

Backing up single Psion computer drives:
The following example backs up files on the Series 3 internal drive
and on an SSD in the Series 3's A drive to the S3BAK directory on
the PC's C: drive.
1.Make sure that the RCom prompt is displayed.
2.Type BACKUP I: C:\S3BAK\I
This copies all the files on the Series 3 internal disk to C:\S3BAK\I.
3.Type BACKUP L: C:\S3BAK\A
This copies all the files on the Series 3 A: SSD drive to C:\S3BAK\A.

Two people can backup information from their Series 3s to the same
 PC by specifying different backup areas in the BACKUP command.

  + You can use the /F switch on the BACKUP command line if you
     wish to backup all your files, regardless of whether they have
     been changed or not. Alternatively, you can simply backup to a
     new backup area on the PC. Type HELP BACKUP at the RCom command
     prompt for more details.

  + You can use the /A switch on the BACKUP command line to
     suppress archiving of files which are no longer on the
     Series 3. Type HELP BACKUP at the RCom command prompt for more
     information.

  + Switches are commonly used with DOS type commands to specify
     particular options for the command that they follow. See your
     DOS manual for more information about switches.

About Backup
============
  Backup uses a separate backup scheme to the one built into the
  Series 3a System screen.
  Backup does an incremental copy of the Series 3 drives. The first
  time you perform a backup, all files on the specified drive are
  copied to the PC; in later backups, only files that have changed
  since the previous backup are copied.

  + Backup works out which files to copy by the file dates and
     sizes, not by the "archive" (or "modified") file attribute.

  + Backup backs up and restores hidden and system files,
     maintaining these file attributes.

  If the backup area specified does not already exist on the PC, it
  is created automatically.

  If you have copies of Series 3 files in your backup area on the PC
  which no longer exist on your Series 3, Backup archives them into
  an @ARCHIVE subdirectory of the backup area. This ensures that the
  backup area on the PC contains an exact copy of files on the
  Series 3 drive(s), without losing any other files that were
  present in the backup area when the backup was initiated.
  For example, files in the backup area C:\S3BAK\I would be archived
  into C:\S3BAK\I\@ARCHIVE

  If you ever had to restore the files that you have backed up
  (which you would do with the RESTORE command that is described
  later), the archive area would be ignored.

Printing information from the Series 3a
=======================================
To print information from your Series 3 to a printer attached to the
PC, you use the RCom program called RPRINT.EXE that is copied to the
PC as part of the RCom installation process. RPRINT.EXE must be run
from the DOS command prompt, not the RCom command prompt.

RPRINT.EXE is initially set to use LPT1 as the port to which the
printer is attached, COM1 as the port to which the Series 3 is
attached, 9600 as the Baud rate for printing and 2 seconds as the
Activity timeout.

The following example prints a Word document from the Series 3 to a
printer attached to the PC.
1.Make sure that the DOS prompt (not the RCom prompt) is displayed
  on the PC and that the `Remote link' option on the Series 3 System
  screen is set to `Off'.
2.Type RPRINT to run the RPRINT.EXE program using the default
  (initial) settings.
3.Select the `Printer setup' option on the Series 3 System screen
  (the `Printer' option on the Series 3a) and set the `Printer
  device' to `Serial'. Then press Tab on the `Serial
  characteristics' line and set the `Baud rate' to the `Baud' that
  you used on the command line to run RPRINT.EXE. Press Enter.
4.Select the `Remote link' option on the `Special' menu and set
  `Remote link' to `Off'. Press Enter.
5.In the Word application, open the file you want to print.
6.Use the `Print setup' option to set the `Printer model', for
  example to `General'. Modify the page layout, if you need to.
7.Use the `Print' option to print the file.
8.Press Control-C on the PC when you have finished with RPRINT.EXE.

If you do not wish to use RPRINT.EXE with its default settings, you
can enter the port to which the printer is attached on the RPRINT
command line and use the following switches to change the other
RPRINT settings:
/P   to set the PC port to which the Series 3 is attached
/B   to set the Baud rate for printing
/T   to set the Activity timeout

For example, to print to a printer attached to the PC port LPT2 from
a Series 3 attached to COM2 at a Baud rate of 4800 with an Activity
timeout of 4 seconds, you would type:
RPRINT LPT2 /PCOM2 /B4800 /T4

Alternatively, you can edit the RCOM.INI file (which is stored in
the directory in which you installed RCom) from which RPRINT.EXE
takes its default settings to include the settings that you wish to
use.

  + You can use the /Q switch on the command line to run RPRINT.EXE
     to suppress printer status messages.

If RPRINT.EXE reports printing problems, try reducing the `Baud
rate' for printing to 4800 on the PC (on the command line to run
RPRINT.EXE) and on the Series 3 (in the `Printer setup' dialog)
before printing the file again.

For more information about the RPRINT.EXE program, see the
README.TXT file in the \RPRINT subdirectory of the directory in
which you installed RCom.

Using RCom commands
===================
To run the RCom command line:
1.Make sure that the `Remote link' option on the Series 3 is set to
  `On'.
2.Display the Rcom command prompt as described earlier.

You can now enter RCom commands to transfer information between the
PC and Series 3. You can also use the Series 3 menu options to
control the link from the Series 3; when you select a disk on the
Series 3, the PC's disk drives will also be shown with their drive
letter preceded by REM:: ("REM::" stands for "remote").

The examples that follow assume that the RCom command prompt is
already displayed and that RCom Setup is using the default letters
to represent drives on the Series 3 (I: for the Series 3 Internal
drive, L: for the SSD drive A:, and R: for the SSD drive B:).

Using RESTORE to copy backed up files back to the Series 3
==========================================================
You can use the RESTORE command to copy files that you backed up to
the PC back to the Series 3. This example restores backed up files
from the backup area C:\S3BAK\A on the PC to an SSD in the
Series 3's A: drive:

1.Type RESTORE C:\S3BAK\A L:

  + You can use the /F switch on the RESTORE command line if you
     wish to format the Series 3 disk before restoring the files
     from the PC. Type HELP RESTORE at the RCom command prompt for
     more details of the switches that you can use with the RESTORE
     command.

Using EQUALISE to restore missing files
=======================================
You can use the EQUALISE command to make the contents of a directory
on the Series 3 the same as the contents of a directory on the PC,
and vice versa. You might wish to do this to restore files that you
have deleted from your Series 3 without having to restore all the
files in your backup area on the PC.

This example makes the files in the \WRD directory of an SSD in the
A: drive of a Series 3 the same as those in the C:\S3\WRD directory
on a PC:

1.Type EQUALISE L:\WRD C:\S3\WRD

  + You can use the /S switch on the EQUALISE command line if you
     wish to make the files in subdirectories of the specified
     directory the same. In the above example you would type:
     EQUALISE L:\WRD C:\S3\WRD /S

  + The EQUALISE command compares files by file name, size and
     date.

You would normally equalise files between a directory on the
Series 3 and its backup area on the PC to restore missing files. If
you use EQUALISE to make two directories equal in other situations,
be careful not to have different files with the same name in each
directory because the file with the most recent date will overwrite
the other file.

Using COMPRESS to reclaim space on a Flash SSD
==============================================
If you use Flash SSDs, you may wish to use the COMPRESS command to
reclaim space on a disk when it becomes full. This example
compresses the information on a Flash SSD in the Series 3's A:
drive:

1.On the Series 3, close down any open files on the SSD.

2.Type COMPRESS L: C:\TMP

3.When prompted, type Y to confirm formatting the Flash SSD.
This copies all the files on the SSD in the Series 3's A: drive to
C:\TMP on the PC, formats the SSD and then copies back all of the
files from C:\TMP.

  + You can use the /N switch with the COMPRESS command to turn off
     confirmation of formatting. Type HELP COMPRESS for more
     details.

4.Type DEL C:\TMP\*.* /D /S to delete the copies of the files on the
  PC. (The /D and /S switches on the DEL command line are used to
  delete files in subdirectories of the specified directory, and
  then remove the subdirectories themselves.)

Since files on the Flash SSD are copied to the PC as part of the
COMPRESS process, you can do a backup of files on the Flash SSD at
the same time as compressing the disk by specifying your normal
backup location on the COMPRESS command line. For example, if you
normally back up to C:\S3BAK on the PC you might use the command:
COMPRESS L: C:\S3BAK\A
to compress files on the Flash SSD in the Series 3 A: drive and
update the backup copy of the files in the C:\S3BAK\A backup area at
the same time.

About COMPRESS
==============
  COMPRESS is similar to performing a BACKUP, FORMAT, and RESTORE on
  the specified drive; it does not reclaim the space taken by
  deleted records in Database and Agenda files.

  To reclaim the maximum amount of space: open Database and Agenda
  files on the Series 3 and use the 'Compress file' option to
  compress them before using the RCom COMPRESS command. (Note that
  the 'Compress file' option cannot compress files stored on Flash
  SSDs; you must copy them to the Internal disk.)
  COMPRESS, unlike BACKUP, copies the whole disk by default; it does
  not copy just the files that have changed.

  + You can use the /R switch on the COMPRESS command line if you
     wish to copy just the files that have changed since the last
     backup to the backup area on the PC before formatting the disk.
     Type HELP COMPRESS at the RCom command prompt for more details.
     Important: If you have only deleted one or more entries in a
     database or agenda file since the last backup or compress, the
     deleted entries will reappear after the compress process when
     you use the /R switch. This is because COMPRESS cannot tell
     that the files have changed since the last backup, and so will
     not copy them to the backup area on the PC. This means that the
     original copy of the files will be restored to the Series 3,
     complete with the entries that you had deleted.

  COMPRESS, like the BACKUP command, cannot copy open files to the
  PC. You may therefore wish to use RCom's XSTOP command to stop
  programs that have open files on the Series 3 drive, before
  entering the COMPRESS command. Type HELP XSTOP at the RCom command
  prompt for more information.

  Copies of files on the PC are not deleted automatically when the
  COMPRESS process is finished.

  If files already exist in the PC directory that you specify on the
  COMPRESS command line, they are overwritten if they have
  corresponding files of the same name on the Series 3, and are
  moved into an @ARCHIVE subdirectory if they do not. This ensures
  that an exact copy of the files on the Series 3 drive is restored
  after the compress process.

About RCom commands
===================
RCom has a number of DOS commands which perform similarly to their
DOS counterparts, for example COPY, DEL, FIND, PATH and XCOPY.

  + RCom's DEL command allows you to delete files in subdirectories
     and remove the directory tree. To do this, type the /S switch
     at the end of the DEL command line to delete files in
     subdirectories, and then type the /D switch to remove the
     directory tree. For example, type DEL L:\WRD\*.* /S /D to
     delete all the files in the \WRD directory on the drive
     represented by the letter L:, including those in
     subdirectories, and then remove the directory tree L:\WRD\*.*

  + RCom reports errorlevels after each command. You can use the
     DOS-standard IF command (i.e. IF ERRORLEVEL...) to test the
     success or otherwise of the previous command. The values
     returned are not quite the same as in DOS - in general the only
     values returned are 0 for success and 1 for failure.

RCom also has the following commands which are not equivalent to any
DOS commands:
Command  Usage
BACKUP   Backs up a drive on the Series 3 to the PC. (This command is not
         the same as the DOS BACKUP command - see earlier for more
         information.)
COMPRESS Copies a (Flash) SSD, formats it and then copies the files back.
         This reclaims the space used by deleted files.
EQUALISE Makes the files in two directories the same by copying
         missing/updated files between the two directories. For more
         information, see earlier.
QUIT     Quits RCom, even in nested batch files.
XABB     Displays, sets or removes command abbreviations.
XR       Displays or recalls the command line history.
XRECALL  Displays or recalls the command line history.
XSERVER  Makes RCom enter the server mode.
XSTAT    Displays the remote link status and sets the errorlevel.
XSTOP    Stops programs that have open files on a Series 3 drive.
XWAIT    Waits until the remote link is established between the Series 3
         and PC or until a specified time.

The non-DOS file copying commands like BACKUP and EQUALISE use
XCOPY's functionality in order to copy files. To see a list of the
switches (options) supported by the RCom version of XCOPY, type HELP
XCOPY at the RCom command prompt.

RCom can run batch files of commands. These will usually look just
like DOS batch files - they may even be DOS batch files as RCom's
commands are so similar to DOS commands.

  + RCom commands can be run from an ordinary DOS batch file. For
     example, the line RCOM /W/C DIR I:\*.* in a batch file will run
     the RCom command prompt, wait for the link to be established
     (the /W switch), perform a directory listing of the Series 3's
     internal drive and then exit RCom (the /C switch). Type RCOM /H
     at the RCom command prompt for help on command line switches.

For a full list of available commands, type HELP at the RCom prompt.
For details about a specific command, type help and then the command
name, for example, type HELP XCOPY for help on the XCOPY command.

When you have finished with RCom and 3Link
==========================================
1.Type EXIT at the RCom command prompt to exit RCom.
2.Turn off the link on the Psion computer. On the Series 3, select
  the `Remote link' option from the `Special' menu on the System
  screen of the Series 3 and set the `Remote link' line to `Off'. It
  is important to do this otherwise:
  You will have less internal memory available on your Series 3.
  You will waste battery power whenever the 3Link lead is connected.
  When 'Remote link' is 'On' and the 3Link lead is attached, the
  Series 3 uses several times more power than normal.

Advanced users - customising RCom
=================================
You can edit the RCOM.INI file from which RCom and RPrint takes its
default settings to customise the way that RCom works. It is copied
to the PC as part of the RCom installation process and is stored in
the root of the directory in which you installed RCom.

You can also create a batch file of RCom commands called
AUTORCOM.BAT in the root of the directory in which you installed
RCom to change RCom settings. For example, you might wish to use the
XABB command in the AUTORCOM.BAT file to set up command
abbreviations that you like to use. RCom will automatically run this
file after it has taken its default settings from the RCOM.INI file.

You can edit the RCOM.INI and AUTORCOM.BAT file with your DOS
editor. See your Windows, program editor or DOS User Guide for
details of how to do this.

If you wish to use RCom with two different setups, for example, you
can create another copy of RCom in a separate directory on your PC.
You must copy the following files from the original directory in
which you installed RCom into the new RCom directory:
RCOM.EXE
AUTORCOM.BAT
RCOM.INI
RCOM.RSC
RPRINT.EXE (if you wish to run RPRINT with a different setup)
You can then edit the RCOM.INI and AUTORCOM.BAT files in the new
RCom directory and specify a different setup for RCom than the one
used in the original directory. RCom will then run with different
setups, according to which directory you run it from.

