Introduction

The easiest way to become familiar with the basic features of Data Pump is to transfer several files using Blaster, BLAST's dial-up demonstration and testing service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This chapter will guide you through the basic steps of a file transfer. You will:

• Start Data Pump.
• Edit a phonebook Listing
• Load a phonebook listing.
• Run a filetransfer script.

Although we recommend that you complete the Quickstart in one sitting, you may elect to stop and quit Data Pump and finish the guided transfer at a later time.

IMPORTANT:  Data Pump must be properly installed and a modem properly configured and connected before beginning this Quickstart.

Starting Data Pump

If you have not started Data Pump, start it by selecting "Data Pump" from the Start Menu. At this point, depending on your monitor, you may want to rescale and reposition your browser and your Data Pump window so that you may see them both simultaneously.

NOTE:  In order to view this Quickstart properly, the right edge of your browser should extend just beyond the end of the blue line below.
Editing a Phonebook Listing

Phonebooks contain all the information that Data Pump needs to connect to and communicate with remote computers. Each listing is a separate file created and modified through the Phonebook Editor. For this demonstration, you will use a phonebook listing called Blaster, which was copied to your disk during Data Pump installation. To access the Blaster phonebook listing for editing, follow these steps:

Under the drag-down File menu in the upper left-hand corner of Data Pump, choose "Edit Listing."

You will see the window shown on your right.

The Space Ship Icon represents the entire collection of Data Pump phonebooks. If the tree view of phonebooks is not expanded, double-click the icon to expand it.

Double-click the default phonebook icon  to open it.

Double-click the Blaster phonebook listing icon  to open it. The Blaster listing shown below will appear. Note that the Blaster listing has three tabs. You will use these tabs to access the three Pages of the Blaster listing: the General Properties Page, the Transport Properties Page, and the Protocols Properties Page.

Editing the General Properties Page         

When you open the Blaster listing, you will see the General Properties Page shown on the right.

Check that the settings are set as they are to the right. You may need to change Modem Type. If your modem is not listed, choose "At"; in many cases, this modem type will work. If you need help selecting a Modem Type that will work, call BLAST technical support at 919-545-2535. If any of the settings are incorrect, enter the correct information. The Login Account and Password are case-sensitive. For security reasons, the actual password ("fast-transfer") is masked by "Xs."

If you have made any changes, click the "Apply" button to write them to disk. This is an important step. If you do not perform this step, your changes will not be saved.

Editing the Transport Properties Page

Click the "Transport" tab to access the Transport Properties Page.

Select "Serial Communications" and click the "Settings" box. The Communications Settings dialog shown to the right will appear.

Check that the settings are set as they are to the right.

In the Connection field, type your serial communications port (for example, COM1:).

If necessary, adjust the Baud Rate and/or Phone Number settings. For instance, you may need to add a numeral at the beginning of the phone number to access an outside line.

Click "OK".

Click the "Apply" button of the Transport Properties Page to write to disk the changes you have made. This is an important step. If you do not perform this step, your changes will not be saved.

Editing the Protocols Properties Page

Click the "Protocols" tab to access the Protocols Properties Page.

Select "BLAST" and click the "Settings" box. The BLAST Protocol Settings dialog shown to the right will appear.

Check that the settings are set as they are to the right and then check "OK".

Click the "Apply" button of the Protocols Properties Page to write to disk the changes you have made. This is an important step. If you do not perform this step, your changes will not be saved.

Click "OK" to close the Blaster listing.

Close the Phonebook Editor by clicking the "X" in the upper right-hand corner.

Opening a Phonebook Listing

Now you need to open, or "load," the Blaster Listing:

• Under the drag-down File menu in the upper left-hand corner of Data Pump Viewer, choose "Open Listing."
• Locate and double-click the Blaster listing ("blaster.pbl") in "...\Data Pump\Pbdir\default.pbk\." "Blaster" will appear in the upper left corner beside the icon.

Now you will run a simple filetransfer script called "blaster.txt" that was included during installation of Data Pump. Before, we run the script, let's take a moment to examine the script. The main portion of the of the script is given below:

  CONNECT
  IF ok display "Connect"
  ELSE display "Couldn’t connect"
  FILETRANSFER
  GET "blaster.msg", "news.msg", "to"
  ESC
  FILETRANSFER
  SEND "news.msg", "news.msg", "to"
  ESC
  DISCONNECT
  OFFLINE

The first line tells Data Pump to connect to the remote computer using the information stored in the Blaster phonebook listing. The next two lines, an IF-ELSE statement, lets the user know if the connection has been made. The fourth line tells Data Pump to enter Filetransfer mode. The line that begins with GET tells Data Pump to retrieve from Blaster a file called "blaster.msg" and to name the file "news.msg" on your computer. The "to" at the end of the line tells Data Pump to transfer the file using text translation ("t") and to overwrite ("o") any old versions of the file. Similarly the line beginning with GET tells Data Pump to send the file "news.msg" to Blaster using the text translation and overwrite option. The lines containing ESC tell Data Pump to exit file transfer. The last two lines disconnect your computer from the remote computer and takes Data Pump offline.

Now to run the script:

• Under the drag-down Script menu of Data Pump, choose "Run."
• Locate and double-click the Blaster script ("blaster.txt") in "...\Data Pump\Userscripts\Samples\."

When Data Pump begins execution of the script, the word "SCRIPT" will appear in the lower right corner of Data Pump. When Data Pump enters file transfer, a dialog called the File Transfer Status dialog will appear and provide a graphical display of the progress of the file transfers. When the transfers are complete, the dialog will close, the script will end, and the word "SCRIPT" will disappear from the lower right corner. To view a history of the file transfer, click the "Log" tab at the bottom of Data Pump. If you encounter any problems, re-check your settings and modem connection and run the script again.

For more on Phonebook listings, transferring files, and scripting, see Phonebook; Transferring Files and BLASTscript Topics.