Funk Software Proxy User Manual

Funk Software, Inc.
222 Third Street
Cambridge, MA 02142

617 497-6339
617 491-6503 (technical support)

© Copyright 1992-1996 Funk Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
2nd Edition, September 1996.

Part No. 166-024-764

Proxy © 1992-1996 Funk Software, Inc. All rights reserved.

This manual is printed on recycled paper.

Table of Contents

Introducing Proxy 5

Welcome to Proxy............................................................................................................6

How Proxy Works............................................................................................................6

System Requirements.......................................................................................................9

Installing Proxy.................................................................................................................9

Technical Support............................................................................................................. 10

The Proxy Basics 11

Starting Proxy...................................................................................................................12

Using the Proxy Menu...................................................................................................... 12

Standard Control Menu Commands................................................................................. 13

Connecting to a Host PC via IPX..................................................................................... 14

Connecting to a Host PC via IP........................................................................................17

Wildcards in Station Names.............................................................................................21

Passwords..........................................................................................................................21

Request Permission ..........................................................................................................21

Creating a Shortcut........................................................................................................... 22

Interacting with the Host PC............................................................................................ 23

Copying to the Clipboard................................................................................................. 24

Rebooting the Host PC.....................................................................................................25

Disconnecting................................................................................................................... 25

Proxy Settings and Preferences 27

The Settings Dialog.......................................................................................................... 28

Master Settings ................................................................................................................. 29

Mouse Transmission......................................................................................................... 30

Local Keys........................................................................................................................ 32

Host Settings.....................................................................................................................32

Auto-scroll........................................................................................................................33

DOS Sessions (Text Settings)..........................................................................................34

The Preferences Dialog .................................................................................................... 36

Proxy Tasks 39

Task Capabilities .............................................................................................................. 40

The Task Dialog ............................................................................................................... 40

The Task Description Dialog ........................................................................................... 42

The Proxy Host 45

Starting the Proxy Host .................................................................................................... 46

The Host Control Panel.................................................................................................... 46

DOS Proxy Host Support................................................................................................. 56

Tips and Techniques 59

Controlling Many Host PCs............................................................................................. 60

Setting Up Banks of Host PCs.........................................................................................60

The Proxy Command Line...............................................................................................61

Display Mode Support......................................................................................................63

Introducing Proxy

1

Welcome to Proxy

Thank you for selecting Proxy.
Proxy is a network-based remote control program that lets you fully take over

any PC on your network, right from a Windows or Windows 95 session. You can
control multiple PCs simultaneously; the controlled PCs can be running DOS,
Windows, or Windows 95.

Typical uses for Proxy include:








network-based technical support and help desk
accessing files and applications on a remote network over a remote node

dial-in connection
centralized software installation, updates, and system configuration
software training
monitoring of unattended PCs, such as job servers or data-collecting

workstations

How Proxy Works

Proxy contains two major components:





The Master and Host communicate via the IPX or IP protocols.
Both the Proxy Master and Host operate in Windows and Windows 95

environments. A Proxy Host TSR supports DOS remote control over IPX.

The Proxy “Master” is a Windows application that allows you to take
over other PCs on your network.

The Proxy “Host” is a program that you load on the PC that you’d like to
take over.

6 Proxy: Chapter 1

The Proxy Master

With the Proxy Master program (PROXY.EXE), you can control any host
machine on your network from Windows or Windows 95, using the IPX or IP
protocol.

When you want to connect to a PC, Proxy will poll the network to locate all the
workstations that have the Proxy Host loaded and are available to be taken over
You simply select the PC you want to take over from the list of workstation
names that Proxy displays.

You can also set up Windows shortcuts that automatically run Proxy and connect
to different machines. You’ll then be able to take over any PC simply by clicking
on its icon.

Once connected, the screen of the host PC will be displayed in your window, and
you’ll have complete mouse and keyboard control of the host PC. Proxy can
render the screen of the other PC whether it is in text mode, graphics mode, or
even if it is running Windows.

You can display each PC in a full-sized window, or you can trim the windows
down to see a number of PCs at once. Even when the windows are reduced in
size, you can scroll to see any section using the scroll bars, or you can let Proxy
automatically scroll based on mouse and cursor position.

The Proxy Master has many other features that make it easy to connect to and
operate other PCs. You’ll be able to:

.







Customize text mode display with a selection of fonts
Copy any part of any screen (text or graphics) to the clipboard
Reboot the host remotely, with automatic re-connect
Poll the local network segment or across routers for available hosts
Create “tasks” that automatically connect to a workstation and run a

program on that station

Introducing Proxy 7

The Proxy Host

With the Proxy Host software loaded, your workstation is available to be
controlled by Proxy Master stations across the network.

The Proxy Host software can be run from the following PC operating systems:



Windows or Windows 95 — Using a special Windows application,
PHOSTWIN.EXE, using the IP or IPX protocol. After installation,
PHOSTWIN will always run whenever Windows is started.



DOS — Using PHOST.EXE, a memory-resident program (TSR) that is
loaded on the machine that you want to control using the IPX protocol
PHOST can be loaded into high memory on a 386 or above if you use
DOS version 5.0 or higher, or a suitable memory manager.

The Host Control Panel permits you to set various options for controlling access
to your host PC. You can:






Lock out others at any time, or require specific permission to connect
Set times during which outside access is permitted
Require a password for access
Elect that your host PC beep whenever a Proxy Master takes or

relinquishes control




Elect that your host PC beep while a Proxy Master has control
Determine if a session is in progress, and which master station is

currently connected



Abort a session in progress

.

8 Proxy: Chapter 1

System Requirements

Proxy Master

The
requires a 386 or higher PC with at least 4 MB of RAM.

Proxy Host

The
requires a 386 or higher PC with at least 4 MB of RAM.

DOS Proxy Host

The
DOS version 5.0 or higher; it uses approximately 9K of conventional memory
when loaded with the DPMS memory manager.

Proxy can be run over any type of network including dial-up, ethernet, token
ring, and FDDI, using either one of the following standard protocols:

software runs as a Windows or Windows 95 application, and

software runs as a Windows or Windows 95 application, and

software runs as a memory resident program, and requires





IPX

necessary for either the master or host workstation to be logged in to a
server, nor is it necessary to run a network client.

For Windows 3.x you need the Novell 16-bit (VLM) or 32-bit Client IPX
protocol support.

For Windows 95 you need to use the Microsoft Client for NetWare
Networks, or Novell’s Client-32 IPX protocol support.

IP

networks and servers.
For Windows 3.x you need to use a Winsock 1.1-compliant IP stack.
When running Windows 95 you need to use a TDI-compliant 32-bit IP

stack, such as Microsoft’s TCP/IP.

Installing Proxy

Installation instructions for Proxy are provided in a separate booklet contained in
your Proxy package. Follow the instructions in that booklet to install either the
Proxy Master or Proxy Host software.

— usually run on networks using Novell NetWare. It is not

— a general purpose protocol supported on a wide variety of

Introducing Proxy 9

Technical Support

If you have questions or problems as you install or use Proxy, please contact our
Technical Support engineers using one of the following methods.











If you haven’t already done so, please fill out and return the Registration Card to
ensure that you will be notified of upgrades and of new networking products
when they become available.

This manual and the README files on your diskettes may contain the
information you need to solve the problem you are having. Please re-read
the relevant sections — you may find a solution you overlooked.

We can be reached by sending e-mail to our Internet address

[e-mail]

CompuServe, America On Line, Microsoft Network, and Prodigy offer
an Internet e-mail gateway.

We can also be reached through our world wide web server on the
Internet at http://www.funk.com.

Our technical support staff is available to assist you Monday through
Friday between 9:00 AM and 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time at
[phone], or via fax at [phone].

If you’re located outside North America, please refer to the enclosed
sheet entitled Authorized International Partners for the name of the
support provider in your country.

. Note that most on-line services such as

10 Proxy: Chapter 1

The Proxy Basics

2

Starting Proxy

You start Proxy just as you would any Windows application—either double-click
on its icon, or use the Windows 95

File Run

Each time you start Proxy you create a new Proxy window. You can have several
Proxy windows active at once. Each Proxy window can be connected to a
different host PC

command. The name of the program to run is PROXY.EXE.

.

Using the Proxy Menu

When you first start up Proxy, you’ll notice that, unlike most Windows
applications, Proxy does not have a menu bar. Instead, all Proxy commands are
contained in the Control Menu. This is to allow more space for showing the
screen of the host PC.

To issue a Proxy command, simply click the Control Menu button in the upper
left corner of the Proxy window, then select the appropriate command.

Start Run

or Windows Program Manager

Some of the commands on the Proxy menu are in gray, to indicate they are not
available at the time. For example, you can only
connected.

12 Proxy: Chapter 2

Figure 2-1: The Proxy Control Menu

Disconnect

if you are already

Standard Control Menu Commands

Note that the Proxy commands completely replace the standard window­management commands that are normally found in the Control Menu (

Minimize, Maximize

The standard Control Menu has not been eliminated. It is still available, but as a
popup menu attached to the

, etc.)

.

Window

command

Restore

,

.

Figure 2-2: The standard Windows Control Menu

The Proxy Basics 13

Connecting to a Host PC via IPX

To connect to a PC using the
1 Select
2 Click the

Connect ...

IPX

tab.

IPX

protocol:

on the Proxy menu.

3 The IPX Connect dialog will appear, and Proxy will poll the network and

display the names of all host PCs that it finds.

4 Use one of the following methods to connect to a host PC:





select a host PC from the list and click
double-click a host PC on the list
type a station name in the Host workstation field and click

Connect

.

Connect

Proxy will connect to the selected PC. Its screen will appear in your Proxy
window, and you’ll be able to control it with your keyboard and mouse.

14 Proxy: Chapter 2

Figure 2-3: Connecting to a host PC using IPX

IPX Polling

“Polling” refers to Proxy’s process of searching the network for host PCs. When
using Proxy to search for IPX-based workstations, Proxy can poll in two ways:





Proxy automatically performs a local poll when you bring up the Connect dialog.
You can poll again at any time while the Connect dialog is displayed by clicking

Poll

To perform a local poll:
1 Make sure
2 Click
To perform an inter-network poll:

local poll

A
neighboring segments. Each time you bring up the Connect dialog,
Proxy automatically performs a local poll (if this feature is set in the
Preferences dialog).

The “# of hops” setting lets you control how wide-ranging a search to
perform; each hop represents the crossing from one network segment to
another over a router. PCs on the local segment are 0 hops away, PCs on
adjacent segments are 1 hop away, and so on.

inter-network poll

An
you specify. You can select one or more network segments from a list of
known segments; Proxy will search for host PCs on only those segments
you select.

. Proxy will poll the network based on the settings you’ve entered.

searches for host PCs on the local network segment and on

searches for host PCs on the network segments

Poll

Local

.

is selected and

# of hops

is to your liking.

1 Click Inter-network number(s).
2 Highlight one or more network segment(s) in the list.
3 Click

Poll

.

Specifying IPX Station Names

Each Proxy Host station has a “station name” that is assigned using the Host
Control Panel. When Proxy polls for host PCs, it displays their station names in a
list for you to select.

You can also type a station name directly into the

Connect

click
connection.

The Proxy Basics 15

. Proxy will attempt to locate that station name and establish a

Host workstation

field, then

If you enter the station name of a host PC on your local network segment (i.e.,
not across a bridge or a router), you don’t have to worry about specifying a
network number in order to make a connection.

However, to connect across a router to a host PC on a different network segment,
you must precede the station name with the number of the network on which the
PC may be found. The network number and the station name must be separated
by a colon (:).

For example, to connect to a host PC on IPX network segment 00000028 named
“George’s P200,” you’d specify:

28:George's P200

It is not necessary to supply the leading zeroes of the IPX network number.
If you’re not sure of the network number of a Proxy Host, you can find out by

running the Host Control Panel at the host PC; the network and node address will
be shown.

Specifying IPX Addresses

You can also connect to a host workstation by specifying its IPX address. To
indicate that you are specifying an IPX address rather than a station name, prefix
it with the @ symbol; for example:

@1B3893A1
@28:1B3893A1

Note that leading zeros for network number and node number are optional.

16 Proxy: Chapter 2

Address of node on local segment
Address of node on network segment 28

Connecting to a Host PC via IP

To connect to a PC using the IP protocol:
1 Select

Connect ...

on the Proxy menu.
2 Click the IP tab.
3 The Connect dialog will appear, and Proxy will display a list of all

known broadcast addresses that you have previously saved.

4 To show a list of host PCs shown in the

one or more addresses from the list and click

5 To connect to a host PC shown on the

PC from the list and click

Connect

Broadcast Addresses

Poll

.

Available Hosts

list, select a host

list, select

, or double-click a host PC on the

list.

Proxy will connect to the selected PC. Its screen will appear in your Proxy
window, and you’ll be able to control it with your keyboard and mouse.

The Proxy Basics 17

Figure 2-4: Connecting to a host PC using IP

IP Polling

“Polling” refers to Proxy’s process of searching the network for host PCs. When
Proxy searches for IP-based workstations it allows you to select one or more
broadcast addresses in one of the following ways:



<Local Network>

— searches your local subnet based on a standard IP
broadcast. This type of poll may only work on a local segment, and
results may vary based on your particular IP stack implementation.

<Local Network>

time you bring up the

Local Network

<



IP Broadcast address

is always available in the broadcast address list. Each

Connect

> poll (if this feature is set in the

dialog, Proxy automatically performs a

Preferences

dialog).

— searches for a host PC on a specific IP address

in dot notation form a.b.c.d. For example, 198.186.160.55 would search
for a host PC by sending a packet to the address 198.186.160.55 only.



IP Scan address range

— searches for a host PC on a range of IP

addresses in dot notation form a.b.c.d(e). For example,

198.186.160.5(99) would scan all addresses starting at 198.186.160.5 for
99 addresses.



Symbolic DNS name

— searches for a host PC using a symbolic DNS

name. For example, machine.company.com, would first do a DNS
lookup on the name machine.company.com, then send a packet to its IP
address.

Depending on how much of the network you choose to poll, your search for IP­based workstations could take anywhere from a couple of seconds to much
longer. A status bar in the
be, you can choose

Connect

Stop Poll

dialog shows your polling progress; if need

to stop your search.

Adding a Broadcast Address

To add an address to the
1 Click

Insert

then click the

2 Enter a valid IP broadcast address or DNS name in the
3 Enter an optional description string in the
4 Click OK.

Your address will now appear in the Broadcast address list. If you
entered a DNS name, the Address field will be set to its IP address, and if
you have not entered a Description that field will contain the DNS name.

18 Proxy: Chapter 2

Broadcast Address

to bring up the

Add/Edit Broadcast Address

Broadcast to address

list:

button.

Description

dialog box,

Address

field.

field.

Figure 2-5: Adding an IP broadcast address

Adding a Scan Address Range

To add an address range to the
1 Click

Insert

then click the

to bring up the

Scan address range

2 Enter a valid broadcast IP address in the
3 Enter the number of IP addresses to scan sequentially in the

addresses

field.

4 Enter an optional description string in the

Broadcast Address

list:

Add/Edit Broadcast Address

button.

Address

Description

dialog box,

field.

Number of

field.

5 Click OK. Your address range will appear in the Broadcast address list

with the number of addresses to scan displayed in parentheses.

The Proxy Basics 19

Figure 2-6: Adding an IP scan address range

Editing a Broadcast or Scan Address

To edit an address in the
1 Select an entry in the list.
2 Click

Edit

.

3 Switch between the

you wish.

4 Edit the

Address

5 Click OK.
To delete an address in the
1 Select a single entry in the list.
2 Click

Delete

Specifying IP Station Names

In addition to its IP address, each Proxy Host station has a “station name” that is
assigned using the Host Control Panel. When Proxy polls for host PCs, it
displays their station names in a list for you to select.

You can also type an IP address or DNS name directly into the

workstation

connection to that IP address (or the IP address of the translated DNS name).

field, then click

Broadcast Address

Broadcast to address

Description

and

Broadcast Address

.

Connect

list:

Scan address range

and

fields to your liking.

list:

Host

. Proxy will attempt to establish a

, if

To connect across a router to a host PC on a different network segment, you must
provide the IP address or IP subnet mask on which the PC may be found. The IP
address/mask and the station name must be separated by a colon (:).

For example, to connect to a host PC on IP subnet 198.186.160.255 named
“George’s P200,” you’d specify:

198.186.160.255:George's P200

If you’re not sure of the IP address of a Proxy Host, you can find out by running
the Host Control Panel at the host PC; the IP address will be shown.

20 Proxy: Chapter 2

Wildcards in Station Names

Wildcards can be used for pattern matching when specifying a station name to
connect to. Proxy will connect to the first available host PC it finds whose station
name matches the name you specify.

Wildcards are useful when you want to make use of one of several idle host PCs,
but you don’t care exactly which PC you use. For example, you might set up a
bank of several spare PCs, naming them SPARE–1, SPARE–2, SPARE–3, etc
These hosts might be shared by a number of users needing extra processing
power. By specifying “SPARE–∗” as the station to connect to, a Proxy user can
grab the first spare PC available at that time.

The following special symbols are used for pattern matching:

.

?

∗∗

\

Examples:

Joe's ?86
IBM∗∗
Star \∗∗ PC

matches a single character
matches the remainder of the station name
treats the next character literally, even if it is a special symbol

Passwords

The host PC to which you are connecting may require that you enter a password
for access. If so, the Password dialog will appear; the connection will be
established once you enter the correct password.

Request Permission

matches
matches
matches

Joe's 386, Joe's 486, Joe's 586
IBM, IBM PC, IBM PS/2 Model 60
Star ∗∗ PC

, etc.

, etc.

The host PC to which you are connecting may require that you explicitly request
permission to connect. If so, a
display on your screen indicating that you must wait for permission to connect.
Your connection will be established, or not, based on the response from the host
PC.

The Proxy Basics 21

Message from Proxy Host Station

dialog will

Creating a Shortcut

You may want to save a connection to a particular PC for easy single-click access
in the future. This single-click access is called a shortcut, and can be accessed as
an icon in your Windows program group, or as a Windows 95 shortcut.

To create a shortcut:
1 Select or enter an IPX or IP host name in the Host Workstation field.
2 Click
3 You will be asked if you want to create a shortcut.

Shortcut Formats

When you create a shortcut, you are creating a special command line string to run
Proxy. These strings are formatted to instruct PROXY.EXE on which station to
connect to using the protocol, address and host station name in the command
line.

Create Shortcut

Yes

Click

You can now connect to the selected host using the Proxy icon in the
Windows program group or using a Windows 95 shortcut.

NOTE: To change the program manager group in which to create
shortcuts, use the Preferences dialog.

.

Figure 2-7: Creating a shortcut to a Proxy host PC

.

You may optionally construct shortcuts manually. For more information on
doing this, see the “Tips and Techniques” section.

22 Proxy: Chapter 2

Interacting with the Host PC

Once you’re connected to the host PC, it’s almost as if you were sitting right in
front of it. You can control it with your keyboard and mouse, and you can watch
its screen in the Proxy window in front of you.

The Proxy Display

The screen of the host PC will be shown in the Proxy window
If the host PC’s screen is larger than the Proxy window, scroll bars will appear

that allow you to make any part of the screen visible.
To control the size of the Proxy window, you can:




NOTE: The size of the Proxy window is limited by the size of your own screen,
and it sometimes may not be possible to make the Proxy window large enough to
completely display the screen of the host PC without scroll bars.

Size it with the mouse
Click the

make the Proxy window match the size of the host PC’s screen.

Maximize

button (in the upper right corner of the window) to

.

How Proxy Maps the Screen of the Host PC to its Own Window

Proxy maps the host PC’s screen to its own differently depending on whether the
host PC is in text mode or in graphics mode.



The host PC is in
running non-graphical DOS applications. In text mode, Proxy uses its
own local font to display the text from the host PC’s screen. You can
select from among several font sizes from the Settings dialog.

text mode

while at the DOS command prompt or while



The Proxy Basics 23

The host PC is in
applications such as a CAD program, or while running Windows. In
graphics mode, Proxy renders the screen of the host PC pixel for pixel

graphics mode

while running graphical DOS

.

Copying to the Clipboard

You can easily copy any part of the host PC’s display to your local Windows
clipboard. You can then paste it into a document you are creating with another
Windows program.

Proxy has two commands for copying to the clipboard:




When the host PC is running a graphics-mode DOS program or Windows, your
only option is the

However, if the host PC is running a text-mode DOS program, you can copy its
screen in either text or graphics mode. Which you choose depends on how you’d
like to use the data:





To copy a part of the host PC’s screen to the clipboard:
1 Select

2 Position the cursor at one of the corners of the rectangle that you’d like

Copy text
Copy graphics

Copy graphics

If you use
into a word processor as ordinary text. You will then be able to perform
text editing and formatting on it within the word processor.

If you use
bitmapped image, and you will be able to paste it into desktop publishing
programs as a graphic, retaining the exact look that it had in the Proxy
window

cursor will change shape to indicate “copy” mode.

to copy, and press the left mouse button.

Copy text

Copy graphics

.

Copy text

or

command.

, you will be able to paste whatever you copied

, the area you designate is copied as a

Copy graphics

from the Proxy menu. The mouse

3 Drag the cursor, highlighting the entire rectangle you’d like to copy.
4 Release the mouse button. The rectangle you highlighted will be copied

to the clipboard.

24 Proxy: Chapter 2

Rebooting the Host PC

To reboot the host PC, select
by selecting

Proxy will send a reboot command to the host PC, and the screen will go blank
Once the host PC has rebooted and Proxy is able to re-establish a connection, the
host PC’s screen will reappear.

In order to regain control of the host PC after a reboot, the host PC
installed and loaded the Proxy host and be running Windows.

NOTE: PCs running the DOS version of Proxy Host require that their
AUTOEXEC.BAT contain a command to load PHOST. Unless PHOST is loaded,
Proxy will not be able to re-establish a connection.

Disconnecting

You can disconnect from the host PC you are controlling by selecting Disconnect
from the Proxy menu. The host PC will be released from your control, and the
Proxy screen will be blank.

You can also disconnect by simply closing the Proxy window. To close the
window, either:

Yes

Reboot host

.

from the Proxy menu, and confirm

must

have

.




The Proxy Basics 25

Exit

Select
Double-click the Control Menu button.

from the Proxy menu; or

Proxy Settings and Preferences

3

The Settings Dialog

Proxy’s Settings dialog lets you control Proxy’s operation in a variety of ways
You can:




Set the master to use View Only and/or Resize window
Establish host PC settings to disable the host PC’s keyboard and mouse

and/or blank the host screen






Control how mouse events are transmitted to the host PC
Set Proxy’s automatic scrolling behavior
For DOS sessions, set the text font and refresh rates
Specify which Windows control keys are transmitted to the host PC and

which remain local to your Windows session

To bring up the Settings dialog, select

Settings

from the Control Menu. The
Settings dialog shows the current status of each item, and allows you to modify
any item you like.

.

28 Proxy: Chapter 3

Figure 3-1: The Settings dialog

While in the Settings dialog, you can:






Modify any item
Click OK to save the currently displayed settings as the default settings,

to automatically take effect each time you open a new Proxy window
Click

Master Settings

Master settings affect the mode in which the master operates relative to the host
PC. The master setting modes are:




View Only Mode

If you’d like to see the host PC without controlling it, check the “View Only”
box.

When this box is checked, the host PC will be displayed as usual, but keystrokes
and mouse clicks on your PC will not be transmitted to the host. This ensures that
you cannot disturb the host PC by accident.

View Only
Resize window to fit Host

Cancel

to cancel your changes.

Resize Window to Fit Host Mode

If you’d like to see the host PC using its actual dimensions, check the “Resize
window to fit Host” box.

When this box is checked, the size of the Master window is automatically
changed to the size of the Host display. This is useful when switching display
modes on a host or going into and out of text mode. If the Master Window is not
big enough to show the Host display, the Master window displays scroll bars,
which you can use to see the entire Host display.

Proxy Settings and Preferences 29

Mouse Transmission

Remote mouse operation can be a little confusing at first. Keep in mind that your
local mouse must do double-duty: it must allow you to operate your local
Windows session, and it also must allow you to operate the host PC.

The way mouse transmission is handled differs depending on whether you are
controlling a DOS or Windows session on the host PC.

Mouse Transmission to a Host Windows Session

When the host PC is running Windows, Proxy handles the mouse in a
straightforward way:





Note that the “Mouse transmission” checkboxes in the Settings dialog do not
apply while the host PC is running Windows: all mouse activity is transmitted as
long as the mouse is positioned over the remote Windows session inside the
Proxy window.

While the mouse is inside the Proxy window, the mouse is entirely
“remote” and all movement and clicks are transmitted to the Host
Windows session.

While the mouse is anywhere else, the mouse is entirely local and any
mouse operation affects only your local Windows session or Proxy itself.

Mouse Transmission to a Host DOS Session

When you are controlling a mouse-driven DOS program on the host PC, you will
see two mouse cursors on your screen. One of them is Proxy’s local mouse, and
is shaped like a diamond. The other is the mouse of the host PC, and its shape is
controlled by the program that is running on the host PC.

Normally, when you move your local mouse without clicking a button, it has no
effect on the Host mouse. This is necessary to allow you to use your local mouse
to operate your local machine (both Proxy and Windows) without any
undesirable side-effects on the host PC

A set of checkboxes and radio buttons allows you to define how the local mouse
controls the mouse on the host PC. Subject to these settings, you can operate the
host PC using the local mouse when you:

.



30 Proxy: Chapter 3

Click on a mouse button—Proxy will transmit both the mouse position
and the click to the Host



Drag the mouse with either button held down—Proxy will transmit the
button clicks as well as all mouse motion while the button is depressed



Move the mouse while holding down
mouse motion while the

[Ctrl]

key is held down

[Ctrl]

—Proxy will transmit all

Controlling Click Transmission

The checkboxes “left button clicks” and “right button clicks” allow you to
independently control whether left and right button clicks are transmitted to the
host PC. If the box is checked, the clicks are transmitted. The original defaults
are set to transmit left button clicks and suppress right button clicks.

The rationale for this is that in most programs that utilize the mouse, left button
clicks are an essential part of the mouse interface, while right button clicks are
either unused or perform operations that are available through other means

.

When the transmission of right button clicks is suppressed, the right button
becomes available as an alternative to using the Control key to force transmission
of mouse motion and to auto-scroll the display, without risking undesired side­effects on the host PC.

Controlling Transmission of Mouse Motion

The radio buttons “absolute motion” and “relative motion” allow you to control
how mouse motion in Proxy is transmitted to the host PC. Either or neither of
these checkboxes may be checked, but not both.

Proxy offers two different mouse motion transmission techniques to accommo­date how DOS programs on the host PC might interpret mouse motion



If “absolute motion” is selected, Proxy will transmit mouse motion as

.

absolute mouse position.



If “relative motion” is selected, Proxy will transmit mouse motion as the
difference between successive mouse positions.



If neither is selected, Proxy will not transmit mouse motion at all.

“Absolute position” should work correctly with most programs, and it is in
general the preferred option. If “absolute position” is working correctly, the
mouse of the host PC should track the diamond-shaped Proxy mouse cursor very
closely. If you find that the two mice do not track, try “relative position.”

Proxy Settings and Preferences 31

Local Keys

As a general rule, Proxy transmits any keystrokes you type to the host PC. There
are certain control keys, however, that have special meaning to Windows and
you may want to reserve them for local use.

You can reserve the following keys as local keys:

You can control how Proxy handles each of these keys with a checkbox:

key meaning

[Alt-Tab]
[Alt-Esc]
[Alt-Space]
[Ctrl-Esc]

switch between windows
switch between windows
activate Control Menu
activate Start menu




You should set a key to local if you are accustomed to using it to control your
Windows session, and you don’t need that key to operate the host PC. If you
don’t have a mouse, you should, at a minimum, set
to have access to the Proxy menu.

Note that a key’s local setting only has meaning while you are connected to a
host PC. Until a connection is made, all special keys are local and will operate
your Windows session, regardless of the setting.

NOTE: Windows intercepts the [PrintScreen] keystroke before Proxy has a
chance to process it. [PrintScreen] is always local to your Windows session

Host Settings

Normally, the host PC is under dual control. You are controlling it remotely from
the Proxy master, while the person sitting in front of the host PC can also control
it directly using its keyboard and mouse. The controlled screen is visible by the
Proxy master (from PROXY.EXE) and by the host PC (on the video display).

If the box is not checked, Proxy will transmit the key to the host PC.
If the box is checked, the key will operate your local Windows session

[Alt-Space]

to local in order

.

.

Control over the keyboard, mouse, and the ability to blank the video display on
the host can be requested by the Proxy master.

NOTE: The Proxy Master control requests can be ignored by the host, if the host
does not permit the specific function.

32 Proxy: Chapter 3

Suppressing the Host Keyboard and Mouse

Normally, keystrokes and mouse movements are handled on a first-come, first­served basis whether received from the Proxy master or host.

The Proxy master can gain exclusive control of the host PC from Proxy by
selecting “Suppress host keyboard/mouse.” When this checkbox is selected, the
host PC’s own keyboard and mouse will stop operating, and the host PC will
only be operable from your Proxy window. The host PC will regain control when
you de-select the checkbox, or when you disconnect.

This feature is extremely useful when you are using an unattended PC and you
want to prevent the “what’s going on here?” syndrome. This syndrome is
characterized by passers-by who notice a PC operating “all by itself” and feel
an uncontrollable urge to poke at its keyboard!

Blanking the Host Screen

Normally, the host PC screen is visible both from the Proxy master and from the
host PC. Any operations performed by the Proxy master are visible to anyone
who can view the host PC screen.

To temporarily “blank” the screen during remote control you can select “Blank
host screen.” When this checkbox is selected, the host PC’s own screen will
appear as a blank screen, and the keyboard and mouse will be suppressed. The
host PC screen will once again be visible and the keyboard and mouse active
again when you de-select the checkbox, or when you disconnect.

This feature is useful as a security precaution when you are using an unattended
PC and you want to prevent passers-by from seeing the operations performed.

Auto-scroll

Auto-scrolling comes into play when your Proxy window is too small to enclose
the entire screen of the host PC. Auto-scrolling is often more convenient than
using the scroll bars to view various parts of the screen.

If “cursor auto-scroll” is checked, the window will scroll to include the text
cursor whenever it moves out of view. This affects text mode only

If “mouse auto-scroll” is checked, the window will scroll to include the mouse
whenever you move the mouse out of view while pressing a mouse button or the

[Ctrl]

Proxy Settings and Preferences 33

.

key.

DOS Sessions (Text Settings)

DOS Sessions settings control the text settings for full-screen DOS sessions.
DOS boxes displayed as a window in Windows and Windows 95 are not
affected. The DOS session settings are used to control the Text Font displayed,
and the Text refresh rate.

Text Font

The Text Font is the typeface and type size that Proxy uses to display the host
PC’s screen when it is in text mode.

By varying the Text Font, you can increase or decrease the size of the host PC’s
screen as displayed in the Proxy window. With a smaller Text Font, you’ll be
able to see more of the host PC in a smaller window. With a larger Text Font,
you’ll improve readability at the expense of requiring a larger window.

To select a Text Font:
1 Click the Text Font control to get a drop-down list of fonts.
2 Click one of the fonts in the list.
The fonts in the list are shown previewed as they will actually appear. The names

of the fonts are composed of a typeface name and a size. Thus, the font “Proxy 8
x 14” is typeface “Proxy,” whose character dimensions are 8 horizontal pixels by
14 vertical pixels.

NOTE: The text fonts called “Proxy” are fonts that came with your Proxy
package. Fonts with other typeface names are other Windows fonts that are also
suitable for text display.

DOS Text Refresh Rate

The “refresh rate” settings allow you to control how frequently the host PC sends
screen updates to Proxy. You can select from a list of refresh rates ranging from
“Fast” (the maximum) to “10 seconds.”

The faster the refresh rate, the faster changes on the host PC will be reflected in
the Proxy window, and the “snappier” your session will feel. But with a faster
refresh rate, the host PC will be spending more CPU time scanning its screen and
transmitting changes, and Proxy will be spending more CPU time displaying
those changes.

34 Proxy: Chapter 3

There are two refresh rate settings:



The “foreground” refresh rate applies whenever the Proxy window is
active



The “background” refresh rate applies whenever the Proxy window is
not active

The refresh rate of the foreground is the more important of the two, since it
determines the speed of response of the window that you are actually operating

.

If you set a slower background rate, the window will update more slowly
whenever you switch out of it, but will resume speed as soon as you re-activate
it.

In general, if both the Proxy Master PC and the host PCs are fast (386 or higher),
you can usually leave both refresh rates set to “Fast” without much worry.

You should consider slower refresh rates if:



You are running a computationally-intensive graphics mode program on
the host PC and you notice that it slows down when connected



You are running multiple Proxy windows, all of which are
simultaneously updating the display



Your network is heavily loaded with communications traffic

Proxy Settings and Preferences 35

The Preferences Dialog

Proxy’s Preferences dialog lets you control Proxy’s behavior in a variety of
ways. You can:




Specify if polling is done when you enter the IPX or IP Connect dialogs
Set the name of the Program Manager group where Shortcuts will be

created



To bring up the Preferences dialog, select

Specify connection identification for the host PC

Preferences

from the Control Menu
The Preferences dialog shows the current status of each item, and allows you to
modify any item you like.

.

While in the Preferences dialog, you can:




Modify any item
Click OK to save the currently displayed settings as the default settings,

to automatically take effect each time you open a new Proxy window



36 Proxy: Chapter 3

Click

Cancel

Figure 3-2: The Preferences dialog

to cancel your changes.

IPX Connections Polling

When you enter the IPX Connections dialog, you have the option of polling for
any Proxy hosts which may be available.

You can set this polling behavior by setting “Poll local network after opening
Connect dialog” in the
network will be polled for all Proxy hosts according to the settings in the
Connect dialog. If you do not select this checkbox, then you will need to poll
manually by clicking

IP Connections Polling

When you enter the IP Connections dialog, you have the option of polling for
any Proxy hosts which may be available.

You can set this polling behavior by setting “Poll local network after opening
Connect dialog” in the
local network will be polled for all Proxy hosts. If you do not select this
checkbox, then you will need to poll manually by clicking
Connections dialog.

Shortcuts Group Name

IPX Connections

Poll

in the Connections dialog.

IP Connections

box. When this checkbox is selected, the

box. When this checkbox is selected, the

Poll

in the

When you create a Shortcut for a connection, Proxy will create an entry in a
particular program manager group, usually the same one into which you installed
Proxy.

You can change the name of this group by setting “Group name” in the

Manager Group for Shortcuts

menu and a list of all available program manager groups will be displayed; you
can click on the one you want to use.

Connection Identification for Host

When the Proxy Master connects to a Proxy Host, the Proxy Master displays its
name on the Proxy Host’s control panel. The System and Custom radio buttons
let you determine the displayed name, as follows:

System

workstation and show it in this field. This name will appear on any Proxy Host’s
Control Panel to which this master is connected.

Custom

field with any name you choose.

Proxy Settings and Preferences 37

— Proxy attempts to get and display the name of the Proxy Master

— This button and text box let you override the name in the System

Program

box. To change the name, click on the pull-down

Proxy Tasks

4

Task Capabilities

Proxy’s Task feature lets you describe the parameters of a session and save them
by name.

When you create a task, you specify the following:





Suppose, for example, there is a spare PC on your network which you take over
in order to run an Excel report macro. You could then set up a task called “Excel
Report,” which would automatically connect to the correct host PC, set the
desired settings, and run Excel with the appropriate command line.

The name of the host PC to connect to
Optionally, a new set of settings to put into effect
Optionally, a DOS, Windows, or Windows 95 program to automatically

start up when connected

The Task Dialog

Using the Task dialog, you can create, edit, and run tasks. To bring up the Task
dialog, select

Task

from the Control Menu.

40 Proxy: Chapter 4

Figure 4-1: The Task dialog

The Task dialog will list all the tasks that you’ve already defined. Initially, this
list will be empty.

Push-button commands in the Task dialog allow you to:







Adding a Task

To create a new task:
1 Click
2 When prompted, type the name of the new task you’d like to create, and

3 The Task Description dialog will appear. Edit the task description to

Editing a Task

Run a task
Add a new task
Remove a task
Edit a task’s settings
Create a shortcut to a task

Add

.

click OK.

your liking, then click OK.
The new task will be added to the list.

To edit an existing task:
1 Highlight a task on the list, and click
2 The Task Description dialog will appear. Edit the task description to

Removing a Task

To remove a task, highlight the task and click
will disappear from the list.

Proxy Tasks 41

your liking, then click OK.

Settings

Remove

.

.

The task you selected

Running a Task

To run a task, highlight a task on the list and click
the list.

Creating a Shortcut to a Task

To create a shortcut to a task, highlight a task on the list and click

Shortcut

NOTE: To change the program manager group in which to create shortcuts, use
the Preferences dialog.

.

The Task Description Dialog

The Task Description dialog allows you to set all the parameters of a task. It
appears when you click

Add

or

Settings

Run

, or double-click a task on

from the Task dialog.

Create

42 Proxy: Chapter 4

Figure 4-2: The Task Description dialog

Setting the Host PC

The “Connect to” box contains the name of the host PC you’d like to connect to
when you run the task; the “Protocol” chooses whether to use IPX or IP.

To enter the name of the host PC, either:




Passwords

If the host PC requires a password, you can enter it into the “Password” box to
automate the connection process. If the host PC does not require a password, you
can leave this box blank.

If the host PC requires a password and you don’t supply it in the “Password”
box, you will be prompted for the password when you run the task.

Type the name directly into the box and select the Protocol, or

Poll

Click
When you click

with a choice of IPX or IP to poll the network for available host PCs
Select a protocol and a host PC. Once selected, the host name will be
placed in the “Connect to” box, and the protocol used will be placed in
the “Protocol” list.

Defining Special Settings

The “Use task-specific settings” checkbox determines whether Proxy changes the
settings when you run the task:

to get a list of host PCs.

Poll

, Proxy will show the Host Workstations dialog

.





To define special settings for the task:
1 Check “Use task-specific settings.”
2 Click
3 Edit the settings to your liking, then click OK.

Proxy Tasks 43

If it is not checked, Proxy will not alter the current settings when you run
the task.

If it is checked, Proxy will switch to specially defined settings when you
run the task.

Edit

.

The Settings dialog will appear

.

Executing a Program Automatically when you Connect

You can set up a task to automatically run a specific program as soon as it
connects to the host PC. This is useful if you have spare PCs on your network
that you use as an extension of you own desktop for running particular programs.

To set a task to automatically run a program on the host PC:
1 Check “Automatically run:”
2 In the “Command line:” box, type the command line you’d like to

execute on the host PC.

3 In the “Start in directory:” box, type the drive/directory you’d like to

make current on the host PC when the program is run.

4 In the “Run:” box, select

Normal Window, Minimize

Maximize

, or

for

the mode in which you want the Windows program to run on the host.

4 Check or uncheck the “Close window on exit” box. If this box is

checked, the connection will automatically shut down and the Proxy
window will close as soon as you exit from the program.

NOTE: If you are taking over a PC running DOS (using PHOST.EXE TSR), then
the host PC must be at the DOS command prompt in order for automatic
program execution to work. If the host PC is already running a program, you
will get an error message when you try to run the task.

44 Proxy: Chapter 4

The Proxy Host

5

Starting the Proxy Host

The Proxy Host software, once installed and loaded, makes your workstation a
Proxy Host that is available to Proxy Master stations across the network.

The Proxy Host software can be run from the following PC operating systems:





You can run PHOST.EXE (in DOS) and PHOSTWIN.EXE (in Windows) at the
same time to make your PC available to Proxy Master stations from IPX, whether
your PC is in DOS or Windows.

In order to use the Proxy Host, you must use one of the following stacks:





NOTE: When using IPX it is not necessary to be logged in to a server, or even to
run the NetWare client; all that is required is for IPX to be loaded.

Windows or Windows 95 — Using a special Windows application,
PHOSTWIN.EXE, your PC will be available to Proxy Master stations
using the IP or IPX protocol.

DOS — Using a DOS TSR, PHOST.EXE, your PC will be available to
Proxy Master stations using the IPX protocol.

IPX

: For Windows 3.x, you need to use Novell 16-bit (VLM) or 32-bit
Client IPX protocol support. For Windows 95, you need to use the
Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks, or Novell’s Client-32 IPX
protocol support.

IP:

For Windows 3.x, you need to use a Winsock-1.1 compliant IP stack.
For Windows 95, you need to use a TDI-compliant 32-bit IP stack, such
as Microsoft’s TCP/IP.

The Host Control Panel

The Host Control Panel lets you view and alter the Proxy Host’s status and
settings. You can:







46 Proxy: Chapter 5

See which Proxy Master, if any, is connected to the host PC
Abort the connection with the Proxy Master
Set the conditions under which a Proxy Master may establish a

connection
Ask for beeps to notify you of a Proxy Master connection

Running the Control Panel

To run the Control Panel from Windows double-click the

Panel

icon, or use the Program Manager’s

File Run

Proxy Host Control

or Windows 95

Start Run

command to run the program PHOSTWIN.EXE from the Proxy directory.

Figure 5-1: The Host Control Panel

Enabling and Disabling Host Operation

Enable Host operation

The

checkbox on the Control Panel menu allows you to

control whether or not a Proxy Master can take over your PC.
If you want to disable Proxy Host operation, uncheck

Enable Host operation

and Proxy Master machines will be unable to connect to your PC.
If you want to enable Proxy Host operation, check

Enable Host operation

and
Proxy Master machines will be able to connect to your PC based on time
restrictions, permissions, and/or password security you may have set.

NOTE: In order to completely remove the Proxy Host from your system, you
need to double-click the Uninstall Proxy Host icon.

Status Information

The Control Panel indicates the current status of your PC:



“Protocols” indicates the IPX address, in the form “network:node” and
the IP address, in the form “a.b.c.d” of the host PC



“Connected to” indicates the network address and user name of the
Proxy Master that is currently connected, or “<none>” if there is no
current connection

The Proxy Host 47

.

Aborting the Current Connection

If a Proxy Master is in control of your PC, you can abort the connection by
selecting

The Settings Dialog

Options

Abort session.

, then

To view or modify settings, select

Options

, then

Settings

from the main menu
The Settings dialog will appear with four tab dialogs: General, Access, Security,
and Protocols

.

.

While in the Settings dialog, you can:



Switch to the
clicking on that tab




Modify any item within a tab dialog
Click OK to save the currently displayed settings as the default settings,

to automatically take effect each time you open a new Proxy window



48 Proxy: Chapter 5

Click

Cancel

Figure 5-2: The General Settings Tab Dialog

General, Access, Security

or

to cancel your changes

Protocols

tab dialogs by

General Setting

The
for the Proxy Host. The station name, password, notification (beeping) values,
and the appearance of the Control Panel itself.

The Station Name

The Station Name identifies your PC to Proxy Masters which may want to
connect to it.

You’ll probably want to assign a station name that makes it easy to identify the
PC. Combining the name of the person who uses the PC with the PC’s brand or
type is usually a good practice; for example, “George’s P200” or “Gracie’s
Model 60.”

The Password

If you’d like to restrict access to your PC to only certain Proxy Master users, you
can assign a password. Whenever a Proxy Master tries to connect to your PC,
that password will have to be supplied before the connection is accepted.

The password can be any sequence of up to 16 characters. The password is never
displayed on screen; as you edit it, asterisks appear in place of the characters you
type. You can change the password at any time.

General

tab dialog allows you to change the most commonly updated values

If you don’t want to require a password for access, you should leave this field
completely blank

.

Beeping

You can set Proxy Host to alert you whenever a Proxy Master makes or breaks a
connection with your PC, and to periodically beep while a session is in progress.

If you check “Beep on connect/disconnect,” you will hear a quick series of three
tones rising in pitch whenever a Proxy Master connects to your PC, and another
series of tones falling in pitch when it disconnects.

If you check “Beep while connected,” you will hear a short tone periodically
while a Proxy Master is connected to your PC. You can set the interval between
beeps to any number of seconds between 1 and 999.

The Proxy Host 49

Proxy Host Appearance

The Proxy Host Control Panel program (PHOSTWIN.EXE) can be set to appear
(or not) as an icon on your desktop. This is useful if you want to know when a
Proxy Master has connected to you.

If you select the “When there is no connection:”
Control Panel will not normally appear on your desktop. If you select the
option, then the Control Panel icon will appear as soon as Windows starts.

If you select the “When a connection is active:”
Panel will not appear on your desktop even if a connection is made. If you select
the
Master connects to your PC.

NOTE: You can bring up the Control Panel at any time by running
PHOSTWIN.EXE.

Access Setting

The
connection. You can set access restrictions, and select the connection permission
required before a station can be taken over.

Hidden

Hidden

Icon

option, then the Control Panel icon will appear as soon as a Proxy

Access

tab dialog allows you to change the conditions for a successful

option, then the

option, then the Control

Icon

50 Proxy: Chapter 5

Figure 5-3: The Access Settings Tab Dialog

Access Restrictions

A set of three radio buttons control whether a Proxy Master will be permitted to
establish a connection with the host PC. You can select any one of these options:



Permit connection

—while this button is checked, Proxy Masters are

welcome to connect to this host PC.



Lock out connection

—while this button is checked, Proxy Masters are

unconditionally denied permission to connect to this host PC.



Lock out or Permit connection based on time zone

—while this button
is checked, Proxy Masters are allowed to connect based on the day of the
week and the time of day, as specified in the time zone map.

If you’ve chosen the last of the three options —“Lock out or Permit based on
time zone”— then the time zone map will determine when a Proxy Master will be
permitted to connect to the host PC.

Click on

Time Zone Settings

to bring up the Time Zone map.

Figure 5-4: The Time Zone Settings Dialog

The time zone map is divided into half-hour time slots for each day of the week

.

Each half-hour time slot is marked with either:




A dot (·), indicating connection is permitted, or
A blank, indicating connection is locked out

To edit the time zone map in the Settings dialog:



The Proxy Host 51

Use the mouse to highlight a rectangle, then click

Permit

or

Lock

; or



Tab to the time zone map, then use the arrow keys to navigate and press

[+]

[-]

or

to set any entry to PERMITTED or LOCKED.

When you’ve modified the settings to your liking, click OK.

Connection Permission

A set of three radio buttons controls whether a Proxy Master will be given
permission to establish a connection to the host PC. You can select any one of
these options:



No permission required

— while this button is checked, Proxy Masters
are welcome to connect, according to password and time zone settings
you've specified.



Permission must be granted by host

—while this button is checked,
Proxy Masters must be explicitly granted permission by the host within a
specified period of time; if the host is unattended, or no permission is
granted, then the connection is rejected.



Permission requested from host

—while this button is checked, Proxy
Masters will request permission from the host within a specified period
of time; if the host is unattended, or permission is not explicitly denied,
then the connection is allowed.

If you’ve chosen one of the last two options, then a permission message box will
be shown on the host PC when a Proxy Master attempts to make a connection.

This message box will request the host to grant permission to allow the Master to
take control and display the Proxy Master user name (or network address). The
host PC user can then answer
the permission question.

52 Proxy: Chapter 5

Figure 5-5: Permission Message Box

Accept Connection

Reject Connection

or

to

Security Setting

The
connection. You can grant the master permission to change local suppression of
the keyboard/mouse or screen blanking, and set local security features such as
reboot on disconnect, keyboard disabling, and screen blanking.

Security

tab dialog allows you to change the security features for a host

Figure 5-6: The Security Settings Tab Dialog

Permit Master Requests

A set of two checkboxes controls whether a Proxy Master will be permitted to
suppress the keyboard and mouse, and whether screen blanking on connect will
be allowed.

If you check “Permit suppression of keyboard/mouse,” you will allow a Proxy
Master to optionally suppress your ability to use the keyboard and mouse during
a connection. If you uncheck this field, then you will always be able to control
the keyboard and mouse during a connection, even if the Proxy Master has
requested keyboard/mouse to be disabled.

The Proxy Host 53

If you check “Permit screen blanking on connect,” you will allow a Proxy Master
to optionally blank the screen (set it to black) during a connection. If you
uncheck this field, then you will always be able to see the screen during a
connection, even if the Proxy Master has requested screen blanking.

Local Security Settings

A set of three checkboxes give the Proxy Host local control to enforce security
on incoming Proxy Master connections. You can select any one of these options:



Reboot on disconnect or termination

—while this is checked, the Proxy
Host PC will automatically reboot whenever a Proxy Master disconnects
or the connection is terminated. This is useful to establish a standard
startup process on the PC, and to protect against accidental takeover of a
previous session.



Disable keyboard and mouse on startup

—while this is checked, the
Proxy Host PC cannot be changed by someone who has physical access
to the keyboard and mouse. This is useful to guard against tampering
with a configuration once the Proxy Host is started.



Blank screen on startup

—while this is checked, the Proxy Host PC
screen will be blanked (all video will become black) as soon as the Proxy
Host is running. This guarantees that any activity by a Proxy Master
cannot be viewed by a passerby.

If you have chosen one of the last two options, the “Confirm Security Settings”
message box will be displayed on the Host PC at Windows startup. To take
control of the Host PC before screen blanking and/or keyboard and mouse
disabling, answer

Disable Security Settings

within 30 seconds.

NOTE: Choosing one of the last two options and also selecting connection
permissions is incompatible, since the Host cannot acknowledge a message box.
If you attempt to do this, then No Permission Required will be forced as the new
setting.

54 Proxy: Chapter 5

Protocols Setting

Protocol

The
host to use.

tab dialog allows you to set which protocols you wish to allow the

Figure 5-7: The Protocols Settings Dialog

A set of two checkboxes controls whether a Proxy Master will be permitted to
connect via IPX or IP protocol.

Each protocol that is currently available will have its address displayed. If a
protocol is currently unavailable then <not enabled> will be shown in place of
the network address.

If you check “IPX,” you will allow a Proxy Master to see your host PC using the
IPX protocol, and connect to you via IPX.

If you check “IP,” you will allow a Proxy Master to see your host PC using the
IP protocol, and connect to you via IP.

The Proxy Host 55

Password for Settings Access

To prevent a Proxy Master from using the Settings dialog to change your Host
settings, select
Control Panel menu. This option works as follows:

Options

Password for Settings Access

, then

from the Host





A password can only be set by a local user when the machine is not taken
over

If a password is set, it only needs to be entered while the machine is
taken over

DOS Proxy Host Support

Loading PHOST.EXE allows your PC to be available to Proxy Master stations
using the IPX protocol while it is running DOS. PHOST.EXE is a TSR program,
which means that once it is loaded, you can continue to use your PC for other
applications.

To load PHOST, switch to the directory in which it is installed, or make sure that
directory is on the path, and type:

PHOST

You can also load PHOST by specifying a complete path; for example:

C:\PROXY\PHOST

If you’d like PHOST to be loaded automatically at boot time, simply add the
PHOST command to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

↵↵

↵↵

Loading PHOST High

PHOST can be loaded high on 386 or higher PCs running DOS version 5 or later
When loaded high, PHOST occupies memory between 640K and 1M, leaving
more space for typical DOS applications that reside below 640K

To load PHOST high, type:

LOADHIGH PHOST

PHOST can also be loaded high using memory managers such as QEMM 386 or
386MAX. Refer to your memory manager’s documentation for details on loading
TSRs high.

56 Proxy: Chapter 5

.

.

↵↵

PHOST Command Line Switches

PHOST will recognize switches on its command line as follows:

PHOST /U
PHOST /C
PHOST /B
PHOST /D
PHOST /S

unload PHOST
run the Host Control Panel
forces a reboot when disconnected
disables the keyboard and mouse on the host
blanks the screen on the host

Running the DOS Control Panel

To run the Control Panel from DOS, run PHOST with the /C switch:

PHOST /C

Note: Some Proxy Host Settings are only applicable in Windows and are not
available from the DOS Host Control Panel.

Operating the Control Panel is easy. These are the basic operations:




To issue a command, press the appropriate function key.
To move to any setting use the up/down arrows or click the setting with

the mouse. The setting you select will be highlighted and may be edited.

↵↵

The Proxy Host 57

Figure 5-8: The Host Control Panel (DOS)



To edit a text setting, just start typing to overwrite the current entry, or
use the arrow keys,

[Backspace]

To erase an entry entirely, press

[Esc]

, and

[Del]

.

to edit the current entry

.







When you’ve performed whatever operations you like, press
DOS.

Unloading PHOST

PHOST may be unloaded by running it with the /U switch. From the DOS
prompt, type:

To toggle a [ ] checkbox, press either

[Space]

or

[Enter]

, or click the

checkbox with the mouse.
To select from among several ( ) radio buttons, highlight the radio button

you’d like to select and press either

[Space]

or

[Enter]

; or click the

radio button with the mouse.
To edit the time zone map, position the cursor with the arrow keys, then

use:

[∗∗]

[+]

or

to set PERMITTED

[Space]
[Enter]

To mark a rectangular range for editing, press
hold down

[Shift]

[-]

or

to set LOCKED

to toggle between PERMITTED and LOCKED

[F5]

to set block mode, or

while marking the block with the cursor keys.

You can also toggle any item by clicking it with the mouse; you can
toggle a range by clicking and dragging the mouse.

[F10]

to exit to

PHOST /U ↵↵

PHOST will remove itself from memory and make the memory it had taken up
available to DOS.

TSRs can normally be unloaded in the reverse order in which they were loaded
If other TSRs have been loaded after PHOST, PHOST may not be able to unload
when you ask it to, and will return an error message instead. It may still be
possible to unload PHOST by first unloading the TSRs you loaded after PHOST,
in reverse order.

58 Proxy: Chapter 5

.

Tips and Techniques

6

Controlling Many Host PCs

In theory, a Proxy Master can control up to 254 host PCs at one time.
In practice, you’ll run out of memory before you’ll be able get close to that many

Proxy windows running at once.
If you have the memory and the processing power, you should be able to

simultaneously display and control 5, 10, or more host PCs at once from a single
Windows session.

Proxy’s ability to keep up with multiple host PCs depends largely on how much
display activity there is. If each host PC’s display is quiet until you switch to it to
perform operations, then Proxy should have no trouble keeping up.

If, on the other hand, the various host PCs are independently active with
constantly changing displays, you might want to adjust the background refresh
rate in the Settings dialog to allow Proxy to respond less quickly to display
changes on host PCs that are not in the active window.

Setting Up Banks of Host PCs

One of the typical uses for Proxy is to provide a computing resource that can be
made available to the entire network. For example, you might set up one or more
high-powered PCs as Proxy Hosts that various people might take over in order to
do CAD or database queries. Or, you might have several modem-equipped host
PCs that can provide shared communications service to anyone on the network.

If you have more than one PC performing the same type of function, you can set
them up as a bank of interchangeable PCs, with similar names. Since users don’t
care which of the several PCs they connect to, they can use wildcards in the
station name; the connection will be made to the first available PC.

Suppose, for example, you have three PCs you’d like to make available as CAD
servers. You might assign them the station names “CAD-1,” “CAD-2,” and
“CAD-3.” You could then set up a Proxy icon that connects to any one of the
available CAD machines with the following command line:

PROXY CAD–

60 Proxy: Chapter 6

∗∗

The Proxy Command Line

Proxy can be given instructions right on the command line that you use to run it.
This allows you to create separate Proxy icons in Program Manager that operate
Proxy in different ways.

(In fact, when you use the
specifying and saving Proxy command lines.)

You can set up:





You can also customize the title bar of your Proxy window using a command line
switch.

Shortcuts that automatically open Proxy windows and connect to
particular host PCs, either by station name, IPX address, or IP address

Shortcuts that automatically open Proxy windows and run particular
tasks

Connecting by IPX Address

To connect to a particular station by IPX address, use the /P switch with the name
of the protocol, then specify the station’s IPX address, preceded by the @
symbol:

PROXY /PIPX @node

or

PROXY /PIPX @network:node

For example:

Create Shortcut

function in Proxy, you are

PROXY /PIPX @20:1B31DAE9

Connecting by Name with IPX

To connect by name to a particular IPX station, use the /P switch with the name
of the protocol followed by the name of the station you would like to connect to,
optionally preceded by the network segment:

PROXY /PIPX stationname

or

PROXY /PIPX network:stationname

Tips and Techniques 61

If the station you want to connect to is on a different network segment, you must
prefix its network number and a colon (:) to the station name. For example, to
connect to station “Dell P200” on network number 2:

PROXY /PIPX 2:Dell P200

Note that the stationname may include wildcards.

Connecting by IP Address

To connect to a particular IP-based station by IP address, use the /P switch with
the name of the protocol, followed by the station’s IP address or DNS name.

PROXY /PIP address
PROXY /PIP DNS-name

For example, to connect to the station at IP address 198.186.160.138, use the
following command line:

PROXY /PIP 198.186.160.138

If the station you want to connect to has a DNS address, you can use it. For
example, to connect to station jackson.company.com, use the following
command:

PROXY /PIP jackson.company.com

Running a Task

To start up a task, specify the /T or /t switch, followed by the name of the task:

PROXY /Ttask

For example, to run a task called “report,” use a command line like the following:

PROXY /Treport

Customizing the Window Title

The title bar of a Proxy window normally has the caption “Proxy,” along with the
name of the host PC to which you are connected and, if the connection was made
through a task, the name of the task.

If you’d like to replace the standard caption with one of your own choosing, use
the /W or /w switch. This switch must precede the workstation name, IPX
address, or task name.

62 Proxy: Chapter 6

For example, to connect to station “Dell P200” in a Proxy window entitled
“Analysis,” use the following command line:

PROXY /WAnalysis Dell P200

Proxy will consider the first space that follows the /W switch to be a separator,
and will expect a workstation name, IPX address, or task name to follow. If
you’d like to include spaces in your custom window title, you must enclose the
text in quotes.

Thus, to entitle the window in the example above “Stock Market Analysis,” use
the following command line:

PROXY /W“Stock Market Analysis” Dell P200

Display Mode Support

Proxy is able to reproduce the display of the host PC while it is in a wide variety
of display modes, both in DOS and Windows.

Proxy’s ability to render colors accurately depends on the capabilities of the
Windows display driver. The most accurate color reproduction will occur when
the Proxy Master’s color capability matches or exceeds that of the host PC. For
example, a Proxy Master running in a Windows session with a 16-color display
driver will be able to render a host PC running Windows with a 16-color display
driver perfectly; however, if the host PC’s display driver is 256-color, the Proxy
Master will have to approximate some colors as best it can.

For accuracy in color rendering, it is better to use a 256-color than a 16-color
Windows display driver on the Master machine. The 16-color display driver,
however, will give significantly better performance, while still providing a range
of colors that is adequate for most purposes.

The display resolution of the Master machine is less critical, since Proxy can
display host PC screens of any size by resorting to scroll bars. However, you’ll
find it convenient to use a high-resolution display driver for the Master machine,
such as 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768, so that you’ll be able to render most host PC
displays in their entirety without scroll bars.

Tips and Techniques 63

Host Display Modes—Windows

Proxy can display a host PC running Windows provided the Windows display
driver of the host is either monochrome, 16-color, 256-color, 15/16-bit or 24/32­bit color. Note that host PCs running Windows in monochrome mode may
display in full-color in the Proxy window.

Host Display Modes—DOS

While the host PC is in DOS, Proxy can render its display when it is in any of the
following modes:

mode description

0/1 40 x 25 16-color text
2/3 80 x 25 16-color text
4/5 320 x 200 4-color graphics
6 640 x 200 monochrome graphics
7 80 x 25 monochrome text
D 320 x 200 16-color graphics
E 640 x 200 16-color graphics
10 640 x 350 16-color graphics
11 640 x 480 monochrome graphics
12 640 x 480 16-color graphics
13 320 x 200 256-color graphics

If the host PC enters a display mode which Proxy cannot render, the Proxy
window will be blank until the host PC enters a display mode that Proxy can
handle.

64 Proxy: Chapter 6

Absolute motion 31
Auto-scroll 31, 33

cursor 33
mouse 33

Automatically run 44

Background 34
Broadcast address 17, 18, 19, 20

Caption 62
Clipboard 24
Close window on exit 44
Command line 44, 57, 60, 61
Connect 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
Control Menu 12
Control Panel 46, 47
Copy graphics 24
Copy text 24
Cursor Auto-scroll 33

A

B

C

Host

overall functionality of 8

Host Control Panel 47

I

Icon 61
IP address

of the host PC 47
polling using 18, 19, 20
specifying for connection 20

IPX address

connecting to host by 61, 62
of the host PC 47
specifying for connection 16

K

Keyboard

disable on startup 54, 57
permit suppression of 53
suppressing on host 33

Keystrokes 29, 32, 33

L

Disconnect

reboot on 54

DOS 6

control panel 57
host TSR support for 56
unloading PHOST 58

Foreground 34

Graphics

copying to clipboard 24
DOS host display modes 64
Windows host display modes 64

D

F

G

H

Local Keys 32
Local network 15

M

Master

overall functionality of 7

Mouse 29, 30, 31

disable on startup 54, 57
permit suppression of 53

suppressing on host 33
Mouse Auto-scroll 33
Mouse motion

absolute 31

relative 31

N

NetWare Server 6
Network segment 61, 62

Paste 24
Pattern matching 21
Poll

connecting via IP 17
connecting via IPX 14
IP method 18, 19, 20
IPX method 15
preferences for IP connect dialog 37
preferences for IPX connect dialog 37

Preferences 36

IP connect dialog 37
IPX connect dialog 37
shortcut group name 37

Proxy Host

for DOS 6
for NetWare 6
for Windows 6
for Windows 95 6

Proxy Server Host 6

P

R

setting group name for 37
Start in directory 44
System requirements 9

T

Text font

Proxy 34

type size 34

typeface 34

W

Wildcard characters

asterisk 21

back-slash 21

question mark 21
Windows 6
Windows 95 6

Reboot host 25, 54, 57
Refresh rate

background 34

foreground 34
Relative motion 31
Run

maximize 44

minimize 44

normal window 44

S

Screen blanking

on host 33

permit on connect 53
Shortcut

creating 22

customizing 61

format 22

66 Proxy: Chapter 6