Product: AnswerMan

Using HyperTerminal

Date: 11-13-00

Introduction: When communicating with Micromint's AnswerMan, emulation of a terminal program is required. Included with Windows 95/98/NT, is a terminal emulator called HyperTerminal. This application note is a quick introduction and tutorial on using HyperTerminal.

1. To start HyperTerminal click on the Start icon and then select Programs.

(Windows 95) From programs select accessories then HyperTerminal.

(Windows 98/NT) From programs select accessories, communications then HyperTerminal.

2) A New Connection window will appear and allow you to enter a name for the current session. Once you have entered a name and configured the session, you'll be allowed to save the connection information when you exit the program. This will allow you to use the same configuration the next time you need a terminal without entering the configuration information again.

3) Next, in the Connect To Window section, the user can select the Com port that will be used to connect the board or module.

4) Upon selecting the COM port, the COMx Properties window will appear. Set the selections as follows:

Bits per second - 9600 (this is a good starting point)
Data bits – 8
Parity – none
Stop bits – 1
Flow control - Xon/Xoff

5) Because the user interacts directly with the AnswerMan there is no need to use the line and character delays. If HyperTerminal is going to be used with other Micromint products, such as the 80C52 Processor, these delays are necessary.

6) When a new session of HyperTerminal is started, by default the backspace key will not delete the last character typed. If the user wants to delete the last character typed a combination of Ctrl-backspace must be typed. The user can configure the backspace key to delete the last character typed by clicking on the properties icon, then selecting the settings tab. On the window that appears the user is given three configuration choices for the backspace key, one of which is Del. This will delete the last character typed.

Capturing your work: HyperTerminal allows the user to capture the interaction between the user and the AnswerMan and save it to a plain text file. This gives the user the ability to print all interactions for closer analysis. To capture the text typed, select transfer from the menu bar and then select capture text. A window called capture text will appear. Specify in the space provided the file name where the text will be saved. When finished, select transfer from the menu again, then select capture and then select stop. The entire captured file cannot be viewed until the capture process has been stopped. Multiple sessions can be capture to the same file without overwriting the previous. The new capture is added on to the end of the previous.