The Imp-Export popdown allows you to communicates with other computers or your Desktop using the serial port on the right-hand side of the machine.

Prerequisites

To use Import/Export you need either

• Imp-Export feature on Eazylink2 desktop program
  
• Terminal desktop program supporting X-MODEM or Y-MODEM protocol
  

and a

• Z88 to Computer Serial connecting lead
• USB / Serial Converter (if there is no serial port on your Desktop).

Before Sending or Receiving Files

You call up Imp-Export by typing X or from the INDEX moving the cursor over the Application name and using the  key.

Details of the serial port connections and the protocol used for programmers are given in Appendix B.

Using Imp-Export

The program recognises the following commands, which are given by typing the first letter of the command followed by : Use the  key to abandon the transfer.

To send a batch of files use the following procedure:

1. Give the Batch receive command on the receiving computer
2. Send each file with a Send file command (or give a '*' wildcard in the file name)
3. Give an End batch command.

X-Y MODEM on Desktop

XY-Modem when using Ymodem does preserve file name, size and modification date and time for transfers in both directions if used with a program having a proper Ymodem implementation at the Desktop end.

While developing XY-Modem Dennis Gröning tried many PC programs with bad Ymodem implementations. One that he thought worked as it should was ZOC windows program. For proper tests he used inventor of Ymodem Chuck Forsberg's rb and sb on unix and DSZ, GSZ and ZCOMM on PC.

After finding Chuck's source code for CPM operating system YAM (Yet Another Modem program) program, he used this to compile a Win32 console application hard-coded for COM1 and 38400 baud in the year 2000. When started with a filename as a parameter it sends this file using Ymodem and then exits. When run without parameter it receives files for ever until an "End Batch" is received and it exits.

He went on to make a normal Windows program YAS-Link.

Same functionality for sending. COM1 to COM4 can be selected. When receiving it displays received files in a scrolling list. He meant to have similar user interface as his Z88-Xport program, but he wasn't into building Windows user interfaces at the time, so it didn't get any further than that. The last modification was in 2002.

It may be very likely that the PC program used for testing did not have a proper implementation of the Ymodem protocol. To test this further another PC could be set up with the same program and try transferring files between the two PCs to see if file sizes and modification date and times are preserved. Two Z88s (with old OZ for known behaviour) could be connected together and use XY-Modem to do the same test for file size and modification date and time preservation.

Check that you can choose which protocol to use in XY-Modem by pressing key X or Y.

Using Xmodem

When X is pressed followed by , the display shows that 

XMODEM Checksum

is selected and is waiting for either a key press of either R, R)eceive file or S, S}end file. If the other option,

XMODEM CRC

is required pressing C changes Xmodem to CRC.

Using Ymodem

When Y is pressed followed by , the display shows that 

YMODEM Checksum

is selected and is waiting for either a key press of either R, R)eceive file or S, S}end file. If 

YMODEM CRC

is required pressing C changes Xmodem to CRC.