File Transfer Notes

Normally, FacetTerm does not support file transfer capabilities by terminal emulation packages like IceTEN and TERM. This is because FacetTerm is watching all characters that are being sent to and from the terminal through all windows. To get around this, you need to be able to either stop running FacetTerm (which is one solution but not a very good one) or temporarily suspend FacetTerm to allow the file transfer to go through. Suspending FacetTerm is a relatively simple procedure. It can either be done manually by the user (which can pose problems if the user does not know UNIX very well) or through a shell script. Below are examples of both of the suspension methods listed above.

To suspend FacetTerm manually, press the following keys:

Underneath each instruction is an example of what the Window Command Line should look like.

First, press your Window Command Line hotkey (usually Ctrl-W).

   >>> FacetTerm Window  2   '?' for Help <<<

Second, press X (for the eXtra commands).

   >>> Cap Inv Mon Nfy Trn Hng Blk Key Rpl Scr Prt Lck ! O: <<<

Third, press ! (to run a program outside of FacetTerm ).

   >>> Run RAW tty:                              <<<

Now, type in the name of the program to run (sh in this example).

   >>> Run RAW tty: sh                           <<<

You should now be at a Bourne shell prompt. You can run the file transfer or any other program you desire. When you are finished, type in exit and press return. You should see the following message:

   FacetTerm resuming
   Press RETURN to continue:

You should now be back in FacetTerm in the exact application you left when you started the suspension process.

To suspend FacetTerm by a shell script, use this example to run a Bourne shell:

   fct_command 'x!sh\r' \r

Some notes on the above command. The single quote/apostrophe around the first set of fct_command commands is necessary to protect the string. The second \r is necessary to refresh the screen after re-entering FacetTerm. If you are wanting to run a specific program, i.e. a shell script that initiates the file transfer, you would want to just replace the sh characters with the proper shell command to start the program. To configure a FacetTerm macro, use the following example:

Start by reading the section in the FacetTerm manual titled "FacetTerm Key Mapping (Macros)". This will get to the proper location in either the Menu Interface or the Window Command line. The string that you will want to type in looks like this:

   \hx!sh\r

The \h is a FacetTerm representation to whatever your Window Command Line hot key is. You can also set this up in a key mapping file and have this macro automatically loaded upon start up of FacetTerm. The key map file information is located in /usr/facetterm/.facetmap.

The most effective technique is to use a combination of the shell script running the fct_command and a FacetTerm Macro. Set up a macro that runs the shell script example above or runs whatever program you wish to run outside of FacetTerm. If you have any questions or experience any problems, please call FacetTerm Technical Support at the number listed in your FacetTerm manual.