How to autodial on Windows (was Re: Can PMMAIL (win) do this?)

[Joerg Bencke]

--Original Message Text---
From: Cristian Secara
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 03:02:02 +0300

Hi You all :-)
Fist of all one commtent to Christian : YOu do realice, you mail with HTML
format without really using extended formatting ? (Just in case you did
not notice, cause HTML has apretty big overhead :-)

And now to AutoDial.
Makeing and breaking the connection is a thing, which is done solely by
the DialUpSoftware. Only that the standard DUN in Windows (95, 98, 4 NT
both kinds) is a bit hard to predict and slightly different with each
version. When you look at it, MS does not rely on the automated DUN
features itself. With "Internet Properties", MS just disguises the
applicationspecific properties page as "OS-feature the others just cant
use correctly". Again great marketing, here.

So if you want to use the DUN with NON-MS Apps, you have to configure it
in the DUN Menu and not with the INTERNET Options. The INTERNET options do
sometimes work due to default installations, yet they only relate to MS
products. Changing cache or proxy here, wont do diddley for Netscape
either.

The central point is the DUN Monitor and the Telephone book, it uses.
There is always (yet pretty hidden in my oppinion.) a page in the
properties, where you can checkmark different stuff like
- Show Dialup Information before dialig
- Show Telephone Number
- Always request confirmation before dialing
- open monitor before dialing etc.
(Translated from german, but its there in english versions as well)

With NT you get there via RMB on Dialupmonitor in Taskbar- "Open Telephone
book - "User Properties". Here you can checkmark differentlocations to use
autodial and can checkmark the other options up above on the last page.

I wont give you screenshots, cause it varies from each version to the
other, Do an RMB on Dialup network in the workspace and search a bit :-).

When you set it up properly, it can either dial automatically for you or
request a confirmation (for 15 secs before not dialing at all) to start up
the connection. If you do not start the connection, in NT, a question pops
up if you want to disable autoconnect for this location. Dont press yes
here :-)

Sometimes it happens, that NT just wont autoconnect anymore. Go to the
"user properties" sheet and deselect the location, save, open properties
again, and reselect the location. Seems strange but worked the last 3
times, necessary for me :-)

BEWARE : The Disconnect - Option in the DUN does work VERY strange. I have
not yet figured out why, but with some configurations (Netscape different
versions, PMMail, FreeAgent, ICQ, Getright, WS FTP on 95, 95B, NT), DUN
doe not notice traffic. You browse nice and easy, Netscape is even loading
something for you and suddenly, the disconnect window appears "The
connection has not been used for X minuts. Disconnecting in
15..14..13..12.." Even thought the Dialup Monitor shows traffic int he
taskbar icons! Anywa have explanation for me ? Im dumbfounded.

To PMMail and DUN Entry Features :
The Advantage of having a properties page for the DUN config in PMMAil
would be,
- that you could tell PMMail to use a certain account for Mail-Fetching
(in germany e.g. a provider who bills your connection on a seconds-based
table, (most times you pay every begun minute))
- PMMail could tell the DUN to disconnect after having fetched the
messages, if the user does not counteract it.

The thing is : with the hooks, provided, we users could build that
ourselves, so the question for all windows-victims out there :-) Is there
a commandline tool to connect / disconnect the DUN or is there a
freeware/shareware DUN out there, which can do that ?

Ok, that was a bit lengthy, but now I hope, all questions are insolvable
:-) Get to me if you have more, I have a Win95 installtion on some
partition around her, if I search *rumble* jsut have to change the
Boot*crash* config. .... Ohh sorry, Bye.
Josch

*thumb*

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