D Download A File
Allows you to download or transfer a file from the bulletin board system to your computer system.
Subcommands
| [filename] | The filename that will be transferred. For batch transfers, multiple filenames may be entered on the same line if separated by a SPACE or a ;. In addition, when selecting files to transfer the DOS wildcard characters (* and ?) can be used to select groups of files. If you do not type in the filename extension, PCBoard will search the files online to see if there is a match. See the examples that follow for more details. |
| [protocol] | In order to transfer a file, you must use a file transfer protocol. You may set any protocol as the default protocol. If you wish to temporarily use another protocol for a particular transfer, pass the temporary protocol letter with the D command. To obtain a list of protocol letters, use the T user command. |
NOTE: The protocol letter may also be entered when PCBoard asks for the filename to download. The only protocol that cannot be selected in this manner is the H protocol, as it would display online help instead. The preferred method is to pass the protocol letter with the D command.
| BYE |
board once the file transfer is complete. You are given 10 seconds to abort the automatic logoff.|
| GB |
board once the file transfer is complete. You are given 10 seconds to abort the automatic logoff.|
Description
One of the most popular activities on a bulletin board is the transferring of files. Downloading refers to you receiving a file from the bulletin board system. In order to transfer a file, you must select a protocol to transfer via the Transfer protocol command. If you select N (for no default) protocol, PCBoard will prompt for the protocol to use on each file transfer.
Once the files have been selected for download, PCBoard will be ready to begin the transfer. When PCBoard notifies you that the file transfer is ready to begin, use your communications software to begin the download. Normally this is done by pressing d on the remote keyboard and selecting the same protocol as the bulletin board is using.
Examples
To download a file called TEXTEDIT.ZIP, the user could issue thefollowing:
D TEXTEDIT.ZIP
To download NEWUTIL.ZIP and ISD320.ZIP using the G protocol letter, you would enter:
D NEWUTIL.ZIP ISD320.ZIP G
To download NEWUTIL.ZIP and immediately disconnect once the file transfer is complete, enter:
D NEWUTIL.ZIP BYE
DB Download Batch
Like the Download command, this command allows you to transfer files from the bulletin board system to your machine. This command however, assumes that the file transfer will consist of multiple files (otherwise known as a batch transfer).
Subcommands
| [filenames] | You may enter multiple filenames on the same line or you may enter a single filename to download on each line. The list of files to download will be considered complete when ENTER is pressed at a Enter the filename to Download (Enter)=none? prompt. |
| [protocol] | In order to transfer a file, you must use a file transfer protocol. You may set any protocol as the default protocol. If you wish to temporarily use another protocol for a particular transfer, pass the protocol letter with the D command. To obtain a list of protocol letters, use the T user command. NOTE: The protocol letter may also be entered when PCBoard asks for the filename to download. The only protocol that cannot be selected in this manner is the H protocol, as it would display online help instead. The preferred method is to pass the protocol letter with the D command. |
| BYE | This subcommand will cause you to be logged off of the bulletin board once the file transfer is complete. You are given 10 seconds to abort the automatic logoff. |
| GB | This subcommand will cause you to be logged off of the bulletin board once the file transfer is complete. You are given 10 seconds to abort the automatic logoff. |
Once all of the filenames have been entered, you have the option to edit the batch of files to send. If you decide to edit the the batch, you will be able to add, remove, and list the batch list.
Editing The List of Files to Download
Once you have entered the filenames to be downloaded, a screen will be displayed which shows how many files are in the batch, how many total bytes in the batch, and which protocol has been selected. At this point, you may edit the batch transfer, abort the transfer, or to begin the transfer by pressing R.
If the batch transfer is aborted, the files will remain flagged. This enables you to do something else on the system and then return and download the files again without having to type in the filenames again. When executing the D or DB commands while files are flagged for download, you will be asked if you want to download the flagged files. If you answer N to that question, the files will be un-flagged.
If you decide to edit the batch, you will be able to add files to the batch, remove files from the batch, and to also list all files currently in the batch. The following options are available to edit the batch list:
| A | Add a file to the batch. | Enables you to add one or more files to the batch. To stop adding files to the batch, press Rat an Enter filename to Download prompt. |
| R | Remove a file from the batch. | Enables you to remove a filename from the batch. To remove a file, you must enter the number to remove from the batch. To get the number in the batch, list the batch. |
| P | Protocol letter. | To use a protocol that is different than your default protocol for this transfer, enter this letter at the prompt. You will be shown a list of protocols that are available. Choose the protocol that you want to use from this list. |
| L | List files in the batch. | Lists all filenames that are currently in the batch and their corresponding number in the batch. If you have flagged TCRN10.ZIP and LSTR312.ZIP, listing their batch would look like the following: |
| File Selected: | (1) | TCRN10.ZIP | 32,612 bytes, | 0.5 minutes (approximate) |
| File Selected: | (2) | LSTR312.ZIP | 532,981 bytes, | 40.1 minutes (approximate) |
Once you have finished editing the batch (if you chose to) you are ready to begin the transfer. At this point, use your communications program to begin a download. In most programs this can be accomplished by pressing d followed by selecting a protocol and typing in the filename or directory to download files to. Of course this varies from communications program to communications program so if you have difficulties in this area, consult your documentation.