Copyright: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Citation: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Editing a Translate Table

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The Translate Table Editor supports three different entry modes for table values. You can easily switch to the mode you prefer by selecting the appropriate option button in the Entry Type group, without affecting the table contents.

Entry Type

The Entry Type selections are:

Character

The Character mode is the editor’s default mode. It is useful if you’re typing ASCII characters or control codes directly into a field. If you need to enter a value less than ASCII 32, use the caret "^" to form a control code. For example, the characters ^S represent the keystroke <Ctrl><S>, while the characters ^@ represent a null.

For your convenience, the editor treats a lowercase alphabetical character included in a control code as its uppercase equivalent. For example, the codes ^a and ^A are both transmitted as ^A, an ASCII 01.

To enter characters greater than ASCII 31, type the characters from the keyboard. If the character doesn’t exist on your keyboard, select Decimal mode and enter the three-digit decimal value. As mentioned before, you can switch back and forth between the three modes without affecting the table’s contents. This can help you determine the character represented by each value.

To insert characters greater than ASCII 126 in character mode, hold down the <Alt> key, press the keypad zero and then type the three-digit decimal character on the keypad. Characters between ASCII 32 and 126 can also be entered in this fashion. Be sure to enter the leading zero, or Windows will not return the correct character.

If you want to strip a character in Character mode, enter the characters "^@", without quotations, in the edit field corresponding to the value to be stripped.

Decimal

In Decimal mode, the editor displays table values as three-digit decimal values. You’ll probably find the Decimal mode to be much easier than using the <Alt>-keypad method for entering character values greater than ASCII 126. It is also quite useful if you’re referencing character values from an ASCII Table, such as the one that appears in ASCII Table.

If you want to strip a character in Decimal mode, enter a zero "0", without quotations, in the edit field corresponding to the value to be stripped.

Hex

In Hex mode, the editor displays table values as two-digit ASCII hexadecimal values. This mode can be helpful if you’re referencing a terminal or host system’s documentation, for control code information, since many such manuals list these codes in hexadecimal values.

If you want to strip a character in Hex mode, enter a zero "0", without quotations, in the edit field corresponding to the value to be stripped.


Running the Translate Table Editor

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You can open the Translate Table Editor in one of two ways:

•	From the Terminal window menu.

Select the Options | Translate Table Editor... menu item to edit the currently-active .xlt file. If you don’t have a translate table file loaded for use, the editor will open a new, untitled file.

•	From within the Data, Setup Files panel in Setup.

If you want to modify an existing file, select it from the Translate group’s drop down list box, then click on the Edit... button. The editor will open and load the file you selected.

If you want to create a new .xlt file, select [Create] from the drop down list box; the editor will open with a new untitled file.


Step-by-Step: Stripping a Character Value

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With the Translate Table Editor, stripping a character is a simple three step process. Open the editor by selecting Options | Translate Table Editor... from the menu. Select the .xlt file you wish to modify, or click on New to create a new table.

1.	Select the character value to be stripped.

For our example, we’ll strip the ASCII 007 "bell" character. Scroll down the Incoming Translate list until the ^G value is displayed in the left column. Select it by clicking on it, or by pressing the cursor keys.

2.	Enter a zero or null value in the translated value field.

Since we’re in Character mode, we’ll enter the ^@ characters. If the editor was in Decimal or Hex mode, we’d enter a zero.

3.	Save your changes.

If you modified an existing file, just click on OK to save your changes. If you created a new file, click on Save As... and supply a name for the new .xlt file.

To close the editing dialog without saving any changes, click on Cancel.


The Translate Table Dialog

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The editing dialog displays the Incoming and Outgoing Translate values in side-by-side list boxes. Each list box displays two columns with values ranging from ASCII decimal 0 to 255. The character in the left column is the original value; its value after translation appears in the right column. Incoming and outgoing characters are mapped to their normal values in a newly-created translate table.

Entry Type Buttons

By default, the editor displays table values in character format, using caret "^" character combinations to indicate values lower than ASCII 32. However, you can view decimal or hexadecimal values by selecting the appropriate option button from the Entry Type group. See Editing a Translate Table for a complete discussion of the three Entry Type buttons.

Incoming Translate/Outgoing Translate Lists

To modify an incoming character’s translated value, simply scroll through the Incoming Translate list box and select it, then enter the new translated value in the list’s edit field. You can modify an outgoing character’s translated value using the Outgoing Translate list box.

For more detailed information on editing translate values, as well as a discussion of the Entry Type settings, see Editing a Translate Table.

Command Buttons

The dialog’s command buttons are:

OK

To accept the current translate table values and close the editing dialog, click on OK. If you’re editing an existing .xlt file, any changes you’ve made will be saved to that file. If you’re editing an untitled table, the editor will prompt you for the name of the new .xlt file. If you’re editing a new file, and opened the editor from within the Setup, Setup Files dialog using the Translate list box’s [Create] selection, your new .xlt file will be specified as the active translate table when you return to the Setup dialog.

If you’ve made changes in an existing file, and that file is the currently-active translate table, your changes will take effect immediately within the Terminal window.

Cancel

Click on Cancel to close the dialog without retaining any unsaved changes.

New

Click on New to create a new, untitled table. The new table is essentially "empty," since it simply translates each character to itself. The editor prompts you for the name of the new table file.

If you’ve made any changes to the .xlt file currently loaded in the editor, you’ll be prompted to save them before the new file is created.

Open

Click on Open to open an existing .xlt file by selecting it in a standard file open dialog.

If you’ve made any changes to the .xlt file currently loaded in the editor, you’ll be prompted to save them before the new file is loaded.

Save As

Click on Save As... to save the .xlt file currently loaded in the editor under a different name, or to title an untitled .xlt file. The editor prompts you for the name of the new file.

Options

Click on Options to specify how the editor should handle the Incoming and Outgoing Translate list boxes. The editor opens the Scrolling Options dialog. The setting in this dialog determines how the incoming and outgoing tables will move when you scroll either of them up or down. If you select Independent, the two tables are not linked at all, and each scrolls without affecting the other.

Select Move Together to link the original (left column) values for both the Incoming and Outgoing Translate list boxes. In this mode, scrolling through either list box causes the other list box to scroll to the same position.

Select Mirror Image to update the Incoming Translate’s translated (right column) value with the untranslated (left column) value of the corresponding character in the Outgoing Translate list box.

The Mirror Image is  bidirectional; changes made to the Incoming Translate list will be mirrored to the Outgoing Translate’s list.

After you’ve selected the scrolling mode you prefer, click on OK to return to the editing dialog.


The Translate Table Editor

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Procomm Plus’s Translate Table allows you to substitute one character value for another, both in the data received by your system and in the characters you send. This ability is useful in a variety of situations.

For example, some host systems embed pacing characters that can disrupt the formatting of valid character data in the Terminal display. You can use the Translate Table to replace or remove these extraneous values before they’re displayed. Or, if you connect to a BBS or on-line system that transmits "bell" characters (ASCII 07), you can strip these characters to eliminate distracting noises.

Translation tables are also helpful if you’re connecting to a system located in a foreign country.

Translate table settings will have no affect on a file transfer or fax operation, as character translations are disabled during these activities.

Translate table files must have an extension of .xlt, and they must be stored in the Procomm Plus home directory, typically \program files\procomm plus.

To activate an .xlt file, you simply select it from the Translate Table drop down list in the Data, Setup Files panel in Setup. For more information, see Setup Files.

Since a Data-class entry in the Connection Directory can specify a particular translate table in its Advanced Options settings, connecting to such an entry will also activate an .xlt file.

Running the Translate Table Editor

The Translate Table Dialog

Editing a Translate Table

Step-by-Step: Stripping a Character Value