Accessing the Internet with ClarisWorks (CM)

There are basically three ways of connecting to the Internet:
1. A direct connection. Many corporations and universities have a dedicated line which connects them to the Internet and enables you to access the Internet via their LAN (local area network) or WAN (wide area network). Ask your IS administrator if you have this kind of access.
2. SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) or PPP (Point to Point Protocol) dial-up connection to an Internet Service Provider like Netcom (800-488-2558) or Northwest Nexus (800) 539-3505. This sets up a TCP/IP connection between you and the service provider and enables you to use dedicated Internet applications like TurboGopher, WinGopher and Mosaic just as you can with Method 1.
3. Terminal access to a UNIX server connected to the Internet, via a dial-up connection to an Internet service provider such as the two listed above.

You can use ClarisWorks to access the Internet with any of the 3 types of connections above.

Methods 1 and 2
Methods 1 and 2 require additional software, namely Apple's MacTCP control panel and a TCP/IP connection tool.

TGE TCP is a freeware connection tool by Tim Endres, available in the communications software libraries of major online services.

TCPack is a connection tool that allows simultaneous TCP/IP connections using Apple's MacTCP driver and the standard access interfaces of the Communications Toolbox (CTB). TCPack supports FTP server functions, running as a background task, TELNET protocol and negotiation parameters and the Domain Name Resolver (DNR) functions. TCPack FTP implementation supports: DARPA standard TELNET protocol; directory management functions (create, delete); file/directory list functions in user or application-oriented formats; send/receive file transfers (binary, ASCII or MacBinary); and simultaneous background FTP servers.

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Note: Claris has not tested TGE TCP or TCPack with ClarisWorks.

To use either tool, create a new ClarisWorks Communications document, choose Connection from the Settings menu and select the TCP connection tool. Then pick the Internet server you want to access from the list. If none appear, contact your IS administrator or Internet service provider to troubleshoot your Internet connection. The Internet Starter Kit, a book by Adam Engst, is an excellent resource.

You can keep a list of several host addresses in the Phone book in ClarisWorks by changing the Type field from "PhoneNumber" to "RemoteAddress" for TCPack and setting the Number field to the Internet address. The PhoneBook Type for TGE TCP is "HostName".

For example:

Name: "Apple"
Number: "apple.com" or "130.43.2.2"
Type: "HostName"

This allows you to have a single communications document that contains addresses of all the Internet sites that you might want to connect to, with a one-step connection process via the Phone Book popup menu.

Method 3
In this case, you use ClarisWorks Communications to dial into an Internet service provider, just as you would with a BBS, but once connected, you can issue UNIX commands to access Internet servers. Many universities and colleges provide dial-in, command-line access to students and faculty for free or at a low cost.

Example Session

Once you connect to an Internet server, regardless of whether you are using Method 1,2 or 3, you will be prompted for an account name and password. After logging in, you can issue Internet commands such as mail, telnet, ftp, archie, wais, and gopher to access Internet services. ClarisWorks acts as simple terminal emulator, enabling you to type commands and see information that the host sends.

Here is an example of what an Internet session is like using ClarisWorks:

- Dial up the Internet host as you would any BBS, using the settings the host requires.
- Once connected, type your user ID and password when prompted.
- You'll be presented with a menu of choices or in some cases just a prompt.
- Type "mail" to see if you have any mail. Once you're finished there, type "quit" to get back to the main prompt.
- Type "ftp ftp.claris.com" at the prompt. This will connect you to the Claris ftp server. Type "ls" to list the file directory. There is a "pub" directory, and you could see what is in it by typing "cd pub" to change to that directory and then "ls" to list what's in it. One of the items you'll see is "updaters" and you'll find Claris updaters in that directory.
- To download a file, type "get", a space, and the name of the file. This will download the file to the Internet host you are connected to which should happen pretty quickly. Then you need to download the file from the host to your hard drive. This takes a longer time since the file is being sent over the phone line via modem. You do this with the command "send filename protocol" where you substitute the name of the file for "filename" and the download protocol you want to use for "protocol". ClarisWorks defaults to the xmodem protocol.

The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog, by Ed Krol, gives specific examples of working on the Internet via command-line access and is an excellent book.