[Selecting a Telnet Application] [Using Telnet Through Your Web Browser]
[Yeah, yeah, but how do I GET AROUND in a Talker?]

Terry's Telnet Tips

Okay, you've made it onto the Internet, and now you're ready to enter the wonderful world of chatting. While you can visit a number of Web chat sites, some of them can be kind of frustrating, because you have to continuously refresh your screen to see what everybody's saying. That's where a telnet application comes in handy.

Selecting a Telnet Application

If you don't already have a telnet, or terminal, application (such as Trumpet Telnet, NetTerm, EWAN, etc.), you'll need to get one. There are a number of telnet applications available as freeware or shareware, and I'll describe some of them here. (The applications listed below are for use with either Windows 3.x or Win95.) For a complete review of these products, check out the 'Terminal Apps' section of Stroud's Consummate List of Winsock Applications.

Trumpet Telnet for Win 3.x

Homepage: http://www.trumpet.com.au/

Trumpet Telnet is a no-frills freeware telnet application, that a new user should be able to use with little or no difficulty. When I was at their site, however, I couldn't find a link to this software. Hmmmmmm! Thankfully, the 'Telnet Apps' section of Stroud's Consummate List of Winsock Applications has a link to an FTP site to download a copy. (Thank you, Stroud's!)

NetTerm for Win 3.x or Win95

Homepage: http://starbase.neosoft.com/~zkrr01/netterm.html

NetTerm is an excellent shareware application available from InterSoft International, Inc. You can download a time-limited demo version of their product from the above site. It supports multiple sessions, custom foreground/background colors and allows you to store the addresses for your favorite telnet sites. NetTerm also has FTP and 'Finger' capability.

CRT for Windows 3.x or Win95

Homepage: http://www.vandyke.com/vandyke/crt/

CRT, also shareware, is another good telnet application with a time-limited demo available from the above site. It supports multiple sessions, custom foreground/background colors and lets you store addresses for your favorite sites.

EWAN for Windows 3.x

Homepage: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~zander/ewan.html

For freeware, I'm not sure EWAN can be beat. It supports multiple sessions, custom foreground/background colors and font sizes, plus gives you the capability of storing the addresses of your favorite sites.

GMud for Win95

Homepage: http://www.oeonline.com/~morton/gmud.html

GMud is my choice for a shareware telnet application. It has a text box at the bottom of the screen that you enter your text into (makes it a bit easier to catch those typos before you hit the ENTER key). It supports multiple sessions, custom foreground/background colors and fonts, and lets you store addresses for your favorite sites. You can also set up macros in GMud for commands that you use frequently.

Using Telnet With Your Web Browser

Okay, so you've selected a telnet application and installed it. (You DID remember to do a virus scan BEFORE you installed it, right?) Now what? If you want to be able to telnet to chat lines from your browser, you will need to set the application up as the default telnet app in your browser.

Netscape Users

(These instructions are written for Netscape version 2.02. If you're running a different version, the instructions should be similar.)

Click on 'OPTIONS', then 'PREFERENCES', then 'APPS'.

In the 'Telnet Application' dialog box, enter the directory and name of the telnet application you just downloaded and installed. (Hopefully, you remember where you saved it to, and what the name of the file is.)

If you don't remember the file name, click on 'BROWSE', then locate the directory and the .EXE file that you just installed. For example, if you downloaded Trumpet Telnet and placed it in your C: drive, in the TRMPTL directory (which is the default directory that Trumpet will create if you haven't specified another one), the command line that shows up in the 'TELNET APPLICATION' dialog box should read:

		C:\trmptel\trmptel.exe

Once you've browsed to the directory and file name for your telnet application, double-click on the .exe file with your mouse. You'll return to the APPS window in Netscape. Take a look. Is your telnet application showing up in the 'Telnet Application' dialog box? If it is, click on the 'OK' button. If it's not, go back to step 2 or 3 above and try again.

You'll want to save the new information you just fed your browser, so click on 'OPTIONS', then 'SAVE OPTIONS' to do that.

Okay, so you've now set up your telnet application in Netscape and you're ready to get online! Yay! If you want to connect to one of the chat lines listed in my talker list, go to:

http://www.stairway.org/tickle/talkers.html

Click on the name of whichever talker you want to try out. If you successfully installed your telnet application and set it up right in your browser, your telnet application will be called up automatically and you'll be taken to a 'login' screen.

"Ack!!!" you say, "Now what do I do?" Don't panic! I've prepared some Talker Tips to help you along.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Users

(These instructions are written for Internet Explorer version 3.0. If you're running a different version, the instructions should be similar.)

Click on 'VIEW', then 'OPTIONS', then 'PROGRAMS'.

Under 'VIEWERS', click on the 'FILE TYPES' box.

Scroll down the list of registered file types until you find the one called 'URL:Telnet Protocol', then click on 'EDIT'.

Click on 'EDIT' again in the 'Edit File Type' dialog box. It will bring up another dialog box called 'Editing action for type: URL:Telnet Protocol'.

If you don't remember the file name, click on 'BROWSE', then locate the directory and the .EXE file that you just installed. For example, if you downloaded Trumpet Telnet and placed it in your C: drive, in the TRMPTL directory (which is the default directory that Trumpet will create if you haven't specified another one), the command line that shows up in the 'Application used to perform action' dialog box should read:

		C:\trmptel\trmptel.exe

Once you've browsed to the directory and file name for your telnet application, double-click on the .exe file with your mouse. You'll return to the 'EDIT FILE TYPE' dialog box in Explorer. Take a look. Is your telnet application showing up in the 'Telnet Application' dialog box? If it is, click on the 'CLOSE' button. If it's not, go back to step 2 or 3 above and try again.

Click on 'CLOSE' again to exit the 'FILE TYPES' dialog box.

Click on 'OK' to exit the 'OPTIONS' dialog box.

Okay, so you've now set up your telnet application in Internet Explorer and you're ready to get online! Yay! If you want to connect to one of the chat lines listed in my talker list, go to:

http://www.stairway.org/tickle/talkers.html

"Ack!!!" you say, "Now what do I do?" Don't panic! I've prepared some Talker Tips to help you along.

Still having trouble? Need more help? Feel free to email me at webmaster@stairway.org! In order for me to help you, make sure you tell me what platform you're using (Windows 3.x, Win95, MacIntosh, etc.), what telnet and browser applications you use and specific details about the problems you're having. I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

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