poly-STAR for DOS
Version 2.41
poly-STAR comes in both text and graphics versions. poly-STAR/T provides support of DEC text terminals including the VT320 and VT220. poly-STAR/G supports Digital's 16-color VT240, VT241 and VT340, as well as the text terminals. poly-STAR/G also supports display and output of DEC's sixel graphics. Both products provide DEC's Tektronix 4010/4014 terminal emulation.
Features
Terminal Emulation
With poly-STAR you can display 132 columns of data on your screen, in full resolution, with one of the many supported video adapters. With a super VGA, or EGA with our Pixel-Packer, poly-STAR will display 132 columns of data on your screen with full 800 horizontal pixel resolution. With other adapters, poly-STAR will provide a full-screen compressed image, or a full image through scrolling.
The Direct File Access feature for ReGIS files is invoked by a single keystroke or command. This gives users the ability to view ReGIS files almost instantaneously, without running the VAX application that created them.
poly-STAR's online color setup capability lets your easily select and modify the background, foreground, and graphics colors of your choice. It has the ability to display double high, double wide characters.
If you prefer your own keyboard layout, our KTEDIT remapping utility lets you move keys where your want them to be, including the Num-Lock key. Making new layouts is easy and witching between them is fast. Keys can even be programmed with strings of characters to make them into function keys.
User Interfaces and Online Help
poly-STAR gives you a choice of user interfaces, and a choice of mouse or keyboard input. If you like menus to help step you through the emulator, choose the menu option with its pop up windows and accelerator keys. If you want to bypass menus and enter simple commands to accomplish your tasks, choose the command window. poly-STAR puts online, context-sensitive help at your fingertips whenever you need it.
Communications
poly-STAR supports a variety of methods for connecting your PC to a DEC host including direct asynchronous, terminal server, modems, and a multitude of network connections.
Multiple Sessions and Hotkeys
Needing quick access to more than one application on the VAX can be important. You can start multiple applications, such as E-mail, word processing, and order entry, then switch between them with a simple hotkey. You can have up to four asynchronous sessions and up to 20 sessions with our LAT drivers.
poly-STAR provides two host/DOS hotkeys. A Terminate Stay Resident leaves STAR in memory and takes you to the DOS prompt for PC mode operations. If you need the PC RAM memory that STAR uses, for a large DOS application, we have a RAM Retriever hotkey that unloads STAR from memory while still maintaining your VAX sessions. The RAM Retriever takes only 30K of memory, leaving the rest for your DOS application.
Memory
poly-STAR can free up PC memory through our expanded memory support (EMS). Many of poly-STAR's overlays for ReGIS, menus, and the command window can be swapped into expanded memory -- up to 64K. poly-STAR can also make use of "HIMEM" by placing such modules as our screen driver, communications driver, and LAT driver into high memory.
Scripting Language
poly-STAR has the most powerful scripting language available for VT emulators. Anything that can be executed by a person from the keyboard can be accomplished automatically by our scripting language. This includes automating logons/logoffs, dialing modems, doing files transfers, and executing middle-of-the-night applications. It also supports numeric and string variables for handling non-specific input. Scripts can be initiated at boot time, as the initial program mode, from menus, from a user defined key, with a remote control escape sequence, and from the command window.
Remote Control
These features are a series of escape sequences that can be sent from a VAX host to control operations on the PC. These special sequences can initiate the uploading or downloading of files and can even start a program running on the PC. They could be used to integrate PC applications in an ALL-IN-1 menu. Selecting an applications from the ALL-IN-1 menu would cause the VAX to send a remote command to the PC, starting the application, and returning the the ALL-In-1 menu when the application is finished. Remote control can be a powerful tool and is unique to Polygon, Inc.
Terminals Emulated:
poly-STAR/T - VT320, VT220, VT100, VT52, Tektronix 4010/4014.
poly-STAR/G - VT330 and VT340 ReGIS and Sixel graphics, VT240, VT241, and VT125, Tektronix 4010/4014, plus the text terminals above.
PC Requirements:
IBM PS/2, AT, 386, 486, Pentium, or compatible, Floppy disk drive - 3.5 inches (1.44M); Operating system - DOS version 3.1 or above; Memory - 384K for the emulator; Video adapters - VGA or compatible, EGA, CGA (text only), and Monochrome (text only); Monitor - any compatible with above adapters; Some boards may require a multi-sync monitor; Mouse - support but not required; Pixel-Packer - optional module attaches to any 100% IBM compatible EGA adapter with 256K.
Supported 132-Column Adapters:
Manufacturers: Paradise, Video Seven, Chips & Technology, Genoa Systems, Tseng Labs, ATI, Hercules (text only) and other compatible adapters using chip sets from one of the above manufactures; Compatibility may vary with board types and manufacturers' revisions.
Communication Requirements:
Connections: direct, modem, network; Line speeds: 50-115, 200; Data Bits: 7 or 8 bits; Parity: none, odd, even, space (0s), mark (1s); Flow Control: XON/XOFF, none; Hardware: 8250, 16550A and compatible UARTs.
File Transfer:
Streaming (ASCII); KERMIT, X and Y modem.
Printer Support:
Serial and parallel printers with XON/XOFF flow control; All DEC printers, including LJ250, LJ252, LA50, LA75, LA210, LN03 and DEClaser 2100 for text and graphics; HP LaserJet (4 resolutions - 75 to 300 dpi), HP PaintJet (color), IBM Proprinter and Graphics printer, and Epson printers.