Infrared Data Association Relnotes.doc File (Part 2 of 2)

Last reviewed: November 13, 1995
Article ID: Q139543

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95

                               SUMMARY
                               =======

This information is a copy of the information in the Relnotes.doc file included with the Microsoft Windows 95 Infrared Communications Driver version 1.0.

                           MORE INFORMATION
                           ================

          ---------------------------------------------------
          Microsoft Windows 95 Infrared Communications Driver
                                                  Version 1.0
                                                Release Notes
          ---------------------------------------------------

Road Map for Installing and Using the IR Communications Driver Step 1. Installing the IR Communications Driver Step 2. Validating the IR Communications Driver Installation Printing to an IR-Capable Printer Exchanging Data Between Two Computers Step 3. Running Other IR-Capable Applications An Optional Step: Removing the IR Communications Driver Notes on Running the Direct Cable Connection Application Over an IR Link Preparing to use DCC Making Sure DCC Is Installed on Both Computers (Optional) Installing DCC Establishing and Using the DCC IR Link Between Host and Guest IR Communications Driver Components IR Adapter Manufacturer Names and Addresses

ROAD MAP FOR INSTALLING AND USING THE IR COMMUNICATIONS DRIVER

You must carry out a three-step process to use the IR communications driver:

Install the Windows 95 IR Communications driver.
Validate the installation by using an application to transfer data over the IR link.
Start running other communicating applications over the IR link.

After you install the driver, you can remove it at any time by running the Windows 95 Control Panel Add/Remove Programs feature.

Each of these steps, including the driver removal step, is presented in detail below.

Step 1. Installing the IR Communications Driver

NOTE: You must always remove any previously installed version of the IR

      communications driver every time you install the driver. For
      example, if you have an earlier (Beta) version of the IR
      communications driver already installed you must remove it before
      you install Version 1.0. You may also need to remove an installation
      of the Version 1.0 driver. For example, if you change the IR adapter
      model that is connected to your computer, you must remove the
      installed IR communications driver and reinstall it, specifying the
      new IR adapter type. Instructions for removing the IR communications
      driver are in "An Optional Step: Removing the IR Communications
      Driver."

To install the IR communications driver, do the following:

a. Click the Start button and select the Run option.

b. In the Run dialog, open the Setup program (SETUP.EXE) from the Infrared

   setup location. After the Setup program copies some files, it starts
   the Add Infrared Device Wizard.

c. When the wizard prompts you to choose a manufacturer's name for your IR

   device, choose "(Standard Infrared Devices)" if you have a computer
   with a built-in device, or choose the name of the manufacturer and the
   model of the adapter if you have an IR adapter attached to the computer.

d. When the wizard prompts you to choose the communications port that the

   IR device is physically connected to, click the port from the list. If
   you are not certain which physical communications port the IR device is
   using, make your best guess.

e. When you are done with the wizard, click the Finish button to complete

   the IR device installation. The wizard should have briefly displayed
   New Hardware Found messages. If the wizard did not display these
   messages, then restart the computer.

f. Activate the IR device by clicking the Start button, pointing to

   Settings, and then clicking Control Panel. Double-click the Infrared
   icon.

g. If you chose the correct port in Step d., the Infrared Monitor interface

   screen appears. If you did not choose the correct port, a message
   appears telling you that the port you have chosen is being used by
   another program. Click OK. When the Infrared Monitor interface appears,
   click the Options tab, and then choose a different communications port
   (for example, COM1 instead of COM2). Repeat this step until you have
   chosen the correct port.

For general information about how to use the Infrared Monitor, click the Help button in the lower-right corner of the Infrared Monitor interface screen. To get information about individual items in the Infrared Monitor interface, such as check boxes, click the question-mark (?) button in the upper-right corner of the screen and then click the item you want information about.

The Options tab of the Infrared Monitor interface contains the following two particularly useful items:

The Enable Infrared Communication On check box, which enables and disables the IR device.
The Limit Connection Speed To option, which limits the link speed the IR device can negotiate.

You might want to use the Limit Connection Speed To option if an adapter is attached to a COM port that is using an 8250 UART instead of a 16550 UART, or if an adapter is connected to a relatively slow computer (such as a 386 running at 20 MHz). In these cases, you could use this option to limit the connection speed to 19.2 Kbps.

Step 2. Validating the IR Communications Driver Installation

To validate your IR communications driver installation, you can either:

Print from an application over an IR link to an IR-capable printer.
Exchange data between two IR-capable computers over an IR link, using a communications application.

Printing to an IR-Capable Printer:

If you are testing the printing capability of a Windows 95 application over an IR link to an IrDA-compliant printer such as the HP 5P, then you need to carry out the installation step for the IR communications driver on one computer and then try the Print option in an application. Make sure you have the correct printer driver installed for your IR-capable printer and that you have selected the infrared printing port (virtual LPT port) as the printer port. If the application prints on the IR-capable printer, you have validated the link.

If you have trouble printing, see "Troubleshooting" for more information.

Exchanging Data Between Two Computers:

To validate a link between two computers running Windows 95, you must install the IR communications driver on both computers. To do this, carry out the procedure in "Step 1. Installing the IR Communications Driver" earlier in this document.

Note that the IR devices on the two computers do not have to be made by the same manufacturer as long as both devices are IrDA-compliant. For example, you could have a JetEye PC Infrared PC Interface (ESI-9680) attached to one desktop computer and an Adaptec AIRport APA-9320 External Infrared Adapter attached to the other desktop and the IR link will work.

One way to validate an IR link is to run the HyperTerminal application on both computers and send characters from the keyboard of each computer over the IR link. HyperTerminal is installed on a Windows 95 computer as part of the typical installation that is recommended for most computers. To validate your installation of the IR driver on both computers, carry out the following procedure:

a. On both computers, click the Start button, point to Settings, and then

   click the Control Panel. Double-click the Infrared icon. Then move the
   IR devices within 3 feet of each other, and make sure they're pointing
   at each other. When the two IR devices discover each other, the message
   "Available infrared devices in range" will appear on the Status tab of
   the Infrared Monitor interface screen. Make sure Infrared Monitor
   reports both IR devices have the appropriate infrared device within
   range before you proceed. You might have to realign the IR devices so
   they point right at each other, move them closer together, and/or
   change the batteries in an IR adapter or plug the AC power into an IR
   adapter. For more information, see "Troubleshooting" earlier in the
   document.

b. On one of the computers, click the Options tab in the Infrared Monitor

   interface and find the information that starts with "Providing
   application support on ...". Write down the name of the COM port you
   find there. This is the name of the simulated serial port that the IR
   link using. The name of this virtual serial port might be COM4 or COM5
   and it will differ from the name of the physical communications port
   your IR device is running on (which is typically named COM1 or COM2).

c. Run HyperTerminal on the computer for which you have the virtual serial

   port name by clicking the Start button, pointing to Programs, pointing
   to Accessories, and then clicking the HyperTerminal folder. In the
   window that appears, double-click the Hypertrm.exe icon.

d. In the Connection Description dialog box, type a descriptive name (such

   as "Direct IR") for the new connection, and then click OK.

e. In the Phone Number dialog box, use the Connect Using drop-down list to

   click the "Direct to Comx" entry, where x is the number of the virtual
   COM port that you wrote down in Step b. Then click OK. You are ready to
   start using HyperTerminal on one of the computers.

f. Repeat steps b. through e. for the other computer.

g. In HyperTerminal on either computer, type any characters at the

   keyboard. If the characters you type appear in the HyperTerminal window
   on the other computer, then you have confirmed that the IR link works
   in that direction. Repeat this step on the other computer. If the IR
   link works in both directions using HyperTerminal, you have confirmed
   the successful installation of the IR communications driver on the two
   computers.

   Note the changes in status that are displayed in the Status tab of the
   Infrared Monitor interface while you type characters in HyperTerminal.

h. Disconnect the HyperTerminal direct IR connection by exiting the

   HyperTerminal application on both computers. When you are prompted to
   save the session, click Yes. This saves the direct IR connection setup
   information as an icon in the HyperTerminal main folder. You can
   double-click this icon to restart one side of the HyperTerminal direct
   IR connection.

Step 3. Running Other IR-Capable Applications

Most applications that can communicate over a null modem cable that is connecting serial ports on two Windows 95 computers should also be able to communicate over an IR link. The procedure for setting up and using the IR link in these other communicating applications will probably be similar to the procedure you use in Step 2 of the Roadmap, when you use the HyperTerminal application to validate the installation of the IR communications driver.

An Optional Step: Removing the IR Communications Driver

To remove the IR communications driver, including all the files and registry entries, carry out the following procedure:

a. Make sure the Infrared Monitor (Irmon.exe) is not running. If it is

   running, you must restart the computer, or you can close the Infrared
   Monitor dialog box, press CTRL+ALT+DEL, click Irmon, and then click End
   Task.

b. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click the Control

   Panel.

c. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon, and then click the

   Install/Uninstall tab.

d. In the list of installed software, click the name of the IR

   communications entry, and then click the Add/Remove button. For this
   release of the IR communications driver, the entry in the software list
   to click is "Infrared Support for Windows 95 Version 1.0."

e. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes. The Infrared

   icon will no longer appear in the Control Panel folder

Notes on Running the Direct Cable Connection Application Over an IR Link

With Direct Cable Connection (DCC), you can establish a direct serial or parallel cable connection between two computers to share the resources of the computer designated as the host. DCC can also be used over an IR link.

Preparing to Use DCC:

The computer that contains the folder you want to share is the host, and the other computer is the guest. Share a folder on the host, granting access rights to anyone using the guest computer, by carrying out the procedure given below.

NOTE: The following procedure is just one of many that could be used to

      share files in a folder on the host computer. For example, there is
      user-level access control as well as share-level access control. The
      following procedure is one of the simplest access control
      procedures, which is all that is needed to get you started using
      DCC. To get information about all the ways files, folders, and
      printers can be shared, use the Windows 95 Help.

a. Double-click on the My Computer icon.

b. Double-click on the icon of the drive that contains the folder you want

   to share (for example, double-click on the icon for the C: drive).

c. Right-click on the icon of the folder you want to share and then select

   Properties.

d. In the folder properties dialog, select the Sharing tab and then select

   the Shared As option, enter a share name, enter a comment, and add user
   access rights (Full or Read-Only).

e. The picture of a hand is added to the folder icon to indicate the

   selected folder is now a shared resource.

Making Sure DCC Is Installed on Both Computers:

DCC is not installed with the typical Windows 95 installation recommended for most computers. So you must check whether DCC is installed on both of the two computers that will be using the IR link. To do this, click the Start button, point to Programs, and then point to Accessories. Direct Cable Connection appears in this menu of it is installed on this computer.

If you find that DCC is installed on the host and DCC is installed on the guest, you can skip the next step.

(Optional) Installing DCC:

Before you can establish a DCC connection, DCC must be installed on both the host and guest. The procedure for installing DCC is given below. If you found that DCC is not installed on either the host or the guest, you must run the following procedure twice (once on each machine).

a. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click the Control

   Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

b. In the Add/Remove Program Properties, click the Windows Setup tab.

c. In the Components list, click Communications, and then click the

   Details button.

d. In the Communications dialog box, make sure Direct Cable Connection is

   checked and then click OK.

Establishing and Using the DCC IR Link Between Host and Guest:

To run DCC over an IR link, carry out the following procedure:

a. Make sure the IR communications driver is properly installed and the IR

   devices are enabled by carrying out the procedures in "Step 1.
   Installing the IR Communications Driver" and "Step 2. Validating the IR
   Communications Driver Installation" earlier in this document.

   NOTE: You might want to limit the IR connection speed to 9600 bps for
         the first test of DCC over the IR link (and then increase the
         speed later).

b. On the host computer, click the Start button, point to Accessories, and

   then click Direct Cable Connection.

c. Follow the steps in the Direct Cable Connection Wizard to set up the

   host computer. When the wizard prompts you, select the Host option.
   When the wizard prompts you to choose a port, use the same virtual port
   as you used in the procedure "Step 2. Validating the IR Communications
   Driver Installation" earlier in this document. The wizard will also
   offer password protection. You do not need to establish password
   protection on the host for this test of the IR link. When you are done
   with the wizard, click the Finish button. DCC will start running on the
   IR link and display the message "Status: Waiting to connect via Serial
   cable on Comx," where Comx is the name of the virtual port the IR link
   is using.

d. Repeat steps b. and c. for the guest computer, except when the wizard

   prompts you select the Guest option instead of the Host option. When
   you are done with the wizard, click the Finish button. The DCC
   connection is automatically made over the IR link, and all the shared
   folders on the host are displayed on the guest's screen.

e. Working on the guest computer, to copy a shared folder from the host to

   the guest over the IR link select the folder's icon in the window that
   displays all the shared folders that are on the host and drag the icon
   to the desktop. To work on a shared folder on the host without copying
   it to the guest, double-click on the folder in the display on the
   guest. Note that if the host is connected to a network, the guest can
   reach shared resources on the network through the DCC connection to the
   host.

IR COMMUNICATIONS DRIVER COMPONENTS

The files that make up the IR communications driver are:

   Filename     Description
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   ACT200L.VXD   Support for the ACTiSYS ACT-IR200L IR adapter.
   ACT220L.VXD   Support for the ACTiSYS ACT-IR220L IR adapter.
   ADAPTEC.VXD   Support for Adaptec IR adapter.
   CRYSTAL.VXD   Support for AMP PhasIR Serial Adapter.
   ESI.VXD       Support for Extended Systems JetEye PC Infrared Interface
                 (ESI9680).
   INFRARED.CPL  Infrared device in the Windows 95 Control Panel.
   INFRARED.DLL  Infrared device class installer.
   INFRARED.INF  IR device information file for Windows 95 Setup.
   INFRARED.HLP  On-line help topics for Infrared Monitor.
   IRCOMM.VXD    Top layer of IR communications for Windows 95.
   IRENUM.VXD    Enumerator for the "IR bus."
   IRLAMP.VXD    Generic infrared framer, lower layer of IR communications
                 for Windows 95.
   IRMON.EXE     Infrared Monitor.
   IRMONHLP.EXE
   IR_BEGIN.WAV  Sound for Infrared Monitor user interface.
   IR_END.WAV    Sound for Infrared Monitor user interface.
   IR_INTER.WAV  Sound for Infrared Monitor user interface.
   MSPORTS.INF   IR port information file for Windows 95 Setup.
   PARALLAX.VXD  Support for Parallax IR Adapter, LiteLink PRA9500A.
   SETUP.EXE     Installs the Windows 95 Infrared communications driver.
   W_IR.CNT      Table of contents for Infrared Monitor on-line help.

The documentation files supplied with the IR device driver are:

   Filename      Description
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   RELNOTES.DOC  This document.
   LICENSE.TXT   Terms and limitations for using the driver.

IR ADAPTER MANUFACTURER NAMES AND ADDRESSES

The names and addresses of manufacturers of IR adapters that have been successfully tested with the IR driver executable in the IR Communications for Windows 95 DDK:

   ACTiSYS, Inc.
   1507 Fulton Place
   Fremont CA 94539
   tel: 510-490-8024
   fax: 510-623-7268
   email: corp@actisys.com

   Adaptec, Inc.
   691 South Milpitas Blvd,
   Milpitas CA 95035
   tel: 1-800-959-7274
   fax: 1-408-957-7223

   AMP Product Information Center
   AMP Incorporated
   Harrisburg PA 17105
   tel: 1-800-522-6752

   Extended Systems, Inc.
   5777 North Meeker Ave
   Boise ID 83704-1520
   tel: 208-322-7575
   fax: 208-377-1906

   The Parallax IR adapter distributor in North America is:
   TSC Electronics
   1610 Lockness Place
   Torrance CA 90501
   tel: 310 534 2738
   fax: 310 534 3216
   email: dtsaitsc@aol.com
   contact person: Daniel Tsai

   The Parallax IR adapter distributor outside North America is:
   Parallax Research
   201 Innovation Centre
   NTU
   Nanyang Drive
   Singapore 639798
   Republic of Singapore
   tel: +65 793 0855
   fax: +65 793 0775
   email: parallax@technet.sg

KBCategory: kbreadme
KBSubcategory: win95
Additional reference words: 95

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Last reviewed: November 13, 1995
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