TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual

Advise

Links your terminal with another user's terminal so that you can give commands to that user's job. The advisee can still give commands to his job.

Format

@ADVISE (USER) argument

where:

argument: is either a user name or terminal line number.

Characteristics

Input to Other Job

For as long as the ADVISE command is in effect, the commands you give affect the advisee's job instead of your own.

Ending Advice

To end an advising link that you have formed between terminals, you must type CTRL/E. This CTRL/E is not echoed on either terminal.

Refused Advice

Ordinarily, you cannot advise a job unless its terminal is set to receive advice. However, if you have WHEEL or OPERATOR capabilities enabled, you can ADVISE any job, providing the user has not given the TERMINAL INHIBIT command.

Special ADVISE Commands

Once you are advising another job, you can give special commands to send comments or control characters, or to relink to a terminal that has broken links with yours. These commands are:

CTRL/E	End an ADVISE link
CTRL/~ +	Restart an ADVISE link after a BREAK command is typed at the advised terminal
CTRL/~ (	Start a comment (or use the REMARK command)
CTRL/~ )	End a comment (or use the REMARK command)
CTRL/~ ?	Display the list of ADVISE control characters
CTRL/~<CHAR>	Send CTRL/CHAR
	Note that the tilde character (~) can have different meanings with various terminal models. Consult your terminal's manual for the character equivalent to 36 octal in ASCII code.

Special Cases

Advisee Has More Than One Job

If more than one job is logged in under the user name you specify, the system gives you a list of that user's terminal numbers and associated programs to choose from, then prints TTY: to prompt your response. Type your choice of terminal number after the prompt.

Advising a Pseudoterminal (PTY:)

If you try to advise a PTY: the system informs you of this and asks you to confirm with a carriage return.

Restrictions

Compatible Terminals

Unless the terminals involved in an advising link have compatible characteristics (such as terminal width, ability to handle tabs and lowercase letters), some information can be lost or overprinted. To avoid this problem, the user of the faster or more capable terminal should adjust his terminal's characteristics, if possible before the ADVISE command is given.

Detached Jobs

You cannot advise detached jobs.

Warning

Talking Between a VT100 and a VT52

If links between VT100 and VT52 terminals are established using an ADVISE (or TALK) command, the VT52 may function improperly during or after the linked interval (for example, by requiring frequent CTRL/Q commands to print multiple lines of output). Turning the terminal off and then on again (after the linked interval) will correct this problem.

Effect on Terminal

The ADVISE command leaves your terminal at the advisee's terminal's command level, controlling his job.

Related Commands

RECEIVE ADVICE	for allowing other users to advise you
REFUSE ADVICE	for preventing other users from advising you
REMARK	for sending comments only
TALK	for linking terminals so that your commands affect only your own job
TERMINAL INHIBIT	for refusing all types of terminal communication including advice, links, system messages, user messages, and notices of new mail.

Examples

Advise a user, then immediately type CTRL/E to end advice.

@ADVISE D.CROWLEY
 Escape character is <CTRL>E, type <CTRL>^? for help
 D.CROWLEY JOB 51 EXEC

LINK FROM LATTA, TTY 226
 [Advising]

^E  !Not displayed on terminal
 [Advice terminated]

Advise a user's job and access a directory for him.

@ADVISE BONSAVAGE
 Escape character is <CTRL>E, type <CTRL>^? for help
 BONSAVAGE JOB 48 EXEC

LINK FROM LATTA, TTY 226
 [Advising]
!I'LL ACCESS THE DIRECTORY FOR YOU, THEN YOU CAN USE IT.
@ACCESS <SARTINI>
Password:
@!OKAY, NOW YOU CAN USE IT.
@!Thank you.
^E
 [Advice terminated]

Advise another user, demonstrating how to use the FILCOM program.

@ADVISE D.CROWLEY
 Escape character is <CTRL>E, type <CTRL>^? for help
 D.CROWLEY JOB 51 EXEC

LINK FROM LATTA, TTY 226
 [Advising]
!HERE'S HOW TO COMPARE FILES USING THE FILCOM PROGRAM.
@FILCOM

*=VERCBL.TXT, BAKVER.TXT/A

No differences encountered

*^C
@!SEE?  THE SWITCH AT THE END (/A) MEANS TO COMPARE THEM IN ASCII
@!MODE. DON'T FORGET THE CTRL/C WHEN YOU'RE DONE.
@!THANKS.
^E
 [Advice terminated]

Advise a user who is logged in at more than one terminal. Choose one of them.

@ADVISE LATTA
 TTY25, EXEC
 TTY41, EXEC
 TTY27, EXEC
TTY: 27
 Escape character is <CTRL>E, type <CTRL>^? for help
 LATTA Job 22 EXEC

LINK FROM D.CROWLEY, TTY 225
 [Advising]
     .
     .
     .
^E
 [Advice terminated]

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