Chapter 4 - Using StreetTalk and STDA
StreetTalk is the directory service you use to locate and interact with users and resources in the VINES network. A directory service is a specialized database, similar to a telephone directory. This database, also referred to as the StreetTalk catalog, contains the names of all the users and resources on your network.
StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA) is a search facility that lets you quickly and easily search for and access the StreetTalk names of users, lists, and services found on your network.
This chapter describes how you can use the StreetTalk databse and STDA to search for and access information about users and network resources.
In Chapter 2, you learned the format of StreetTalk usernames. The format is the same for all other network resources - printers, file volumes, and so forth. Every StreetTalk name follows the format Item@Group@Organization. This section describes this format in more detail.
Item@Group@Organization
The Item name is the most detailed part of the StreetTalk name. For users, it is usually their full name; for printers, it can be the type of printer (Laser Printer) or where the printer is located (Sales Printer).
Item@Group@Organization
The Group name is the name of the group to which the item name belongs. For users, it can be their department (Sales or Marketing); for printers, it can be the department where the printer is located (Sales or Marketing).
Item@Group@Organization
The Organization name is the name of the organization the group belongs to. In smaller networks, the organization name is usually the name of the company.
Larger networks can have multiple organization names. For example, a company like World Commodity Trading (WCT) with branch offices in many countries, would specify organization names for each country. WCTUS is the organization name for the company's US branch and WCTNI is the organization name for the company's Japan branch.
Example StreetTalk Username
Courtney Bryan, who works in the Marketing department in the Chicago offices of WCT, has this StreetTalk name:
Courtney E. Bryan@Mkt@WCTUS
Example StreetTalk Printer Name
The laser printer in Courtney's department has this StreetTalk name:
Laser Printer@Mkt@WCTUS
Example StreetTalk File Volume Name
The Marketing department maintains a file volume for data files on prospect profiles. The file volume has this StreetTalk name:
Prospect Files@Mkt@WCTUS
Complete StreetTalk names can be quite long - up to 63 characters. Your system administrator can create shorter nicknames to use in place of complete StreetTalk names.
Example StreetTalk Nickname
Courtney Bryan has the StreetTalk name Courtney E. Bryan@Mkt@WCTUS. The system administrator also assigned her the nickname CEB@Mkt@WCTUS. When she logs in, Courtney can type CEB (the item part of her nickname) instead of her full item name, Courtney E. Bryan.
You can look up nicknames in the StreetTalk database or through STDA. The StreetTalk database and STDA are discussed later in this chapter.
A list is a StreetTalk name that represents many StreetTalk names. Lists are a convenient way to refer to many names by using just one single name. Although everyone in the network can use them, lists are created and managed only by system or group administrators.
Example StreetTalk List
The system administrator at WCT's Chicago office created the list Midwest Brokers@Mkt@WCTUS. This list contains the StreetTalk names of 10 commodity brokers in the Midwest group. To send the same mail message to all 10 brokers, a user simply types Midwest Brokers in the Address field of the mail message form.
You can look up lists in the StreetTalk database or through STDA. The StreetTalk database and STDA are discussed later in this chapter.
All StreetTalk names are stored in the StreetTalk database. Within the catalog, names are organized into classes, such as users, printers, and file volumes. The StreetTalk database makes it easy for you to identify and locate users and resources in the network.
Just as a telephone directory helps you utilize the telephone network, StreetTalk helps you find:
Other users who you want to communicate with (via electronic mail or the VINES CHAT program). For more information, see Chapter 7. File volumes that contain applications and data that you need (through the VINES SETDRIVE program). For more information, see Chapter 8. Printers and other network resources (through the VINES SETPRINT program). Chapter 9 describes VINES SETPRINT.
Although everyone in the VINES network can use StreetTalk names, only system and group administrators create them.
Usually, you select StreetTalk names from menus. There are times, however, when you have to type a name.
The StreetTalk database is used by some VINES programs to search for and access StreetTalk names.
Access the StreetTalk database in one of two ways:
From the VINES Main Menu, select option 2, Catalog of StreetTalk Names, and press ENTER. From the system prompt, type names and press ENTER.
The StreetTalk Catalog menu appears.
When you select a class, StreetTalk displays the names belonging to that class. Initially, you see the names most closely related to you, such as users in your group, printers in your group, groups in your organization, and so forth.
Using the StreetTalk database, you can also search for other names, such as users in another organization. For more information on finding names in the catalog, see the next section.
Finding names in the StreetTalk database is easy. You are guided by menus and helpful screen prompts.
To search for names, use the arrow keys to highlight the appropriate class in the StreetTalk Catalog menu and press ENTER.
The sections that follow describe the different ways you search for users. You use the same technique to view any class of information in the StreetTalk database.
Looking at Users in Your Group
To look at users in your group:
1. Select Users from the StreetTalk Catalog menu and press ENTER. The Select A Name menu appears.
2. Select SELECT from list below and press ENTER.
3. Use the arrow keys to highlight the user for whom you would like a description and press ENTER.
The user's complete StreetTalk name and description displays.
If you select Duncan Fraser from the Select A Name menu, the bottom of the screen displays:
Duncan Fraser@Sal@WCTUS:
Salesperson (555)555-1162 Chicago HQ
Press HOME to return to top of screen
You look at another user's description in your group by using the same selection process as above. To return to the upper portion of the menu, press HOME.
Searching for Users in Another Group
To view users in another group:
1. Select SEARCH for other names from the Select A Name menu and press ENTER. The Search For Names menu appears.
2. Select option 1, Names in Another Group, and press ENTER. The system prompts:
Type the name of a group and press ENTER.
3. To find the users in, for example, the Sales group at World Commodity Trading, type sales and press ENTER. After you enter a group name, the names of the users in that group display.
For descriptions of individual users in that group, select SELECT from list below from the Select A Name menu. Then page through the list to select the name and view its description.
Searching for Users in an Organization
To look at users in an organization:
1. Select SEARCH for other names from the Select A Name menu and press ENTER. The Search For Names menu appears.
2. Select option 2, Names in an Organization, and press ENTER. StreetTalk prompts:
Type the name of an organization and press ENTER.
3. To find the users in the organization WCTUS, for example, type wctus and press ENTER. After you enter an organization name, the names of the users in that organization display.
For descriptions of individual users in that organization, select SELECT from list below from the Select A Name menu. Then page through the list to select the name and view its description.
Searching for Names that Match a Pattern
You can use search patterns to find names in the StreetTalk database. A search pattern is entered using the asterisk (*) wildcard.
An asterisk in a pattern tells StreetTalk to search for and display names that have any number of characters in the same position as the asterisk. For example, the pattern, "B*" could mean "Bob," "Bill," or "Barbara."
To search for names that match a pattern:
1. Select SEARCH for other names from the Select A Name menu and press ENTER. The Search For Names menu appears.
2. Select option 3, Names that Match a Pattern, and press ENTER. The system displays the following screen.
3. Enter a pattern following the examples provided on the screen.
After you enter the pattern, the names that match display.
Example Searching for a Group
John J. Sims wants to find out what group Doris Selo is in and types this pattern:
Doris Selo@*@WCTUS
StreetTalk searches for the group, and then displays the following message:
1 username matches Doris Selo@*@WCTUS
1 - Doris Selo@Fin@WCTUS
Example Searching for a Printer
John cannot remember the name of the printer in the Sales department, but he knows the item name starts with "Laser." He types this pattern:
Laser*@Sal@WCTUS
StreetTalk searches for items in the group Sales@WCTUS that begin with the word "Laser," and then displays this message:
1 print queue matches Laser*@Sal@WCTUS
1 - LaserJetII@Sales@WCTUS
When you use wildcards, the amount of time the search takes depends on where you place the wildcards and how many StreetTalk databases must be searched. Searches take longer if your network is large and complex.
Another way to search for StreetTalk names is to use StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA), explained in the next section. STDA was designed for larger or more complex networks.
StreetTalk Directory Assistance
StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA) is a network service that enables you to quickly and easily access and search through a special database listing the StreetTalk names of users, lists, and services found on your network.
STDA periodically saves a version of the StreetTalk database to create its own database. This database is designed to let you quickly look up users and other network resources.
To use STDA, load the STDIRECT program into your workstation's memory. Putting the program into memory allows you to access STDA from anywhere in VINES.
To load the program, type stdirect at the system prompt and press ENTER.
X:\USER1> stdirect
STDirect has been loaded. Press Alt-N to activate.
X:\USER1>
A system message informs you that the STDIRECT program is loaded. If you attempt to load STDIRECT into workstation memory more than once, you see the following system message:
STDirect is already resident.
Invoke STDA by pressing a hotkey. A hotkey is a key combination you press that performs an operation.
The STDIRECT default hotkey is ALT-N. The hotkey activates the STDIRECT program, which displays the database on your workstation's screen. You can redefine the hotkey to another key combination. For more information on redefining the hotkey, see "Customizing STDIRECT" later in this chapter.
OS/2
If your workstation runs OS/2, the STDIRECT hotkey is not supported for your workstation. You can access STDA from the SETPRINT program and the VINES Mail application if this option is installed on your network.
You can also access STDA through the VINES Messages application, described in Appendix A.
When you invoke STDA, the STDA screen partially overlays the current display on your workstation.
The STDA database is divided into six classes of StreetTalk names:
Users Lists Printers File Volumes Other Services Nicknames
The Other Services class includes services other than print services or file volumes, such as mail gateways, 3270 SNA, or Netbios communications.
Each STDA class displays separately, one at a time. You page through the class or switch the display to another STDA class. Paging through the names and classes is described in "Paging Through Lists and Classes" later in this chapter.
By default, the first class of StreetTalk names displayed on the STDA screen is the Users class.
To exit STDA, press F10 or ESC.
To view on-line help while accessing STDA, press F1. To page through the instructions, press PG DN or PG UP.
Topics included in STDA help are:
Paging through the current class of names on the STDA screen Switching classes of names for viewing, using the STDA search buffer Using the STDA subset search function Accessing STDA while using the Network Mail option
Examples of subset searches are also provided.
To exit STDA help, press ESC.
Each time you display the STDA database at your workstation, the STDA Users class displays first.
The cursor highlights the first name on the list, which in this example is Richard Adams. The names listed appear in alphabetical order, by last name. All other STDA classes (lists, printers, file volumes, other services, and nicknames) are sorted by the first name that appears in the item part of the StreetTalk name.
In this example, Richard Adams has the description "European Sales Liaison, x1789." If the name has no description, the description area remains blank.
Paging Through Lists and Classes
To page through the list of names or to another class, either:
Press one of the directional keys on your keyboard. Enter a string of characters to begin a search through the database. For more information on the character string search, see Using the Search Buffer" later in this chapter.
The directional keys are defined in Table 4-1.
Every time the STDA class changes, the list of names changes. The name of the STDA class currently displayed appears in the upper right-hand corner of the STDA screen. For example, in the previous screen display, the class Users displays.
Using the Search Buffer
If you want to find a name more quickly than you can with the directional keys on your keyboard, type characters into a search buffer on the STDA screen. You do not have to access a menu to do this; just start typing. As you type in characters, they appear in the upper left-hand corner portion of the STDA screen.
The search buffer accepts only alphanumeric characters. Do not use blank spaces, delimiters (such as [ ], , and so on), or special characters.
You can type up to 32 characters into the search buffer before clearing the buffer. Characters can be erased from the buffer at any time. To erase the last character typed into the search buffer, press BACKSPACE. To erase all characters in the buffer, press ESC.
The search buffer appears as soon as you enter the characters. STDA rapidly searches through the displayed list of names as each character is typed, looking for an exact match. Often the name is found after two or three characters have been entered.
Example Using the Search Buffer
The characters AD, when typed into the search buffer, locate the name Susan Adams.
STDA searches for the first name that matches the given characters in the list. As you add characters to the string in the search buffer, STDA continues to move the cursor if the search characters match any name listed.
When no exact match is found, the cursor stays on the last name matched. For example, if the characters typed into the search buffer were FIZ, the cursor would stay on the name Gwendolyn Fitzpatrick.
Using the Subset Search Function
To search the STDA database for a particular list of names that match a pattern, press F2 to use the STDA subset search function. The STDA Subset Search screen appears.
The Subset Search screen overlays the STDA screen. You are prompted to supply a StreetTalk name pattern and a description pattern. Use either or both to perform a subset search:
Type the StreetTalk name pattern and press ENTER. The cursor moves to the Description field. Type a pattern that contains some or all of the characters you expect to find in the Description field and press ENTER. You can use wildcards anywhere in the patterns.
If you want to cancel the subset search before it completes, press ESC to return to the STDA screen.
The STDA subset search includes names from all six of the STDA classes (users, lists, printers, and so on). However, you view one class of names at a time. The subset list of names currently displayed is that of the current STDA class. You view the other names in other classes by switching from one STDA class to another (using RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW).
Example Using Search Patterns
If Duncan Fraser wants a list of all managers in the Finance Department that match the name pattern *@Fin@WCTUS and the description pattern *Manager*, he:
1. Accesses STDA. The Users class appears by default.
2. Presses F2 to display the Subset Search screen.
3. Types in the patterns at the prompts and presses ENTER.
When STDA completes the subset search, the STDA screen reappears, where the names that match the patterns display.
In the example, Lance Frisbie's description is "Accounting Manager, x9600." If the search was conducted only on the name pattern *@Fin@WCTUS, the list would contain more names.
The description of F2, located in the lower right-hand corner margin of the STDA screen, changed from the previous screen. To return from the subset list of names to the full list of StreetTalk names, press F2.
If no names exist in a given STDA class in a subset search, no names are listed for that STDA class. When you switch to that STDA class to view the subset of names found, your workstation bell rings and you are sent out of subset search mode back to the full list of names for that class. Thereafter, you must attempt the same search again to view a subset of names.
To view the subset search names for a given STDA class:
1. Switch the view on the STDA screen to the desired class.
2. Perform the subset search.
Removing STDIRECT from Workstation Memory
To remove the STDIRECT program from your workstation's memory, use the STDOFF command by typing stdoff at the system prompt:
F:\DUNCANF> stdoff
A message appears informing you the STDIRECT program is no longer in memory:
STDirect has been removed from memory.
If you loaded another program into memory after you loaded STDIRECT, you must first remove the other program before removing STDIRECT. Otherwise, you receive the following system message:
F:\DUNCANF> stdoff
STDirect cannot be removed from the PC's memory.
Another program was loaded into memory after STDirect.
Remove that program from memory, then try again.
This section describes how to customize the STDIRECT command and is written for more advanced users. You can customize the STDIRECT command to:
Determine the classes you want displayed Redefine the hotkey used to access STDA Specify the STDA database from a particular VINES server
The STDIRECT command has the following command format:
STDIRECT [/C:types] [/HOTKEY:x] [/S:servername]
The three switches are optional and may appear in any order on the command line.
/C:types determines which STDA classes are viewed in the STDA database retrieved. The STDA class types are represented by the first letter of each class name, as shown in Table 4-2.
The default displays all six STDA classes in the STDA database retrieved. You can get around the default by using the /C switch to view selected classes.
Example Viewing Selected Classes
If you are only interested in looking at the names of users, lists, and nicknames on the network, specify /c:uln with the STDIRECT command:
F:\DUNCANF> stdirect /c:uln
The /c:uln switch specifies that only users, lists, and nicknames display in the retrieved database. Printers, file volumes, and other services do not display.
DOS
/HOTKEY:x redefines the STDIRECT hotkey from the default, ALT-N, to any other letter (A through Z) on the keyboard, when used with the ALT key. Numbers, delimiters (such as [ ], , and so on), or other characters are not applicable. You can only use the hotkey from DOS.
Example Redefining the Hotkey
To change the hotkey to ALT-S, specify /hotkey:s with the STDIRECT command:
F:\DUNCANF> stdirect /hotkey:s
The ALT-N key combination no longer accesses STDA. You must press ALT-S to access STDA.
/S:servername specifies which server retrieves the STDA database for display at a workstation. When the hotkey is invoked, the default retrieves the first STDA database available, regardless of which server contains the database. Use the /S switch if you want to get the STDA database from the same source (server) every time you use the STDIRECT hotkey. Consult your system administrator for more information about using this switch.
