Step 2: Verify that the Dial-up Scripting Tool is Installed

Press the start button, select Programs, then Accessories. If the Dial-Up Scripting Tool shows up, you're ready to proceed to step 3.

If it is not there, and you have the Windows 95 CD, press the start button, select Settings..., then Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Select the Windows Setup tab, then click on the Have Disk.. option. Assuming your CD-ROM drive is E:, enter the path of e:\Admin\Apptools\Dscript. Press OK and the SLIP/CSLIP drivers and Dial-up Scripting Tool will be installed.

If you have Windows 95 on floppies, you can click here to download the Dial-up Scripting Tool and SLIP drivers directly from Microsoft (be aware, however, that their server is VERY busy). Then install the Dial-up Scripting Tool as shown in the above paragraph.

Step 3: Attach Your Script to a Dial-up Profile

Press the start button, select Programs, Accessories, then Dial-Up Scripting Tool. You'll see the utility's dialog box.

Your current dial-up profile(s) will be listed in the text area on the left. Select the profile for which you wrote the script, and then press the Browse button. If you saved your script in the Accessories folder, it should appear in the dialog box. Select it and press Open.

If you'd like to troubleshoot your script (recommended for the first time through), select the Step through script option. Upon connection, this will allow you to "step through" each line of your script and see the result in a terminal screen. When your script is working properly, select the Start terminal screen minimized option to keep the script window minimized when you connect.

Press the Apply button (it's best to keep the Dial-up Scripting Tool dialog box open until you finish troubleshooting your script) and get ready to try your script! When you are certain it works, you can press OK to close the Dial-up Scripting Tool. It does not have to be open when you connect for the script to work.

Step 4: Connect and Troubleshoot your Script

IMPORTANT! Before you connect and use your script, go to My Computer, double-click Dial-up Networking, select your dial-up profile, click the right mouse button, and select Properties. Underneath your modem (in the Connect using section), press the Configure button. Select the Options tab and make sure that in the Connection Control area, NEITHER OPTION IS SELECTED. Even though you probably had the Bring up terminal window after dialing option selected previously, the Dial-up Scripting Tool opens a terminal window anyway. Leaving this option checked will cause your script to fail.

Using Dial-up Networking, connect to your Internet service provider. Make sure your username and password are entered into the dialog box, since your script will need these variables to connect. If you chose to step through the script, a terminal window will appear upon connect and let you step through your script by pressing F7. Watch the result closely to track down errors in your script. You can press F3 during this process to cancel at any time.

Once your script connects reliably, turn off the Step through script option in the Dial-up Scripting Tool dialog box. You can also close the Dial-up Scripting Tool. It does not need to be open for the script to run. It will run automatically with your dial-up connection as long as it is attached properly.