Introduction 
GUIDE is a GUI interface for executing MBMAN commands remotely from a PC running Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/2000.
The interface forms an MBMAN command from the various inputs given by the user and executes them remotely on the connected VMS server. It is presumed that the user is familiar with MBMAN and the VMS command subset since at the very minimum a cursory knowledge of VMS commands is required for effective use of the interface.
GUIDE is written using 100% pure Java and provides the advantages of the same. Currently it is available for MS Windows Operating System.
Installation and Configuration< 
GUIDE is Java based. It is recommended that the user have the following configuration for optimum performance
* Microsoft Windows NT/98/2000 
* Intel Pentium III 533 MHz. Or Higher or Corresponding processors 
* 128 MB of Onboard RAM 
* Sun/Compaq Java Development KIT 1.2 
At the very least the following configuration is recommended
* Microsoft Windows NT/98/2000 
* Intel Pentium Pro 200 or Better 
* 64 MB of Onboard RAM 
* Sun/Compaq Java Development KIT 1.2 
It should also be noted that the machine running GUIDE should be connected to the LAN and TCP/IP services on the same should be enabled. This is required for GUIDE to connect to VMS servers on the LAN. The current version of GUIDE cannot bypass Proxy Servers or go across Firewalls to access VMS Servers.
a. Installing the JDK 
The JDK (Java Development Kit) can be obtained either via FTP from the Sun Microsystems site or from Compaq Computer Corporation. To install the JDK please follow the documentation accompanying the JDK.
For running GUIDE the following steps need to be followed after installing the JDK
1. Set up the classpath either in the Autoexec.bat for Windows 98 systems or set it up in the Environment in Windows NT via Control Panel => System => Environment TAB. 
CLASSPATH = .;<JDK ClassPath>
Where JDK Classpath is path to the JDK Libraries as specified in the JDK installation documentation
2. Set the PATH variable to point to the Java binary. This is usually in the <drive:>\<JDK Directory>\bin 
Where drive: is the drive on which the JDK is installed usually C and <JDK Directory> is the directory containing the JDK. In case of JDK 1.2.1 residing on C drive this will be
PATH=C:\JDK1.2.1\bin;<rest of the PATH Component>
3. It is to be noted that in order to use the JIT (Just in Time) one needs to point to the appropriate directory for the same. In case of SUN JDK1.2 and above this resides in the JRE directory. So the path component would look like 
PATH=C:\JDK1.2.1\jre\bin;<rest of PATH component>
Usage of the JIT would result in faster loading of GUIDE. It is to be noted that the JIT is not essential to run GUIDE.
4. Unzip the contents of the supplied ZIP file containing GUIDE binaries to a directory of your choice. 
5. Test your connection to your VMS servers either by telnet or by ping 
b. Running GUIDE 
Once the JDK is configured and Setup. Open a command window and change to the directory containing GUIDE. For the purpose of this manual it is assumed to be in C:\GUIDE. Run the command GUIDE. This is a batch file. If you face problems running it through the Batch file then on the command line the following command should achieve the same.
<drive:>\<JDK Directory>\bin\java DDSMAIN 
if you want to use the JIT then the command would be
<drive:>\<JDK Directory>\jre\bin\java DDSMAIN
In both cases it assumed you are using Sun JDK. In case of other vendor JDK please refer to the packaged documentation of that JDK.
If step a) and b) have been followed you should now be seeing the GUIDE GUI.
Navigating the GUIDE Interface 
The GUIDE GUI closely follows the MBMAN tree structure for the organization of commands. All commands are found under respective MBMAN Entities. The user is expected to expand the required entity from the tree and select the command required from that entity. On selection, required components are displayed on the textfield. 

So the command would follow the following selection pattern
Peer VMS Entities => Set => Local Password
The corresponding box would be filled with [TYPE=IA5, IA5 STRING="password"] where password is the local password that needs to be set.
Once all the fields have been filled the submit button will send the data to the MBMAN interface running on the remote host thereby executing the required MBMAN command. The output is displayed on the Result window. 
Establishing Connection to a VMS 
The user has a number of options to connect to an VMS
a. Click on File Menu then click Connection option (First option in this menu) 
b. Press CTRL_N on the keyboard  

All of these result in the same operation being executed. The user is presented with a window, which contains 3 fields. For the Hostname the user can either enter the IP address or the hostname of the remote machine. The next two fields take the username and password for the remote host. It is advised to use the System administrator's account (root) for the respective machines as a large number of MBMAN commands can only be executed by a user with administrator privileges for that host.
On a successful connection the user is presented with a Connection to host and a option window to enter mbman. 
To terminate a connection the user has to choose. File=>DisConnect or CTRL_D.
Keyboard Shortcuts 
The following is a list of the keyboard shortcuts for GUIDE,
Action
Key
Help
F1
Open Connection
CTRL_N
About
CTRL_A
Cut
Ctrl+X
Copy
Ctrl+C
Paste
Ctrl+V
Close
Alt+F4
Selection
Shift+Required Direction Key
Trouble Shooting 
This sub section deals with various problems users might encounter while running GUIDE and possible solutions to these problems

1. Connection to host Failed 
This is GUIDE informing that it is not connected to any VMS host. Establish a connection to the same and try again
2. Connection Closed 
This message is displayed when GUIDE has closed the connection to the remote host
3. Connection problem on VMS 
At present GUIDE does not communicate well with VMS hosts. The problem being that, VMS hosts tend to detect client terminals. To overcome this comment out the lines SET TERMINAL/INQUIRE in the sylogin.com VMS startup file.
