# Modem Lights Applet

Copyright © 2000 by John Fleck

# Modem Lights Applet

`Modem Lights Applet`, shown in Figure 1, monitors your modem while it is working. To add this applet to a Panel, right-click on the panel and choose Panel->Add to panel->Applet->Network->Modem Lights

Figure 1. Modem Lights Applet

## Usage

This applet can be used to tell if your modem is working, and to track its behavior and performance. It can also be configured to call a separate script or program to have your modem connect and disconnect when you click on the button with the single green light.

Right-clicking on the applet brings up a menu containing the following items:

- Properties— brings up `Properties` dialog

- Help — brings up this document.

- About — shows basic information about the `Modem Lights Applet`, including the applet's version and author's name.

## Customization

You can customize `Modem Lights Applet` by right-clicking on it and choosing Properties…. This will open the Modem Lights Settings dialog (shown in Figure 2, which allows you to change various settings.

Figure 2. Preferences dialog

The properties are:

- `Show connect time and throughput` — have `Modem Lights Applet's` graphic display expand to include two small text boxes showing the current data transfer rate (top) and connect time (bottom).

  `Connect command:` and `Disconnect command:` — To use `Modem Lights Applet` to initiate a connection, place the name of the startup command in the `Connect command` text box, and the disconnect command in the box beneath it labeled `Disconnect command`. When you click on the single button on the applet, it will connect or disconnect your modem.

- `Confirm connection` — Display a dialog box confirming your connection.

- `Updates per second` — Set the update rate of `Modem Lights Applet's` display.

- `Show connect time and throughput` — add two text windows to the applet showing the time you have been connected at the data transfer rate. This is a good way to monitor your modem's performance.

After you have made all the changes you want, click on OK to apply the changes and close the Properties dialog. To cancel the changes and return to previous values, click the Cancel button.

Figure 3. Advanced preferences dialog

`Modem Lights Applet's` Advanced preferences window allows you to control advanced features of the applet.

The properties are:

- `Modem lock file:` — specifies the file created by the computer when the modem is working, allowing other programs to know it is in operation. `/var/lock/LCK..modem`, the default setting, is the most common, if your computer uses a symbolic link from `/dev/modem` to the actual modem device. Check with your system administrator to see if a different device name and therefore lock file is in use. `Modem Lights Applet` needs this information to find and monitor your modem.

- `Verify owner of lock file` — verify that the lockfile really belongs to the currently running PPP daemon and is not left over from an older one. This is checked by default and shouldn't be changed.

- `Device` — Device, typically `ppp0` on a Linux machine, is the name of the network interface being used by the modem. If `ppp0` is not correct for your machine, check your system documentation for the correct designation.

  Other possible network interface names commonly used include `ippp0` for Linux ISDN; `isp0` for NetBSD ISDN and `ipdptp0` for Solaris PPP.

- `Use ISDN` — If you use an ISDN modem, check the `Use ISDN` checkbox. `Modem Lights Applet` will then ignore all the settings above related to standard modems.

After you have made all the changes you want, click on OK to apply the changes and close the Properties dialog. To cancel the changes and return to previous values, click the Cancel button.

After you made all the choices you want, click on OK to make the changes and close the Properties dialog. To cancel the changes and return to previous values, click on Cancel button.

## Known bugs and limitations

The `Verify lock file` check box on the advanced preferences window should always be left true. It is likely to be removed from future versions of `Modem Lights Applet.`

## Authors

`Modem Lights Applet` was written by John Ellis (`<johne@bellatlantic.net>`) and Martin Baulig (`<martin@home-of-linux.org>`). Please send all comments, suggestions, and bug reports to the GNOME bug tracking database. (Instructions for submitting bug reports can be found on-line. If you are using GNOME 1.1 or later, you can also use `Bug Report Tool` (bug-buddy), available in the Utilities submenu of Main Menu, for submitting bug reports.

This manual was written by John Fleck (`<jfleck@inkstain.net>`). Please send all comments and suggestions regarding this manual to the GNOME Documentation Project by sending an email to `<docs@gnome.org>`. You can also submit comments online by using the GNOME Documentation Status Table.

## License

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

A copy of the GNU General Public License is included as an appendix to the GNOME Users Guide. You may also obtain a copy of the GNU General Public License from the Free Software Foundation by visiting their Web site or by writing to

Free Software Foundation, Inc.
59 Temple Place - Suite 330
Boston, MA 02111-1307
USA