How To Use the AutoDial Feature in Network and WinSock Apps (137369)

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Windows 95 supports a new AutoDial feature. Using this feature, applications can initiate a dial-up connection to remote networks as needed. AutoDial is fully transparent from the programmer's point of view.

The following steps demonstrate this capability:

1. Ping abc.abc.abc.abc
2. If the destination IP address (or fully qualified name) cannot be resolved or connected locally (on a LAN for example), then the AutoDial window comes up, and a preconfigured Dial-Up Network Connection connects to a WAN link provider.

These steps also apply to any Windows Socket application that requests a connection to a destination that cannot be connected locally. There are no special coding techniques needed to program such applications.

The following versions of Window 95 have the AutoDial feature available:

• OEM preinstalled Windows 95
• Windows 95 with the Plus! pack.

The retail version of Windows 95 does not have the AutoDial feature. To use the AutoDial feature on the retail version of Windows 95, you must install the Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is available free of charge on the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com) subject to the licensing agreement. Once Microsoft Internet Explorer is installed, the Internet icon appears in the control panel. AutoDial can be configured by double-clicking this icon.

At the present time AutoDial is not available on Windows NT.