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Situation:
Because of the nature of remote control, speed is especially important. This document describes five speed enhancement tips for pcAnywhere:

- Correct modem configuration
- ColorScale
- pcAnywhere cachefile
- Optimize Desktop for Remote Control
- File Transfer connection items

Solution:
Correct modem configuration
Always ensure that you have the latest drivers for your modems. New drivers often fix minor bugs that can slow down modem performance.

Always make sure that your modem's Maximum Speed is set to an optimal level - this level is usually not the fastest possible speed (115,200 kps) but the speed at which your modem on your computer can most efficiently transfer and process data. For more information on how to determine the optimal setting for your modem, see the document How to determine the optimal settings for your modem.

ColorScale
You can use the pcAnywhere ColorScale feature to reduce the number of colors transmitted during a remote control session. pcAnywhere color scaling gives you the option of using 2, 4, or 16 colors. For color scaling to take effect, set the host to 256 or more colors.

For example, when you set ColorScale to two colors, pcAnywhere transmits only two colors. Your display will not look the way you are accustomed to, but it will be faster. A big advantage of color scaling is that you set it on the remote side. This means the host does not have to change video settings, and the remote can choose either speed or more colors.

To enable the ColorScale option, follow these steps:

1. pcANYWHERE32 7.x and 8.x: Click File and then click Application Options.
   pcAnywhere 9.x: Click Tools and then click Application Options.
2. Click the Remote Operation tab.
3. Choose 2, 4 or 16 colors from the ColorScale list.
4. Click OK.

pcAnywhere cache file
The pcAnywhere cache file feature saves screens sent from the host to the remote. Older versions of pcAnywhere cached this information during a connection so the same data did not have to be sent again during any one session. However, the cache file was not saved from session to session, so the next time the connection was made, pcAnywhere had to recreate the cache. pcAnywhere solves this problem by using a persistent cache.

The persistent cache works on both the host and the remote computer. The host computer uses a table that tracks which screens were sent to which remote during the last connections. The remote cache file contains the screens themselves. Upon connection, the host transmits its cache information to the remote computer, and updates the host table. Then, if the host needs to send a screen that is in the cache, it signals the remote to pull the data from the cachefile.

The larger the cache file you can configure, the more speed you gain. You can choose from a range of cache file settings from disabled to as high as 1920K in version 7.0 or 16384K in version 7.5 and later. pcAnywhere stores the cache file in the \Program Files\pcAnywhere folder.

To change the persistent cache setting, follow these steps:

1. pcANYWHERE32 7.x and 8.x: Click File and then click Application Options.
   pcAnywhere 9.x: Click Tools and then click Application Options.
2. Click the Remote Operation tab.
3. Change the pcAnywhere cachefile to the size you want.
4. Click OK.

Optimize Desktop for Remote Control
The Optimize Desktop for Remote Control feature disables the host computer's Windows background and any screen savers upon connection. Screen savers and backgrounds can take up enormous amounts of transfer time when displayed on the remote. When the remote disconnects from the host, pcAnywhere restores the background and screen saver.

To enable Optimize Desktop for Remote Control, follow these steps:

1. pcANYWHERE32 7.x and 8.x: Click File and then click Application Options.
   pcAnywhere 9.x: Click Tools and then click Application Options.
2. Click the Remote Operation tab.
3. Click the "Optimize desktop for remote control" option.
4. Click OK.

File Transfer connection items
You can automatically launch a file transfer by clicking a File Transfer connection item, instead of a Remote Control connection item. This option saves you the extra effort of opening the pcAnywhere File Manager after connection. Note that this works only when you are connecting a pcAnywhere remote to a pcAnywhere host.

To use a File Transfer connection item, follow these steps:

1. Click File Transfer from the pcAnywhere action bar.
2. Double-click the connection item you want to use. pcAnywhere automatically launches the File Manager upon connection.

NOTE: File Transfer and Remote Control connection items are identical. Once you create an item under remote control, it automatically updates the File Transfer connection items.

 

Document ID: 1996112510510
Last Modified: 02/26/2003
Date Created: 11/25/1996
Operating System(s): All Supported
Product(s): pcAnywhere 9.0

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