Question

I am trying to use PuTTY to communicate over my computer’s serial line. I have configured the correct serial line, baud rate, number of data bits, stop bits, parity, and flow control, and established the connection. When I click OK to open the connection, I am shown a black screen and each of my key presses are sent without being shown on the screen (the window remains black). How do I configure PuTTY so that it only sends my commands or opcodes after I press enter?

I have used PuTTY while at college for Telnet / SSH and it always showed my commands and input them only after I pressed the enter key, so I am a bit confused.

Answer 1

The settings you need are “Local echo” and “Line editing” under the “Terminal” category on the left.

To get the characters to display on the screen as you enter them, set “Local echo” to “Force on”.

To get the terminal to not send the command until you press Enter, set “Local line editing” to “Force on”.

Explanation:

From the PuTTY User Manual (Found by clicking on the “Help” button in PuTTY):

4.3.8 ‘Local echo’

With local echo disabled, characters you type into the PuTTY window are not echoed in the window by PuTTY. They are simply sent to the server. (The server might choose to echo them back to you; this can’t be controlled from the PuTTY control panel.)

Some types of session need local echo, and many do not. In its default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether or not local echo is appropriate for the session you are working in. If you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use this configuration option to override its choice: you can force local echo to be turned on, or force it to be turned off, instead of relying on the automatic detection.

4.3.9 ‘Local line editing’
Normally, every character you type into the PuTTY window is sent immediately to the server the moment you type it.

If you enable local line editing, this changes. PuTTY will let you edit a whole line at a time locally, and the line will only be sent to the server when you press Return. If you make a mistake, you can use the Backspace key to correct it before you press Return, and the server will never see the mistake.

Since it is hard to edit a line locally without being able to see it, local line editing is mostly used in conjunction with local echo (section 4.3.8). This makes it ideal for use in raw mode or when connecting to MUDs or talkers. (Although some more advanced MUDs do occasionally turn local line editing on and turn local echo off, in order to accept a password from the user.)

Some types of session need local line editing, and many do not. In its default mode, PuTTY will automatically attempt to deduce whether or not local line editing is appropriate for the session you are working in. If you find it has made the wrong decision, you can use this configuration option to override its choice: you can force local line editing to be turned on, or force it to be turned off, instead of relying on the automatic detection.

Putty sometimes makes wrong choices when “Auto” is enabled for these options because it tries to detect the connection configuration. Applied to serial line, this is a bit trickier to do.