User Manual |

1. Introduction |

Contents of this page |

1.1 About this manual 1.2 Introduction 1.3 Installation 1.4 Starting the Enigma Simulator 1.5 Updating the software

1.1 About this manual |

In the manual and in the actual simulator itself, I've tried to use the most common Enigma terminology as found in most publications. The problem here is that we have three possible sources: German UK English USA English E.g. the movable wheels are called Walze in Germany, Wheels in the UK and Rotors in the USA. Whenever possible, I've used the original German expressions, as most of these were used at Bletchley Park during WWII. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the RISC OS operating system and the use of the window environment and mouse. The three mouse buttons have been designated as usual: Select, Menu and Adjust. Furthermore some basic knowlegde of the working principle of the Enigma might be useful. If you are interested in knowing how this program was conceived, you may want to read about Writing the Enigma Simulator

1.2 Introduction |

The Enigma is probably one of the best known devices for message encryption and decryption that was used by the Germans during WWII. This program provides a realistic simulation of the various Enigma models that were used both commercially and by the Military Service. The Enigma is an electro-mechanical device that 'translates' any letter from the keyboard into another one by turing on a lamp on the lamp panel. The translation process is carried out by a series of wheels (Walze) that is moved with each key press.

1.3 Installation |

|  | Installation of the software is straightforward. Unpack the file esim/zip with a suitable program such as SparkFS. Next drag the !Enigma-icon to the destination of your choice on your harddisc. That's all...

1.4 Starting the Enigma Simulator |

|  | The Enigma Simulator is started, just like any other RISC OS application, simply by double clicking its icon on the harddisc. After a few seconds the Enigma-icon will appear on the iconbar and the default simulation will be opened in a large window. It is perfectly possible to open multiple Enigma windows, simply by starting yet another copy, e.g. when comparing the behaviour of two different machines. The second window will initially open at an offset position, so that you can still see the first one. See the section on Multiple windows further down this manual. The main window covers about half the screen on a 1024 x 768 monitor and is roughly divided into 4 sections:

Example of the M3 Enigma with serial number M2114
The wheel-section |
This is the mechanical part of the machine. It consists of 3 of 4 rotating wheels, the Eintrittswalze (ETW) and the Umkehrwalze (UKW). Some models are also equipped with a counter. The mechanics are hidden by a lid throught which we can see the the current setting of the wheels and these settings to the desired positon.
The lamp panel |
This section contains the 26 lamps A-Z. A lamp will be lit whenever a key is pressed.
The keyboard |
This is the keyboard containing 26 keys A-Z. Note the German layout of this keyboard (QWERTZ...) instead of the more common English layout (QWERTY...). Some keyboards have extra symbols on the keys as well.
The plug board (steckerbrett) if present |
To increase the maximum number of permutations of the device, some models are equipped with a plug panel (steckerbrett) that can be used to swap the letters in pairs. E.g. If A is mapped to P, then P is also mapped to A.

1.5 Updating the software |

New versions of the software may be made available in time as and when bugs are fixed or new new features have been added. You can always find the latest version of !Enigma on the Enigma web pages, by clicking the Web site... in the Info window. Please note that !Enigma is partly depending on some other applications, so you may need to update these too from time to time. If a newer version of such an external program is needed, !Enigma will prompt a message when it is started and allow you to collect the required software from the Internet.

© Copyright Paul Reuvers. Last changed: Mon,18 Aug 2003.08:27:47