| User Manual |
|
| Contents of this page | |
 | |
|
|
| 1. Introduction | |
| |
| 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:
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. |
| 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. The main window covers about half the screen on a 1024 x 768 monitor and is roughly divided into 4 sections: |
|
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2. The File menu | |
| |
|
Put the mouse pointer and open the Enigma-menu (click on middle mouse button).
Slide off to File and watch the menu as shown here.
|
| 2.1 Simulation | |
| |
|
The first item in the File-menu
is Simulation and allows you to select the
Enigma of your choice. Slide off to open the menu and select the required Enigma model.
We call this the Enigma Class.
Some models have a further submenu that allows a Skin to be selected. This
skin only affects the cosmetics of the machine, not the functionality. The
reason for this is that for any given model (e.g. M3) different manufacturers
were used. Besides the models were modified and changes were applied as time went by.
The part below the dashed line contains the 'virtual' Enigma machines. These machines do not exist but are created for research of the cryptological aspects, or just for fun. |
M3, M1332
|
M3, M2114
|
M4 Naval machine
|
Air Force machine
|
G-312 Abwehr
|
| 2.2 Save current settings | |
| |
|
When the program is first started, the default Simulation is loaded, complete with
its default initial settings. When researching the Enigma, you may at some point want
to save the current simulation and the settings for that simulation. To do so,
select Save current settings from the menu.
Alternatively, press F3 on the keyboard.
A warning is issued before the settings are actually saved to disc.
|
| 2.3 Restore default settings | |
| |
|
This is the opposite of the previous item. Whenever you have saved the current settings,
but want to revert to the default one, select Restore default settings from the menu.
Alternatively press F2 on the keyboard.
A warning is issued before the default settings are actually restored.
|
| 3. The View menu | |
| |
|
Put the mouse pointer and open the Enigma-menu (click on middle mouse button).
Slide off to View and watch the menu as shown here.
The first section of this menu is about viewing the wiring of the various wheels, the ETW, the UKW and the Steckerbrett (plug board). This section is explained in more detail below. The next section affects the viewing of the windows of the first section. Next are the scrambler options (see Scrambler below). The first one, Scrambler, can be clicked to reveal the Scrambler-window. The option Show numbers should be ticked if you want to have a numbered index on the wheels, rather than the alphabet A-Z. The final section Direct message can be clicked to open two windows, 'Message in' and 'Message out', that can be used to type a plain or encrypted text directly. |
| 3.1 The Scrambler | |
| |
|
When entering a character from the keyboard, electric current
is fed via the Steckerbrett (if available) to the ETW (Eintrittzwalze).
Next it is passed from right to left through each of the 3 or 4 wheels
until it reaches the UKW (Umkehrwalze). The current is the 'reflected'
and passes the wheels from left to right until it reaches the ETW again.
From there it goes via the Steckerbrett to the lamp panel and will
activate one of the lamps. In order to study this process in more
detail the Scrambler window has been added.
Select from the Enigma-menu: {View > Scrambler}.
The window shown on the right will open. You may want to click on the image to view a larger version of it. The red line show the incoming current whenever a key is pressed. The returning current from the UKW is shown in blue. The alphabet indicators A-Z are given for clarity only. It can be used to study the translation of each individual wheel. You may want to use a numbered index 1-26 instead of the alphabet. If so, select Show numbers from the View-menu. |
|
|||
| 3.2 Viewing the wheel wiring | |
| |
|
Apart from following the current flow through the scrambler above,
you may also examine the exact wiring of each wheel as it changes
with each key press. From the View-menu any of the wheels, including
the ETW and UKW may be selected. E.g. select Wheel 1 from the menu
and watch the wiring change as you press a key.
If the option Allow multiple windows is off, only one of the wheels can be viewed at a time. If the option is ticked however, you may select any combination of wheels to be viewed, each in a separate window. Select View all to open all windows aligned side by side. |
|
|||
| 3.3 The Direct message windows | |
| |
|
Typing a message directly on the Enigma keyboard is a rather time
consuming activity. Especially when trying to decode a message, you
may want to enter text in a more direct way. Select Direct message
from the View-menu. Two small windows will be opened and the upper
one has the input focus. Type a message directly into this window and
see the cyphered message appear in the lower window.
The Direct message windows have their own menu, which can be opened by placing the pointer over one of the message windows and clicking Menu (middle mouse button). |
|
|||
|
Alternatively, if you have the input text available in a text file,
you may drop this file directly in the 'Message in' window.
|
| 4. Setting up the Enigma | |
| |
|
Before starting to encode or decode messages, the Enigma needs to be setup
for a given key. During WWII code books were used to provide a unique key
for every day. On a real Enigma this is a mechanical process that involves
opening the lid and removing the wheels. The key then gives the choice and
order of the wheels (e.g. 325). For every wheel the Ringstellung needs to
be set (e.g. AWM). The wheels are then inserted in the machine and the lid
is closed. Next the operator needs to set the initial position of each of
the wheels, called the Grundstellung (e.g. KNG). For a 4-wheel Enigma,
of course, 4 wheel parameters need to be set.
On some models the Umkehrwalze can be given a Grundstellung too.
If the machine is equipped with a Steckerbrett, the next thing to do is to setup the cross connections with a set of patch cables. Each cable swaps two letters, increasing the maximum number of encryption possibilities significantly. In the code book the Stecker connections were given as: AE RJ KM. This means that A is steckered to E and E is steckered to A. Also R is steckered to J, etc. |
| 4.1 Setting up the software | |
| |
|
In the Enigma Simulator we want to setup the same parameters as in the real thing. To do this Select Edit settings... from the Settings-menu. Alternatively, you may press Ctrl-E from the keyboard. On some Enigmas locks were used to keep the lid of the case closed. These locks are also present in the Enigma-window and you may click the mouse on them as an alternative to using the menu. The following window will open: |
|
In this window, all the basic settings can be entered and altered.
The order of the wheels is given in the way they are seen by the
operator. The leftmost settings are for the UKW. Whenever more than
one UKW is available, it can be selected by clicking the menu icon.
Next are the settings for the wheels (3 or 4). The numbers of the selected wheels are given in roman numbers, just like it is engraved on the actual wheels. Basic settings for all wheels are Walzenlage (wheel order), Ringstellung (ring setting) and Grundstellung (index setting). In the example given here, the UKW fields for Rungstellung and Grundstellung are greyed out. The reason for this is that for the given Enigma model, the position of the UKW is fixed and cannot be changed. |
|
|||
|
If you want to use the current position of the wheels as the
default Grundstellung, click the button marked Use current as Grundstellung.
For models with a Steckerbrett we also want to enter the letter
pairs to be swapped. Once you've completed the settings, click OK to confirm.
The Enigma will now be reset to the given settings and you
can start to type a message...
|
| 4.2 Steckers | |
| |
|
Some models are equipped with a Steckerbrett that will allow more
complex permutations that are far more difficult to crack. On those
models (M3 and M4) the Steckerbrett (patch panel, or plug board) is
visible in the bottom section of the main Enigma window. If no
steckers are used, every letter will be mapped to itself (self-steckered).
Whenever a patch cable is used, a pair of letters will be swapped.
The letter pairs, up to a theoretical maximum of 13, may be entered
in two different ways.
4.2.1 Using the 'Edit Settings'-window Letter pairs can be entered directly from the keyboard using the Edit settings window as described in the previous section. Type the required letter pairs in the 'Steckers' field, separated by a comma or space. When finished, click on OK to confirm. The Enigma will now be reset and the Steckers will become active. |
|
4.2.2 Using the visual Steckerbrett The visual Steckerbrett can be used as a more realistic alternative to the above. Select Steckerbrett... from the Setting menu, or press Ctrl-P, or click in the Steckerboard area in the main Enigma window. The Steckerbrett window will open and you are now able to add, alter or remove a patch cable simply by dragging the mouse. The window title shows how many cables are used and how many cables are available. Additionally, the Steckerbrett has an undo buffer that allows you go back up to 20 steps if you make a mistake. Please note that any changes made to this window will have immediate effect, i.e. there is no need to click an OK button. |
|
|||
|
The Steckerbrett window has its own menu that can be opened
in the usual way, by clicking Menu over it (middle mouse
button). Most of the options will be self-explanatory.
Remove all cables Use this function, or the keyboard short-cut Ctrl-M, to remove all cables from the Steckerbrett. If you click this option accidently, use the Undo feature to go back one step. |
|
Undo/Redo The Steckerbrett has a full Undo/Redo buffer that allows you to go back up to 20 steps, in case you've made a mistake. The size of the Undo buffer is currently fixed to 20 steps, but can be increased by changing the following line in the !Run-file:
Cable options The cables used on a real Enigma are black. In order to improve the display in such a way that you can distinguish each individual cable, you have the option to use red cables, or even fully coloured ones. If the option Short cables is ticked, you can see which two letters are connected (swapped) simply by following the cable. If you find this distracting, you may deselect the option, in which case the cables are all running down the window and will 'disappear' at the bottom. The final option allows you to exceed the available number of cables, just in case you want to experiment with this. If you want to run a realistic simulation however, you may want to leave this option unticked. |
| 4.3 Unlock mechanism | |
| |
| This option will be greyed out with most Enigma simulations, except for the G-models. As the Enigma G features a completely different wheel transport mechanism, a lever is used to unlock the wheels prior to changing the initial wheel position. This lever is accessible through a hole in the top of the cover, from the front of the Enigma. The lever can also be locked/unlocked by clicking on it in the main Enigma window. |
|
|||
| 4.4 Resetting the Enigma | |
| |
|
The Enigma Simulator can be reset to the default settings (as entered
in the Edit settings-window), by selecting
Reset from
the Settings-menu.
Alternatively you may press Ctrl-R on the keyboard.
You will hear a mechanical sound to indicate the fact that the machine
has been reset to the initial position. If the currently selected
Enigma model is equipped with a character counter, this counter
will also be reset.
|
| 4.5 Entering text | |
| |
|
Once the above settings are all completed, you may start to encode
or decode a message. Entering text can be done in a variety of ways.
Clicking the mouse You may use the mouse to click on any of the keys on the graphical keyboard in the Enigma-window. Be sure to keep the mouse depressed until you've seen which lamp is being lit. Whenever you release the mouse, the lamp will be switched off and there is no way back... just like on the real Enigma. Using the keyboard Whenever the Enigma-window has the input focus, you may use the keyboard to enter letters. Press the key of your choice (and keep it depressed) until you have seen the 'translation'. Whenever the key is released, the lamp will be switched off and there is no way back... This is exactly how a real Enigma works. Entering a fast message Alternatively you may open the Direct message-window from the View-menu and type a message directly into this window. Whenever the Message-window has the input focus, the simulator uses a fast translation and the realistic animations and sound of the Enigma-window are bypassed. Loading from file You may also prepare a complete message as a text file and drop this file in the Message in-window. This can be useful when decoding a range of messages that were all encrypted with the same key. |
| 5. Options | |
| |
|
The Options-menu, as shown on the right, gives access to a number
of options that can be set by the user. The default settings and some
other configurable parameters can be set in the Configure-window
(see below).
|
| 5.1 Sound | |
| |
|
The first option controls the sound which is on by default.
Whenever a key is pressed, a realistic sound sample is played.
The sound was recorded from a real Enigma M4 by Jim Oram in the USA.
Whenever the sound is considered to be disturbing, e.g. in a class room,
it may be turned off by deselecting this option.
|
| 5.2 Realistic | |
| |
|
The Enigma Simulator tries to mimic the behaviour of the real
Enigma as accurately as possible. Whenever a key is pressed it
takes a little while before the encoding is worked out. This
is exactly how a real Enigma behaves. Pressing a key involves
activating the rotating stepping mechanism of the wheels and
occasionally a turnover on the next wheel. First the mechanism
is moved into the new position and then the cyphering takes
place. A sound is used to illustrate the mechanical process.
Moving the wheels manually with the mouse in the Enigma-window
has the same behaviour as on a real Enigma. Here too a sound
is used to illustrate the movement.
If you don't want this realistic behaviour, you may turn it off by deselecting the option Realistic in the Options-menu. If you do so, the encoding process is much faster and the wheels can be moved in place more quickly. If you want to study the behaviour of the Enigma, you may want to leave this option on however. |
| 5.3 Lamp filter | |
| |
| Some Enigma models were equipped with an optional lamp filter. This is a transparent green filter that can be placed over the lamps on the lamp panel. Locks on the Enigma case were used to keep the filter in place. If available, the option Lamp filter can be used to turn the filter on or off. Alternatively, you may click on the locks in the Enigma-window to do the same. The filter was used to make the encoded letters better readable in bright sunlight. |
|
|
||||||||
| 5.4 Lamp box | |
| |
| The Swiss K Enigma was equipped with an external lamp box to allow an extra operator to read and write down the ciphered message. Use this option to open/close the extra lamp box. The option is greyed out on models without an external lamp box. Additionally, you may click on one of the 'locks' on the panel to add or remove a green lamp filter. |
|
|
||||||||
| 5.5 Texture & Lighter | |
| |
|
The bottom section of the Options-menu controls the appearance
of the Enigma's metal case in the Enigma-window. By default
a rather dark metal texture will be used that closely resembles
the actual texture of the Enigma. If Texture is deselected,
a dark grey colour will be used instead.
Additionally, you way want to tick the option Lighter to make both texture and background colour a little bit lighter. This can be useful if your monitor has a low contrast. |
|
|
||||||||
| 5.5 Configuring the software | |
| |
|
From version 1.00 onwards, support for !Config has been implemented.
!Config is a separate application that is available freely
from X-Ample Technology or from
the RISC OS Enigma pages.
Open the iconbar menu and click Choices...
|
|
A configuration window will open, showing all user configurable
settings of !Enigma. The top of the window shows a number
of TABs, each referring to a group of settings. Click the
appropriate TAB to view the settings. Make any changes as
required and click Save once you are satisfied with your
new choices.
About Config !Config must be 'seen' by the filer before starting !Enigma. The best place to install !Config is in the Boot.Resources directory on your harddisc. Full details can be found in the !Config application. |
|
|||
| © Copyright Paul Reuvers. Last changed: Fri,29 Mar 2002.10:00:40 | ||
| ||
