Coversheet Creation

Coversheets can be generated by virtually any word processor that can generate PostScript output.  Coverpages MUST be postscript files, optionally containing merge-fields.  In the covers subdirectory found in the $HW_HOME directory you'll find two examples that will help you to see what is required.  You can easily see the strings in the example files that will be replaced. They are all upper case and are self-explanatory.  The only one that is not really obvious is the line that contains the word: HotWireFaxFont. This "word" *MUST*  be present and MUST appear on a line by itself with NO spaces or tabs. The word HotWireFaxFont can be any font, any size. This line is removed from the finished product coversheet output but is used by the cover page generator to scale the fonts and calculate the pitch, height, width & kerning.  All substituted strings will be reproduced in this font and size.  Strings are substituted a la 'sed' (but we don't actually use sed).

The magic word, HotWireFaxFont, may appear many times in a document.  Each time it is encountered by the cover-page generator, the current font is changed to whichever font the word HotWireFaxFont is in, and its kerning and geometry is set to that font's appropriate metrics. This font is used until the end of the coversheet or until another HotWireFaxFont magic word is encountered.

To "preview" the coversheet template and your prototypes without the need to print them you must move them to the subdirectory called covers in the $HW_HOME directory. The coverpage files MUST have the suffix of .ps or they will not be seen as coverpage. Once there, start the HotWire program by entering HotWire on the command line. From the main screen click on the Coversheet checkbox (it may already have the label "Default.ps"). Select your coversheet from the list and press the Preview button.

The coversheet generator replaces the following strings in the template: RECIPIENT, TO_FAX, FROM_FAX, FROM_VOICE, SENDER, DATE and PAGES. After the fields appear in the coversheet you may also have an unlimited number of lines with the single string @MERGE appearing at the beginning of each line. Each line containing the @MERGE symbol is replaced by one line of text from the Fax Body from the HotWire main screen if the Merge Text option is checked. An example follows:

====== Coversheet begins ======

HotWireFaxFont

To: RECIPIENT

Fax#: TO_FAX

Pages: PAGES

From: FROM

Date: DATE

HotWireFaxFont

Comments:

@MERGE

@MERGE

@MERGE

@MERGE

====== Coversheet ends ======

Entering the above text into a word processing document and then printing it to a file as PostScript output will generate a coversheet much like the Default.ps coversheet provided with the program. We have tested coversheets generated with WordPerfect and ApplixWare. As long as the output is PostScript Level 1, all text and graphics should appear as planned.