Simtel MSDOS 1992 June/SIMTEL_0692.cdr/msdos/database/refbas21.arc/EPSON.DOC

Text File | 1989-08-01 | 7.5 KB | 162 lines

EPSON.EXE -- Printer Setup Utility for the Epson FX Series Printers.


EPSON.EXE was born out of need.  I needed a printer control program
  for my Epson FX-85 which was fairly quick, was NOT memory resident,
  allowed me to input all combinations of printer font control codes,
  allowed setting of NLQ modes and sending of Formfeeds and Linefeeds
  from the keyboard.  After wasting a lot of time downloading
  cumbersome printer control programs, I found a Turbo Pascal file
  called FXRX80.PAS which was a modified version (by Phil Wheeler) of
  a program called FX80 originally written by Mark Davis.  After
  adding a few lines here and there, I think I got a workable version
  of what I need.  I hope it proves useful for others as well.

If you have a hard disk, put the program in your UTILITY subdirectory
  or any other subdirectory which is on your system's PATH.  Prior to
  printing a text file, you may enter EPSON from any DOS prompt and
  use the program to set virtually anything settable with the EPSON
  escape code sequences by just entering the right numbers (or
  combination of numbers).  You may even eject the current page,
  advance to a new line, turn on NLQ and even turn off the dreaded
  "Paper Out" sensor (although some printer ports seem to turn it
  right back on again!).  The program is run from a menu, and is VERY
  simple to use.

While named EPSON.EXE, if you like something else for a name (like
  PSET or something), just rename the file to anyname.EXE and use
  that.

The program is written in Turbo Pascal, and I have source code for
both Turbo Versions 3.0 and 4.0.  The present version was compiled
with version 4.0 and is very small and fast.  The control codes work
on my FX-85, and should be pretty generic for any Epson-compatible
printer except that (naturally) control codes for non-supported
features on older printers won't work.  The source code is available
to anyone who wants it by sending $5 to:

                       James R. Connolly
                        C&J Consultants
                         3923 Smith SE
                     Albuquerque, NM  87108

You will get a floppy disk by return mail within 2 weeks (usually
less).  The code is VERY simple, and can be modified pretty easily for
other printers and recompiled as long as you have a Turbo Pascal
compiler.  I have a version for a Tandy DMP-430 printer in the works,
but haven't gotten all the bugs out yet.


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EPSON.EXE -- WHAT IT WON'T DO:
-------------------------------------

  --> It DOES NOT automatically perform a printer reset when first
      called (an irritating feature of many printer control programs).
      A printer reset AFTER you are at the top of the form is a good
      idea before setting a bunch of options.

  --> It IS NOT memory resident.  It may be called only from DOS or
      from programs which run a DOS command.  If you have programs
      which DO NOT shell to DOS (Turbo Pascal is an example), you
      might look for the program HOTDOS by Robert Best.  It may be
      found on many BBSs and allows you to set aside a portion of your
      RAM as a partition to which you can "shell" from any program.
      EPSON.EXE uses well under 20 K of RAM to run.

  --> The program DOES NOT check the printer status.  You need to make
      sure your printer is turned on before you execute any commands.
      Escape sequences for printer control are sent immediately, not
      saved up and sent on exit as with some other programs.  Some
      varieties of BIOS will halt your program, so if things get stuck
      and you don't know why, make sure the printer is on.

  --> Printer output goes to LPT1 (Turbo Pascal's Default LST
      address).  If you have a serial printer you need to use DOS'
      MODE command to may the PRN (Printer) output to COM1.  Consult
      your DOS manual. Printers assigned to LPT2 will not work without
      some redirection tricks.

  --> It wont make your RX-80 or FX-80 do things it is not capable of
      (like NLQ and some other things).  It should be usable with
      those printers, however, without any problems.  It will NOT work
      properly with the IBM Graphics or Proprinters since the escape
      sequences are somewhat different.  If you have Turbo Pascal and
      a manual for your printer, you can pretty easily modify those
      escape codes which don't work for your printer and recompile the
      program.


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EPSON.EXE -- WHAT IT CAN DO:
---------------------------------
  --> It CAN be used to set (and unset) most normal type styles
      (Elite, Pica, Near Letter Quality, Compressed, Italics,
      Proportional, Subscript, Superscript).  I added one combination
      for Compressed- Elite on the menu, but for most "combination"
      modes just enter a series of commands.  For instance for "tiny"
      type, select subscript, then compressed, then double strike and
      set the line spacing desired using the n/72 command with a value
      of less than 8.  Some of the modes cannot be combined (for
      instance Proportional and Compressed, and NLQ and Elite or
      Compressed are not valid combinations).

  --> It can reset to the default (Pica 10 pitch) type without
      resetting other modes (line spacing, underline, etc.).

  --> It can send line- and form-feeds without requiring you to take
      the printer offline.

  --> It can set perforation skip on/off (handy for unformatted text
      files). The skip is based on the top-of-form setting, so the
      best way to do this use the ADVANCE 1 LINE command 3 times so
      your perforation is 3 lines above the top of the printer ribbon,
      then enter a RESET, followed by a SKIP OVER PERF ON.  Then enter
      any character setting commands you want, and the text will be
      properly centered when printed with DOS' "PRINT filename" or
      "COPY filename.ext PRN".

  --> It can set left and right margins to any values you select (as
      long as they are within the bounds allowed by the printer).
      This is very handy for printing text files with a binding margin
      on the left. If the file you want to print is 80 column's wide
      (like this one), setting print to Elite and a left margin of 12
      will let you get a left binding margin and not overrun the right
      margin.

  --> If you have a hard disk, put EPSON.EXE in a subdirectory on
      your system path and it may be accessed from anywhere.  If you
      have a dual- or single-floppy system, put it in a RAM disk and
      put the RAM disk on your system path and you can run it without
      having the disk with the program file in the machine all the
      time.

The TURBO PASCAL source code is available for anyone who wants to
tinker with the program for their own use.  With a printer manual in
hand and a TURBO PASCAL compiler, it should be little trouble
modifying the program to send escape sequences which are specific to
your printer.  The PASCAL code is rather simple, the only trick being
the IF statement in the Give_printer procedure to NOT send the ESC
character when sending control codes like FF and LF.

My thanks to Mark Davis for writing the original version of this
program and to Phil Wheeler for his alterations.  I hope you find this
program to be of use. The program is very much in the public domain,
so feel free to modify the code for your own uses.


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