Shareware Grab Bag

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Shareware Grab Bag / Shareware Grab Bag.iso / 015 / memprnt.arc / MPMPRINT.PRT < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1985-09-05 | 35.8 KB | 757 lines

A ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print ║ (C) 1985 ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ enterprises, inc. ║ 306 Park AvenueJ Wilmette, Illinois 60091 ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print is a utility which allows any Epson ║ J printer to print IBM graphics characters in a way that is completely transparent to you (the user) or any program or operation on the computer (including PrintScreen). When it is installed, MPM-print becomes memory-resident, that is, it stays active in a small portion of your computer's memory until your computer is turned off or "rebooted". After it is installed, MPM-print allows an Epson printer to print 240 of the 255 graphics characters that IBM PC monitors can display (which is more IBM characters than even the IBM Graphics Printer can print). MPM-print is an ideal addition to your "AUTOEXEC.BAT" file; if it is included, it will be installed in memory whenever you restart your computer, and will then always allow IBM's special characters to print on your printer. The system will work with Epson FX, MX (with Graftrax Plus), and RX series printers, AND with the IBM Graphics Printer (which is a version of the Epson MX printer). MPM-print uses less than 3000 bytes of system memory when it is installed, and will work with PC-DOS versions 1.1 and above. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 2 ║ INSTALLATION MPM-print is installed simply by typing ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ its name at the DOS prompt, i.e. DOS prompt └───┬────┘A │ A>MPMprint <enter> │ │ ┌────┴─────┐ └─ carriage return or program name enter key MPM-print will then "attach" itself to DOS, and will print the following message to the screen: A ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print ║ (C) 1985 ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ enterprises, inc. ║ 306 Park Avenue Wilmette, Illinois 60091 After it has been installed, MPM-print cannot be re-installed (except in unusual circumstances, see TECHNICAL NOTES below). If you try to reinstall the system MPM- print will give you the following message: A ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print ║ is already installed A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 3 ║ USE After it has been installed, MPM-print is ▀▀▀ completely transparent both to you (the user) and to programs running on your computer. MPM-print "reviews" each character that is sent to the printer, and takes one of four actions: 1. If the character is "shared" by Epson and by the IBM monitors, it will be printed normally. Only the "standard" ASCII characters, ranging from the space (ASCII 32) to the ~ (ASCII 126) are shared. 2. If the character is an Epson control character, it will be passed without change to the printer (see Appendix B for a listing of all Epson control codes). 3. If the character is an Escape (ASCII 27), MPM-print will send the Escape character AND the appropriate number of following characters to the printer without change (Epson printers use "Escape sequences" to control a wide variety of printing functions. See Appendix B for a listing of Epson escape sequences). 4. Finally, if the character is one of the 145 characters that are neither "shared" nor printer control characters, then MPM-print will "translate" the character and print the IBM monitor's version of that character using the Epson printer's graphics capability. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 4 ║ TESTING Included with MPM-print are two versions ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ of a testing program, TEST.COM and TEST.PAS. Written in TURBO Pascal, the testing programs will "exercise" most of the print commands available for the Epson printers. For each control code and escape sequence (see Appendix B), the program will set the printer's mode, then (if appropriate) it will print the 240 non-control characters, and finally will restore the printer to its original mode. The purpose of the test is to verify that MPM-print will properly transmit the control codes/escape sequences to the printer, and that it will properly print the full 240 MPM-print character set after setting the printer's mode. TEST.COM was compiled using TURBO Pascal version 3.0, and will only run with DOS 2.0 or higher. The source code (TEST.PAS) is provided to allow the user to study the use of the Epson control codes and escape sequences, and to convert the testing program to other languages. The compiled version of TEST will take 20- 25 minutes to run (it is limited by the speed of the Epson printers), and will print about seven pages. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 5 ║ DISTRIBUTION MPM-print is being distributed as ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ "user-supported software", with the following conditions: MPM-print and its associated documentation are the copyrighted property of MPM Enterprises, Inc. We grant NON-COMMERCIAL users the right to use, copy and share MPM-print. Any distribution of MPM-print must contain the unaltered versions of the program itself and all associated documentation: MPMprint.com MPMprint.doc MPMprint.prt READ .ME TEST .PAS TEST .COM MPM-print may NOT be sold or distributed for profit. Users are encouraged to register their use with MPM Enterprises, Inc. A $10 contribution to encourage our future developments is suggested. Registered users will be notified of updates, enhancements, and new products from MPM Enterprises, Inc. Commercial use WITHOUT a $10 per copy registration fee is prohibited. Site licenses are available. MPM-print is provided on an "as-is" basis, and no warranty is expressed or implied. In no event shall MPM Enterprises, Inc., be liable for any commercial or non- commercial damage arising from the use of MPM-print. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 6 ║ TECHNICAL NOTES SPEED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ═════ MPM-print uses the graphics printing capabilities of the Epson printers to produce the 145 IBM characters that the Epson printers normally don't print. Printing using the graphics mode requires more information and effort on the part of the printer, so the 145 non-Epson characters take longer to print. (This is why the 'TEST' program takes so long to print 7 pages of output). "Normal" text is printed at the normal rate of speed. If your text makes use of a large number of the IBM's "special" characters, the text printing will be significantly slower than it would have been if you wanted to look at the funny characters that the Epson uses in place of the IBM characters. If, however, your text contains relatively few "special" characters, then printing will be virtually as fast as it would be WITHOUT MPM-print installed. LINE SPACING ════════════ Because of limitations with certain Epson printers, the graphics characters printed by MPM-print are 8 dots high. Therefore, to get any of the vertical bar characters (used for drawing boxes, or for the MPM logo, for example) to print contiguously (without any vertical white space between them), the printer must be set to print 8 dots per line. This can be done by sending the escape sequence ESCAPE 65 8 to the printer (see the listing of escape code sequences in Appendix B). CHARACTER SIZES ═══════════════ The IBM characters that MPM-print produces are printed in the normal (pica) mode. Although MPM-print will allow a program to set the printer to any mode (expanded, compressed, etc.), the IBM characters will still be printed in the pica mode. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 7 ║ TECHNICAL NOTES EPSON CONTROL CODES ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ═══════════════════ Epson printers use certain one-byte codes (ranging from ASCII 7 to 27) to control some of the printers' features (see Appendix B). Each feature can be activated by sending EITHER the code OR the code+128 to the printer (for example, both ASCII 7 and ASCII 135 would "beep" the printer's speaker). We have chosen to print IBM characters for all ASCII codes above 127, since printer control codes are already provided by ASCII characters 7-27. We have also chosen to print the IBM character (ASCII 127) instead of the "delete" code for the Epson printers. The "delete" code deletes the last character in the Epson printer's line buffer; since it is rarely used, we chose to print the IBM character instead. All other control codes and escape sequences (see Appendix B) are passed directly to the printer. REMOVING (de-installing?) MPM-print ═══════════════════════════════════ Reboot your computer (using the Ctrl-Alt- Del keys simultaneously), and DON'T run MPM-print after rebooting. REINSTALLING MPM-print (or trying to) ═════════════════════════════════════ MPM-print works by taking control of IBM's ROM BIOS interrupt 17h (Printer I/O). When you try to re-run MPM-print, it checks the ROM BIOS interrupt to see if it has already been installed. If it has, MPM-print will notify you of that fact. A problem can occur, however, if you install some other piece of memory- resident software (such as a print spooler; please read the following section) that also takes control of interrupt 17h AFTER MPM-print has been installed. If this is the case, and IF you try to re-run MPM-print, it will NOT find a copy of itself when it checks, and it WILL proceed to install itself again. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 8 ║ TECHNICAL NOTES PRINT SPOOLERS ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ══════════════ Print spoolers are memory-resident programs that "reserve" a portion of memory to buffer information that is sent to the printer. Ideally, MPM-print should be installed BEFORE a print spooler. This would allow your print spooler to hold characters as single bytes, and would let MPM-print handle sending the special characters to the printer in graphics mode. HOWEVER, some print spoolers (notably AST's SUPERSPL) will ignore the existence of MPM-print IF they are installed after MPM-print. If you are using one of those spoolers, then please install MPM-print AFTER installing your print spooler. COMPATIBILITY ═════════════ We have not been able to test MPM-print with every available piece of software. We HAVE, however, tested it with: IBM PC-DOS versions 1.1,2.1,3.0,3.1 PrintGraph/Lotus 1-2-3 Graphics screen dumps (as long as the DOS utility GRAPHICS.COM is also installed) Sidekick (from Borland International) PC-WINDOW (a user supported, memory- resident system utility from: Cannon/Mill Software, PO Box 10047, Columbia, MO 65205) The following user supported "quality printing" systems: LQ-PRINT (from: Centar Technology, PO Box 60577, Sunnyvale, CA 94088) BRADFORD (from: Aaron Contorer, 1521 Central Ave., Deerfield, IL 60015) PC-FONT (v 2.04, from: SJL, 4473 Marlborough, #5 San Diego, CA 92116) If you have compatibility problems with other memory-resident programs, the first thing to try is changing the order in which the programs are loaded into memory. If you discover compatibility problems that you are unable to solve, please let us know about them. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print Page 9 ║ ▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌ A ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ MPM-print, ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print, and its associated documentation ║ are copyrighted (C), 1985, MPM Enterprises, Inc. Please direct all comments, registrations and contributions to: A ╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ enterprises, inc. ║ 306 Park Avenue Wilmette, Illinois 60091 ▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌ A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print APPENDIX A-1 ║ APPENDIX A ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ASCII CODES ═══════════ DecimalA │ Hexidecimal │ │ │ Character or function │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 0 00 32 20 64 40 @ 96 60 ` 1 01 33 21 ! 65 41 A 97 61 a 2 02 34 22 " 66 42 B 98 62 b 3 03 35 23 # 67 43 C 99 63 c 4 04 36 24 $ 68 44 D 100 64 d 5 05 37 25 % 69 45 E 101 65 e 6 06 38 26 & 70 46 F 102 66 f 7 07 BEL 39 27 ' 71 47 G 103 67 g 8 08 BS 40 28 ( 72 48 H 104 68 h 9 09 HT 41 29 ) 73 49 I 105 69 i 10 0A LF 42 2A * 74 4A J 106 6A j 11 0B VT 43 2B + 75 4B K 107 6B k 12 0C FF 44 2C , 76 4C L 108 6C l 13 0D CR 45 2D - 77 4D M 109 6D m 14 0E SO 46 2E . 78 4E N 110 6E n 15 0F SI 47 2F / 79 4F O 111 6F o 16 10 48 30 0 80 50 P 112 70 p 17 11 DC1 49 31 1 81 51 Q 113 71 q 18 12 DC2 50 32 2 82 52 R 114 72 r 19 13 DC3 51 33 3 83 53 S 115 73 s 20 14 DC4 52 34 4 84 54 T 116 74 t 21 15 53 35 5 85 55 U 117 75 u 22 16 54 36 6 86 56 V 118 76 v 23 17 55 37 7 87 57 W 119 77 w 24 18 CAN 56 38 8 88 58 X 120 78 x 25 19 57 39 9 89 59 Y 121 79 y 26 1A 58 3A : 90 5A Z 122 7A z 27 1B ESC 59 3B ; 91 5B [ 123 7B { 28 1C 60 3C < 92 5C \ 124 7C | 29 1D 61 3D = 93 5D ] 125 7D } 30 1E 62 3E > 94 5E ^ 126 7E ~ 31 1F 63 3F ? 95 5F _ 127 7F A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print APPENDIX A-2 ║ APPENDIX A (continued) ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ASCII CODES ═══════════ DecimalA │ Hexidecimal │ │ │ Character or function │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 128 80 Ç 160 A0 á 192 C0 └ 224 E0 α 129 81 ü 161 A1 í 193 C1 ┴ 225 E1 ß 130 82 é 162 A2 ó 194 C2 ┬ 226 E2 Γ 131 83 â 163 A3 ú 195 C3 ├ 227 E3 π 132 84 ä 164 A4 ñ 196 C4 ─ 228 E4 Σ 133 85 à 165 A5 Ñ 197 C5 ┼ 229 E5 σ 134 86 å 166 A6 ª 198 C6 ╞ 230 E6 µ 135 87 ç 167 A7 º 199 C7 ╟ 231 E7 τ 136 88 ê 168 A8 ¿ 200 C8 ╚ 232 E8 Φ 137 89 ë 169 A9 ⌐ 201 C9 ╔ 233 E9 Θ 138 8A è 170 AA ¬ 202 CA ╩ 234 EA Ω 139 8B ï 171 AB ½ 203 CB ╦ 235 EB δ 140 8C î 172 AC ¼ 204 CC ╠ 236 EC ∞ 141 8D ì 173 AD ¡ 205 CD ═ 237 ED φ 142 8E Ä 174 AE « 206 CE ╬ 238 EE ε 143 8F Å 175 AF » 207 CF ╧ 239 EF ∩ 144 90 É 176 B0 ░ 208 D0 ╨ 240 F0 ≡ 145 91 æ 177 B1 ▒ 209 D1 ╤ 241 F1 ± 146 92 Æ 178 B2 ▓ 210 D2 ╥ 242 F2 ≥ 147 93 ô 179 B3 │ 211 D3 ╙ 243 F3 ≤ 148 94 ö 180 B4 ┤ 212 D4 ╘ 244 F4 ⌠ 149 95 ò 181 B5 ╡ 213 D5 ╒ 245 F5 ⌡ 150 96 û 182 B6 ╢ 214 D6 ╓ 246 F6 ÷ 151 97 ù 183 B7 ╖ 215 D7 ╫ 247 F7 ≈ 152 98 ÿ 184 B8 ╕ 216 D8 ╪ 248 F8 ° 153 99 Ö 185 B9 ╣ 217 D9 ┘ 249 F9 ∙ 154 9A Ü 186 BA ║ 218 DA ┌ 250 FA · 155 9B ¢ 187 BB ╗ 219 DB █ 251 FB √ 156 9C £ 188 BC ╝ 220 DC ▄ 252 FC ⁿ 157 9D ¥ 189 BD ╜ 221 DD ▌ 253 FD ² 158 9E ₧ 190 BE ╛ 222 DE ▐ 254 FE ■ 159 9F ƒ 191 BF ┐ 223 DF ▀ 255 FF A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print APPENDIX B-1 ║ APPENDIX B ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ EPSON CONTROL CODES AND ESCAPE SEQUENCES ════════════════════════════════════════ EPSON control codes The following codes, when sent individually to the appropriate printer, will cause the described action to be taken. ASCII chars code use after action ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 7 fmr 0 bell 8 fmr 0 backspace 9 fmr 0 horizontal tab 10 fmr 0 line feed 11 fmr 0 vertical tab 12 fmr 0 form feed 13 fmr 0 carriage return 14 fmr 0 shift out (expanded mode on) 15 fmr 0 shift in (compressed mode on) 17 f 0 printer in active condition 18 fmr 0 turns compressed mode off 19 f 0 printer inactive until char(17) sent 20 fmr 0 turns expanded mode off 24 f 0 cancels all text in the printer's buffer 27 fmr - escape 127 fmr 0 deletes the last character in the printer's line buffer NOTES: use : designates the printers that make use of the particular code f : FX series m : MX with Graftrax Plus, IBM Graphics printer r : RX series chars after : number of characters the Epson printer expects AFTER the escape + character sequence is started. An asterisk (*) means that the number of characters is context-specific. A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print APPENDIX B-2 ║ EPSON escape codes The escape char (ASCII 27) followed by one of the below ASCII codes followed by the appropriate number of characters will cause the described action to be taken. ASCII chars code use after action ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 14 f 0 shift out (expanded mode on) 15 f 0 shift in (compressed mode on) 33 f 1 master print mode select (selects 16 unique print mode combinations) 35 fm 0 accepts 8th bit 'as is' from the computer 37 f 2 activates either ROM or download character set 38 f * downloads one or more characters 42 f r * turns graphic mode on; followed by three numbers, m,n1,n2 and n data codes where n=n1+256*n2 45 fmr 1 turns underline mode on and off 47 f 1 selects a vertical tab channel 48 fmr 0 sets line spacing to 1/8 inch (9 dots) 49 fmr 0 sets line spacing to 7/72 inch (7 dots) 50 fmr 0 sets line spacing to default 1/6 inch (12 dots) 51 fmr 1 sets line spacing to n/216 inch (1/216 inches = 1/3 dot) 52 fmr 0 turns the italic character set on 53 fmr 0 turns the italic character set off 54 f 0 enables printing the symbols stored in ASCII codes 128 - 159 55 f 0 causes ASCII codes 128 - 159 to print as control codes 56 fmr 0 disables 'paper out' sensor 57 fmr 0 enables 'paper out' sensor 58 f 3 copies character set from ROM to the download RAM 60 fmr 0 turns unidirectional mode for only one line 61 fm 0 sets the 8th bit to 0 (limits printing to characters in the range of ASCII 0 - 127) 62 fm 0 sets the 8th bit to 1 (limits printing to characters in the range of ASCII 128 - 255) 64 fmr 0 master reset code 65 fmr 1 sets line spacing to n/72 inch (n dots) 66 f * sets up to 16 vertical tabs, is followed by n numbers where the last number is less than its predecessor A╔╦╗╔═╗╔╦╗ ║║║╠═╝║║║ - print APPENDIX B-3 ║ EPSON escape codes (continued) ASCII chars code use after action ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 67 fmr * if the next number is nonzero, sets form length to n lines if the next number is zero, then takes the following number and sets the form length to n inches 68 fm * sets up to 32 horizontal tabs, is followed by n numbers where the last number is less than its predecessor 69 fmr 0 turns emphasized mode on 70 fmr 0 turns emphasized mode off 71 fmr 0 turns double strike mode on 72 fmr 0 turns double strike mode off 73 f 1 enables/disables printing of non-control characters stored in ASCII 0 - 31 74 fmr 1 forces an immediate line feed of n/216 inches 75 fmr * normal graphics mode, followed by n1 & n2, and then n data numbers where n=n1+256*n2 76 fmr * low-speed double-density graphic mode, same logic as for code #75 77 f r 0 turns elite mode on 78 fmr 1 sets skip-over-perforation to n lines 79 fmr 0 turns skip-over-perforation off 80 f r 0 turns elite mode off 81 fmr 1 sets the column width (right margin) 82 f r 1 selects an international character set 83 fmr 1 turns script mode on (to either super- or subscript) 84 fmr 0 turns script mode off 85 fmr 1 turns unidirectional mode on/off 87 fmr 1 turns expanded mode on/off 89 f r * high-speed double-density graphics, same logic as for code #75 90 f r * quadruple density graphics mode; followed by n1 & n2 and n data numbers where n=n1+256*n2 94 f * 9-pin graphics mode, followed by d, n1 & n2 and 2n data numbers where n=n1+256*n2 98 f 1 sets vertical tab for channel n 101 r 2 sets horizontal and vertical tab increments 102 r 2 prints spaces or line feeds without carriage returns 105 f 1 turns immediate mode on/off 106 f 1 causes immediate reverse line feed of n/216 inch 108 f r 1 sets left margin to n characters 109 r 1 allows graphics characters at ASCII 128-159 to print 112 f 1 turns proportional mode off/on 115 f r 1 turns half-speed mode on/off