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- PopSpool
-
- Written By Steve Olensky
-
- December 1986
-
-
- Introduction
-
- PopSpool is a ram resident program that can be "popped" up on top of
- an application by pressing ALT-PRTSC. PopSpool was designed to allow
- easy access to Novell's print spooling. In particular, PopSpool will
- allow you to direct your printouts to your local printer or to your
- file server printer with ease. Because a ram resident program has a
- fixed memory overhead it is usually a good idea to put as many things
- into the program as possible. Therefore, PopSpool also has a utility
- that will easily allow you to set your printer, and a calendar just
- for good measure.
-
-
- Starting PopSpool
-
- To load PopSpool simply enter POPSPOOL from the command line. If you
- do not have Novell installed but want to use PopSpool's functions
- other than spooling control, enter POPSPOOL /N. The spooling function
- will not appear on the Menu with this command. Also, the printer
- command file can be named by adding #filename on the command line.
-
- C> POPSPOOL /N #EPSON.FIL
-
-
- Printer Setup File Parameters
-
- When PopSpool installs it reads a file called PRINTER.FIL (unless you
- have changed the name when starting PopSpool). This file contains the
- instructions for setting up your printer. The following rules apply
- in creating your printer setup file:
-
- 1 The printer setup file cannot contain more than 10 commands.
-
- 2 Each command consists of two lines. The first line is the
- prompt. The second line contains the characters you wish to
- send to the printer.
-
- 3 The prompt line is limited to 38 characters. The control line
- is limited to 80 characters.
-
- 4 To send a control character to the printer you must proceed
- the ascii value of the character with the symbol "#". All
- control sequences must be separated by spaces.
-
- Here is an example of a printer setup file with 3 commands ...
-
- Set Condensed Mode
- #15
- Set Normal Mode
- #18
- Send Test String
- This #32 is #32 a #32 test#32 #13 #10
-
-
- Notice the last control line requires #32 to send a space between
- words. This is because the space character is used as a delimiter and
- will not be sent to the printer. The last two control characters send
- a carriage return and line feed.
-
-
- PopSpool Menu
-
- To "pop up" PopSpool's menu enter ALT-PRTSC. PopSpool will pop up
- over your application. Simply press the appropriate control key for
- the desired function.
-
-
- F1 - Printer Setup
-
- This function will display a list of printer options defined in your
- printer control file. Select the desired option or press <ESC> to
- exit.
-
-
- F2 - Spooler Commands
-
- If you are running under Novell this function will allow you to
- select where your printouts will go. The cancel option will not
- cancel a print job that has started to print, it will only cancel a
- job before a despool has occurred.
-
-
- F3 - Calendar
-
- This function will display a monthly calendar. The current month and
- year displayed will be based on your system clock settings. You may
- change the month or year by pressing the up and down keys to change
- the year, or the left and right keys to change the month. To exit
- press the <ESC> key.
-
-
- Exiting PopSpool
-
- To exit PopSpool's menu press the <ESC> key. PopSpool uses
- approximately 60k of your computer's memory. The only way to reclaim
- this memory is to reboot the computer.
-
-
- Shareware Concept
-
- PopSpool is my first attempt to offer a program under the shareware
- concept. I have written several other programs that are available
- commercially and this is an attempt to see if the shareware concept
- pays off as good as the commercial concept. If you would like the
- source code to PopSpool (which will allow you to get rid of my name
- on the menu screen) then please send $25.00 to my address below.
-
- STEVE OLENSKY
- 824 DAWES ROAD
- MOBILE, AL 36608
-