Play and Learn 2

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Text File | 1994-02-05 | 11.3 KB | 261 lines

PC-PRINT Robert Hendrix 1084 Bouldercrest Dr. Watkinsville, Ga. 30677 Version 2.0 copyright 1984 *************************************************************************** ** ** ** PC-PRINT comes with no warranties of any kind. The author ** ** would like to know of any problems that users may encounter, but ** ** there is no promise or guarantees that any fixes will be made. ** ** In no event will the author be liable for damages arising from ** ** the use of this program. ** ** _________________________________________________________________ ** ** ** ** If you find that this program is useful to you, then a ** ** contribution ( $20.00 suggested ) would be appreciated. Any ** ** suggestions as to the features of this program are welcome. ** ** A current and up-to-date version may be obtained from the ** ** the author by sending a check or money order and a formatted ** ** blank diskette to the address listed below. ** ** ** ** send to : Robert Hendrix ** ** 1084 Bouldercrest Dr. ** ** Watkinsville, Ga. 30677 ** ** ** ** copyright 1984 ** *************************************************************************** The prominent feature of this program is PC-TYPE, which can be reached from the main option menu by selecting option "A". PC-TYPE emulates a one line memory typewriter by allowing you to use your computer and printer to type short letters and notes or create interesting documents with a combination of PC-TYPE and PC-PRINT. Also PC-TYPE allows you to type Spanish and German characters on your EPSON printer. The other main menu options allow the owners of dot matrix printer, to set print pitches, dress-up modes, and forms controls. Some of the other brands of dot matrix printers are also designed using the same control codes as the EPSON and this program should have the same results with these printers. I suggest you experiment with your printer and this program if you have any question about it's compatibility. To start this program, insert the disk containing PC-PRINT into the default disk drive and type PC-PRINT <RETURN>. You are then presented with a menu of your options. Most of these options are self-explanatory, there is a brief explanation of the different options on the following page. To set the printer into the mode you would like, just press the corresponding key. The program will accept either upper or lowercase letters and there is NO NEED to press the <RETURN> key, your selection is automatically sent to the printer. A short tone will sound signaling the completion of your request. After the printer is set you will be prompted to enter your next selection. You may add to your previous selection i.e., some of the printer codes may be combined to create various print modes. Simply enter another selection after the primary selection, this will create a combination. You should check with your manual to see how to create certain modes, or you can just experiment with the program to see what combinations provide which results. Certain control codes override or cancel other codes (for example Elite and Pica modes). Some of the more popular combinations are offered as main menu selections. MENU OPTIONS A This selection invokes PC-TYPE, which emulates a typewriter.. There is further discussion on the following page. B-P The menu selections B - P send the control codes for changing print pitches and modes. Just press a key. Q Banner, This selection will print a five letter high, ten letter long banner or message on the printer. You are limited to ten letters but you may alter the printer mode. The only characters acceptable are A - Z, 0 - 9, *, $, and Space. R This selection is a master reset code which returns the printer to its power-up state. S This will advance the paper (1) one line. T This advances the paper (1) one page. A page being defined as eleven inches. U This selection sets the page length to eleven inches and skips over the perforation in the paper. The perforation should be positioned three lines above the printer ribbon and then the power to the printer should be turned off and then back on. If the paper is properly positioned when the printer is first powered up , then it is not necessary to power it off and on again. This control code causes the printer to 'remember' the page length, even when not using the PC-PRINT program. The printer will continue to skip three lines before the perforation and three lines after the perforation until another control code resets the printer memory or the power to the printer is turned off. This is a very nice setting to use and after you have used it a few times you will always want to use it. X This selection simply returns you to the DOS operating system. ** Note: Pressing the <RETURN> key after a main menu selection is not necessary. Just by pressing a key your selection is activated. PC-TYPE PC-TYPE can be used many different ways. It functions much the same as a one lined buffer typewriter would. You can type one entire line (80 characters) and make corrections to it before printing it. You can go back and forth between PC-TYPE and PC-PRINT changing the print modes and therefore altering the printed text. Upon entering PC-TYPE you are shown the default menu, these defaults may be changed by pressing the key corresponding to the letter of the item you wished changed. You may choose a Left Margin value from 1 - 80, a Right Margin value from 5 - 80, and a Tab value from 1 - 50. The Tab key is the key located over the Ctrl key on the left side of the key board, upon pressing this key the cursor will skip the number of spaces that has been given for the Tab value. You also have the options of typing in Spanish or German Characters. The keys for these language selections act as toggle switches, pressing one will either turn the feature on or off depending on the state it is in. Only one language feature will be active at one time. There are certain key combinations that are needed to activate the special language characters, there is a breif description on the following page. To begin PC-TYPE press the "H" key the values you have choosen will take effect and you may begin typing. A 'Ruler' will appear on the first line of your display and the left and right margins will be marked with astericks. What you type will not be sent to the printer until you press the <RETURN> key, until then you may backspace with the key located directly over the <RETURN> key. This is a destructive back-space and letters will be deleted as they are passed over. A bell will sound five spaces before you reach the value set for the right margin, and the bell will sound with each character entered after you have reached the right margin. There is a line counter provided in the lower right corner of the screen, you want to watch this so you can determine when you have filled a page. When you press the <RETURN> key the line is transmitted to the printer and you may continue typing with the next line. If you would like to end the PC-TYPE program then press the ESC key and you will be returned to the PC-PRINT menu. ** When you use the ESC key, any un-transmitted line will not be saved or printed. Experiment with the different combinations that you can create with this program and if there is a feature that you think is needed, let me know. User comments are welcome! PC-TYPE is not intended to be a word processor nor does it offer the flexibility of one. You may find several uses for PC-TYPE. Some possible uses for PC-TYPE include; printing headings before printing files with the ability of setting different print styles, Using your printer and computer as a typewriter, Printing notes or ideas that you don't wish to devote disk space for, Formatting pages of documents. Use the Spanish or German Language features for shoolwork. ** NOTE: The Underline setting from PC-PRINT underlines an entire line, begining with the LEFT side of the page continuing to the last character typed. To display and print Spanish characters these key combinations must be used. * Press the keys marked with the inscriptions identical to the inscriptions inside the < > brackets, listed here. That is the Alt key and a letter key combination. <Alt> <q> = an upside down question mark <Alt> <n> = an "n" with a tilde over it <Alt> <a> = an "a" with an accent <Alt> = an "i" with an accent <Alt> <e> = an "e" with an accent <Alt> <o> = an "o" with an accent <Alt> = a "u" with an accent <Alt> <1> = an upside down exclamation point * Press the <Shift> key and the <tab> key simultaneously and then press the following key to produce a capital letter. <n> = an "N" with a tilde over it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To display and print German characters these key combinations must be used. * Press the keys marked with the inscriptions identical to the inscriptions inside the < > brackets, listed here. That is the Alt key and a letter key combination. <Alt> <a> = an "a" with two dots over it <Alt> <o> = an "o" with two dots over it <Alt> = a "u" with two dots over it <Alt> = a "B" (displayed differently) * Press the <Shift> key and the <tab> key simultaneously and then press the following keys to produce capital letters. <a> = an "A" with two dots over it <o> = an "O" with two dots over it = a "U" with two dots over it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC-TYPE will run marginally slower utilizing the Special Language features.