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2col Shareware Version 5.4c A Compressed Print Utility Copyright 1990-1993 by ARCaine Technology 960 Neilson St Albany, CA 94706 (510) 527-9859 All Rights Reserved DISCLAIMER This software and manual are sold "as is" and without warranties as to performance or merchantability or any other warranties whether expressed or implied. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which this program may be put, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. We will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data, inability to use this program, or any other reason, even if we or our agent have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Be warned that not all data may print correctly when using this program with unconverted wordprocessor files. The user must assume the entire risk of using and evaluating this program. Any liability of Tony Caine or ARCaine Technology will be limited exclusively to product replacement or refund of purchase price. If you find these terms unacceptable, do not use this product. On every matter relating to this program the user consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts residing respectively in Alameda and San Francisco Counties in the state of California. Introduction 2col prints an ASCII text file in two columns,each up to 80 characters wide, on standard width paper. It eliminates consecutive blank lines and prints at 20 characters/inch. 2col will now optionally print from 1 to 6 columns across the page using columns up to 160 characters wide. The maximum number of characters which will print across the page is usually limited by your printer hardware to 160 or 137 in portrait mode. Wide carriage printers and landscape mode printing allow more. 2col now supports Deskjet printers as well as dot matrix printers. 2col can also print in landscape mode directly on Deskjets and with the use of a sideways printing program on other printers. See section below on landscape printing. See the insructions for using the -J option when running on a Deskjet printer. You must always use the -J option with a Deskjet. The registered version of JETCOL also supports DJs and DJ compatible inkjets with added features like variable font pitch and more flexibility in font selection. Bubblejet and inkjet printers are supported in their Epson LQ emulation mode. Treat them like a 24 pin dot matrix printer and use -Q. If you have a laser printer, get the companion program, JETCOL. 2col can now print rough drafts of some wordprocessor formats including .WRI, Word, Wordstar, and WP-Generic files. See details and, particularly, limitations under the Wordwrap option. 2col is designed to be extremely easy to use. The default settings will accommodate most printing needs. On most 9-pin printers you can print a document by simply typing: 2COL [filename] <enter> For example, to print this manual type:2COL 2COL.DOC <enter> With 24-pin printers you must also include -Q on the command line. To see an 8 page demonstration of 2COL's many print modes you can type: DEMO2COL [9, 24, or J] <enter>. If your printer cannot print 20 char/in you should include -W68 on the command line. All IBM mode printers are 17 cpi and require -W68. 2col is intended to greatly reduce the huge volume of paper that results from printing reference manuals and text files. Regular use of this program should cut your paper bill by 60 to 70 percent. It provides excellent readability (unlike other compressed print programs) while compressing an average of four pages of source material onto one side of a sheet of paper. By using its even/odd alternate side print feature eight pages of text can be printed using both sides of a page. Since the normal draft mode of printing can be used, it is also much faster than those programs which rely on nonstandard print modes. By reducing the volume of paper, 2col also reduces storage requirements and the bulk one has to carry around when traveling. It can also save you money when faxing or mailing documents. As a side benefit, many 2col users actually find it easier and faster to read the compressed versions than the originals because they can take in more words at one time without having to scan across the page. 2col will optionally print in subscript mode - doubling the amount of text contained on a single sheet to a total of sixteen pages - with a significant loss in legibility and printing speed. This mode is intended mainly for archival use not for documents that will be read frequently. This program will work on most Epson-compatible dot-matrix printers which provide 17 characters/inch compressed printing but is especially intended for newer printers which have a compressed/elite mode (20 char/in) allowing two complete 80 character lines to be printed across the page. Printers which support 20 char/inch include:KXP1180, KXP1124, FX86, 200GX, LQ-series (except LQ1500), etc. If you have a 17 char/inch printer you will probably need to use 2COL in word wrap or reformat mode. Since most printers do not show the 20 char/inch mode on the front panel, you should check the manual or just try printing with 2col. If your printer supports 20 char/in but does not operate properly with 2col, contact me, and I will let you know if it is possible to provide you with an updated version that is compatible with your printer. 2COL will now work in a limited way with many other printers. See the documentation for the -J-2 command. This is a registered feature but you can test it using the -K option. A macro for using 2COL with David Hamel's BOXER text editor is now provided. Malcolm Drury's VIEW which lets you view and print ASCII, WP, WFW, AmiPro and WFD files, now has a 2COL interface. See "Registration" section below to obtain a copy. A MS-Windows menu interface is also available. See PRODUCTS.DOC. IMPORTANT! NEVER SELECT A PROPORTIONAL FONT FOR 2COL PRINTING. These fonts will cause your columns to become misaligned. DOT MATRIX: The 20 char/in mode on many printers cannot be accessed by software if the DIP switches inside the printer are set for IBM mode. The printer MUST be set for the Epson/Standard mode. 2col will optionally supply the control characters to cause the full IBM character set to print. Also, your printer should have the auto linefeed switch turned off. If your printer has a front panel pitch control, it should be set to program mode. On most printers it is okay to set a specific font from the front panel as long as the pitch is left in program mode. Also, be sure that your paper is correctly lined up with your printer's top of form according to your printer manual. If your paper is misaligned, every page after the first will begin in the middle of the sheet when printing with 2COL. DESKJET: If you have previously been printing standard size characters with perf skip on, you must push the reset button on your printer immediately before printing with 2COL or use the -J1 option. Otherwise, the first page will not print correctly. Also, -W68 and -W67 may truncate lines on the Deskjet because of its 16.67 cpi font pitch. Hints Since 24-pin printers tend to print a taller font than 9-pin printers, both in subscript mode and standard, it is advisable to use fewer lines/page with 24-pin printers to get optimum readablity and appearance. The lower the -L value you choose, the larger the space between lines. Since 2COL does not issue any font selection commands, the last font selected for your printer will be the one used. Fonts may be selected via the printer control panel or by a printer control program. At 20 characters/inch the most readable font (and the fastest) is usually the standard draft font. Letter quality fonts tend to be too "busy" for good compressed printing. Registered users can use the -# option to select fonts. 2COL does issue a printer reset when it finishes and if the font you selected is not your default font, it may need to be reselected before printing again. You will find it most convenient to use 2COL if you install it in a directory which is located in your PATH statement. See your DOS manual for more information. When using a Deskjet you will probably want to use a top margin of -F4. Also, try selecting the draft mode on the printer's control panel. You may find it adequate for 2COL printing. Registration This is not freeware or public domain. Shareware is simply a means of marketing commercial software. You are required to register if you use this program after a 30 day trial period. I will keep improving the program if I know enough people are finding it useful. My registration policy is very flexible. The nominal fee is $22.95 US If you don't feel you will get $22.95 worth of use out of 2COL, send whatever it is worth to you. All users who register for any amount receive 2COL's bonus features described below. Only one partial registration per customer please. Registered users of older versions of 2COL may upgrade for $10. Add $5 more if you want the update disk described below. If you did not pay at least $20 originally, include an additional $5 to upgrade. When registering, please tell me the version number you have, your printer model, and where you obtained your copy of 2col. This is particularly important if you pay less than the full registration because the registration code you receive will only cover your current version. Foreign checks are OK. See REGISTER.DOC for details. 2col should be registered for the maximum number of computers that will run 2COL at your site. Site fees for commercial users can be negotiated. If you register for the full $22.95 fee,and enclose a Shipping and Handling fee of $5 I will send you the latest versions of 2COL and JETCOL (for lasers). JETCOL requires a separate registration fee if you decide to use it after a trial period. I will also send other printing related shareware programs including a word wrap program (by another author) which can be used to expand or contract the column width of documents before printing. This program has more options than 2COL's reformatting. This is particularly useful for those with 17 char/inch printers which cannot print two full 80 character columns. Also included is VIEW, which will let you view and print (with 2COL) ASCII, Ami Pro, WP, WFW, and WFD files. Registering for the full $27.95 also gets you a registration code which is guaranteed to work on all new versions of 2COL which are released over the next 15 months. A lesser registration provides a code only good for the most current version. If you are a Wordperfect user, for an additional $3 I can supply a macro which will print your current document with 2COL without leaving WP. A similar macro for WFW is also available. A "professional" version of 2COL is now available for $55 which numbers each line and produces an alphabetized index of words in the document, and prints footers. If you don't need indexing, you can add $10 to the standard version price to just get line numbering and footers. Just specify this on your registration form. Registered version bonus features: * Custom default settings 2COL's default settings can be modified by the user. This eliminates the need for the user to enter a string of options whenever they run the program. They need only enter the filename. * Automargin The automargin option is extremely useful for those who need to punch holes for binding. 2col scans the entire document before printing and, in effect, moves all the available "white space" from the center (and, if necessary,from the right margin) of the document to the left margin. Automargin also automatically activates the wordwrap (-&) feature if any line in the document is greater than the specified columnwidth (-W). To get an idea of how Automargin operates, type: 2COL 2COL.DOC <enter>. This will print with the default settings of 2col. Then type: 2COL 2COL.DOC -K -U8 <enter>. This will print a one page demo using automargin. * Multiple document names Multiple document names and wildcards can be entered on the command line. * Append When specifying multiple documents to print, registered users have the choice of starting each file at the beginning of a page or treating all documents as one continuous file without breaks. * Redirection of output Registered users can choose to send the output to a disk file for later printing in background (while running other programs) or they can send to LPT2, COM1, COM2, etc. * Pagefix Prints a specified number of pages per column retaining original line spacing and page breaks. * Pagelength adjustment for different paper sizes: A4, legal, etc. * Elimination of printer control commands for operation with non- standard printers. * User specified printer initialization strings. * Document reformatting Expand or contract the line width of your document for better readablity or more efficient use of page space. Particularly useful if you have a 17cpi printer or have trouble reading 20 cpi. * The registration screens are eliminated, of course. Terminology Since several pages from the original source file are combined onto a single page of printer output, there may be some confusion about the word "page." We will always refer to the original document pages as "source pages." What is actually printed will simply be called "pages." Usage: 2col [options] path\filename [options] [path\filename]... Options (except -Yx) may be specified in any order before and/or after the file name(s). Options MUST be separated from each other by spaces and preceded by a "-". Upper and lower case are interchangeable. Options are defined as follows: -Lxx = Each column will be xx lines long -Cxx = No more than xx consecutive blank lines will be printed -Sxx = Skip xx pages before starting to print -O = Print only odd # pages -E = Print only even # pages -Wxx = column width (number of characters in each column) -P = Pause before printing each page. -N = Prints filename and page # at lower left corner -Dxx = Delimit each (source) page with a line and page # -T = Truncate long lines instead of wrap. -G = Enable full IBM character set.(dot matrix only) -Fx = Put a margin of x blank lines at the top of each page. -K = Print a one page demo to test registered options. * -Mx = Set left margin.(CAUTION:READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING)* -? = 2COL will ask for filenames to print. -Q = 24-pin printer line spacing -Jx = Deskjet mode -V = Report # pages to print.Modify spacing to fill last page -&xx = Wordwrap long lines. (useful for .WRI and similar files) ? = (no dash) Displays help screen. Must be the only option. -@x = Print All, Even, or Odd in reversed order. -$x = Number of columns to print (1-6) *Bonus features for registered users* -A = Append multiple files. -Bxx = Force a different font size. -Z = Route output to disk or port. -Ux = Scans file before printing and sets margins automatically. -Xx = Print x pages/column preserving page breaks & format -Yx = Customize 2COL default settings. -!xx = Modify line spacing to adjust for pagefill or pagelength. -J-2 = Eliminate printer control commands -&Rxx= Reformat document to width of xx characters -# = User specified printer init string (fonts,landscape,etc) -[xx = Left justify text by xx characters When more than 102 lines/page requested,shifts to subscript (half-height) mode. When columns*width is less than 137 chars,uses compressed mode (17 char/in.) When columns*width is greater than 136 uses compressed/elite (20 char/in.) Defaults: 80 characters/column;88 lines/page;1 consecutive blank line; no pause before printing page; do not number pages; wrap (not truncate) long lines;0 blank lines at top of page. Description of options ? 2COL ? <enter> or 2COL <enter> will display a help screen. -K Putting -K on the command line activates any registered bonus feature (except multiple files printing) for a one page demo. -Lxxx Each column will contain xxx lines of data. Line spacing will be automatically adjusted to approximately fill the page. Characters will be normal (pica) height until more than 102 lines/column are specified; printer will then shift to subscript mode allowing up to 220 lines/column. Default value is 88. A lower -L value gives more white space between lines. -Cxx Pages of text frequently contain many blank lines of data. Experience has shown that most of these can be discarded without sacrificing readability. This option specifies that when there are more than xx consecutive blank lines, the excess will be discarded. If you set xx=66, 2col will print each page in its original format without discarding any blank lines. The default value is 1. -Sxx This feature is useful if you have a paper jam or decide to print part now and part later. Using this option will cause xx pages to be skipped before printing begins. For example, specifying "-S2" will cause printing to begin with page 3. When using the -O or -E option remember to count all pages - odd and even. -O This and the -E option allow you to print on both sides of each sheet of paper. By specifying "-O", only the odd numbered pages will be printed. When printing is complete,reload the first page back into the printer with the blank side facing the print head and rerun 2col using the -E option. Alternatively, 2COL will ask you whether you want to print the even pages after it has finished printing the odd. Respond "Y" after the paper has been reloaded or type "N" to terminate. -E Prints only even numbered pages. When using this option after the -O option be sure to shift the paper about 1/2 inch to the right before starting to print, to allow space for hole punching or other binding requirements. 2COL will ask you if you want to print the odd pages after you have printed the even pages. -Wxx This option specifies how wide each column will be. Wrapping or truncating will begin at this position. Unless the wordwrap option (-&xx) is chosen, wrapping will occur in mid-word. It also determines the print density. If xx * columns is 136 or less, the printer will use compressed mode (137 characters across the page). If xx * columns is greater than 136 the printer will use compressed/elite (160 characters/line). If your printer does not support compressed/elite and you try to use it, you will end up with a mess. You should then specify xx as 68 and decide whether you want to truncate long lines or wrap them. You might want to reformat the document with a shareware word wrapping program.I can supply one when you register. See the "registration" section of this document for details. Due to printer limitations there is no space between columns when a column width of 80 is specified. When a width less than 80 is requested, one space is inserted between columns. -P Program will pause before printing each page. Hit any key to print a page. This option is useful if you are feeding single sheets to the printer. -Nx This will cause the filename,page and/or date to be printed in the lower left-hand corner of each sheet. To avoid confusion when using the -S, -O and -E options the page numbering is not reset for each document when multiple documents are specified on the command line(registered version only). If x=blank the filename and page number will print If x=1 the page number will print. If x=2 the current date will print. If x=64 the filename will print. These x values may be added together to achieve any combination of the above. For example if x=67 all three options (page number, filename, and date) will print -Dxx If you need to keep track of each source page, this option will print a dashed line with a page number in the middle whenever a form feed is encountered or after xx lines of data. If no xx value is specified 66 lines/page is assumed. Thus -D66 is the same as -D. Experience has shown that this option will be rarely used because most documents either number their own pages or it is just not important to keep track of original page breaks. -T Normally when lines longer than the specified column width are encountered, 2col will wrap the data to the next line. If you prefer to truncate or discard excess characters on a line, you should invoke this option. -G Sends control codes to enable full IBM graphics set (ASCII 128-255). The graphics set includes line drawing characters and foreign alphabets. This function is not for DeskJet. -Fx 2col will insert x blank lines at the top of each page before printing. The default is 0. -Mx CAUTION: IMPROPER USE OF THIS OPTION WILL CAUSE YOUR PRINTER TO PRINT PAST THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. This command sets the left margin x spaces from the edge of the page. Default is 0. Use this option with caution! Most standard width printers only have 160 print positions across the page. If you insert spaces with a margin command, the printer will wrap characters that go past the 160th print position to the left side of the page, causing extra lines to be inserted. If you use a left margin of 5, for example, you might have to set the column width to -W77 to prevent wraparound (this is only necessary if printable characters would be pushed past the 160th column- blanks don't matter). The easiest way to achieve a left margin without having to worry about characters wrapping is to use the Automargin option (-Ux) described below. Given the limitations of standard width printers, it is suggested that you permanently shift your paper several spaces to the left. You can adjust your word processor margin settings to compensate, so that normal printing will be unaffected. -K Including this option on the command line allows any registered option listed below to be used, but only for a one page demo. This option allows you to explore the options available to registered users. -? Instructs 2COL to ask for files to print once it is running. You can specify files both on the command line and when 2COL asks for filenames. Separate the file names with spaces. This option is useful when 2COL is run from a menu or a Windows icon. -Q Adjusts line spacing for 24-pin printers. If you have a 24-pin printer and do not use this option, pages will print too long. -Jx Use this option whenever you are using a Deskjet printer. If x=0 or blank, 2col will not eject a page before printing. You can use this option if you have just printed with 2COL or if perf skip was not activated. If you have previously been printing with perf skip on, you must either push the reset button on the printer before running 2col or use -J1. See discussion for the "-@" option below for deskjet printing. The switch point for a wider font is 132 characters across the page not 137 because the deskjet uses a 16.67 font pitch instead of the standard 17 cpi. JETCOL also supports DJs and DJ compatible inkjets with more flexibility of font selection and variable font pitch. See PRODUCTS.DOC. -V This option prescans the document and tells you how many pages (odd+even) will print. If you are printing only odd or even, you must divide by two. If the last page is only partially filled you will be given the option to compress the line spacing to eliminate the partial page or increase the spacing to fill it. "C" compresses the lines. "E" expands the lines. "N" preserves the original spacing. If you are printing multiple documents without the Append (-A) option or using the fiXpage (-X) option, you will not be able to modify the line spacing. You can also enter a percentage value with the -V option. For example, entering -V35 will cause final pages which are more than 35% filled to be Expanded to fill the page and final pages less than 35% filled to be Compressed to eliminate the page. You can specify from -V1 to -V99. All prompts are bypassed in this mode. Note: It is impossible to always adjust the spacing to exactly fill the page. 2COL will come as close as possible. -&xx Wordwrap lines to a maximum of xx characters. When this option is off (default) 2COL will wrap in mid word. This wordwrap feature is intended for printing some word processor documents (such as .WRI,and WP Generic) where carriage return/ linefeeds occur only at the end of paragraphs. The current implementation is not intended to reformat a document to increase the length of lines which have CR/LFs at the end. When in filter mode (see below), wordwrap will also print Wordstar documents. Some wordprocessor programs imbed non-ASCII graphics and other control information in their files. The wordwrap feature normally eliminates ASCII characters outside of the range 32-126. This will greatly reduce but not eliminate "garbage" when printing these files. WRI files, for example, have graphics at the end and you will almost always see at least a few lines of garbage when printing unconverted .WRI files. If the -G (graphics) option is invoked on the command line ALL FILTERING WILL BE DISABLED and all characters ASCII 1-255 will be passed to the printer. Filter mode also deletes any line beginning with a period ".". This is for printing Wordstar documents. Automargin will automatically activate wordwrap when it sees long lines. Since Wordwrap filters out IBM graphics characters unless the -G option is specified, it is not advisable to leave it enabled all the time as a command line option. Invoke it when you need it or let automargin handle it. You can prevent Automargin from activating wordwrap by including -&- on the command line. IMPORTANT: Information which has been encoded in non-ASCII graphics format will not print in any readable form and will be lost. If an EOF (Control-Z) is embedded in the data, printing will stop at this point.Further data past an EOF will not print. Wordwrap is intended mainly as a convenience to provide an approximation of word processor documents. If you require perfect reproduction of the original document, you MUST first convert the document to pure ASCII before printing with 2COL. -@x This option causes pages to print in reverse order. -@A causes all pages to print in reverse. -@E causes even pages only to print in reverse. -@O causes only odd pages to be reversed. The purpose of this option is to eliminate paper shuffling with Deskjets,Inkjets or other printers with cut sheet feeders. Each printer model has its own paperfeed characteristics and you will need to experiment for the correct combination of -O, -E and -@ options that work best for you. When printing one-sided on a Deskjet use "-@A" to have the pages come out in normal reading order. For two-sided printing with a DJ use options "-e" and "-@o" together on the command line. When the even pages have been printed take all the pages that come out and put them printed side up back into the hopper and press "Y" to print the odd pages. The resulting stack will have page one on top when printing is complete. When you are printing even pages in reverse with a document which has an odd number of pages 2COL will eject a blank page to compensate for the blank end page. You must include this blank sheet when feeding pages back into the printer to print the reverse side. The maximum number of reversed pages for one print job is limited to 300 or the maximum free disk space, whichever is smaller. -$x This option selects the number of columns to print across the page. You can specify from 1 to 6. When you select multiple columns be sure that the number of columns times the column width does not exceed your printer's capability for maximum number of characters which can print across one line. When calculating, remember that 2COL inserts a blank between columns except when a column width of 80 is selected. For example, if you choose three column printing -$3, you should also specify -W52 when printing 20cpi on standard paper. This option is useful when printing lists of names or labels. It is also useful for landscape mode printing and wide carriage printers. Registered users should try combining this option with the text width reformatting feature -&Rxx. When combined with the -Z and -J-2 options 2COL can be used to format single column ASCII files into multi-column lists. ***Options below are bonus features in the registered version*** (Use the -K option to test these features) -Yx The -Y option allows you to modify 2COL's default settings. This MUST always be the first option on the command line whenever you use it. Typing "2COL -Y1 <enter>" will cause 2COL to display all current default settings. Typing "2COL -Y2 [options....] <enter>" will cause 2COL to permanently remember those options by modifying the 2COL.EXE program itself. Your personal registration code MUST always be one of the options specified whenever you modify the default settings. Whenever the -Y2 option is used, any options not specified on the command line will be reset to the standard defaults. Therefore, even if you change only one of your custom options, you must reenter them all at the same time. The next time you run 2COL the options you specified will automatically be used. For example, if you want to set the number of lines/page to 102 and print the page numbers at the bottom, you would type: 2COL -Y2 -L102 -N registration code# <enter>. The next time you type 2COL [filename] <enter> It would be as though you had typed: 2COL -L102 -N [filename]. If there are several different option profiles you wish to use, you can create different copies of 2COL.EXE with different names, such as 2COL1.EXE, 2COL2.EXE, etc. The -Y2 option only modifies the EXE file having the same name and path that you type on the command line. All defaults with an 'x' value can be temporarily overridden with a different value on the commmand line. Use an 'x' value of 0 to temporarily deactivate Automargin or Pagefix. Any option without an 'x' value can be activated by simply putting it on the command line. To temporarily deactivate an option set as a permanent default, type a minus after the option. For example, to temporarily deactivate the N option, you would put -N- on the command line: 2COL -N- [filename] There is also a -Y4 function which works like -Y2 except that it only affects options actually specified on the command line without resetting all others to the standard defaults. THIS FUNCTION WILL NOT WORK ON .EXE FILES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPRESSED WITH PKLITE. You must first decompress, use the -Y2 option and then recompress. -A When multiple files are specified on the command line (registered version only) you have the option of either starting a new page for each file (default) or appending them as though they were one continuous file. The -A option causes them to be appended. -Bxx Normally the switch point for font size change is 102 lines/page. The -B option lets you specify a different value. -Ux The aUtomargin function allows you to obtain as much margin as possible according to the width of the document. 2col scans the entire document before printing and adjusts the column width to gain as much space on the print line as possible. The space obtained is allocated to the left margin until the x value you entered is reached. The remaining space, if any, is then added to the right margin. If your document has a maximum line width of 80 or greater, 2COL will be unable to give you any margin at all because of printer limitations. If you have specified the -E option (to print on the reverse side of the page), the first available space is used to create a right margin (for binding) rather than a left margin. Automargin automatically turns on the wordwrap feature (-&) whenver lines longer than the columnwidth (-W) are encountered in a document and the truncate (-T) option is off. If you do NOT want wordwrap activated automatically include -&- on the command line. This is safer than truncating lines. If wordwrap (-&xx) or reformat (-&Rxx) has been specified on the command line (or as a default setting) automargin will assume a document width equal to the wordwrap value if xx is less than the actual document width and will always assume a document width equal to the reformat xx value regardless of the actual document width. Automargin also activates the left justify -[ option when possible. -Zfilename Allows output to be routed to a file instead of to the printer. The file can then be printed in background while running other programs. For example, to send output to a file called PRINT.TXT, you should include -ZPRINT.TXT on the command line.If PRINT.TXT does not exist, it will be created. If PRINT.TXT already exists, 2col output will be appended to the end of the file. This command is only active in the registered version of 2col. This option can also be used to redirect output to LPT2, COM1, COM2, etc. -Xx Prints exactly x pages in each column preserving original page breaks and not suppressing consecutive blank lines. Thus the original page formatting is maintained. Allowed range of x is 1-3. A page length of 66 is assumed unless modified with the -D option. -X option page formats: x=1 x=2 x=3 111 222 111 333 111 444 111 222 111 333 111 444 111 222 111 333 111 222 222 555 111 222 222 555 111 222 222 444 111 222 222 444 333 666 111 222 222 444 333 666 -&Rxx[,tt] Reformats document to a width of xx and eliminates leading blanks. It attempts (but is not always successful) to identify tables and headers and avoids reformatting them. This feature is useful if you have a document which is relatively narrow and would like to make more efficient use of page space. It can also be used to narrow the columns to allow room for a larger left margin. It is also useful if you have a document which is too wide to print with a 17cpi printer and you wish to reduce it to a width of 68 or less. A default trigger point of 57 characters is used to determine whether a line should be wrapped or left alone. You can modify the trigger point to any value you wish by entering the optional tt value. For example, if you want to reformat a document to a width of 78 characters and use the default trigger you would use -&R78 on the comand line.If you additionally want to set the trigger to wrap lines of width 50 or greater use -&R78,50 on the command line. Unregistered users may test the reformat feature with the -K one page demo option. -!xx Modifies line spacing so you can fill non-standard size paper. This would include legal or European paper. This option also allows you to finetune the pagefill amount of standard paper. Entering a positive value expands the spacing between lines. A negative value decreases spacing between lines. Although it depends on the printer, you should find that values in the 25-500 range will usually do the job. This option does not affect the printer's forms length adjustment. If you change paper you must modify the forms length setting before running 2COL. -J-2 Eliminates printer control commands. If you have a printer which has a non-standard command set, you can create your own command string to set up your printer, put it into a batch file and run it before running 2COL. 2COL will not send out any commands which could interfere with your manual setup. 2COL can be made to work with many printers this way, including Diablo 630, most IBM's, etc. 2COL's margin setting commands will not work in this mode. You would need to preset the margin as part of your setup string. Unregistered users can test this mode by using the demo (-K) option. You can also use this option to send output to a file for printing with sideways (landscape) print programs. Finally, you can use this option to create a 4 column format. Type:2COL Filename -J-2 -ztemp -&39 -w39. Then:2COL temp -#x1,x2,x3,x4....,x29 Allows user to specify a string of up to 29 bytes to be sent to the printer before 2COL has sends its commands. This allows the user to select draft/LQ printing, a specific font, etc. If the -J-2 command above has been invoked, only the user's -# specified characters will go to the printer and none generated by 2COL. See section below for landscape printing info. The data is specified as decimal numbers separated by commas. For example, if your ribbon is getting weak and you want to use emphasized printing with ESC E you would specify -#27,69 on the command line. You must not include any spaces within this command! Unpredictable results will occur if you specify commands that conflict with 2COL's. Also 2COL does normally send a margin set command at the beginning of every page and the user will be unable to specify a margin with this option except when using -J-2. -[xx Left justify text by xx characters. Up to xx blanks will be removed from the beginning of each line. This will help you to create a margin or print some documents at a more readable character pitch. This feature is automatically activated when using automargin. Since no printing characters are removed, if a large enough xx value is specified all lines of data will be shifted to the left edge of the page. This feature does not operate with the -& or -&R option. Examples: 2COL 2COL.DOC -L102 <enter> will print 102 lines/column 2COL 2COL.DOC -L102 -N will print 102 lines/column and number pages. 2COL 2COL.DOC -G -N will number pages and enable IBM graphics set. Using 2COL with a word processor The wordwrap feature (-&) provides a convenient, but not always perfect,way of printing many wordprocessor files(such as .WRI) In those cases where you cannot get a satisfactory printout directly from a document in its original form, most word processors have what is called an ASCII output or DOS output mode which 2COL will work with. If you are given a choice, it is usually best to convert without line breaks and use 2COL's wordwrap feature. I can supply WP and WFW macros which will allow you to print with 2COL, without leaving WP or WFW. You can print the document you are editing, with a single keystroke. See the registration section. I also supply to registered users conversion programs which may help you print other word processor formats with 2COL. Using 2COL with Microsoft Windows A Windows interface is now available which allows selecting files from a menu and editing/excerpting text as well as printing from the clipboard. Files to be printed can be dragged and dropped from File Manager. It also allows printing in background with 2COL. A large selection of custom printing option profiles can be maintained. See PRODUCTS.DOC for details. Landscape printing with 2COL 2COL will do landscape printing on printers which have a landscape mode. Suggested settings for the Deskjet are: 2COL path\filename -#27,38,108,49,79 -!-120 -L75 -W100 -J1 also try: 2COL path\filename -#27,38,108,49,79 -!-120 -L105 -W100 -J1 Some of these options are for registered users, but you can test them by adding -K to the command line. Printers which do not have a landscape mode can print in landscape with 2COL by sending output to a file and then printing with a sideways printing program. Use the -J-2 option to eliminate printer control characters from the output file. I will supply a shareware sideways printing program on your registration disk if you request it. If you develop landscape settings for your own model printer, please pass them along to me. Thanks. Program Abort Hitting Control-C (or Control-Break) will terminate the program immediately. The printer will not stop printing, however, until its buffer is empty. Support I will be glad to answer questions for registered and to a more limited extent for unregistered users. SUPPORT IS ONLY BY TELEPHONE (except for foreign users.) Non-foreign users should send letters only after a telephone discussion indicates that hard copy is needed. It is much faster to work out problems over the phone. Call 510-527-9859 from 9am to 8pm Pacific Time. Distribution Permission is hereby given to copy and distribute this program as long as no more than $10 is charged. It must be made clear to the buyer that this is only a handling charge and not a registration fee. You must include all files in their original unmodified form when distributing this program. Catalog, rack and CD-ROM vendors must either read VENDOR.DOC for additional details or contact the author before distributing 2COL. Permission to distribute may be revoked by the author at any time for any reason. YOU MUST NOT DISTRIBUTE ANY COPY WHICH HAS BEEN BRANDED WITH A REGISTRATION CODE. A program can be unbranded by typing 2COL -Y2 <enter>. All trademarks used in this document are the property of their owners. -Tony Caine- Internet: 72614.1451@compuserve.com Compuserve: 72614,1451