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╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Booklet ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Booklet v4.10, 24/10/93, Copyr. 1989-93 Andy Lawrie Softronix, Conifers, Townsend Road, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 3PR England. Booklet ------- 'Booklet' prints a file on an HP Laserjet II or III, Deskjet 500, Deskjet+, Epson 9 or 24 pin printer, or any other printer that is compatible with them. It prints on A4 or 11" x 8.5" paper in landscape mode, using both sides. When the output is folded down the middle it becomes an A5 or 8.5" x 5.5" booklet. 'Booklet' is 'shareware'. It is NOT public domain or free software. The un- registered version may be copied and used, subject to certain restrictions detailed below, for a trial period of 14 days. If, after the trial period, you wish to continue using the program, you must register your copy. The restrictions on the copying and trial use of the program are :- a) It must not be distributed in connection with any other product or service without prior written permission from Softronix. b) There must be no charge. c) The 5 files comprising the unregistered version must be copied together, i.e. the program BOOKLET.EXE, the documentation BOOKLET.DOC, README.TXT, ORDERFRM.UK and ORDERFRM.US. Any BOOKLET.CFG file must NOT be copied. Bulletin board operators are encouraged to provide 'Booklet' for downloading to their users, provided the above conditions are observed. Distributors of public domain and shareware software are granted exemption from b) providing 1) They charge only a moderate sum for the media and copying service. 2) They clearly describe the principle of shareware distribution in their literature and advertising material. Their customers must be aware before purchase of the requirement to register shareware to continue using it after the trial period. Upon registration you will receive a copy of the latest version of the program, and a code that will enable you to mark future versions as registered. You will be entitled to help with any problems you may encounter, and the opportunity to influence future improvements. To mark your copy of the program, select the 'Config/Register booklet' menu option. Enter 3 lines of name and address information, followed by the user code. Registration ------------ The following prices apply to the U.K. All prices are quoted in sterling. Please see later for more information on ordering from overseas. Single user registration costs 10.00 (U.K. pounds). V.A.T. is not applicable at present. However, we cannot be sure it will not become applicable if your order significantly postdates this document. Please print your name and address clearly. It helps us if you say which version of 'Booklet' you have, where you obtained it and what sort of printer you use. The file ORDER.FRM, which should accompany the program, contains an order form for your convenience. Please send your remittance to :- Softronix, Townsend Road, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 3PR, England. Payment can be by cash, cheque, Postal Order or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Eurocard). Payments by credit card must clearly show the card number and expiry date, plus the name and address of the cardholder. Credit card orders will only be delivered to the cardholder. If the registration name and/or address differs from that of the cardholder please make this clear on the order. Orders may also be placed by fax. on 0784-255363. Note that this line is a shared voice/fax. line. If you send a fax. and it fails on the first try, please immediately try again or call voice and say you wish to send a fax. It is also possible to place orders by voice on the above number, but this is not the preferred method due to the number of inaccuracies that occur when passing addresses and card details verbally. Your registered copy will normally be despatched on the working day following receipt of your order, but this cannot be guaranteed. Registration normally entitles use of the program on a single machine. Site licenses are available for multiple machines on a sliding scale where each copy is 0.9 * the cost of the previous one, as follows :- Copies Cost Copies Cost Copies Cost Copies Cost ------ ---- ------ ---- ------ ---- ------ ---- 1 10 9 61 17 83 25 93 2 19 10 65 18 85 26-27 94 3 27 11 69 19 87 28-29 95 4 34 12 72 20 88 30-31 96 5 41 13 75 21 89 32-34 97 6 47 14 77 22 90 35-39 98 7 52 15 79 23 91 40-50 99 8 57 16 81 24 92 51+ 100 Softronix provides several additional services, each of which costs a nominal 2.50 (U.K. pounds) :- 1) Preview copies. An unregistered copy of the latest version of 'booklet' is available to prospective purchasers on request, refundable on subsequent registration. 2) Code reissue. A registration code will be reissued in case of loss. 3) Upgrades. Registered users wishing to upgrade but who are unable to download a copy may obtain the latest release on request. 4) Automatic upgrades. Upgrades are released to the 'shareware circuit' when ready, but many users will not be immediately aware of the availability of these releases. By paying an upgrade fee in advance you can receive the latest version when it is ready. You can specify on which version number increment you wish to receive the upgrade, i.e. for version '1.23' :- '1' = major version number '2' = minor version number '3' = very minor version number. This offer is also available to all existing users of 'Booklet'. All prices and terms are subject to change without notice. Overseas orders --------------- Orders from overseas involve heavier postal charges and administrative overheads, and we therefore request a 2.50 (U.K. pounds) surcharge on the U.K. prices to cover this. We request that payments be made in sterling where possible, as it is VERY expensive for us to convert small amounts of foreign currency. If you really can't manage it, please send the equivalent of another 5.00 (U.K. pounds) to help offset our additional costs. Cheques made out in other currencies are easier to redeem if they are made out to 'A.Lawrie' instead of 'Softronix'. Giros and Money Orders can cause difficulties and if used MUST be made out to 'A.Lawrie'. Payment by credit card is usually the easiest method for overseas orders. To make registration easier in North America we have appointed a local agent :- Wagner Enterprises, 5271 Newton Falls Road, Ravenna, OH 44266-9603, U.S.A. Tel. (216)297-9330 Registration is (US)$28.00, and payment can be made by MasterCard, Visa, check or money order. Wagner Enterprises supply a free 'talking' catalog on disk, just call or write. They also have a BBS on (216)-297-9350. The Sysop, Jon Wagner, would be pleased for you to call. Wagner Enterprises will handle upgrades of 'Booklet' for users who have purchased from them. The upgrade price is (US)$5.00. Please note that Wagner Enterprises cannot answer any technical queries about 'booklet'; please write directly to Softronix. Availability ------------ Booklet will be made available on bulletin boards (BBS). The filename will normally take the form 'bookXXXX.YYY' where 'XXXX' represents the version number (e.g., currently 410) and 'YYY' is the extension used by the BBS file packing program. Please try to follow this convention if you upload the program to another board. Support ------- Support for 'booklet' is normally by post to Softronix at the address on the front page. You may fax. Softronix on 0784-255363, but note that this line is shared between voice and fax. If your first call fails to connect properly, please immediately try again or call voice and say you wish to send a fax. The above line is not normally manned by technical personell. Please use fax. or post where possible. CIX subscribers may email alawrie. CIX is also connected to the Internet, email alawrie@cix.compulink.co.uk How to use 'Booklet' -------------------- Using the menus --------------- 'Booklet' is menu driven. Use the cursor keys to move the highlighted option and press ENTER to select it. Each item on a drop down menu has a single highlighted character. Pressing this key also selects the option. Press the ALT key in combination with one of the highlighted characters on the top menu to select a different drop down menu. If you have a mouse installed you may also click a menu item to select it. Note that you must press and release the left mouse button at the same position. Some menu options are marked with √ or X. These items are toggles and the mark shows you the current setting. Each time you select the option the setting switches. Pressing ESC from any menu takes you directly to the menu above. If you are already at the main menu, you will be asked if you wish to leave 'Booklet'. Selecting a file ---------------- Enter the file you wish to print by selecting 'File/Enter filename' from the menu. The current working directory is shown. 'Booklet' will not let you enter an invalid filename. If you want to return to the menu without entering a filename, press ESC. If you are not sure of the name of the file you wish to print, 'Booklet' will provide a pick list. Just enter a template using the '*' and '?' characters (e.g. *.doc, temp?.txt, booklet.*) and you will be presented with a window containing all the matching files. If you enter a blank line, press F2 or click on 'Pick from All' it is the same as using a template of *.*, and all files will be shown. Files are sorted alphabetically and are displayed in lower case. All sub- directories (including the parent, ..) are shown before the files, in upper case. Use the cursor keys to position the highlight bar over the file or directory you require and press ENTER. If you selected a file you will return to the menu; if it was a directory you will be shown the contents of the new directory. HOME and END take you to the top left and bottom right of the list, Page Up and Page Down move up or down by up to 1 page. If the file you require is not present, you can use ESC to return to the 'Enter filename' window. You can also click on the mouse to select a file, and scroll the window by clicking in the top or bottom margin of the pick list window. There is a limit of 600 files in the pick list. If 'Booklet' runs out of space it will warn you that the list is incomplete. You can change to a different drive by putting the drive name and a colon (e.g. a: or b:temp.txt) at the beginning of the line. As an alternative to entering the file name when you are running 'Booklet', you can supply the name of the file to print when invoking 'Booklet' from the command line. Edit keys --------- When entering the filename, or any other string of characters, there are various editing keys available. The Backspace key deletes the character to the left of the cursor. The Delete key deletes the character under the cursor. Ctl/Del deletes the whole of the current line. The Left and Right cursor keys obviously move the cursor to the left and right. The Home and End keys move it to the start or end of the line. The Insert key toggles Insert mode. With insert on, the text to the right of the cursor will be shifted right when characters are entered, with insert off they will be overwritten. The cursor should be a thin line when in Overwrite mode, a little larger in Insert mode. Return (or Enter) confirms your entry. ESC quits with the original line intact. There are two different editing 'modes'. In 'First key delete' mode, entering a character as the first key press will delete the default contents of the field, whereas a non-character key will leave it in place for subsequent editing. The original contents are highlighted to warn you that they may be deleted, but after the first key press normal colours are used. If 'First key delete' mode is off, the first key press will be dealt with just like any other. Use the 'Config' menu to select the mode you prefer. Don't forget to save the configuration as described below if you wish your preference to be selected automatically next time you run 'Booklet'. Where relevant, the Up and Down cursor keys move to the previous or next line. Be careful not to delete a line accidentally if 'First key delete' is active. You can also use a mouse to assist editing. In general terms, if you click the left button in a field the cursor will move to the end of that field; if you click in the field where the cursor is already located you will position the cursor at the mouse pointer. Set up and Options ------------------ It is particularly important to first select your printer type from the 'Printer' menu and the paper size from the 'Page' menu as these affect the layout and other settings. 'Booklet' maintains a configuration file called 'booklet.cfg' in the same directory as 'booklet.exe'. Most current settings within the program are saved to this file whenever you select 'Config/Save configuration'. This file can be automatically updated whenever changes are made by selecting 'Config/Config auto save'. You can also use 'Config/Config confirm overwrite' to choose whether or not the program asks for confirmation before overwriting an existing configuration file. If present, the configuration file is loaded whenever you start 'booklet' or on selection of the 'Config/Reload configuration' option. Remember that if you saved any changes, even using the 'autosave' option, you will only reload the most recently saved information. If you update 'booklet' to a newer version you may find the format of the configuration file changes. 'Booklet' will tell you it is loading the default settings, but it will retain your registration information. Cut sheet feeder setup ---------------------- It is unfortunate that cut sheet feeders on otherwise compatible 9 or 24 pin printers show large variations in performance. This governs how close we can print to the top and bottom of the sheet. For optimum performance you should configure 'booklet' to suit your own cut sheet feeder. Ideally this should be carried out before selecting other layout options as it affects the number of lines and columns available. Unfortunately this set up procedure is probably the most complex operation in the program. If you are trying 'booklet' out for the first time you may prefer to try the default settings to start with, and to carry out this set up when you are more familiar with the program. The defaults are of necessity a compromise and may not operate correctly on your system. The possible symtoms of incorrect cut sheet feeder setup include blank pages, output that is offset, and not using as much of the paper as possible. Separate settings are held for the various printer type and paper size combinations. Select 'Config/Cut sheet feeder setup'. It is important to set the 3 following variables in the correct order. You may find it helpful to print a test document after setting each step. First set the maximum width such that the printer does not produce spurious page feeds. If this figure is too high you will get extra pages with little or no printing on them. If it is too small you will be unnecessarily reducing the maximum print area. When this step is complete 'booklet' should work, though the output may be offset. Next, set the minimum left margin. This step is designed to centralise the output on the page. You should ensure that any test document uses the full width of the page, else the effect of this setting will be distorted. Finally, set the default left margin to centralise the output for 80 column modes. You can press F1 for help while setting up. Use ENTER to exit to the menu and confirm the changes, or ESC to quit without making any changes. Layout options -------------- Selecting 'Page/Layout' will display a dialogue box with several diagrams and mouse pads. The mouse pads all carry a brief description and a key prompt. The large rectangle on the left is where you make your changes. Csr left/right alters the left margin and Ctl left/right changes the right margin. Similarly Csr up/down and Ctl up/down affect the top and bottom margins. In the middle of the diagram are buttons for setting header or footer lines. With the unregistered version you will not be permitted to select no header/footer. The two smaller rectangles at top right represent the left and right side pages, and display the current settings. Some of the changes you make affect both sides, others only one side. The side which is currently affected by the keys is higlighted. There are mouse pads to make the other side active, to copy settings to the other side or to mirror settings such that the two sides are symmetrical. The bottom line shows a list of common layouts, with the line spacing pad at far right. There are pads for Help, Quit and Enter. Options that affect output -------------------------- These options are reached through the 'Options' and 'EOF' pulldown menus. Tabs are expanded to columns of any width. Choosing a value of 1 has the effect of treating tabs as spaces. Form feeds in the source file are normally acted upon, but you can choose to ignore them. You can choose to truncate or wrap long lines. Note that there is no attempt to wrap lines on word boundaries. If you require text to be formatted in this way you should first prepare it on a Word Processor and output it to an ASCII file for 'booklet' to print. You can choose not to print headers/footers on the blank pages that follow the end of file. This saves a little time when printing to an impact printer. As an alternative to the IBM-PC symbol set you may choose the Roman 8 symbol set when printing to a Laserjet printer. The print preview screens and dot- matrix printers will always display the IBM-PC symbol set. A few laser printers are unable to print the IBM block graphic characters. As an alternative, the ASCII characters +, - and | may be used; this is not perfect but it is better than nothing. To take advantage of this feature you should select 'ASCII block graphics' and ensure that 'Roman 8 symbol set' is not selected. Page numbering normally starts with the front page as page 1. You can control both the page on which numbering commences and the starting page number using the 'Page nos. start on' and 'Page nos. start at' menu options. These options are not saved in the configuration file; they both revert to 1 each time you run booklet. You can specify whether the ^Z character is printed as an arrow or treated as an end of file marker. Older word processors such as the earlier versions of Wordstar tend to use it as EOF, though most modern ones don't. In a similar way, character 255 (0xFF) can be printed as a space, used as end of file, or simply ignored. Of course, 'Booklet' will always recognise the DOS end of file. Other options ------------- 'Booklet' defaults to printing a single copy of your document. You can select multiple copies using 'Select/Copies', but note that this setting is not saved in the configuration file. You can print to LPT1 or LPT2; select the appropriate one from the 'Printer' menu. You can also spool the output to a file for printing later. If you select this option you will be asked for the file name. Enter ONLY the file name and not the type, 'Booklet' will automatically supply the extension '.one' for the first side file and '.two' for the second. If these files exist already you will be asked for permission to delete them. Note that these files can grow to a very considerable size, particularly when a dot-matrix type printer is selected. See the section on "Printing spooled files" for advice on printing these files. 'Booklet' normally prints the whole of the side once you have started it running. If you wish it to pause between each sheet, you can choose the 'Config/Pause between sheets' option. If you have chosen to print to a file 'Booklet' will not pause before printing a side or between pages irrespective of the pause setting. Status window ------------- The current settings are displayed in a Status window in the lower part of the screen along with the filename, header/footer text, the number of pages, the number of sheets and the selected part of the document. The page size and margins are depicted by small diagrams. Analysing the document ---------------------- You may see how long your document will be before printing it by selecting 'File/Analyse'. This is not a required step, 'booklet' will automatically analyse the document whenever it needs to. Headers/footers --------------- You can use 'File/Edit title' to enter the optional header/footer text. If you wish the current filename to appear, enter /f. Similarly, the current date can be entered with /d and the time with /t. To enter a /, use //. If a mode with a header or footer is selected the title will appear in the Status window as it will be printed. Note that the filename printed is the last thing entered in the 'Enter filename' window. This allows some flexibility. If you first move to the directory containing the required file and then enter just the filename, only the filename will be printed. If you wish the whole path to be shown, enter the whole path at the filename prompt. Note that 'File/Edit title' merely edits the contents of the header/footer, it does not switch headers/footers on or off. You should use the 'Layout' options for this. Page numbers in the header/footer are normally preceded by the word 'Page'. For the benefit of those for whom English is a foreign language, the 'Options/Page string' allows modification of this string up to a maximum of 8 characters. Page Preview ------------ You can check the layout of your document by selecting the 'Preview' menu. In preview mode you can scroll the document around the screen with the cursor keys. You can go to the top/bottom of the current page with 'Home' and 'End', and to the next/previous page with 'Page Down' and 'Page Up'. You can also scroll the text by clicking the mouse in the window border. The page, sheet, lines and columns being previewed are shown on the window title bar. The page numbers are real page numbers, and may differ from those printed if you are using the Page nos. start on' and/or 'Page nos. start at' options. Press F1 during preview for a help screen. Edit ---- You can use 'Util/Edit' to edit the currently selected file using your favourite editor. Before you can use this feature you must tell 'booklet' the name of the editor using 'Util/Set editor'. If the editor is in your path you need specify only the name of the file, e.g. for Qedit this would be just q. If the editor is not in the path you should specify a full pathname, e.g. c:\utils\q. Don't forget to save the configuration. Printing -------- When you select 'File/Print' from the menu, 'Booklet' will open a window on the screen, request you to ready the printer and wait for you to press Enter. You can press ESC to quit back to the menu if this item is selected by mistake. Print the first side in the normal manner, ensuring on a dot-matrix printer that the paper perforation is correctly positioned under the printhead. If the printer has a push feed, leave a blank page before the start of the document to provide purchase for the last sheet when printing the second side. Laser printers just use the normal tray feed. 'Booklet' will report on its progress, and when the first side is complete, will ask you to reinstall the paper. This procedure is slightly different for laser and dot-matrix printers. With the Laserjet II or III, you should lift the paper out of the output tray on the top of the machine, blank side uppermost, without turning it over or rotating it, and place it straight back into the feed tray. Alternatively, for short documents, you can simply feed the sheets into the manual sheet feeder with the top sheet first, again keeping the orientation exactly as it was in the output tray. If you do it this way, you must judge the time to feed in subsequent sheets carefully, but this is very straightforward with practice and is the method I most often use. The Laserjet IIIP (and probably the IIP too) benefit from a slightly modified procedure. For the first side, select the front paper output tray. For the second side use the top tray. In other respects follow instructions as for the Laserjet II and III. A suggestion for the Laserjet 4 is to take paper from the main paper cartridge on the first pass but use the Multi-Purpose tray for the second pass. It helps if the printer has MP Tray set to FIRST, i.e. if there is paper in the tray it will automatically be used. With dot matrix printers, eject an extra complete blank page before tearing off the paper (this is to provide a purchase for the tractors, and is not strictly necessary with a push feed printer). Pull out the blank fan-fold paper from the feed slot and replace it with the end you have just torn off; don't turn the paper round or feed in the start of the listing. Feed the blank page through the printer and line up the perforation. The blank side of the paper should now be at the front. When you are ready press Enter again. 'Booklet' will print the second side. When it has finished, you may trim the sides and separate the pages on fan-fold paper, and stack them in order (not necessary on the Laserjet of course). Simply fold the paper about the centre line to produce your booklet. Printing part of a document --------------------------- You will normally want to print the whole of the selected document. However, there may be occasions, for example if the paper has jammed in the printer or if you have had to interrupt a print run, when you wish to print only a part. 'Booklet' has two ways to split the document. You can select either or both sides of the paper or you can choose to print a single sheet, a range of sheets or the whole document. These options are all found on the 'Select' menu. The program defaults to both sides of the whole document. 'Booklet' works with sheet numbers because there is little point in printing only one of the pages on a side. However, you can if you wish convert a page number to the relevant sheet number. When the program is requesting the sheet number, press the Cursor Down key and enter the number of any of the pages on the sheet. 'Booklet' will fill in the sheet number. Note that page numbers here refer to the 'real' page number, which may differ from that printed if you are using 'Page nos. start on' and/or 'Page nos. start at'. Another way to find the sheet numbers is to look at the Preview window heading, which displays both page and sheet numbers. When printing the second side of a document, the sheets have to be printed in reverse order. Bear this in mind when loading the paper. Printing part of a document is an advanced option, and should not be used until you are familiar with the operation of the program and the orientation of the paper on your printer. Printing on a Novell network ---------------------------- Use the 'capture' command to redirect output to a network printer. It is important to set the 'timeout' option, otherwise nothing will happen on completion of the first side. A timeout of 10 seconds is suggested; please see your Novell documentation for more details. Colours ------- You can change the colours used in colour mode with the 'Config/Set colours' menu option. You can modify the window and border colours of the Main, Information, Menu, Warning and Help windows. After choosing the type of window you wish to change, use the left and right cursor keys to view the different foreground colours. The up and down cursor keys change the background colours. Use ENTER to select the combination you require or ESC to leave the colours unchanged. You may find that some colours are not offered as you cycle through them. This is because 'Booklet' only allows reasonably readable combinations. If you can't get the background colour you want, try changing the foreground colour first, or vice versa. There are menu options to restore the original or the default colours while remaining in the 'Set colours' routine. To exit, select 'Exit/Exit' or press ESC. The colours you choose will be fixed for the remainder of the session. If you wish to retain the colours you have defined in future sessions you must use 'Config/Save configuration' before quitting the program. You cannot change the attributes used in mono mode. Back to DOS ----------- When you have finished, return to DOS by selecting 'File/Quit' or by pressing ESC from the main menu. You can go to DOS temporarily by selecting 'Util/DOS shell'. To return to 'Booklet' type 'exit'. Don't forget to do this; if you carry on working with 'Booklet' still active it occupies about 150Kb of your computer's memory. You may change the drive or directory while in the DOS shell. 'Booklet' will automatically return to the drive and directory it was using. This means you must avoid deleting the working directory, or changing the floppy if it contains the working directory. Printer timeouts ---------------- The time 'Booklet' will wait when sending a character to the printer is affected by the BIOS and the speed of the printer. A few combinations of machine and printer cause a timeout before a character is sent (laser printers can remain not ready for a period while printing a page). 'Booklet' can retry to send the character. The number of retries is set with the 'Config/Set printer retries' option. You can increase the number up to 9. You must save the configuration if you wish to retain the new setting in future sessions. Utilities --------- The 'Util' menu offers the opportunity to browse and/or print an unformatted file. In both cases you will be asked for the file name. A file can be printed by selecting the 'Print file' option. Note that this will not produce a 'booklet', it simply lists the file directly to the selected printer. To print a 'booklet' use the 'File/Print' option. The browse option displays the file on the screen, with the current and total number of lines and columns shown on the title bar. There is a limit of 5000 lines in a file. You can use the cursor keys to move around the document, together with the Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys. F1 brings up a small help window and ESC takes you back to the menu. F10 can be used as a shortcut key to print the file being browsed. Batch operation --------------- You can set most of the above options and start printing using command line switches. This enables 'booklet' to be run from a batch file, and can be useful if you have several regular jobs with differing requirements. Switches are preceded by / or - and usually reflect the menu keys used to select the options. Multiple switches must be separated by spaces. Switches can be in upper or lower case. The switches are listed below in alphabetical order. /aa Select A4 paper /au Select US Letter paper /c1+ 1st key delete /c1- Disable 1st key delete /ca+ Config auto save /ca- Disable config auto save /co+ Config confirm overwrite /co- No config confirm overwrite /cp+ Pause between sheets /cp- No pause between sheets /cs Save configuration /ctX Set printer retries (X = 1 to 9) /d Load all defaults /e1 ^Z = EOF /ea ^Z = graphic /ef FF = EOF /en FF = NULL /es FF = space /fp Print document /fq Quit afterwards /lc1 Layout 80 x 66 + header, close spaced /lc2 Layout 80 x 66, close spaced /lc3 Layout 80 x Max + header, close spaced /lc4 Layout 80 x Max, close spaced /lc5 Layout Max x Max + header, close spaced /lc6 Layout Max x Max, close spaced /lw1 Layout 80 x 55 + header, wide spaced /lw2 Layout 80 x 57, wide spaced /lw3 Layout 80 x Max + header, wide spaced /lw4 Layout 80 x Max, wide spaced /lw5 Layout Max x Max + header, wide spaced /lw6 Layout Max x Max, wide spaced /o8+ Roman 8 symbol set /o8- IBM PC symbol set /oaX Page nos. start at X (X = 1 to 500) /ob+ ASCII block graphics /ob- IBM block graphics /of+ Act on form feeds /of- Ignore form feeds /oh+ Print header on blank /oh- Don't print header on blank /ooX Page nos. start on X (X = 1 to 500) /or+ Truncate long lines /or- Wrap long lines /otX Tab columns at X (X = 1 to 99) /r1 output to LPT1 /r2 output to LPT2 /r4 output to 24 pin printer /r9 output to 9 pin printer with cut sheet feeder /rc output to 24 pin printer with cut sheet feeder /rd output to HP Deskjet series printer /rfX Output to file (X = filename) /re output to 9 pin printer /rl output to Laserjet printer /scX X copies (X = 1 to 9999) The order of some of the switches is important. If you wish to load the program defaults this should be done first. You should select printer type and paper size before any layout options. The position of 'Save options' will determine which options are saved. The correct order should be easy to understand as, with the exception of 'Print document' and 'Quit afterwards', the switches are executed from left to right. These two exceptions are processed after all the other switches. Printing spooled files ---------------------- If you have used the 'Printer/File' option 'booklet' will have written two files to the disk. These files contain control and graphic information, and any program used to print them must transfer the data from disk to printer without modifying it in any way. You can use the DOS 'copy' command if you add the /b option, e.g. 'copy test.one lpt1: /b'. Unfortunately the DOS 'print' command does modify the data. It adds a page feed at the end, which is no great problem, but more importantly it tries to expand tabs. Files for Laserjet printers are unlikely to contain tab characters, but those for dot-matrix printers contain mostly graphic data and are almost certain to do so. In the DOS 5 version of 'print' there appears to be no way to disable the tab expansion, and I assume it is the same in previous versions. This is a great disappointment, as 'print to file' was added primarily to allow background printing. 'print.exe' in DOS 5 or DOS 6 can be modified to ignore tabs by using the DOS debug program. Softronix can accept no responsibility for this modification. Do not proceed unless you are confident you are capable of performing and testing the modification. Check the version - DOS 5 print.exe, dated 9th April 1991, 15656 bytes long, or DOS 6 print.exe dated 10th March 1993, 15640 bytes long. Do not proceed if you have a different version. Enter the following - copy print.exe xprint.dbg<ENTER> debug xprint.dbg<ENTER> ea42<ENTER> (DOS 5) OR ea3e<ENTER> (DOS 6) The screen should show 75 eb<ENTER> w<ENTER> q<ENTER> ren xprint.dbg xprint.exe<ENTER> To check you have changed just the one byte enter the following - comp print.exe xprint.exe<ENTER> The screen should show Compare error at OFFSET 942 (DOS 5) OR Compare error at OFFSET 93e (DOS 6) file 1 = 75 file 2 = EB Compare more files (Y/N) Answer N. Users of other versions of DOS may send a copy of their DOS 'print' program in a disk mailer with return postage, and I will try to locate the relevant byte to change. You can use 'xprint' where you would have used 'print'. Note that 'print' is a TSR and remains resident the first time it is used, subsequent calls do not reload it. This means if you already have 'print' loaded and call 'xprint' it will still use the old 'print' code. You must get rid of the old copy from memory by rebooting or by other means before 'xprint' will work. Also, you should check that 'print' is not being loaded in your 'autoexec.bat' file. Note that 'xprint' still issues an extra form feed at the end of each side. You should ensure this is dealt with appropriately. Offline printing is an advanced feature and should only be used when you are familiar with the normal operation of the program. Suitable printers ----------------- Laserjet -------- Any parallel printer compatible with the basic, unexpanded HP Laserjet II can be used. This includes the Laserjet IIP, III, IIIP and 4, and printers from other manufacturers. It should be noted that some printers use different paper paths, and the exact method of use may therefore vary slightly. The only font employed is the 8.5 point, 16.66 c.p.i. Landscape Line printer font. Deskjet ------- There is a Deskjet option on the printer menu. This applies to the Deskjet+, Deskjet 500 and later models. The original Deskjet can only be used in conjunction with the Epson FX80 emulation cartridge, in which case the Epson 9 pin printer type should be selected. The following therefore applies only to the Deskjet+, Deskjet 500, etc. The font used with wide line spacing is rather larger than that on the Laserjet. With close line spacing this causes lines to be squashed together, so a smaller font is used. Unfortunately, while the larger font is too big, the smaller one is really a little too small. If you prefer to use the larger font with close line spacing, you can select the Laserjet printer option. If you find the output from 'Booklet' is severely offset you should check the switch settings at the back of the printer. As delivered these are set for US Letter paper. For use with A4 paper, switch A5 should be down and switch A6 up. If you have any alignment problems other than those caused by the DIP switch settings, would you please send me a sample sheet of 80 column wide data and let me know the exact model you are using. Dot matrix ---------- Most Epson compatible 9 pin dot-matrix printers supporting 'ESC L' for 8 pin Double Density Graphics Mode and 'ESC J' to feed the paper by increments of 1/216" ought to be acceptable. 24 pin printers must support 'ESC * 33' for Double Density Graphics mode and 'ESC J' to feed by increments of 1/180". Both must recognise 'ESC @' as a reset. Printers used by previous customers ----------------------------------- These include :- Amstrad 3000 Amstrad 3160 Amstrad 3160i Amstrad 3250 Amstrad 3286 Amstrad 3500 Amstrad LQ5000 Brother HJ-100 Brother HL-4 Brother HL-4V Brother HL-8 Brother HL-8e Brother HL-8v Brother M1109 Brother M1818 Brother M7109 Canon BJ10e Canon BJ10ex Canon BJ20 Canon BJ300 Canon PW-1080A Centronics GLP Centronics GLP2 Citizen 120D Citizen 180E Citizen 200GX Citizen 224 Citizen GSX140 Citizen LSP-100 Citizen Prodot 24 Citizen Swift 9 Citizen Swift 24 Data Prod. LZR650 Data Prod. LZR960 DEC LA75 Elonex PC88J Epson 3000 Epson 7-1000 Epson EPL4000 Epson EPL5200 Epson FX80 Epson FX100+ Epson FX800 Epson FX850 Epson FX1000 Epson FX1050 Epson LQ200 Epson LQ400 Epson LQ500 Epson LQ510 Epson LQ550 Epson LQ570 Epson LQ850 Epson LQ860 Epson LQ870 Epson LQ1000 Epson LQ1050 Epson LQ1070 Epson LX80 Epson LX86 Epson LX400 Epson LX800 Epson GQ3500 Epson GQ5000 Epson RX100 Epson SQ2550 Epson Stylus Facit 4509 Facit P6060 Fujitsu DL3300 Fujitsu RX7100PS Fujitsu RX7101 HP Deskjet 500 HP Deskjet 500c HP Deskjet 510 HP Deskjet 550c HP Deskjet + HP Laserjet 2 HP Laserjet 2P HP Laserjet 2D HP Laserjet 3 HP Laserjet 3P HP Laserjet 3D HP Laserjet 4 HP Laserjet 4L IBM Graphics IBM Proprinter Kaga KP810 Kodak 7008 Kyocera 1000 Kyocera F1010 Kyocera F1200 Kyocera F2200S Man.Tally MT80 Man.Tally MT81 Man.Tally MT901 Man.Tally MT905 Man.Tally MT911 Micro.Peri. MP135 NCR 6435 NEC P6 NEC P6+ NEC P7 NEC P7+ NEC P20 NEC P2200 NEC P2200XE NEC Pinwriter P2+ NEC S60P Oki 103 Oki 182 Oki 320 Oki 360 Oki 380 Oki 390 Oki 391 Oki 391+ Oki 393C Oki 840 Oki Laser OL400 Oki Laserline 6 Olivetti DM100 Olivetti DM124 Olivetti DM124C Olivetti JP350 Olivetti JP350S Olivetti PG208M2 Panasonic 2124 Panasonic KX2123 Panasonic KX-P1081 Panasonic KX-P1123 Panasonic KX-P1124 Panasonic KX-P1170 Panasonic KX-P1180 Panasonic KX-P4410 Panasonic KX-P4420 Panasonic KX-P4430 Panasonic KX-P4450 Panasonic KX-P4541 Panasonic PF4410 Philips 1439 Philips NMS1461 Qume Crystal Print Ricoh LP1200 Ricoh LP4081 Ricoh PC6000 Schneider DMP4000 Seikoska 80LI Seikoska 1200 Seikoska OP-104 Seikoska SL-80ai Seikosha SP1000 Seikoska SP1200ai Seikoska SP180A1 Seikoska SP1900 Seikoska SP-2415 Sharp JX9500 Siemens 3100 Star FR10 Star Laser 8 Star LC10 Star LC15 Star LC20 Star LC24-10 Star NB24-15 Star LC24-15 Star LC24-20 Star LC24-100 Star LC24-200 Star LC24-200 colr Star NL10 Star NX1000 Star NX-2420 Star NX1000 Star SG10 Star XB24-10 Starjet SJ-48 Swift 24E Tandy DMP107 Tandy DMP921 Toshiba 420 Visa 615 Xerox 4010 'Binding' with a stapler ------------------------ When you have folded your booklet you can use a long reach stapler as a simple 'binder'. However, this will work only on relatively short documents as the stapler cannot penetrate too many pages. One customer mentioned that he overcomes the problem of using a standard stapler by opening it out and driving the staple through the spine of the booklet into a piece of corrugated card. The staple is then closed manually. This seems to work quite well. Staples should be driven from the outside so the sharp points are on the inside. Maximum document length ----------------------- 'Booklet' can print documents up to 500 pages. However, long documents become very difficult to fold into the A5 format, therefore a practical maximum is about 200. If you have the facilities, you can use 'Page/Layout' to increase the inside margins, then cut and punch the sheets for a ring binder. IBM graphics ------------ 'Booklet' can print the IBM character graphics. If you would like these to join up vertically in Epson mode, you must use close line spacing. Calculating pages ----------------- If you have difficulty getting the paper loaded correctly on a dot matrix printer you could try tearing off a length of paper before you start. The 'File/Analyse' option tells you how many pages are needed, allow 2 more for a blank page at each end. Printer 'locking up' -------------------- If you use ESC to break the program it may be in the middle of sending an escape or graphic sequence to the printer. This is likely on a dot-matrix printer but less so on a laser. If it happens the printer can appear to 'lock up'. Just switch it off (or press the reset button if there is one). Booklets from non-ASCII files ----------------------------- The document to be printed must be an ASCII file. Word processor files often contain formatting information and therefore cannot be used directly. Most word processors allow you either to print to a file, or to export an ASCII file. 'Booklet' works with a fixed pitch font. If your word processor uses different fonts, select one with a fixed pitch, such as Courier. Set the margins so that 80 columns of the chosen font fit onto the page. If you print to a file, do not format the file for reuse with the word- processor. Choose a 'vanilla' type printer such as teletype (TTY), NOT an Epson or HP, and select draft mode or 'text with line breaks' if you are offered a choice. Blank space at start -------------------- Some users have thought the program was malfunctioning when it printed a lot of blank space at the start. This is quite in order. When you print a document that is not an exact multiple of 4 pages long, the first page to be printed is the blank last page. 'Bold', etc., characters ------------------------ To produce bold characters, underlining, etc., some documentation contains backspace characters. At present 'Booklet' is unable to deal with this and the formatting of the page is affected. Future versions may be enhanced to cope with this situation. For present, you can use the shareware 'List' program to strip out such characters. Enable the junk filter, select the whole document and write it to another file. Upgrading from older versions ----------------------------- New versions of 'booklet' may use uninitialised parts of configuration files produced by older versions. In this case the program will report that it cannot use the configuration file. It will extract any registration information and load default values for other settings. Error codes ----------- 'Booklet' returns the following error codes to DOS - 0 - O.K. 1 - Can't find source file specified on command line. 2 - Source path specified on command line is too long. 3 - More than 1 source path specified on command line. 4 - Error loading configuration file. 5 - Out of memory (please inform Softronix). 6 - Device error. 7 - Disk error, (A)bort selected. 8 - Incompatible display type or mode. 9 - Invalid option. 10 - Destination path specified on command line is too long. 11 - File type was included in destination file path. Future enhancements ------------------- Some possible future enhancements for this program, mostly requested by customers, include :- Additional layouts, including loose leaf binder format. Backspace support. A vertical line between the pages. More (larger) fonts. Line wrap between words. Configurable sheet ordering. Context sensitive help. If there is anything else you would really like to see, or if you find a bug in the program or documentation, please let me know. To save wasting your time, there are some things that will almost certainly never appear in the program. These include support for directly printing word processor documents (e.g. Word Perfect, Word for Windows), and printing graphics files. Disclaimer ---------- Andy Lawrie and Softronix specifically disclaim all warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. It is important that you determine the safety and suitability of the program, particularly in view of the 'shareware' distribution method, which can be susceptible to abuse by third parties. Acknowledgements ---------------- Thanks to many people for their suggestions, but in particular to: Barry Parker for his help since the very first version, Mr.D.G.Catt for his advice on grammar, Swami Anahata for very concientious beta testing. Release History (in reverse order) ---------------------------------- v4.10 24/10/93 1) Added mouse support. 2) Corrected bug in tab expansion routine. 3) Extensive changes to page setup. 4) Different page widths for odd and even pages. 5) Improved cut sheet feeder setup help. 6) Full page then CR then FF now handled correctly. 7) Handles more screen formats. 4.03a 12/08/93 1) Documentation only. 4.03 30/07/93 1) Fixed bug that may have been causing QEMM problem. 4.02 12/06/93 1) Fixed bug in ASCII graphics mode. 2) Now discards backspace chars in input stream. 4.01 21/05/93 1) Adjusted max. lines/page on Deskjets for worst case. 4.00 02/05/93 1) Added check for colour 43/50 line modes. 2) Now discards nulls and bells in input stream. 3) Added edit option, shells to editor. 4) Added config autosave and confirm overwrite options. 5) Changed page offset into page nos. start on x at y. 6) Added ASCII characters as alternative to IBM block graphics. 7) Changed IBM PC symbol set menu option text to Roman 8. 8) Added command line options. 9) Improved alignment and increased number of lines on Deskjet. 10) Split 'Quick' menu into 'Close' and 'Wide' menus. 11) Added new return codes. 12) Added configurable 'Page' string. 13) Shuffled menus and help screens to accomodate new options. 14) Now accept credit cards directly. 3.43a 23/01/93 1) Docs only, credit card reg. no longer available in UK. 3.43 24/11/92 1) Corrected bug in page offset. 3.42 25/10/92 1) IBM-PC symbol set or Roman 8 symbol set is now an option. 2) Changes to help screens and docs. for US registrations. 3) Adjusted HP Deskjet page layout. 4) Added page numbering offset. 5) Number of copies shown on menu. 3.41 04/07/92 1) Epson fan fold reverts to line feeds at end of page, Epson cut sheet still use page feeds. 3.40 07/06/92 1) Epsons now page feed instead of line feeding to end of page. 2) Added 9/24 pin cut sheet feeder printer types and configuration functions. 3) DeskJet is now its own printer type. 4) Added multiple copies option. 5) Fewer checks for redirection or keypress to speed up printing on slower machines. 6) Corrected tiny buglet re. loading tab settings from config. 7) Changed custom layout keys, simplified resizing checks and added sequence instructions. 8) Introduced menu check marks to reduce number of menu options. 3.30 12/04/92 1) Fixed bug in wrap mode when page break inserted after full width line. 2) Fixed bug in util/browse scrolling down full width lines. 3) Now sends ESC(s0P to HP laser and Deskjet printers. 4) Utility browse + print now use tabs and EOF flags. 5) Utility print now sends form feed at end. 3.20 29/03/92 1) Changed keyboard routines to accommodate foreign characters. 2) Due to above, shifted cursor controls now use control. 3) Also due to above, Shift/Del is now Ctl/Del. 3.10 21/03/92 1) Added Deskjet 500 mode. 2) Tidied up status window. 3) Tidied up layout help. 4) Old config file doesn't cause the program to terminate. 3.00 12/01/92 1) A4 paper support for impact dot matrix printers. 2) More flexible page layout, independent margins. 3) Added menu hot keys and ESC. 4) Added more help text to tweak colour windows. 5) Improved the way the file picker handles files and directories that don't begin with a letter. 6) Added HOME, END, PGUP, and PGDN to file picker. 7) Stays in pick mode if new directory chosen. 8) Minor adjustment to the way the file picker handles the bottom right hand corner. 9) Get file name trims trailing spaces. 10) Added optional pause between pages. 11) Moved colour menu exit to the left for consistency. 12) Optional EOF for 0x1a & 0xff. 13) Extended help screens and keys. 14) Added Util menu with browse and print unformatted files. 15) Allowed output to be redirected to a file. 2.40a 05/10/91 1) Documentation changes. 2.40 20/09/91 1) Added file pick list. 2) Now show path in 'get file name' window. 3) First key delete is now a switchable option. 4) Added Shift/Del to edit keys, to delete all. 5) Restores original drive and directory at exit. 6) Added disk error handler. 7) Restores original break status before DOS shell and restores drive and directory afterwards. 8) Help screens tweaked and more added. 9) Return values documented. 2.37a 23/07/91 1) Documentation only, added IIIP note. 2.37 17/06/91 1) Corrected 'Ignore form feeds' operation. 2) Now bleeps on page change with CsrUp/CsrDn in Page Preview. 2.36 16/06/91 1) Added DOS shell option. 2) Corrected 1st help screen format. 2.35 02/06/91 1) Corrected minor bug in 'Printing sheet' routine. 2) Set break off for duration of program. 2.34 07/05/91 1) Added support for US Letter paper on Laserjets. 2.33 04/05/91 1) Default input that will be deleted if the 1st keypress is not a cursor control is now highlighted as a warning. 2) Cursor key at top/bottom of page now change pages in Preview. 3) Ran docs. through a grammar checker. 85% of US adults can understand me. 2.32 21/04/91 1) Increased size of Get File window. 2.31 19/04/91 1) Reload config. now changes colour immediately if necessary. 2) Appearance of menu bar. 2.30 14/04/91 1) Improved registration instructions. 2) Registration allows moving back up lines. 3) Corrected minor bug in string input. 4) Preview selections now go straight into preview. 5) Added facility to print parts of a document. 6) Sheets now always numbered from beginning of document, even when printing reverse side. 7) Help now allows moving back through screens. 2.20 29/03/91 1) Added configurable printer retries to cure timeouts on some machines, mainly with laser printers. 2) Preview pulldown menu repositioned next to File menu. 3) PgUp in Preview now goes to END of previous page. 4) PgUp & PgDn in Preview don't change the horizontal position. 5) Added an 'ignore form feed' option. Will the people who requested this item please let me know how well it works. If the files you want to print use form feeds INSTEAD of line endings, this may not work very well. 6) Minor modification to the status display. 7) Clarified the colour configuration prompts. 2.12 20/03/91 1) Bug fix release, cured a problem with some Epsons in 66 line mode. 2.11 14/03/91 1) Added a second digit to minor version number. 2.1 11/03/91 1) Added colour configuration. 2.0 27/01/91 1) Added configuration file. 2) Epson modes now don't try to print completely blank column pairs. Saves time when using impact printers. 3) Added option not to print header/footer on pages after end of file. Can improve appearance, but mainly provided to save time on impact printers. 4) Tabs can now be dealt with as spaces. 5) Page limit increased from 200 to 500 on request. If you try to use 500 pages you will get a VERY fat booklet. 6) Added page preview mode. 7) Altered the registration mechanism to simplify version upgrading. A user code is now provided, which can be used to mark future releases. 8) Rearranged the menus to fit the extra options. 1.8 24/11/90 1) Now sends select symbol set to HP. The program previously used whatever symbol set had been selected as the default. The most noticeable effect was IBM graphics appearing as accented characters. 1.7 14/11/90 1) Added 24 pin Epson printer support. 1.6 19/10/90 1) Set up printer again before second pass. When the program uses a printer on a network it seems the network software treats the second side as a separate job, and resets the printer between passes. NOT TESTED BY ME as I don't have access to a network. 2) 'Printing documentation' help added to help menu. 1.5 08/10/90 1) First public release.