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1985-11-30
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PCFILTER.EXE
------------
Noisy telephone lines during ASCII data transfer often inject
printer control codes into the download file. Later, when
the file is printed, these extraneous control codes may put
the printer into various unwanted print modes. PCFILTER will
remove all ASCII codes below SPACE (32) except CR and LF.
Additionally, PCFILTER will optionally remove all ASCII codes
from 128 to 159 (since some editors may ignore the high bit
and interpret them as ASCII 0 to 31), restrict the file to a
particular line width, expand tabs, expand tab stops, and
create a disk file (.PRN) suitable for FILE IMPORT into LOTUS
1-2-3 for file editing and printing.
OPERATING PCFILTER-
PCFILTER will create an output file on the same disk as the
input file. Therefore, before PCFILTER is run, make sure you
have adequate space remaining for the creation of this output
file.
A typical command is 'PCFILTER IBMSIG'. This command will
create a filtered file 'IBMSIG.PRN' on the default disk drive
using the default parameters.
The default parameters are-
Maximum line width (W) - 132 characters
Replacement ASCII code (R) - SPACE (ASCII 32)
Output file extension (E) - 'PRN'
Tab stop expansion (T) - every 8 print positions
Tab expansion (X) - defaults to (T), above
Filter of ASCII 128-159 (N) - these codes are filtered
Parameter (T) converts TAB STOPS (ASCII 9) in a file to the
number of SPACES (ASCII 32) necessary to create tabular
columns at the specified print positions. Parameter (X)
converts TAB STOPS to the specified number of ASCII SPACES.
These parameters are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
The general format for PCFILTER is-
PCFILTER [d:][path]filename[.ext][-Wx][-Rx][-Ex][-Tx][-Xx]
where -Wx sets maximum line width
-Rx selects replacement ASCII code
-Ex specifies output file extension
-Tx sets tab stop positions
-Xx specifies tab stop SPACE expansion
-N specifies no filter of ASCII 128-159
For example, 'PCFILTER IBMSIG.DOC -W80 -R42 -ETXT -X4'
creates the output file IBMSIG.TXT on the default drive with
a maximum line length of 80 characters, ASCII 0-31 and
128-159 filtered and replaced with ASCII 42 (*), and all
tabs replaced with 4 SPACES.
'PCFILTER B:IBMSIG -T6 -N' creates the output file IBMSIG.PRN
on drive B:, with a maximum line length ot 132 characters,
ASCII 0-31 filtered and replaced with ASCII 32 (SPACE), and
all tabs replaced with spaces to allow tabular column
printing every 6 print positions.
Using PCFILTER with LOTUS 1-2-3
LOTUS 1-2-3 makes a very nice editor when used with PCFILTER
files. First, create a 'dummy' .WKS file that specifies your
printer output format. For instance, this .WKS file will
have the page length, printer control codes, and optional
header or footer information specified (for example, use
'@|DATA TRANSFER FILE|PAGE #' as a header and you will get
nicely formatted pages with date and page number at the top
of every page). File Retrieve this .WKS file, then use File
Import to import your PCFILTER file to the upper left corner
of your blank .WKS file. Then edit the file with /WDR, F2,
etc., and print the file. Be sure to NOT use the '-N' option
since Lotus 1-2-3 File Import Text only looks at the lower 7
bits and ASCII 128-159 must therefore be filtered out.
Patrick E. O'Farrell
P.O. Box 538
Selah, Wa 98942
Data (509) 697-7298