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S P L O T - The Pen Plotter Simulator V2.44 --------------------------------------------- Copyright (C) 1989-92 by Alexandr NOVY All rights reserved. U S E R ' S M A N U A L F O R MS-DOS V E R S I O N ---------------------------------------------------------- June 1992 1. INTRODUCTION --------------- The SPLOT program is a highly effective tool intended for simulating the pen plotter on the display of an IBM PC. The SPLOT program is the very thing you need to make your work with the plotter more effective. The SPLOT program will give you a guarantee you will always draw on your plotter what you really want. That is why it will save your nerves, your time, your plotter, pens and paper, that means your money. The SPLOT program can offer: - active support of about 50 HP-GL instructions (according to the type of your plotter). - active support of 20 DXY-GL instructions (for ROLAND plotters). - possibility of exporting a picture to the printer and in this way to obtain an output of a high quality. The SPLOT program uses the best graphics resolutions available for each printer that it supports and optionally uses data packing to improve transfer speed. In this way the SPLOT program will make a fast and excellent plotter of your printer. It supports all usual types of printers including color ones. - exporting a picture to the HP-GL, DXY-GL, PLOTCALL, DXF formats. - possibility of making picture cuts (the ZOOM function). In this way you can scan, draw on the plotter or print only the selected part of the picture. - possibility of completing the picture with a text including multilingual characters - in this way the SPLOT program will teach your plotter German (Spanish, French, etc.) easily and quickly without complicated switching between character sets! The built-in HP-GL or DXY-GL exports respectively, will make it possible. Due to these exports it is also possible: - to offer a highly optimized output for your plotter (where each pen is grasped only once). - to teach your plotter the advanced instructions you would get only if you buy a more expensive plotter or additional hardware (e.g., the SPLOT program can simulate connecting an additional HP 17440A graphics enhancement cartridge to the HP 7440A ColorPro plotter). The SPLOT program can be used by: - anybody who wants to work with his plotter in the WYSIWYG style (What You See Is What You Get). - anybody who wants to develop his own plotter program applications. You can reach it with the SPLOT program easily even if you do not own the plotter at all! - anybody who wants to use his printer as a plotter occasionally or constantly. In many cases using a printer may be faster and moreover, this may be an alternative of a high quality. - anybody who wants to program a printer in graphics mode and at a high level and who does not want to develop complicated software which would enable it. In these cases using the HP-GL language in connection with the SPLOT program seems to be very advantageous for creating own graphics outputs. The HP-GL language can be learned very easily and in addition, it offers unexpected possibilities. The SPLOT program is available in various versions according to the type of simulated plotter. This means that each SPLOT.EXE module is designated for a certain plotter type. This principle gives the maximum reliability of simulation of the given plotter type. At present versions for the following plotter types are at your disposal: Plotter type | Plotter syntax ------------------------------------------------------------ ROLAND DXY 1100/1200/1300 | DXY-GL / RD-GL I HP 7470A | HP-GL HP 7475A | HP-GL HP 7440A ColorPro | HP-GL HP 7550A | HP-GL HP 7570A/7575A/7576A DraftPro DXL/EXL | HP-GL HP 7595A/7596A DraftMaster I/II | HP-GL An UNREGISTERED COPY of the program is available only in the version for the HP 7475A plotter. The versions for other plotter types can be received only on the basis of regular registration. See next chapter for licensing, evaluation and registration information or see file LICENCE.DOC for details. The SPLOT program is designated for using with IBM PC computers and compatibles, and for the MS-DOS and PC-DOS version 3.00 and higher ones (in the near future the MS-WINDOWS version will be finished too). In the DOS version graphics cards EGA or VGA are required. To run the program comfortably it is recommended to use a Microsoft Mouse or a compatible one. 2. LICENSING, EVALUATION and REGISTRATION INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------- SPLOT is distributed as "Shareware" or "User Supported Software" and is fully copyrighted. If you register the program you will receive these benefits: 1) The latest version of SPLOT. 2) A printed user's manual. 3) A printed technical reference which describes all plotter instructions supported by SPLOT. 4) An end to the nag screens and opening banners. 5) Deep discounts on the next major versions. 6) A collection of useful utilities: - BPRINT.COM - prints binary files on a printer on time background with many options. - BPLOT.COM - plots files on a pen plotter on time background with many options. - CLPT.COM - redirects printer ports to a disk file. - CPORT.COM - redirects serial ports to a disk file. The single user registration fee for SPLOT is $70.00 US. The multisystem site fee for SPLOT is $150.00. Users outside of Europe should include an additional $5.00 for international airmail. I can accept payment in these three ways only: 1) In cash (money enclosed) - this is the preferred method, but at your risk. 2) Bank or travelers cheque enclosed - please make a cheque payable in US funds. 3) Bank transfer - you may transfer payment from your bank to Zivnostenska Bank Prague, but this may be more expensive for you. In this case do not forget include my and your full addresses as a part of this transfer and send me completed registration form too. I can NOT accept payment via credit card numbers ! Since the SPLOT program is always distributed in the version adapted for a certain plotter type, do not forget to mention the plotter type with which you want to use the SPLOT program. A list of plotters you can choose from is given in the first chapter or in the PLOTTERS.DOC file. In the PLOTTERS.DOC file there are also given the parameters of these plotters together with a list of supported instructions. It makes possible to choose a suitable plotter type even if your plotter is not listed (most plotters are compatible with some plotter from the list). Of course, you can order more SPLOT program versions for different plotter types. In this case the single user registration fee for any further version is $20.00 (+ $5.00 outside Europe) and the multisystem site fee is $40.00 (+ $5.00 outside Europe). This principle is also valid for an upgrade. If you have registered at least one SPLOT program version at the full price of $70.00 ($150.00), now and in the future only $20.00 ($40.00) is to be paid for all other versions. To register, please use the registration/order form supplied with this package ( as provided in the file ORDER.FRM ). Please send the completed form along with a payment to: Alexandr Novy Havlickova 2209 390 01 TABOR Czechoslovakia NOTE: Czechoslovak users of SPLOT should contact Czechoslovak distributor, SOFTECH, P.O.B. 69, 323 00 Plzen 23, CSFR, Tel./Fax 0042-19-226294. A special Czech language version of the package is available from them as well. NOTE: German users of SPLOT should contact German distributor, Bavaria Computer Systeme, Untere Donaulände 5, 8390 Passau, Tel. 0851/36255, Fax 0851/35904. A special German language version of the package is available from them as well. EVALUATION AGREEMENT SPLOT is not and has never been public domain software, nor is it free software. Non-licensed users are granted a limited license to use SPLOT on a 14-day trial basis for the purpose of determining whether SPLOT is suitable for their needs. The use of SPLOT, except for the initial 14-day trial, requires registration. The use of unlicensed copies of SPLOT by any person,business, corporation or any other entity is strictly prohibited. No one may modify or patch the SPLOT executable file in any way, including but not limited to decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise reverse engineering the program. A limited license is granted to copy and distribute SPLOT only for the trial use of others, subject to the above limitations, and also the following: 1) SPLOT must be copied in unmodified form, complete with the file containing this license information. 2) The full machine-readable SPLOT documentation must be included with each copy. 3) SPLOT may not be distributed in conjunction with any other product without a specific license to do so from author. 4) No fee, charge, or other compensation may be requested or accepted, except as authorized below: a) Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (sysops) may make SPLOT available for downloading as long as the above conditions are met. An overall or time-dependent charge for the use of the bulletin board system is permitted as long as there is not a specific charge for the download of SPLOT. b) Vendors of user-supported or shareware software may distribute SPLOT after obtaining written permission from author. Such permission is usually granted. Vendors may charge a reasonable disk duplication and handling fee. LICENSING AGREEMENT Licensed user are bound to the following licensing agreement. You may not transfer your license without written permission from author. A single user license permits a user to use SPLOT only on a single computer at a time. This product is distributed AS IS. The author specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to defects in the diskette and documentation, and program license granted herein, in particular, without limiting operation of the program license with respect to any use or purpose. In no event shall the author be liable for any loss of profit or damage including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages. By licensing SPLOT you agree to the above licensing agreement. 3. THE SPLOT WORKING PRINCIPLES ------------------------------- The plotter simulation consists in interpreting plotter instructions contained in a disk file. The SPLOT program reads these instructions from the file and plots them on the screen of the computer in the same way as the plotter would do on paper. The file is plotted in the window which represents the plotting paper of the plotter. The boundaries of this window normally correspond to the hard clip limits of the plotter (i. e., to the physical limits in which a plotter pen can move for the selected paper size). If the ZOOM function is used, the chosen plotting area is displayed in this window. 4. WORKING WITH THE PROGRAM --------------------------- The SPLOT program can be operated using the keyboard or a mouse. From the keyboard the program is operated by pressing the keys the list of which is given in chapters 4.2 and 4.3. If you have a mouse installed, its cursor will appear on the screen. The shape of the cursor is a cross which appears in the plotting area (paper) (see chapter 4.1), outside this area it is a rectangle of one letter size. The function of this cursor is to choose, activate and change items displayed visually. You can make a choice by moving the cursor on the selected item and by pressing any button of the mouse. At this moment a tick off character appears on the cursor and only after releasing the pressed button the action associated with the selected item is realized. If you choose from more items in the menu (e.g., choosing a file to be plotted), you have to make a double click since the first pressing serves to highlighting an item. The program can perform plotting the chosen file on one of two pages, they are called "a small view" and "a large view" here. A small view is used for setting the chosen parameters and selecting the file to be plotted. The file can be also plotted in a small area. The choice of the file to be plotted can be made either by entering its name or by choosing it from the menu. In this menu there are all the files of the given directory with the extension .PLT displayed and there are also all the subdirectories the contents of which can be displayed simply by choosing a subdirectory from the menu. Any file group can be displayed also by means of the wildcards * and ? (e.g., '*.*' will display all the files in the given directory). As soon as the file to be plotted is chosen, its plotting starts on the page that is set up by the F1 key (A SMALL VIEW or A LARGE VIEW). Plotting the file can be stopped by pressing the keys F1, Esc, Ctrl-C or Ctrl-Break at any time. If the plotting was performed in a large view, after finishing plotting you will stay on the page of a large view. Returning from the large view page can be performed by the F1 key. 4.1 ZOOMING ----------- With the cursor run by the mouse or the keyboard resp., you can enlarge the chosen cuts of the plotted area. The movement of the cursor is realized by moving the mouse or pressing the keys Ctrl+arrows. By pressing any button of the mouse in the plotting area you define one corner of the box. The next movement of the mouse or the cursor keys with the Ctrl key pressed expands and contracts the box around the area you desire you expand. If the Scroll Lock is switched on or the Shift key is pressed, or if you press the left button of the mouse with the right button of the mouse simultaneously, the box moves as a whole. By the right button of the mouse you can start zooming. The left button cancels the given box and you can get back to the mode of the simple movement of the mouse cursor. If you press both the buttons in the mode of the simple movement of the cursor simultaneously, the picture is expanded into the original size. If you have not a mouse, you can use the Ins(ert) key which corresponds with the left button of the mouse and the Ctrl_Enter key which corresponds with the right button. The function of the Tab key is the same as that of pressing both the buttons of the mouse at a time. In a large view you can use Enter instead of Ctrl_Enter and only an arrow instead of Ctrl+arrow. If you have a three button mouse (Mouse Systems), pressing the middle mouse button is equivalent to pressing the right and left buttons simultaneously. 4.2 LIST OF KEYS IN "A SMALL VIEW" ----------------------------------- F1 - It selects "A SMALL VIEW" or "A LARGE VIEW" for plotting the file. F2 - The choice of a disk. F3 - It replots the selected file in the given picture box. F4 - The choice of parameters. In the menu initiated by this key it is possible to set various program parameters concerning also exporting a picture to the supported formats. See chapter 6 for more details. F5 - It changes the paper size according to the plotter type and the selected paper norm. Alt_F5 - It switches among the paper norms (ISO,ANSI,ARCH) defining the paper size according to the plotter type. Ctrl_F5, Alt_E - It switches the EXPAND mode on and off (on condition it is supported for the given plotter type). F6 - In the ROLAND plotter version it switches between RD-GL and DXY-GL command mode (Note: the RD-GL syntax corresponds with the HP-GL syntax). In some versions it makes a choice of the plotter type (e.g. in the HP DraftPro version it switches among the types 7570A/7575A/7576A). In the version for HP 7440A ColorPro it switches on or off the simulation of the HP 17440A graphics enhancement cartridge. Alt_F6,Alt_U - In the ROLAND plotter version in DXY-GL mode it changes the plotter unit size from 0.1 mm to 0.025 mm. In RD-GL mode or HP-GL mode the plotter unit size is always 0.025 mm. Alt_F7, Alt_F - In the ROLAND plotter version the choice of an initial font (the font set up after switching on the plotter or after its initialization). F7 - It switches on or off a multilingual TEXT filter in the LB command of HP-GL mode (or in the P command of DXY-GL mode of the ROLAND plotter). See chapter 7 for more detailed information. F8 - It activates the export of the displayed part of the HP-GL or DXY-GL file to alternative formats (including printing). See chapter 5 for more details. F9 - It switches on or off the tracing of the individual plotter commands during plotting the file. It is valid only for "A LARGE VIEW". First every command is executed, then it is displayed in the information window. The next command is executed after pressing Enter or F7. In this mode the S key or the F8 key switches on and off automatic tracing. F10 - It stops the program. The program can be stopped by using the F10 key practically at any moment. Alt_1 - Alt_0 - The identification of pens. See chapter 9 for more details. Alt_P - The information about assigning colors to pens. Alt_S - It saves the selected palette of colors assigned to individual pens to be registered in the setup file. Alt_R - It restores the original palette unless the saving of the palette has been already done. Alt_I - The initialization of graphics mode (it can be used, e.g., if the screen graphics mode is damaged - possibly by a popup resident program). Alt_V - Alt_F10 - Video configuration. More details in chapter 8. 4.3 LIST OF KEYS IN "A LARGE VIEW" ----------------------------------- F3, F4, F8, F9, F10, Alt_F10, Alt_V Alt_P, Alt_S, Alt_R, Alt_I - See "A SMALL VIEW". F1 - The return to the page of "A SMALL VIEW". 1 - 0 Alt_1 - Alt_0 - See the identification of pens (chapter 9). F5 - Inserting a text into the picture and the manipulation with it (see chapter 7 for more detailed information). Page_Up, Page_Dn - It switches between informative pages. On the first page there is the size of a plotted picture box expressed in mm units. On the second page there is the position in the plotted file and the position of the cursor in the plotting area expressed in plotter units. On both the pages there are the most important parameters describing the state of the plotter. 5. EXPORT --------- The SPLOT program enables to export a plotted picture to the following formats: - HP-GL - DXY-GL (ROLAND) - PLOTCALL - DXF (AutoCAD) - POSTSCRIPT (color) ----------------- - IBM Graphics (IBM 9 pin printer) - IBM X24 (IBM 24 pin printer) - EPSON LX - EPSON EX/FX (color) - EPSON LQ (color) - NEC 24 pin (color) - HP LaserJet - HP DeskJet (color) - HP PaintJet (color) - HP QuietJet - HP ThinkJet (HP mode) The HP-GL format executes the export of a plotted picture to the HP-GL plotter. It can be employed, for example, for plotting a picture cut on the plotter, for the output of a multilingual text on the plotter (see chapter 7), or in case your plotter does not support all the HP-GL commands supported by the SPLOT program. The last case is characteristic especially of the situation you own the HP ColorPro 7440A plotter and you have not the additional graphics enhancement cartridge HP 17440A. The DXY-GL format realizes the export of a picture to the DXY plotter (usually the ROLAND plotter). The PLOTCALL format is used in the GoldenSoftware's PLOT program which supports a wide range of peripheral devices (printers, plotters). The DXF format converts a picture to a form applicable by the AutoCAD program. From AutoCAD you can read this DXF file via the DXFIN command. The exported picture is written in the form of LINES where each pen of the plotter has its own LAYER. Pen 1 has a layer with the name PEN1, pen 2 has a layer with the name PEN2, etc. The PostScript format can be used by any peripheral device which has implemented PostScript interpreter (such as PostScript printer). The function of the other formats is to export a picture to the corresponding peripheral devices - printers. The (color) word indicates a possibility of color printing for the appropriate format. Naturally, all formats can be used on all printers compatible with these ones. The picture can be exported either to the disk file or directly to the corresponding peripheral device (a plotter, a printer). If your peripheral device is connected to the parallel interface, use PRN or LPT1 resp., LPT2, etc. as the output file. If it is connected to the serial interface, use COM1 or COM2 respectively. Set the parameters of the corresponding serial interface by the DOS MODE command with the parameter "p" beforehand, like this: MODE COM1:9600,,,,p If you export a picture to a disk file, which is less time-consuming, you can use the enclosed programs BPLOT or BPRINT resp., for exporting this file to the corresponding peripheral device (in the registered version only). These programs perform exporting files to the chosen serial or parallel interface, on the time background. Please, realize that it is not possible to use the DOS PRINT command for exporting binary files (the files containing graphics data) to the printer. The export of the picture is started with the F8 key. In the EXPORT menu you can specify: - an exporting format, - the size of the resultant picture, - resolution (the size of a plotter unit) - in the case of the DXY-GL export only, - print density - if exporting to the printer, - the output file name. If you set your own size of the output format, you have to give only the size of the shorter side Y, the X side is counted automatically so that the resultant picture would be proportional. The size is given in cm units or inch units according to the choice from the OPTIONS menu (see chapter 6). The DXF format is an exception - here the output size is understood in units to be defined in AutoCAD. The chosen size corresponds with the real size of the resultant picture realized by exporting. It is necessary to consider it as the maximum limits into which a picture seen in the program plotting area can be transformed proportionally. Therefore, for example, if you choose A4 size paper as the output size for printing and if you have a printer of the same size, you will reach a satisfactory result only if you choose the LANDSCAPE orientation. For the PORTRAIT orientation it is necessary to choose the maximum A5 size for the output so that the resultant picture could be positioned on A4 size paper. The other parameters influencing the look of the resultant picture can be set in the menu activated by F4 key (see chapter 6). 6. OPTIONS ---------- With the menu activated by the F4 key it is possible to set: 1. DEFAULT EXTENSIONS - this item sets default extensions of the following file types: 1.1 PLOT FILES - the files given in the menu of files from which the files for plotting are selected. For example, if this extension is PLT, the displaying of all the files with the PLT extension will be standard. If this extension is *, the displaying of all the files will be standard. 1.2 HP-GL EXPORT - 1.3 DXY-GL EXPORT - 1.4 PLOTCALL EXPORT - 1.5 DXF EXPORT - 1.6 POSTSCRIPT EXPORT - sets standard extensions of the output files according to the type of export. The name of the output file is composed of the base part derived from the name of the exported file + this standard extension. However, the file name of the output file can be changed before the beginning of any export. 1.7 PRINT - sets standard extensions of the output files during exporting a picture designated for the printer. 1.8 TEXT - sets the standard extension of the output file determined for storing texts on the disk. 2. SORT ORDER FOR FILES - the choice of order in which files are displayed. The sorting can be done by the NAME, EXTENSION or SIZE. 3. BACKGROUND - switches between NORMAL and BRIGHT intensity of background white color of plotting area (paper) (in color modes only). 4. VIDEO SETUP - more detailed information in chapter 8. 5. SOUND - switches on and off sound signals. 6. TEMPORARY PATH - this menu item sets the directory in which the SPLOT program will create its auxiliary files in some types of picture exporting. If the picture exporting stops with an error message "the disk is full", it means, that there is not sufficient disk space for the created output or auxiliary file. In the latter case you can try to set the temporary directory to another disk. You can choose from three possibilities: 6.1 The directory defined by the environment variable TMP by means of the DOS SET command (e.g., SET TMP=D:\). 6.2 The directory defined by the environment variable TEMP. 6.3 A current work directory i.e., the directory given on the information board of the program in "a small view". 7. USED UNITS - it defines units used for setting the size and distances during picture exporting. The units may be given in cm (centimeters) or inch (inches). 8. Parameters for the HP-GL EXPORT : 8.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - every HP-GL command is given on a separate line and it is ended with a character ";". b) PACKED - all the HP-GL commands follow closely one after another without any separators. The number of uses of PU and PD instructions is minimized. 8.2 ORIGIN IN CENTER - Activate this parameter only if the resultant HP-GL file is designated for the plotter in which the origin of the coordinate system is situated in the center of the plotting area (it is usual with large paper size plotters, e.g. HP DraftPro or HP DraftMaster). 8.3 PEN --> PEN - by means of this item it is possible to assign each pen on the input a pen on the output. Thus it is possible, for example, to convert the picture that uses more pens to a single colored one, or it is possible to exclude using some pen (if you assign PEN 0 as the output pen to it). 8.4 PEN OPTIMIZATION - if ON, the number of the grasping of pens when the picture is exported will be optimized. This means that when the resultant picture is being drawn, each pen is grasped only once. 8.5 PEN ORDER - specifies the sequence of pens according to which the optimized picture will be drawn. 8.6 LEFT MARGIN - specifies the offset of the exported picture from the left margin - it is on the X axis - it can also be a negative number. 8.7 BOTTOM MARGIN - specifies the offset of the exported picture from the bottom margin - it is on the Y axis - it can also be a negative number. 8.8 PG AT END - specifies if the PG (Page Feed) instruction will be attached to the end of the output file. 9. Parameters for the DXY-GL EXPORT: 9.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - every DXY-GL command is given on a separate line. b) PACKED - all the DXY-GL commands follow closely one after another without any separators. The number of uses of M and D instructions is minimized. 9.2 ORIGIN IN CENTER - activate this parameter only if the resultant DXY-GL file is designated for the plotter whose origin of the originate system is situated in the center of the plotting area. 9.3 PEN --> PEN - see the HP-GL export. 9.4 PEN OPTIMIZATION - see the HP-GL export. 9.5 PEN ORDER - see the HP-GL export. 9.6 LEFT MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. 9.7 BOTTOM MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. A. Parameters for the PLOTCALL EXPORT: A.1 NUMBER OF DECIMAL DIGITS - It determines the number of figures written after the decimal point at the numbers on the output. A.2 PEN --> PEN - see the HP-GL export. A.3 LEFT MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. A.4 BOTTOM MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. B. Parameters for the DXF EXPORT: B.1 NUMBER OF DECIMAL DIGITS - see the PLOTCALL export. B.2 PEN --> PEN - see the HP-GL export. B.3 LEFT MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. B.4 BOTTOM MARGIN - see the HP-GL export. C. Parameters for the POSTSCRIPT EXPORT: C.1 PEN --> COLOR - It assigns the output color to individual pens for the color PostScript export. C.2 LINE WIDTH - It determines the line width for individual pens. By default the line width is determined by the PT (pen thickness) instruction. The line width is controlled by the HP-GL instructions and will vary according to value issued in PT instruction. However note that each SP (select pen) instruction resets the PT to its default value (mostly 0.3 mm). The other way is to set the line width to fixed user defined value. Unlike the other measurement values the line width is expressed in millimeters (mm). C.3 90 DEGREES ROTATION - It determines the orientation of an exported picture. C.4 LEFT MARGIN - specifies the offset of the exported picture from the left margin - it is on the X axis - it can also be a negative number. C.5 BOTTOM/TOP MARGIN - specifies the offset of the exported picture from the bottom margin (when the 90 degrees rotation is suppressed) or from the top margin (when the 90 degrees rotation is demanded) - it is on the Y axis - it can also be a negative number. D. ALL PRINTERS - It sets up various parameters valid for printing on all kinds of printers: D.1 ORIENTATION - It determines the orientation of a printed picture on the paper. It may be either the LANDSCAPE orientation (breadthwise) or the PORTRAIT orientation (heightwise). D.2 FRAME - It determines if a printed picture is to be situated in the frame limiting the plotted area. D.3 PEN FOR A FRAME - It determines the number of the pen with which the frame will be drawn. Its function is important for color printers, where the color of the frame is determined by assigning PEN --> COLOR. D.4 PAGE BREAK AT END - specifies if the page break (form feed) command will be attached to the end of the output file. D.5 LEFT MARGIN - specifies the distance from the left stop of the printhead to the start printing position independently of the orientation. D.6 TOP MARGIN - specifies the size of shift of the printer platen before starting printing independently of the orientation. The LEFT MARGIN and TOP MARGIN parameters enable to place the printed picture in any place on the paper. At laser printers which have neither printheads nor platens in a classic sense of word, the terms LEFT MARGIN and TOP MARGIN always relate to the paper oriented in the vertical position independently of the picture orientation on the paper. E. DOT MATRIX PRINTERS - In this item it is possible to increase the number of the printhead passes during printing. It can be used for emphasizing printing or when the ribbon is written up. F. Parameters for IBM X24 - it sets parameters for the IBM 24 pin printers: F.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - without use of relative shift instructions. b) PACKED - the instructions for the relative shift of the printhead are used for reducing the output code size. F.2 PANASONIC X24 - switches on and off Panasonic X24 mode in which is used a different format for selecting a base line feed unit. This format is not strictly IBM compatible and should be used with Panasonic 24 pin printers in X24 mode. G. Parameters for EPSON - it sets parameters for the EPSON printers: G.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - without use of relative shift instructions. b) PACKED - the instructions for the relative shift of the printhead are used for reducing the output code size (not used for EPSON LX printers), but on some older types it may cause substantial reducing print rate. G.2 PEN --> COLOR - It assigns the output color to individual pens on the color printers of the EPSON EX/LQ type. It is possible to choose from a fixed set of 7 colors. H. Parameters for NEC 24 - it sets parameters for the NEC 24 pin printers: H.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - without use of relative shift instructions. b) PACKED - the instructions for the relative shift of the printhead are used for reducing the output code size. H.2 PEN --> COLOR - It assigns the output color to individual pens on the NEC 24 pin color printers. It is possible to choose from a fixed set of 8 colors. I. Parameters for HP LaserJet - it sets parameters for the HP LaserJet printers: I.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - no special coding used. b) PACKED - special coding is used for reducing the output code size. This coding is NOT a standard feature of the HP LaserJet and compatible printers and you must be sure that your laser printer support this (it must support ESC*b1M instruction - I have tested this on the HP LaserJet IIIp model). J. Parameters for HP DeskJet - it sets parameters for the HP DeskJet printers: J.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - no special coding used. b) PACKED - special coding is used for reducing the output code size. This coding is a standard feature of the HP DeskJet printers. J.2 PEN --> COLOR - It assigns the output color to individual pens for color printing on the HP DeskJet printer. It is possible to choose from a fixed set of 7 colors. K. Parameters for HP PaintJet - it sets parameters for the HP PaintJet printers: K.1 OUTPUT FORMAT can be like this: a) NORMAL - no special coding used. b) PACKED - special coding is used for reducing the output code size. This coding is a standard feature of the HP PaintJet printers. K.2 PEN --> COLOR - It assigns the output color to individual pens for color printing on the HP PaintJet printer. It is possible to choose from a fixed (standard) or variable (extended) set of colors. Both color sets have 7 colors. The extended color set can be redefined by user from offer of 17 colors. K.3 COLOR SET - switches between standard and extended color set. The selected color set is used for defining assignment PEN --> COLOR. K.4 EXTENDED COLOR SET - It is used for setting individual colors in the extended color set. If the extended color set is selected as used color set, then if a color in this set is changed, the corresponding assignment PEN --> COLOR is changed automatically. K.5 MEDIA TYPE - It selects output media type - paper or foil. L. TEXT FILTER - It switches on or off a multilingual TEXT filter in the LB command of HP-GL mode (or in the P command of DXY-GL mode of the ROLAND plotter). See chapter 7 for more detailed information. M. CODE PAGE SELECTION - It sets a code page for a text filter (see chapter 7). The code page can look like this: - United States - German - Multilingual - Portugal - Canada - French - Norway 7. INSERTING TEXTS INTO PICTURES -------------------------------- The SPLOT program is able to process a multilingual text in your HP-GL (or DXY-GL) files. As known, plotters receive only the ASCII characters in the range of 0 to 127. Therefore, if the instruction for the output of the text (LB at HP-GL and P at DXY-GL resp.) contains the ASCII characters with the value higher than 127, the plotter will not draw them or will ignore the highest bit of characters and will draw the corresponding characters from the lower half of the ASCII table. For example, if you use the following statement in GW-BASIC (handle #1 represents the plotter), PRINT #1, "LBGröße";CHR$(3) the plotter will draw only the text Gre or Grae respectively. If you want to draw the text correctly, you have to use the following statements, e.g.: PRINT #1, "CS0;CA33;SS;LBGr";CHR$(3) PRINT #1, "SA;LB|~";CHR$(3) PRINT #1, "SS;LBe;CHR$(3) However, e.g., if you own the HP ColorPro 7440A plotter without an additional HP 17440A graphics cartridge, it will not help you either. The above mentioned example concerns the use of a German text, but similar problems occur also in other languages which use the ASCII characters from the upper half of the table. Therefore, the SPLOT program offers the TEXT FILTER function with the F7 key. If you switch on this function, all the ASCII characters from the value of 128 to 175 and ß character will be plotted according to the selected code page (see chapter 6). And it does not matter what character set of the plotter is just set. This will enable to write multilingual texts in your HP-GL (DXY-GL) files directly without complicated switching of character sets. The HP-GL (DXY-GL) file created in this way must be exported to a new HP-GL (DXY-GL) form through the HP-GL (DXY-GL) export (see chapter 5) with the TEXT filter switched on, and only such a newly originated file can be drawn on the plotter. To demonstrate using this method of writing multilingual texts we recommend you to study over the enclosed demonstration file ASCII.PLT and display it at first with the TEXT filter being switched off and then on. Another function which the SPLOT program can offer for your work with the HP-GL text is the function of direct (interactive) inserting texts into a picture. To do it, it is necessary to define its position (XY), size (SI), direction (DI), slant (SL), the character set number (CS), the selected pen (SP) and, naturally, the text itself. By means of the menu activated by the F5 key on the page of a large view you can choose the following individual functions necessary for the text manipulation : - define a new text item - edit already existing items - read the text items from the disk file - save the text items to the disk file On defining, editing or reading texts the SPLOT program is brought into the initial state which corresponds with executing IN;RO;IP;IW; instructions. The user's scale (if it was set before) and rotation, if there is any, is cancelled then. The position of the text is given in plotter units absolutely, the size of the text is in cm (SI) absolutely, the direction of the text is also in degrees (DI) absolutely, the slant is understood as a tangent of the required angle (SL). The position of the text and its size can be defined either by setting numeric values from the keyboard or by moving a quadrangle which demonstrates the outline of the text and which is controlled by the mouse in a similar way as when making picture cuts (zooming). To do this it is necessary to move the cursor of the mouse to the plotting area. Then by pressing the left button and moving the mouse at the same time the position of the text changes, by pressing the right button and moving the mouse at the same time the size of the text changes. The other values are set in a numeric form from the keyboard. Of course, the text itself can be written in a desired language with the ASCII characters > 127. In the HP-GL (DXY-GL) picture these characters will be displayed according to the code page you will choose in the OPTIONS menu. The corresponding support of the national environment must be installed in MS-DOS (it must support graphics modes) if you want to have the same characters on the edit line. The function of direct inserting a text accepts the following keys : a) when defining a new text item or correcting already existing text items: Alt_T - setting the text string for plotting Alt_X - setting the position of the text (X,Y) [pu] Alt_S - setting the size (X,Y) [cm] (i.e. the size of one text character) Alt_D - setting the direction of the text [deg] Alt_L - setting the slant of the text Alt_C - setting the character set number Alt_P - setting the number of a pen for plotting the text F1 - finishing the editing of the text with the changes saved F2 - the redrawing of the edited text F9 or Esc - finishing the editing of the text with canceling the changes b) when correcting already existing text items : F3 - skip to the correction of the previous text item (if it exists) F4 - skip to the correction of the next text item (if it exists) F6 - the choice of a text item for correcting (if you have defined more than one text item) F8 - the canceling (erasing from memory) of a text item according to your choice In this way it is possible to define any number of text items that are loaded into memory and after finishing plotting the respective file they are drawn. It is supposed that the set of the text items you have created relates to the plotted file. That is why when coming to the plotting of a new file (i.e. when the plotting of a file is activated otherwise than by the F3 key or F8 key resp.), all the text items are always erased from memory. Before it happens, the program enables to put the text on the disk if you did not do that before. There are two ways how to save the created texts : 1) In the HP-GL (or DXY-GL resp.) form in the plotted file (according to the item in the menu in the ORIGINAL file). Respective commands for plotting the defined text items on the plotter are attached to the end of the plotted file. After the texts are saved on the disk in this manner, they are always erased from memory of the program, even if you do not start plotting a new file. This is the final form of storing texts which you can use on condition you are already satisfied with the created texts and you want to attach them to the displayed file for ever. If you want to display the texts together with the plotted file on the plotter or on the printer and you do not want to attach the texts to the original file for ever, use directly the appropriate export format with the F8 key (as the texts loaded in the memory of the program are also exported). Then you can put the texts on the disk in the other described way. 2) In a special format in a EXTRA file. Only the texts saved in such a way can be read into the program memory later again and thus you can continue in their editing. 8. VIDEO CONFIGURATION ---------------------- The SPLOT program is a graphics program requiring a graphics card EGA or VGA and supporting the following graphics modes: 1) monochrome mode - EGA 640x350 2) 16 color modes - EGA 640x350 - VGA 640x380 - SUPER EGA 640x480, 640x258, 800x600 - SUPER VGA 800x600, 1024x768 The choice of the required mode can be made in the menu which is initiated by the Alt_F10 key or Alt_V key resp. In this menu there are the following items : - AUTOMATIC MODE - is determined to set up the video mode automatically according to the type of a video card and according to this it sets up the following modes: - EGA mono 640x350 - EGA 16 color 640x350 - VGA 16 color 640x480 - BIOS MODE - is determined to set up the mode you require according to the number and resolution. The mode numbers together with the appropriate resolution should be given in the documentation of your graphics card. The BIOS mode number is to be set in decimal units standardly, if you want to set it in hexadecimal units, write the H character at its end. This way of setting the video mode is useful if you own an EGA card or VGA card with high resolution (SUPER EGA or VGA) and you will not find it in the list of SUPER cards offered by the SPLOT program. - SUPER VIDEO CARDS - contains the lists of SUPER EGA or VGA cards divided according to resolution (640x480, 640x528, 800x600, 1024x768). Even if your card is not in the list, it is possible that it will function when you choose another card of the list. In the other case you can try to set the required mode by means of the BIOS MODE item (except the resolution of 1024x768 which is highly hardware dependent). Notice - not all listed SVGA cards have been tested. - the other items of the menu contain standard EGA or VGA modes in which the SPLOT program can work (EGA mono 640x350, EGA color 640x350 and VGA color 640x480). It is possible to set any of these three modes on VGA, but on the EGA cards it is possible to set only EGA modes according to the type of the connected monitor (mono or color). - the last item of the menu called `VGA GRAY-SCALE' serves to switch ON/OFF the gray-scale summing on VGA video adapter. You will need switch ON this option in case you have an VGA video adapter with mono monitor and your VGA adapter doesn't perform the gray-scale summing automatically. The gray-scale summing enables use of color video modes along with VGA mono monitor. If the gray-scale summing is active, each color is transformed to corresponding gray level and thus you are able to distinguish individual colors even when using a mono monitor. If the gray-scale summing is inactive, some colors are undistinguishable on mono monitor (e.g., in SPLOT program you may not see some pen colors unless you change its color value). The `VGA GRAY-SCALE' item is not displayed if your video adapter or active video mode doesn't support it. 9. PEN IDENTIFICATION --------------------- The identification of pens serves to emphasizing parts of the picture drawn with the same pen and to informing about the number of pens used during drawing the given picture. This information is useful namely for the correct loading of the plotter pens in case you decide to draw the given picture on the plotter. The keys from Alt_1 to Alt_0 in a small view and the keys from 1 to 0 in a large view are determined for indicating a part of the picture drawn by the same pen. If you press the appropriate key, a part of the picture drawn by the appropriate pen will begin to flash and it will be flashing until you press the key corresponding with the identification of another pen or if you do not cancel the identification by pressing the Alt_0 key or 0 key resp. This identification functions only in color video modes. Example: If you press the key Alt_1 (in a small view) or 1 (in a large view) resp., the part of the picture drawn by the pen number 1 will begin to flash (Alt_2 or 2 resp. by the pen number 2, etc.). In color modes in the SPLOT program each pen is associated with appropriate color. It is possible to choose from the palette of 62 colors for each pen. You can change the color of the pen when the identification of this pen is switched on by pressing the Gray-Plus key or the Gray-Minus key resp. (increasing or decreasing the number of the color associated with this pen). When the pen identification is switched on, information about the color number of the pen in a large view is given in the right bottom corner of the screen. In large view you can change pen colors also after pressing the Alt_1 key, the Alt_2 key etc. In this case there is no flashing of the part of the picture as it is in a small view, but only information about the color number of the pen, which can be changed in the described way, appears in the right bottom corner. You can save the palette of the colors you have chosen by pressing the Alt_S key, or you can restore the original palette by the Alt_R key. The information panel containing the individual pen numbers serves to identify the numbers of pens used during drawing the picture. At the beginning of drawing all the pen numbers are gray, during drawing the color of the number corresponding with the pen just being used is white, after finishing drawing the color of the numbers corresponding with all the used pens is white. 10. NOTES --------- - When the SPLOT program is started, it is in the state corresponding with the state of the simulated plotter just switched on. When coming to plotting a new file, the program performs only the operation of changing paper. In this case the program (plotter) is in the state in which it has been left by the commands of the previous file. That is why it is generally recommended to place an initiating command sequence to the beginning of each file. It will bring the plotter to the well-known state. Otherwise it can happen that the same file can be drawn in another way every time, dependently of the contents of the previous plotted files. The author recommends to use the initiating sequence IN;RO;IP;IW; (in some plotters the IN command does not influence the setting of rotation). In other cases the program is brought to the state corresponding with the switching off and on the plotter in these cases: - at any change of the format or the paper size, - at the change of the language syntax (HP-GL <--> DXY-GL), - at switching on/off the simulation of the graphics cartridge HP 17440A (ColorPro). - After finishing the SPLOT program saves the important parameters (a palette of colors for pens, a choice of view for plotting, a size of paper, command mode, etc.) in the SPLOT.INI file in the directory in which the program EXE file is situated. When starting the program, the SPLOT.INI file is used for resetting these parameters. If you want to set a permanent configuration of the program which will not be changed,set on the READ ONLY attribute of this file. NOTICE - Hewlett-Packard, HP-GL, HP, DraftPro, DraftMaster, LaserJet, DeskJet and PainJet are registered trademarks of the Hewlett-Packard Company. - Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS and GW-BASIC are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. - IBM and PC-DOS are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. - EPSON is a registered trademark of EPSON Corporation. - AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. - PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.