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1991-04-14
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OverLay v3.0 (c)1988-91 Advance Systems Norwood, PA
OverLay Macro Utility for HP-LaserJet Compatible Laser Printers
OverLay converts HP-LaserJet PRINT files to a HP-LaserJet Macro files. Macros
are great for applications such as letterheads, forms, graphics, logos and
text. OverLay will ONLY convert "PRINT" files to Macros. A PRINT file being
one that when sent to the printer with COPY /B or the PRINT Command, the file
(text or graphics) will be output from the printer to paper. An ASCII file
is a PRINT file.
OverLay produces Overlay Macros with the .OVL file extension by default. An
Overlay Macro places the print image on every page of output until the
printer is reset.
Starting OverLay with the /M switch turns OFF the Overlay function and
produces a Macro file with the .MCR file extension. A Macro must be Called
or Executed every time the image is printed.
To send output directly to the printer and suppress the creation of an output
file, start OverLay using the switch: /1 for LPT1 or /2 for LPT2.
To Use OVERLAY.EXE
1. CREATE A PRINT FILE
Use your favorite Word Processor or desk top publisher to produce the image
(text or Graphic or both) you want for an Overlay. Most programs allow you
to send the output to a file instead of the printer it is this file that will
be converted to an HP-LJ Macro. If your program does not support PRINT files
then try using a program that will redirect printer output to a file. You can
find one on most electronic bulletin boards.
In general, an Overlay Macro will continue to print the image on every page
until the reset command [ESC E] is sent to the printer or the page length,
page size, paper tray select or orientation command is issued. SoftFont
management commands are not allowed in a macro, that is, fonts may not be
downloaded, deleted or made permanent in a macro. Downloaded the fonts
separately. If one of the above events occurs, the document contents will
print first, followed by the Overlay image on the next page. Avoid these
commands in Macros.
2. CONVERT A PRINT FILE TO AN OVERLAY FILE
Run OVERLAY.EXE. You will be prompted for a source file name and ID number.
The file name will be the PRINT file created in step 1. The ID number is any
number from 0 to 32767. OverLay will create a Macro file with the same base
name as the source file and add the .OVL extension or .MCR if the /M switch
was used at start up. If the /1 or /2 switch was used the output is directed
to parallel print port 1 or 2.
OR, name the file and ID# in the start up command.
C>OVERLAY MYLOGO.PRN,1 Creates MYLOGO.OVL with an ID of 1
C>OVERLAY MYLOGO.PRN,1 /1 Sends output to LPT1: with an ID of 1
C>OVERLAY MYLOGO.PRN,1 /M Creates MYLOGO.MCR with an ID of 1
3. TO USE AN OVERLAY FILE
COPY /B the Overlay Macro file to the printer.
EXAMPLE: C>COPY /B MYLOGO.OVL PRN
Every page printed from this point on will have my logo superimposed on it.
Some word processors reset the printer prior to sending the document. This
will deactivate the Overlay but will not delete it from the printers memory.
In this case the printer reset command must be removed from the printer
driver or set-up string or try using a Macro that is not an Overlay, a .MCR
file created using the /M switch.
When using .MCR Macro files the Macro must be Called or Executed from the
document before the Overlay image will print on the page. A printer command
sequence must be placed in the document you are printing. Up to 32 Macros
may be Loaded into the printer at one time depending on the amount of printer
memory available. The size of the Macro file(s) must not exceed the printers
memory.
Use the following printer commands in the document to control the Macro
actions. Replace # with the Macro ID# used to create the Overlay. Look in
the word processor manual if you need help on placing printer command
sequences into your documents.
Execute Macro ESC&f#y2X
This command will activate the Macro. Any changes made by the Macro to the
printing features listed below will be retained by the printer. The cursor
remains where it was at the end of the Macro.
Call Macro ESC&f#y3X
This command will activate the Macro. Any changes made by the Macro to the
printing features listed below will NOT be retained by the printer. The
cursor remains where it was at the end of the Macro.
Page Length Orientation Input Control Copy Count
Margins Perf Skip Line Wrap Font/Macro Id
Rule Size Underline Resolution Graphics Mode
Font Attributes HMI/VMI
Note: The Above two commands MUST be used on each page and will not activate
the Overlay feature. Create the Macro file with OVERLAY /M switch.
Disable Macro Overlay ESC&f#y5X
This command turns off an Overlay Macro, effective on the current page.
Executed and Called Macros are disabled when completed. Use the ESC&f#y4X
command to Enable the Overlay again.
Delete Macro ESC&f#y7X
This command will delete the specified Macro from the printers memory. Note
the difference from the Disable Macro Overlay command.
WordPerfect 5.x Notes
If you need to remove the printer reset command from the printer driver for
WordPerfect, use the PTR.EXE program to change the document initialization
string in your printer driver.
Enter PTR and the name of your printer driver file at the DOS command line.
C>PTR DRIVER.PRS
Choose Edit from the command menu. Select Initialize and Reset then select
Initialize at Start of Print Job. Remove [27]"E" from the command string,
this is the command that deactivates Overlay Macros. F7 to EXIT and Save
when finished.
Next, set-up WordPerfect to select the desired Macro from the ALT F8 Styles
menu.
1. Use ALT F8 3 to Create a new Style item.
2. Enter a Name and Description for the new item
3. Set the Type to 2(OPEN)
4. Select 4(Codes) and enter the commands.
Shift F8 4 6 2 1 [27]"&f#y4X" F7 F7 F7 F7 6
Replace [27]"&f#y4X" with the Proper Macro Command from above.
Repeat this for each Macro you wish to add to the Styles menu. To select a
Macro after they have been loaded into the printer use ALT F8 and select
which Macro to use.
Troubleshooting Overlay Macros
With the release of version 3.0 of OverLay, Debugging utilities have been
added to the package. If you are having trouble getting the Overlay Macro
to work, follow the steps below and you should be up and running in no time
at all.
The creation of the PRINT file is the most likely place for problems to be
introduced. Follow the guidelines above and avoid problem commands. It is
not always possible to eliminate the use of these commands. OverLay
removes some of these commands when it creates the Overlay Macro file, some
unexpected commands may not be removed.
Find and remove these unwanted commands from the Overlay Macro and it will
work properly. This brings us back to the Debugging utilities.
PCL2ENG.EXE :This program written by Helamar B. Herman reads HP-LJ PRINT
files and translates the printer commands into English.
READPCL.BAT :Batch file to redirect the output of PCL2ENG to a file named
PCLENG.TXT. The file IN. is needed by READPCL.BAT.
PCLSTRIP.EXE :This program will remove an unwanted printer command from a
Macro file.
Test the PRINT file for the proper output. COPY /B MYLOGO.PRN PRN
Create a empty PRINT file. If a desk top publication document is printed to
a file and it is a blank page, the resulting PRINT file will contain only the
printer commands. This will make it very easy to locate any unwanted printer
commands that are causing problems. Convert the Print File to an Overlay
file.
C>READPCL MYLOGO.OVL entered at the DOS command line will create the
PCL2ENG.TXT file. Read this file and look for unallowed commands. The ESC
character is not displayed by PCL2ENG so you can print out the file contents.
Commands may vary depending on what options or settings your publication is
using. Change the settings to eliminate these commands from your PRINT file
if you can. IF there is still unwanted printer commands in the Overlay Macro
file use PCLSTRIP.EXE to remove them.
PCLSTRIP MYLOGO.OVL /ESC&l0O This will remove the set orientation to
portrait command from the Overlay file. It is important to note that even
though portrait mode is the default, if a set orientation to portrait mode
is encountered, the Overlay will fail and act as mentioned above. Remember
PCL2ENG does not display the ESC character, don't forget to use it on the
command line for PCLSTRIP.
Repeat these steps until all the unwanted printer commands are removed.
COPY /B the Overlay Macro file to the printer then do a few form feeds. If
your printer won't allow you to do a form feed from the control panel then
copy the FF file to the Printer a few times. If the Overlay is on every page
and is correct then the Overlay Macro is ok.
If you are still having problems, the problem is with the word processor or
other method used to send the document to the printer. The most common cause
of problems here is the word processor resetting the printer at the start of
the print job or the beginning of the individual document.
If you can send the printer output from your word processor to a print file,
follow the same steps used above to examine this file and look for unwanted
printer commands. A program that redirects output for the printer to a file
is helpful here. Converting a document to a DOS or ASCII file won't work.
Once the unwanted commands are located, check the setup options for the word
processor to see if they can be shut off. The printer driver may need to be
modified to accomplish this. See WordPerfect Notes above.
An alternate approach is to convert a word processor document to a ASCII
file. All printer commands will be removed during conversion. Copy the
ASCII file to the printer after the Overlay Macro is loaded. If it works ok
then the problem is with the word processor.
The most common problems with softfonts not printing correctly is caused by
the word processor Downloading fonts with the same ID# or descriptor as the
fonts used in the Overlay Macro. Remember, font management commands are not
allowed.
If the program you are using to make the PRINT file has a option that will
suppress the Downloading of fonts, use it. Download the fonts separately.
You may need to determine the font id# to assign the softfonts. LoadFont
4.51 will create SoftModules from SoftFonts. PCL2ENG can read SoftFont or
SoftModule files to help you with the font ID# numbers and descriptors.
Copy /B the SoftModule file to the printer followed by the OverLay file.
Download the fonts or load the SoftModule before the Overlay Macro.
Test the SoftFonts, files do get damaged.
Check the printer memory, chips can fail and go bad. There must be enough
available memory to hold all the Macros and SoftFonts.
If you are still having problems, send me a copy of the PRINT file, the names
of the programs you are using to create and print the Overlay Macro and a
description of the problem. Sorry, but I can only offer this level of
support to registered users.
When you send in your $20 to register the OverLay program, you will receive
the current version of OverLay and 2 Archived disks full of SoftFonts and
Laser-Jet Utilities FREE.
Jim Savoia
Advance Systems
215 W Amosland Rd
Norwood, PA 19074