Amiga Elysian Archive/AmigaElysianArchive.iso/anim/players/avplayer.lzh/APrintF/APrf.doc

Text File | 1992-08-05 | 34KB | 966 lines

            APrf2 v1.30 - User's Guide





    This file describes  release  1.30  of    the  utility  APrf2.  This
program is freeware, and permission is granted to  freely  distribute  and
copy it, provided no charge or fee is ask for, and no modification is done
to this package.

    APrf is copyright (c)1989-1990-1991-1992 by Denis  GOUNELLE,   any
commercial usage or selling of this program, without  written  permission,
is ABSOLUTLY FORBIDEN. By mutual agreement, Serge HAMMOUCHE is    authorized
to distribute APrf as he likes.

    "PowerPacker 2.3b" is (c)1989  by  PowerPeak  and  Nico  FRANCOIS.
"PowerPacker Pro 3.0b" is  (c)1990 by  PowerPeak  and  UGA  SoftWare.  The
"powerpacker.library" library  is  (c)1990  by  Nico  FRANCOIS.  AREXX  is
(c)1987 by William Hawes.

     No warranty is made that there's no errors in APrf. YOU USE  THIS
PROGRAM AT YOUR OWN RISKS. In no event will I be liable  for  any  damage,
direct or indirect, resulting of the use of APrf.


Table of contents:
------------------

    1. Introduction.
    2. User's guide
       2.1 Running APrf from the CLI.
       2.2 Running APrf from WorkBench.
       2.3 Getting started.
       2.4 Gadgets.
       2.5 Menus.
       2.6 Header and footer.
       2.7 The preview function.
       2.8 Modifying page selection.
    3. Advanced concepts.
       3.1 Using "powerpacker.library".
       3.2 The "eXpress" mode.
       3.3 The AREXX mode.
       3.4 The "APrf.Init" file.
    4. Memory management
       4.1 The file to print.
       4.2 The output buffer.
       4.3 Memory requirements.
    5. Miscellaneous.


1. Introduction.
----------------

    APrf2 is a new version of APrf which can use the new functions    of
2.0 system release. This program still works under 1.3 system release, but
without offering some of the new features.
    APrf is a text file printing utility, developped  for  the  Amiga.
This program allows to add an header or a footer in  a    page,  to  set    up
margins, to have a multi-columns output, etc... and uses your  Preferences
settings. It also have an AREXX-compatible  message  port,  and  can  load
files compressed with "PowerPacker 2.3b" or "PowerPacker Pro 3.0b".

    You can send me your suggestions and criticism writing to:

              M. GOUNELLE Denis
                  Boite  71
             6, rue des cailloux
            92110 CLICHY - FRANCE

    Many thanks to Serge HAMMOUCHE, Jean-Yves  PROUX,  Jean  ROUGELIN,
Michel SCHINZ, and Pierre VITET for tests and ideas.


2. User's guide.
----------------

    APrf can be run from Workbench or from the CLI. In the latter case
there's no need to use a "RunBack" or "ARun" utility, as APrf will  detach
itself from the CLI window.


    2.1 Running APrf from the CLI.
    ------------------------------

    From the CLI, APrf is invoked using some arguments to  modify  the
default options. The command line is of the form:

    APrf [filename][-c#][-f#][-l#][-n#][-oF][-p#][-r#][-s#][-t#]
         [-x#][-A][-Cseq][-D#][-F{L|C|R}fmt][-H{L|C|R}fmt][-Ifont]
         [-N#][-Oopts][-P{p|e|f}][-Spages][-X]

    If you specify the filename argument, the corresponding file  will
be taken as  the  file    to  print.  Here's  a  description  of  the  other
arguments:

    -c#    (Columns number)
        Prints file in # columns.
        Default value: # = 1
        Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -f#    (page Format)
        Selects page format. # can be one of:

            0 : nothing
            1 : header
            2 : footer
            3 : both header and footer

        Default value: # = 1.
        See section 2.6 for more information.

    -l#    (Left margin)
        Sets a left margin of #  characters.  Note  that  the
        margins set up in Preferences is ALWAYS used.
        Default value: # = 0
        Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -n#    (line Numbering)
        Numbers lines with # digits numbers.
        Default value: # = 0 (no line numbers).
        Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 10.

    -oF    (Output)
        Printing will be re-directed to file F.

    -p#    (Page length)
        Sets page length to # lines.
        Default value: "Paper length" set up in Preferences.
        Minimal value: # = 5. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -r#    (Right margin)
        Sets a right margin of # characters.  Note  that  the
        margins set up in Preferences is ALWAYS used.
        Default value: # = 0
        Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -s#    (column Spaging)
        Columns are separated by # spaces.
        Default value: # = 1
        Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -t#    (Tabulation)
        Sets tabulation stop positions to  #+1,  2#+1,    3#+1,
        etc..
        Default value: # = 8.
        Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -x#    (copies)
        Prints # copies of the file.
        Default value: # = 1
        Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.

    -A    (Arexx mode)
        Sets AREXX mode (see section 3.3 for more information).

    -Cseq    (Control sequence)
        Selects the control sequence "seq" (see  section  3.4
        for more information).

    -D#    (Date format)
        Sets date format in header. # can be one of:

            0 : AmigaDOS format (dd-mmm-yy)
            1 : International format (yy-mm-dd)
            2 : American format (mm-dd-yy)
            3 : European format (dd-mm-yy)

        Default value: # = 0.
        See section 2.6 for more information.

    -F{L|C|R}fmt (Footer format)
        Specifies page footer format.
        See section 2.6 for more information.

    -H{L|C|R}fmt (Header format)
        Specifies page header format.
        See section 2.6 for more information.

    -Ifont    (Internal font)
        Select the given font.
        See section 3.4 for more information.

    -N#    (page Numbers)
        Sets first page number to #.
        Default value: # = 1.
        Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 899.

    -Oopts    (Options)
        Allows you to modify several options. opts can be any
        combination of :

            l    letter quality
            d    draft quality
            8    8 LPI spacing
            6    6 LPI spacing
            F    fanfold paper
            S    single sheet paper
            t    truncate too long lines
            f    control characters filter
            a    ANSI sequences filter
            k    output buffer size of 1 Kbytes
            n    don't send "Form Feed"
            u    underline header

        See the description of "Options" menu, at section 2.5, for
        further informations.

    -P{p|e|f} (print Pitch)
        Selects print pitch :

            -Pp    for "pica" pitch
            -Pe    for "elite" pitch
            -Pf    for "fine" pitch

        Default value : "Pitch" set up in Preferences.

    -Spages (Selection)
        Selects the pages to print. pages can be one of :

            x      : only page x
            x-y      : from page x to y
            x,y,z,... : pages x,y,z,... (up to 16 pages)

        You can also use the two last forms together, as in
        "-S1,3,5-8".

        CAUTION: the page numbers that you specify for page
             selection must depend of  the    first  page
             number (see -N option)

    -X    (eXpress)
        Sets "eXpress" mode (see  section  3.2  for  further
        information).

    If you make an error in your command line, a window will appear on
the Workbench screen, with the message "Bad arguments". Click in the  "OK"
gadget (or press Amiga-V) to make the window disappear, and  correct  your
command line. Then, run APrf once more.
    The "Tools" menu  has  a  command  that  gives  the  command  line
corresponding to the current option settings (see section 2.5 for  further
information).


    2.2 Running APrf from Workbench.
    --------------------------------

    There's three ways to run APrf from  Workbench,  if  you  want  to
specify the files that hare to be printed:

     - by double-clicking on a "Project" icon  whose  "Default  tool"
       is APrf
     - by clicking on one or more file icons, holding down the    SHIFT
       key, and double-clicking on APrf icon
     - by clicking on APrf icon (and if required on some file icons),
       holding down the SHIFT key, and double-clicking on a file icon

    In any case, the selected  files  are  transmitted  to    APrf.  The
program will display the first filename in the "File to print" gadget (see
section 2.4). The "Next file" command in the "Project" menu allows you  to
skip to the next file (see section 2.5), and the "Default options" command
in the "Tools" menu allows to go back to the first file in the files  list
(see section 2.5).

    As when you run APrf from the CLI, you can give some arguments    to
modify default options. To do this, click on a file icon  and  select  the
"Information" item in the "Icons" menu (on Workbench screen).  Then  click
on the "New" gadget in the "TOOL TYPES" field, and add the arguments
according to the following syntax:

    APRF=[-c#][-f#][-l#][-n#][-oF][-p#][-r#][-s#][-t#][-x#]
         [-Cseq][-D#][-F{L|C|R}fmt][-H{L|C|R}fmt][-Ifont]
         [-N#][-Oopts][-P{p|e|f}][-Spages]

    These options are described in section 2.1. If you run    APrf  from
Workbench without arguments (i.e. if you just click twice on APrf's  icon)
options will be taken from "TOOL TYPES" field of APrf's project icon.
    Please notice that -A (AREXX mode) and -X (eXpress  mode)  options
can't be specified when running APrf from Workbench.


    2.3 Getting started.
    --------------------

    If all goes well, a new screen will  be  opened,  and  you'll  see
several gadgets. Otherwise, a window will appear on Workbench screen  with
a message telling you what a problem occurred. Click in  the  "OK"  gadget
(or press Amiga-V) to make the window disappear, APrf stops and returns  a
value of 10 (ERROR, see "If" command of AmigaDOS).

    APrf can return a value of 10 without displaying any  message,    in
only four situations:

    a) APrf couldn't open "intuition.library"
    b) APrf couldn't open "graphics.library"
    c) APrf couldn't open the error window
    d) APrf couldn't open the Workbench screen

    However, I don't think these things will occur very often.

    Now, I will suppose that APrf is running well. The  two  following
sections are going describe the gadgets and menus  of  APrf.  If  you  are
using APrf for the first time I suggest to run the program,  in  order    to
understand these explanations.


    2.4 Gadgets.
    ------------

    This section describes all the gadgets displayed  on  the  screen,
from the left top corner to the right bottom one:

    File to print:

        This gadget shows the name of the file to print.
        To modify its value just click on it: a file requester  will
        appear. If you click on the CANCEL gadget of this requester,
        or on the OK gadget without giving a file name, the previous
        name won't be modified.
        A '*' character will appear on the right of the  file  name,
        when the file is loaded in memory (see section 4.1).

    Output file:

        This gadget shows where a file will be printed.
        Default value is "PRT:", but can be changed with  -o  option
        (see section 2.1).
        To modify its value just click on it: a file requester  will
        appear. If you click on the CANCEL gadget of this  requester
        the output file will become "PRT:".

    Page selection:

        This gadget shows which pages will be printed.
        Default value is "*" (all the pages),  but  can  be  changed
        with -S option (see section 2.1).
        Please refert to section  2.8  to  see  how  to  modify  the
        selection.

    The nine next gadgets allow  to  specify  respectively:  the  left
margin size, the right margin size, the tabulation  size,  the    number    of
lines per page, the first page number, the line numbers size,  the  number
of columns, the column spacing, and the number of copies that have  to    be
printed.
    Each gadget shows the current value of its corresponding parameter.
You can click on the value to modify it with the keyboard  (press  Amiga-X
to erase the old value, don't forget to press RETURN to validate  the  new
value). You can also increase the current value  by  clicking  on  the    up
arrow, and decrease it by clicking on the down arrow. If a  value  doesn't
change, you have reached the lower or the higher limit ! As  long  as  you
keep the left mouse button down, the value will be increased or decreased.

    Left margin: (see -l option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 0
        Lowest value : 0
        Highest value: 999

    Right margin: (see -r option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 0
        Lowest value : 0
        Highest value: 999

    Tabulation: (see -t option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 8
        Lowest value : 1
        Highest value: 999

    Page length: (see -p option in section 2.1)
        Default value: "Paper length" set up in Preferences
        Lowest value : 5
        Highest value: 999

    First page number : (see -N option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 1
        Lowest value : 1
        Highest value: 899

        NOTE : page selection will be lost each time you
               will change the first page number.

    Line numbers : (see -n option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 0 (no line numbers)
        Lowest value : 0 (no line numbers)
        Highest value: 10

    Columns: (see -c option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 1
        Lowest value : 1
        Highest value: 999

    Col. Spacing: (see -s option in section 2.1)
        Default value: 1
        Lowest value : 1
        Highest value: 999

    Copies : (see -x option in section 2.1)
        Default value : 1
        Lowest value  : 1
        Highest value : 999

    The four next gadgets are used to choose a value between  severals
one. Use the arrow-like gadget at the right of the value to change it.

    Page format:

        This gadget shows the selected page format (see section 2.6).
        By default, the format is "header", but this can  be  changed
        with -f option (see section 2.1).

    Date format:

        This gadget shows the date format in the header (see  section
        2.6). By default, the format is the AmigaDOS format, but this
        can be changed with -D option (see section 2.1).

    Print pitch:

        This gadget indicates print pitch.
        Default value is taken from "Pitch" set  up  in  Preferences,
        but can be changed with -P option (see section 2.1).

    Font:

        This gadget indicates the font to use.
        Usually it's the defaut font, but this can be changed with -I
        option (see section 2.1).
        For more information, see section 3.4.

    The next gadgets allows you to personnalize  the  header  and  the
footer.

    Header:

        This gadget shows the format  of  the  three  parts  of  the
        header : the left part, the  central  part,  and  the  right
        part.
        Default value of each part can be  changed    with  -H  option
        (see section 2.1).
        To modify the value of any part just click on it : a  window
        with a string gadget will appear.  Press  Amiga-X  to  erase
        current value, RETURN to validate, or click  on  the  window
        close gadget to abort.
        For more information, see section 2.6

    Footer:

        Same as header gadgets, but for the footer.
        Default value of each part can be  changed    with  -F  option
        (see section 2.1).
        For more information, see section 2.6

    The two diamond-shaped gadgets on the bottom of the screen  allows
you to start printing (left gadget) or previewing (right  gadget)  without
having to play with the menus.
    You can also click on the main window's close gadget  (upper  left
corner) to quit the program, or on the "zoom" gadget (upper right  corner)
to iconify APrf.


    2.5 Menus.
    ----------

    APrf has three    menus:    "Project",  "Tools"  and  "Options".  Each
command can be selected by mouse or by a keyboard shortcut, but  "Options"
menu items must be  selected  by  mouse.  Here    are  the  options  of  the
Project" menu:

    "Next file" command (Amiga-N):

        If you have run APrf from Workbench and selected several
        icons, this command allows you to skip to the next  file
        in the list of selected files.
        The "File to print" gadget is updated (see section 2.4),
        and the old file is removed from memory (if it had  been
        loaded, see section 4.1).

    "Print" command (Amiga-P):

        Start printing.

    "AREXX mode" command (Amiga-A):

        APrf goes in AREXX mode (see below section 3.3).
        A  requester  will  apear:  click  on  "YES"  (or  press
        Amiga-V) to confirm, or click on "NO" (or press Amiga-B)
        to abort.

    "About..." command (Amiga-?):

        Displays some informations about APrf.
        To close the window, click inside it or press any key.

    "Iconify" command (Amiga-I):

        APrf goes sleeping, freeing  at  least    32  Kb    of  CHIP
        memory and some other workspace  (the  current  file  is
        removed from memory if it had been loaded).  The  screen
        is closed and a small  window  (which  title  is  "APrf2
        v1.30") will appear  on  the  top  left  corner  of  the
        Workbench's screen.
        To awake APrf, you must activate this window  and  click
        then on the right mouse button.
        You can quit APrf without having to awake it by clicking
        on the close gadget of the small window.

    "Quit" command (Amiga-Q or ESCAPE):

        Quit APrf.
        A  requester  will  apear:  click  on  "YES"  (or  press
        Amiga-V) to confirm, or click on "NO" (or press Amiga-B)
        to abort.


    Here are the commands of the "Tools" menu:

    "Default Options" command (Amiga-D):

        Restores the default options (first it loads Preferences
        then it scans the command line).
        If you have run APrf from Workbench and selected several
        icons, the first file of the list becomes the file  that
        will be printed.
        This command may be useful, for example, if  you  modify
        the Preferences settings and want APrf to know about it,
        without having to quit the program.

    "Load file" command (Amiga-L):

        Loads immediately the file to print in    memory.  If  the
        file was already in memory, yet this command  reload  it
        (see section 4.1).

    "Unload file" command (Amiga-U):

        Removes the file to print from memory.
        (see section 4.1).

    "Preview" command (Amiga-V):

        Activates the preview function (see section 2.7).

    "Command line" command (Amiga-K):

        Displays the argument list that  you  have  to    give  in
        order to make the current  options  beeing  the  default
        options.
        To close the window, click inside it or press any key.

    "Save config" command (Amiga-S):

        Save the current options (except the name of the file to
        print) in a new line of the "S:APrf.Init" file. A window
        appears,  and  you  must  enter  the  name  of    the  new
        configuration. Close the window to cancel the operation.
        See section 3.4 for other informations.

    "Doc Info" command (Amiga-X):

        Displays the page, line  and  character  counts  of  the
        output file. Please notice that the character count will
        always be an approximation.
        To close the window, click on the "OK" gadget  or  press
        Amiga-V.

    Here are the items of the "Options" menu:

    "Letter" item:

        Selects the printing quality: "letter" or "draft".
        Default value is taken from "Print Quality"  set  up  in
        Preferences, but can be  changed  with    -O  option  (see
        section 2.1).

    "8 LPI" item:

        Selects line spacing: "8LPI" or "6PLI"
        Default  value    is  taken  from  "Spacing"  set  up   in
        Preferences, but can be  changed  with    -O  option  (see
        section 2.1).

    "Fanfold" item:
        Selects paper type: "fanfold" or "single"
        Default  value    is  taken  from  "Pitch"   set   up   in
        Preferences, but can be  changed  with    -O  option  (see
        section 2.1).

    "Truncate" item:

        If active, too long lines are truncated instead of being
        wrapped on several lines.
        By default, it is not active, but this    can  be  changed
        with -O option (see section 2.1).

    "CTRL filter" item:

        If active, the control characters (ASCII code lower than
        32 or greated than 126) found in the file to  print  are
        not send to the printer.
        By default, it is not active, but this    can  be  changed
        with -O option (see section 2.1).

    "ANSI filter" item:

        If active, the ANSI sequences  described  in  section  6
        are not send to the printer.
        By default, it is not active, but this    can  be  changed
        with -O option (see section 2.1).

    "Buffer 1Kb" item:

        If active, the output buffer size will be 1 Kb    (instead
        of one page)
        By default, it is not active, but this    can  be  changed
        with -O option (see section 2.1).
        See section 4.2 for more information.

    "Send FF" item:

        If active, a "Form Feed" character is send each time the
        bottom of the page is reached.
        By default, it is active, but this can be  changed  with
        -O option (see section 2.1).

    "Und. header" item:

        If active, the header will be underlined.
        By default, it is not active, but this    can  be  changed
        with -O option (see section 2.1).


    2.6 Header and footer.
    ----------------------

    APrf can add a header, a footer, or both, on your documents. The
choice can be made when calling APrf (-f option, see section 2.1) or with
the "Page format" gadget (see section 2.4). A header or a footer takes to
line on the page.

    When you ask for a header (and/or a footer) format, APrf uses  the
values of the "Header" (and/or "Footer")  gadgets  to  build  this  header
(and/or footer). The left gadget shows what  will  be  on  the  left,  the
central gadget what will be centered, and the right gadget what will be on
the right. Format specifications can include the following sequences :

    %a    name of the day (e.g. "Monday")
    %b    name of the month (full, e.g. "September")
    %B    name of the month (short, e.g. "Sep")
    %d    day of the month (01 to 31)
    %D    date as shown by the "Date format" gadget
    %f    basename of the file (e.g. "foo")
    %F    full name of the file (e.g. "RAM:Test/foo")
    %h    hour (00 to 11)
    %H    hour (00 to 23)
    %m    month of the year (01 to 12)
    %M    minutes (00 to 59)
    %n    page number
    %p    period of the day (AM or PM)
    %s    file size in bytes
    %S    seconds (00 to 59)
    %v    program release (e.g. "APrf v4.10")
    %w    day of the week (0 to 6)
    %x    copy number
    %y    year of the century (00 to 99)
    %%    % (not guaranted to work...)

    Default value for header is "%f" for the left part, "Page %n"  for
the central part, and "%D" for the right part. Default value for footer is
"Page %n" for the central part, and nothing for the other parts.
    You can also specify your own header (and/or  footer)  format,  by
clicking on the gadget corresponding to the part you want  to  modify,    or
(when starting APrf) with -H (and/or -F)  option  :  "-HLformat"  modifies
left  part  of    the  header,   "-HCformat"  modifies  central  part,   and
"-HRformat" modifies right part.


    2.7 The preview function.
    -------------------------

    This function allows you to see how will look the final aspect    of
a text, depending upon the current option settings. To use it,    first  set
up your printing settings, then choose    the  "Preview"  command  from  the
"Tools" menu. A window will appear in the middle of your screen, and shows
how will look the first selected page (window size is shaped by  the  page
size).
    To look the next page, click inside the window or press RETURN. To
stop, click on the window's close gadget or press ESCAPE.
    Please notice that APrf won't be able to open the  preview  window
if page length value is very high : highest value for page  length  is    93
lines in NTSC mode (122 in PAL mode).


    2.8 Modifying page selection.
    -----------------------------

    To modify page selection, click on the "Selected pages" gadget:  a
window will appear in the midle of the screen, showing    a  grid  with  one
hundred numbers, each number corresponding to a page number. These numbers
are written on a white background if the corresponding page  is  selected,
or on a blue background if not.
    If you click on a number, you will change the  selection  for  the
corresponding page. You can also use the following gadgets:

    ALL      select all pages
    INVERT      reverse selection
    NONE      no page selected
    OK      accept new selection (or RETURN)
    UNDO      undo all changes (takes back old selection)
    CANCEL      abort modification (or ESCAPE)

    There's also a string gadget, in which you can enter  a  selection
specification. This new selection will be added to the current one. Licits
values for the string are:

    *      all the pages
    x      page x only
    x-y      from page x to y
    x,y,z,... pages x,y,z,...

    You can also use the two last forms together, e.g. "1,3,5-8".

    Don't forget that page selection depends of the first page number,
and that you won't be allowed to enter an empty selection (that  is,  with
no page selected).


3. Advanced concepts.
---------------------

    This section deals with  some  powerful  features  of  APrf,  that
allows it to be fully integrated in your working environment.


    3.1 Using "powerpacker.library".
    --------------------------------

    APrf can use "powerpacker.library" according you have installed it
in the "LIBS:" directory of your hard disk or Workbench disk. This  allows
you to print any files compressed with "PowerPacker 2.3b" or  "PowerPacker
Pro 3.0b": the file will be decompressed automatically at loading. If data
file has been encrypted, APrf will ask for a password.


    3.2 The "eXpress" mode.
    -----------------------

    It can happen that you want to print a file quickly, without using
the Intuition interface (if your Preferences are correctly set, it  should
be frequent).
    If you specify -X option when calling APrf, once the command  line
has been parsed, printing starts immediatly. APrf doesn't open any screen,
and stops when printing is done. Error messages are displayed in a special
window, on WorkBench's screen.


    3.3 The AREXX mode.
    -------------------

    If you specify -A option when calling APrf, it will  go  in  AREXX
mode: an AREXX-compatible port (named "APrf_rexx") will be  open  and  the
program will wait for messages on this port. This option  make    also  APrf
go in "eXpress" mode, as if -X option was specified (see section 3.2).

    The valid messages are :

    quit    : APrf closes the message port and terminates.
    wakeup    : APrf closes the message port and open its screen.
    reset    : APrf loads Preferences and sets all options to their
          default values
    load    : APrf loads the file to print
    print    : APrf starts printing

    Any other message will be considered as a command line, and scaned
as described in section 2.1. If any error  occurs,  APrf  will    display  a
message on the WorkBench's screen, and terminates.
    If you send a "load" message and APrf don't know which file is  to
load, your command won't have any effect.

    Here is an exemple of AREXX program, which print  the  "S:Startup-
Sequence" file with a left margin of 10 characters, and terminates APrf :

    /* Print S:Startup-Sequence */
    address "APrf_rexx"
    "S:Startup-Sequence -l10"
    "print"
    "quit"

    Please note the " characters arround commands !

    From the Intuition interface you can go in AREXX mode by selecting
the "AREXX mode" command in the "Project" menu (see section 2.5).


    3.4 The "APrf.Init" file.
    -------------------------

    When starting, APrf tries to load  the    "S:APrf.Init"  file.  This
file allows you to define typical configurations and/or fonts. To define a
typical configuration, you add a line of the form:

    name:options:sequence

where "name" and "options" are strings of characteres ("name" shouldn't be
longer than 8 characters), and "sequence"  is  a  list  of  decimal  codes
separated by spaces. "options" and/or "sequence" strings may be empty.Only
the 8 first configurations will be used. Here are two examples:

    my8lpi:-p90 -O8:
    landscap:-p80:27 48 108 72

    Each name you gave will appear in a new  "Control"  menu.  If  you
select one of these names, the "options" string will immediatly be  parsed
as a CLI command line. Also, at printing time, the characters whose  ASCII
code is given in the corresponding sequence will be send  to  the  printer
(after the initialisation sequences, but before the text itself). You  can
select several names at the same time.
    When calling APrf from the CLI    or  from  the  WorkBench,  the    -C
option allows you to select a  sequence  at  startup  time.  The  "option"
string will be parsed after the other calling options. If the sequence you
specified in the -C option doesn't exist, the option will be ignored.

    The "S:APrf.Init" file can also give you access, from APrf, to the
internal fonts of your printer. To define a font, you add a  line  of  the
form:

    fontdef:name:sequence

where "name" is the name of the font, and "sequence" the list of codes  to
send to your printer to select the given font. Exemple :

    fontdef:Prestige:27 107 2 27 120 49

You can enter any number of font. Font definitions should be specified    at
the beginning of the file, before typical configurations  definitions.    To
select a font, use either the -I option (see section  2.1) or  the  "Font"
gadget (see section 2.4).

    You can put empty  lines  in  the  "S:APrf.Init"  file.  Any  line
beginning with a semicolon character (";") is supposed to be a comment and
is not interpreted.
    The "S:APrf.Init" file will be loaded again each time  you  select
the "Default options" command in the "Tools" menu. In "eXpress" mode  (see
section 3.2), the file "S:APrf.Init" will be loaded only if required (i.e.
if you specified a -C or a -I option). Take notice that the sequences will
be written with a PRD_RAWWRITE command, so they won't  be  interpreted  by
the printer device.


4. Memory management.
---------------------

    This section describes how APrf manages the memory space.


    4.1 The file to print.
    ----------------------

    Before printing or previewing a file, APrf  loads  it  in  memory.
Once the file has been printed or previewed,  it  is  kept  in    memory    in
prevision of another print or preview operation. The  great  advantage    is
that APrf has not to load a file each time you ask for previewing  it,    or
when you ask for printing it after a preview.

    A file is removed automatically from memory either if you  iconify
APrf (see section 2.5), or if  you  choose  to  print  another  file  (see
section 2.4), or if you select the "Next file" command from the  "Project"
menu (see section 2.5). It can be removed too  (but  not  always)  if  you
select the "Default options" command from the "Tools" menu.

    In addition,  the  "Load  file"  command  from  the  "Tools"  menu
enforces APrf to load a file (this will be reloaded even if it was already
in memory), while the "Unload file" command in the "Tools" menu makes APrf
to unload a file from memory.

    Now, to let you know if a file is or isn't loaded in memory,  APrf
displays a "*" character on the right of the file name when this  file  is
actually loaded in memory.

    This behaviour can present two inconvenients.
    First of all, a file occupies memory even if  you  don't  need  it
anymore. A solution is to iconify APrf (see section 2.5) or to select  the
"Unload file" command from the "Tools" menu.
    The second inconvenient is that if you modify a file on your disk,
any changes could be ignored, because APrf don't load the file  again.  In
order to avoid this, if APrf sees that the file has been modified, it will
ask you if you want to reload it.


    4.2 The output buffer.
    ----------------------

    APrf uses an output buffer in order to make less "write" commands.
With a 1 Kb buffer, printing to a file is twice faster than with the first
releases of APrf whose buffer contained only one line. Even if printing to
printer doesn't seem to be faster,  the  number  of  "write"  commands  is
divided at least by 5 (at most by 14 or 15). Tests have shown that  system
charge was greatly reduced, and though that  THE  OTHER  TASKS    WERE  LESS
SLOWED DOWN.

    By default, APrf uses an output buffer of one  page  (see  section
2.5, "Buffer" option from the "Options" menu). When you change  your  page
size, the output buffer is automatically re-allocated in order to store  a
whole page. If there's not enough memory to allocate this one page buffer,
APrf will try to allocate a 1 Kbytes buffer (a  message  will  inform  you
about this). If there's still not enough memory, APrf will  stop  with  an
error message "Not enough memory".


    4.3. Memory requirements.
    -------------------------

    When you run APrf, you need a bit more than 100 Kbytes    of  memory
for code, data and Intuition interface. Any operation on the file to print
(printing, previewing, etc...) will  cause  this  file  to  be  load  into
memory, and a working buffer of (PageLength  *  LineLength)  bytes  to  be
allocated. Printing will also require an output buffer of one page, or one
Kbytes.


5. Miscellaneous.
-----------------

    This section is a bric-a-brac of  some    informations  that  didn't
find a place in previous sections. It deals with  some    importants  points
concerning how APrf works. I strongly advise you to read it once at  least
and to remind to read it again if you think APrf is working oddly.

    If "Fanfold" option is not activated, here  is  the  behaviour  of
APrf: before printing a page, the program displays a requester asking  you
to insert a new sheet of paper in your printer. When you're  ready,  click
on "YES" (or press Amiga-V) to print the page. If you  click on  "NO"  (or
press Amiga-B) printing will be aborted.

    You can abort printing at any time, by clicking in the    box  where
the current copy and page numbers are displayed. A requester will  appear,
asking you confirmation:  click  on  "YES"  (or  press  Amiga-V)  to  stop
printing and click on "NO" (or press Amiga-B) to resume printing.
    If you abort printing, APrf will immediatly stop to send  data    to
the printer, and wait for the last write request to be finished (this  can
be quite long !).

    To make your files have a better  looking,  you  can  include  the
following ANSI sequences:

        ESC[0m        Normal character set
        ESC[3m        Italics on
        ESC[23m     Italics off
        ESC[4m        Underline on
        ESC[24m     Underline off
        ESC[1m        Boldface on
        ESC[22m     Boldface off
        ESC[1"z         Draft quality
        ESC[2"z         NLQ quality

    All these  sequences  will  be    sent  to  your    printer,  but  the
characters that compose them will neither be retained,    nor  be  displayed
when APrf is in preview mode. Any other sequences will be  not    recognized
and will be considered as part of text to be printed. You can filter these
sequences if you don't want them to be send to the  printer  (see  section
2.5, "ANSI filter" item in "Options" menu).
    The size of these sequences is limited to 32 characters by  OUTPUT
line (not input line !), i.e.  to  6  or  8  sequences,  which  should  be
sufficient in most case. If there's too much sequences on an output  line,
the error message "Lines too long, printing aborted" will be displayed.