home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Magnum One
/
Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso
/
d13
/
poptype1.arc
/
POPTYPE.DOC
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-04-28
|
10KB
|
249 lines
PopType 1.0a
Copyright 1991 Nelson Ford
Licensing:
=========
PopType is copyright, but free. Write for a for a free license to use it.
Copyright Info:
==============
Copying of this shareware version for the purpose of allowing others to try it
is encouraged, but only if all the files in this set are kept together and the
contents are left unmodified.
Purpose:
=======
PopType allows you to send text to the printer and/or control your printer
while running other programs.
It will, alternatively, let you append notes to the end of a file instead of
sending text to the printer. This is an easy way to make running notes while
working in some program.
PopType loads into memory and stays hidden until you press Ctrl-T, at which
point you can type text that will be sent directly to the printer or file.
PopType could be used for printing labels, notes, or anything you wish.
Printer control options include Reset, Compressed, Expanded, Bold, Italics,
Underline, and Form Feed.
PopType only takes about 10k of DOS RAM.
Instructions:
=============
When you press Ctrl-T, the following lines will be displayed at the top of the
screen:
======== 1 ======= 2 ======= 3 ======= 4 ======= 5 ======= 6 ======= 7 ======= 8
F1-Reset. F2-Compressed. F3-Expanded. F4-Bold. F5-Ital. F6-Underline. F7-FormFd.
================================================================================
The cursor will be on the top row above the numbers. The numbers on the second
row are just a guide to screen/paper positioning.
Text is not sent to the printer until you press the Enter key, so you can edit
a line before printing it. See "Line Editing Keys", below.
To quit the program, press F10. If you press F10 while text is still on the
top line, it will still be there the next time you press Ctrl-T (assuming that
you didn't reboot the machine, of course).
To control the printer, press the appropriate function key. The control code
will be sent directly to the printer. (See Printer Control Considerations,
below. Also see Printer Configuration, below.)
Line Editing Keys:
=================
The following editing keys can be used when typing:
Left, Right Cursors .... move the cursor a letter at a time.
Ctrl-Right, Ctrl-Left .. move the cursor a word at a time.
Home ................... move to the beginning of the line.
End .................... move to the end of the line.
Del .................... delete the character at the cursor position.
Ctrl-End ............... delete from the cursor to the end of the line.
Insert Key ............. toggle the Insert/Overwrite modes.
Printer Configuration:
=====================
The file POPTYPE.CFG is a configuration file which you can change for any
printer. It is distributed with printer control codes for the Epson.
When you load PopType, POPTYPE.CFG should be in the default directory. After
that, it does not need to be in the default directory unless you have made a
change in it.
The first line of the file indicates which port to use. Normal alternatives
are LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4. You could, however, put
a file name in place of a port name and send output to a file.
If you do use a file name instead of LPT* or COM*, text will be appended to
the end of the file rather than creating a new file each time you pop up.
You can change the first line any time (for example: from a printer port to a
filename) and it will take effect the next time you press the hot key. (You do
not have to restart the program.)
The next seven lines in the POPTYPE.CFG file should contain printer control
codes for the seven control options assigned to the Function keys. (See
under "Instructions", above.)
Do NOT use a word processor like Word Perfect to edit this file. Use a small
text editor instead. If you do not have one, call PsL. Actually, this file is
so small that you could use EDLIN or even COPY CON:. (See your DOS manual.) To
enter a code like ASCII-15, hold down the Alt key and press 1 and 5 on the
number pad, then release the Alt key.
Notice that nothing is stopping you from substituting other control codes for
the ones listed. For example, you could substitute the Epson LQ-850 code for
double-high print (ASCII-027, -119, -001) for Compressed so that when you
press F2, even though the screen says "Compressed", it would send the code for
Double-High.
Printer Control Considerations:
==============================
The Function keys work immediately. That is, if you press F3, the control
code will be immediately sent to the printer.
If you want to enter printer control codes within your text, you can do so by
holding down the Alt key and typing the control code numbers on the number
pad. For example, to enter ASCII-15 (which puts an Epson printer into
compressed print), at the point that you want it, hold down Alt and enter 15
on the number pad, then release Alt. You will see the character for ASCII-15
appear on the line.
Keep in mind that once you set a feature like compressed print, you must also
enter a code to turn it off, or perform a reset.
Misc:
====
In order to hold the code size down, some niceities have been left out, such
as checking to see if you are loading the program into memory twice. Also
excluded was an option to remove the TSR from memory.
Both of these things can be addressed by Turbopower's Mark/Release program.
The M/R module "MAP" displays what TSRs are loaded into memory, so you can see
if PopType is already loaded. (Of course, you could just hit Ctrl-T, as well.)
More importantly, Mark/Release will let you unload or deactivate *any* TSR.
Mark/Release is available from Public (software) Library on disk #436, "TSR
Utilities". Call or write to the numbers at the start of this file. Disk fees
are $5/disk plus $4 per order for shipping and handling. You can also call or
write for a free copy of our monthly newsletter about public domain and
shareware software.
Mark/Release are also available on CompuServe's wonderful IBMNET forums. GO
IBMSYS and ask for directions.
Neither the hot key, Ctrl-T, nor the screen colors can be changed. If there is
a great public uproar about this, I will add the code to allow one or both to
be changed.
Easy Configuration Changing:
===========================
If a POPTYPE.CFG file is in the current directory when you press Ctrl-T,
PopType will read the configuration information from it; otherwise, it uses
the same configuration from when it was loaded or last changed.
This makes it easy to change configurations, simply by keeping different files
in different directories. You could keep a POPTYPE.CFG file set up to print to
a file, another one set up to support a local printer, a third for a network
printer, or multiple files for the same printer, but with different printer
feature controls, or set up to print to different file names.
Then all you have to do is change to the appropriate directory and pop up the
program.
Revisions:
---------
version:
1.0 First public release.
1.0a Changed the exit key from ESC to F10 so that printer control
codes could be entered in the text line. (Many printer
control codes begin with ESC.)
Company Information:
-------------------
Public (software) Library distributes public domain and shareware software for
the PC. This is my 10th year of doing this and programming for the PC, and
it's still fun.
If you would like a copy of our monthly publication, PsL News, in which we
write up hundreds of new programs every month and have a listing of over 3000
disks arranged by category, or to make suggestions about or to check on the
latest version of this program, give us a call or write:
Public (software) Library
P.O.Box 35705, Dept. SW
Houston, TX 77235-5705
800-2424-PSL
713-524-6394
FAX: 713-524-6398
CIS#: 71355,470
Disclaimer:
==========
THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO
PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH
THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS
OFFERED.
NEITHER NELSON FORD NOR PSL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARRIVING FROM THE
USE OF THIS PROGRAM. NORMAL DATA PROCESSING PROCEDURES DICTATE THAT THE USER
THOROUGHLY TEST SOFTWARE IN NON-CRITICAL SITUATIONS WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA
BEFORE RELYING ON ANY PROGRAM.
THE USER ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY OF THE
SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE
PRICE FOR PRODUCTS PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM THE SELLER.
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP):
============================================
Nelson Ford is a member of ASP. ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related
problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to
help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP
member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please
write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a
Compuserve Mail message to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
┌─────────┐
┌─────┴───┐ │ (R)
──│ │o │──────────────────
│ ┌─────┴╨──┐ │ Association of
│ │ │─┘ Shareware
└───│ o │ Professionals
──────│ ║ │────────────────────
└────╨────┘ MEMBER