Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d17/twoside.arc/TWOSIDE.TXT

Text File | 1991-07-22 | 28KB | 582 lines

                        Twoside   Version 1.0

          A utility for printing on both sides of the page.
      (c) Copyright David Dhuyvetter 1991. All rights reserved.





                          TABLE OF CONTENTS
                          -----------------


Section 1 : A Description of Twoside.

               1.1 Why it is.  ...........................  2
               1.2 What it is.  ..........................  2
               1.3 What it Needs.  .......................  3


Section 2 : Twoside Syntax.

               2.1 Twoside at the Command Line.  .........  3
               2.2 Printer Device.  ......................  4
               2.3 Page Length.  .........................  4
               2.4 Form Length.  .........................  5
               2.5 Margins.  .............................  5
               2.6 Tab Spacing.  .........................  6


Section 3 : Using Twoside.

               3.1 Printing Text Files.  .................  6
               3.2 Printing Word Processing Files.  ......  7
               3.3 The Configuration File.  ..............  8


Section 4 : It's Your Turn.

               4.1 A Plea For Money.  ....................  10
               4.2 Come Into My Mind.  ...................  10
               4.3 Reporting Problems.  ..................  11
               4.4 Registration Form.  ...................  11







                              Page 1Page 2                  Twoside Version 1.0


Section 1 : A Description of Twoside.
-------------------------------------


1.1 Why it is.

      Twoside is the program that I promised myself a hundred times
I'd write.  You know what I mean. . . .  I had just downloaded that
shareware program that I'd had my eye on.  I wanted to see the
documentation, but it seemed like such a waste of paper to print it
out before I was sure that I was going to use the software.  I tried
to use the backs of old printouts, but that didn't work very well.
Old printouts with bent corners don't feed well through many cut sheet
printers, and tractor feed printers make reusing odds and ends of
paper nearly impossible.
     At other times, I wanted nice permanent copies of documentation
that I could bind without punching holes in the text.  I kept asking
myself: "How hard could it be to write a program to print text files
on both sides of the page, and with margins for binding?"  (Oh boy!
Harder than I imagined.)
     The last straw was the A86 assembler.  It is a _wonderful_ little
assembler put out by Eric Isaacson (highly recommended), but the
documentation is an epic!  I wanted to make my own bound copy, but
without Twoside, it would have been too big to fit in a 2" three-ring
binder.


1.2 What it is.

     Twoside is a utility for printing on both sides of the page.  I
have tried to make it general enough to properly format any line-
formatted plain text file on any printer.  The only provision is that
the printer form length and line width must be at LEAST as large as
the page length and line width in the text file.
     Twoside can often be used to print word processor files and text
files that are not formatted for printing.  For this it is necessary
to have a word processor that can print to a plain text file.  (Most
can.)
     Twoside can be used to adjust the size of the left margin on the
printed output.  The margin controls are separate for the odd pages
(the front) and the even pages (the back).  By using a moderate left
margin on odd pages, and a small left margin on even pages, you can
create a document that can be bound without the binding interfering
with the text.
     Finally, Twoside can be used to print files formatted with
nonstandard tab spacing.  The tab stops on most printers are every 8
spaces.  Many word processors, however, use tab stops located every 5
spaces.  If a text file formatted with 5 space tabs is COPY'd to the
printer, the alignment will be off.  Twoside can be used to print
these files with proper alignment.
                        Twoside Version 1.0                     Page 3


1.3 What it Needs.

     Twoside needs three things in order to work. First it needs a
text file formatted for printing.  Any file that can simply be COPY'd
to any printer is formatted for printing.  Most shareware .DOC and
.TXT files fall into this category.  If your file is not formatted for
printing, see Section 3.2, Printing Word Processing Files.
     Twoside's second requirement is a printer capable of printing
your text file.  If the file is formatted for 132 characters per line,
then your printer had better print 132 characters per line, or you're
out of luck.  This line length requirement includes any margin that is
added by Twoside.  This takes a bit of planning for some files, and is
explained in Section 2.5, Margins.
     More importantly, if the file is formatted for 66 lines per page,
and your printer only prints 60 lines per page, then Twoside might not
work correctly.  This problem and a possible solution are discussed
more fully in Section 2.3, Page Length.
     Finally, Twoside needs to be able to write to the current drive.
It will create a temporary file about half the size of the original
text file.  If you are using Twoside to print a text file on a write-
protected disk, or a disk that is almost full, then you need to call
the program from a drive that can be written to.
     For example, if you wanted to use Twoside with the file INFO.TXT
in the directory STUFF on a full disk in drive A:, then assuming that
there is room on the C: drive, you would make C: the default drive and
type :

TWOSIDE A:\STUFF\INFO.TXT

     This example assumes that TWOSIDE.EXE (and TWOSIDE.CNF if it
exists) is either in the current directory on the C: drive, or in a
directory on the path.


Section 2 : Twoside Syntax.
----------------------------


2.1 Twoside at the Command Line.

     The format of the Twoside command line call is as follows:

TWOSIDE NAME.EXT [/de=name][/pl=#][/fl=#][/om=#][/em=#][/ts=#]

/de=name -Printer port: lpt1, lpt2, lpt3, com1, com2. (Default = lpt1)
/pl=#    -Maximum page length in text file.           (Default = 60)
/fl=#    -Printer form length in lines.               (Default = 66)
/om=#    -Size of left margin on odd numbered pages.   (Default = 6)
/em=#    -Size of left margin on even numbered pages.  (Default = 2)
/ts=#    -Spacing of horizontal tabs in text file.     (Default = 8)

     This syntax will be displayed whenever you type TWOSIDE withoutPage 4                  Twoside Version 1.0


specifying a file for it to print.  The order of arguments makes no
difference, and they are all case insensitive.  A single space may be
used between each argument, but spaces are not allowed within an
argument.  For example:

Good:     /TS=5 /FL=60        or        /ts=5/fl=60

Bad:      / ts=5/ fl=60       or        /ts =5/fl= 60


2.2 Printer Device.

     The /de=name argument is used to select the port to which your
printer is connected.  The possible ports are: lpt1, lpt2, lpt3, com1,
and com2.  (Notice that there is no colon after lptX.)  The default is
lpt1.  If your printer is connected to some other port,  you will
probably want to use a configuration file (Section 3.3) to permanently
change this default.


2.3 Page Length.

     The /pl= value is only important for text files that, like this
one, have pre-defined pages.  If you are printing a text file that
does not have any page formatting, then any value less than or equal
to the form length will work, and the default 60 lines per page is
probably best.  In any case, it is important that the /pl=# is less
than or equal to the /fl=#.
     It is the opinion of this writer that all _reasonable_
documentarians format their text files for a page length of 60 lines
or less.  Some authors, however insist on formatting their text files
for a page length of 66 lines per page.  If your printer uses 66 lines
per page, then simply include /pl=66 when you use Twoside with these
files.  If your printer does not print 66 lines per page, then there
is no way to get these files to print correctly with Twoside or
without it.  Many 60 line per page printers, however can use something
called text scaling to cram 66 lines into the space of 60.  The
finished product looks pretty crowded, but it is the only way to
successfully print some files.  If you are having this problem, see
your printer's documentation on how to enter the text scaling mode.
(It is usually accessible via a DIP switch.)
     A word about page formatting. . . .  Some text files are
formatted with form feeds, and some are formatted with multiple line
feeds.  Twoside ALWAYS respects form feed characters.  If a file is
formatted with form feeds, then as long as the /pl= number is larger
than the longest page in the text file, the file will print correctly.
(This also assumes that your printer is capable of printing the
longest page on a single sheet of paper.)  If you TYPE a text file
with form feed characters, they will appear as the symbol for female.
     Files formatted with multiple line feeds, on the other hand, will
only print correctly if the /pl= number is exactly the number of lines
per page in the source text file.  This will almost always be 66                        Twoside Version 1.0                     Page 5


lines, so you should use /pl=66 for these files.  Line feed characters
do not appear when you TYPE the file.  Instead, each page will start
or end with several blank lines.  Before you print any file using
Twoside, make sure that you know how it is formatted.


2.4 Form Length.

     If your printer prints exactly 66 lines per page, (many tractor
feed printers do) then you will never have to use /fl=.  Go find
something more interesting to read.
     As for the rest of us, form length is still pretty simple.
Twoside must know exactly how many lines per page your printer uses.
If Twoside is not told the correct form length, the text file might
not print correctly.  This number depends entirely on your printer,
and will not change from one text file to another.  (Though it might
change if you use a different font, text scaling, or change the
printer's default margins.)  To tell Twoside your printer's form
length at the command line, simply include /fl=(your printer's form
length) in the list of arguments.
     Since form length stays the same for all text files, and since
typing command line arguments is a pain, I have made it possible for
you to change the default values permanently.  See Section 3.3, The
Configuration File.  This will allow you to set the form length for
your printer one time, and never bother with it again.


2.5 Margins.

     One of the reasons for printing on both sides of the page is to
make nice copies of text files that you can have bound.
Unfortunately, many printers (like mine) only give a quarter inch left
margin when you COPY files to them.  Most methods of binding require a
larger margin than that.  Even if you just use a three-hole punch,
chances are pretty good that you will end up punching out text.
     Twoside's solution to this problem is to allow you to define
margins for the odd pages (the front) and the even pages (the back).
By defining a moderate margin for the odd pages, and a small margin
for the even pages, the text is shifted away from the edge of the
paper that is used in binding.
     The margins are controlled with the /om=# and /em=# values.  The
# represents the number of blank spaces starting each line on the odd
pages and the even pages respectively.  If you use a 10 cpi
(characters per inch) printer or font, the defaults of 6 spaces for
odd pages, and 2 spaces for even pages should allow enough room on the
page for whatever binding method you use.  If your printer uses some
other pitch, then you will probably want to adjust the defaults.  You
can use the configuration file (Section 3.3) to permanently set these
values to whatever seems best to you.
     The size of margins that you can successfully use depends on the
line length in the text file, and the line length that your printer
can print.  Most printers can print at least 80 characters per line.Page 6                  Twoside Version 1.0


On many printers 80 character lines will have a quarter-inch margin on
either side.  Since quarter-inch margins give a document an
uncomfortably crowded look, many text files are formatted for much
shorter lines.  For example, this file is formatted for lines of up to
70 characters, so that a comfortable margin may be used on the left
and right.
     When Twoside prints a file, the margins are added to the source
file's line length.  If the source file has lines of up to 80
characters, and your printer can print at most 80 characters per line,
then you should set both odd and even margins to 0.  (/om=0/em=0)  If
you don't, then your printer will do whatever it does when it is asked
to print a line that is too long.  (Some wrap, some truncate, and some
blissfully continue printing right onto the platen.)  If your printer
wraps the line, (many do) then there is a good possibility that the
page formatting will be destroyed.
     One solution to this problem is to use a different font.  If your
printer has multiple fonts, chances are good that at least one of them
can be used to print more than 80 characters per line.  Since margins
are made up of spaces, the margins will become smaller if you select a
font with a smaller pitch.  You may want to increase the numbers for
/om=#/em=# if you use 12 or 16.67 pitch.
     My personal solution is to ignore the problem and let my printer
truncate oversize lines.  (As mentioned earlier, this won't work if
your printer wraps oversize lines.)  I figure that anything printed so
far down the line can't be too important.  It's also a personal act of
opposition to authors who format at 80 characters per line.  If their
writing is that dense, then their text files probably aren't much fun
anyway.  :)


2.6 Tab Spacing.

     You probably won't ever have to use the /ts=# value.  I included
it because I had to define tab spacing for the program, and it wasn't
any problem to make it a variable.
     The only use for the tab spacing value is if you should happen to
have a file formatted with tabs (ASCII - 09) and the formatting
assumes that the tabs are some number other than 8 spaces apart.  If
you should happen to have such a file, tell Twoside the tab spacing
you want by using the /ts=# value.


Section 3 : Using Twoside.
--------------------------


3.1 Printing Text Files.

     Text files are files containing only ASCII characters and control
codes.  In addition, text files that will work with Twoside will be
"line formatted."  They will have explicit ASCII carriage return and
line feed characters at the end of each line to be printed.  Most text                        Twoside Version 1.0                     Page 7


files distributed with software fit this description.  If you are
trying to print a file that does not fit this description, then see
Section 3.2, Printing Word Processing Files.  Twoside was written to
work with text files, so they are easy.  To use Twoside with a text
file named INFO.TXT, you would simply type:

TWOSIDE INFO.TXT [any command line arguments you want]

     Twoside will Display a short message, and start sending the odd
pages of your file to the printer.  Some time later, probably before
your printer stops printing, it will display the message:

Set up printer for side two.  Press Enter to print.

     KEEP YOUR FINGERS OFF THAT ENTER KEY!  If you hit Enter before
you arrange the paper, then you won't get the chance to print on both
sides, and you will end up with a very nice, decollated, one-sided
printout.
     When the printer stops, feed the printout back into the printer
so that it will print on the back of the first sheet, followed by the
back of the second sheet, etc.  (This may be trickier than it sounds.)
     For tractor feed printers, once you get it started right, you're
home free.  Be sure to leave at least one blank sheet at the end of
the printout so your printer won't think it is running out of paper
when it prints the last page of side two.
     For cut-sheet printers, you may have to reverse the order of the
pages, or you may not.  You might also have to turn the stack over, or
maybe each page needs to be turned over.  If you're not sure how to do
it, practice with short (4 page) files until you get the hang of it.
     In any case, once you've arranged the paper, press Enter and
Twoside will print out the even pages.  Often, an extra page will be
fed through the printer at the end of printing the odd or even pages.
This is to accommodate certain file/printer combinations, and should
not cause concern.


3.2 Printing Word Processing Files

    Word processing files cannot be used directly with Twoside.  They
usually contain formatting information that is only understood by your
word processor.  Fortunately, many word processors have a method of
creating text files that Twoside can use.  Word processors can also be
used to convert text files that are not line formatted into text files
that are ready to be printed.
     Most word processors can "print" a document to a file.  What they
really do is to produce a text file that can be COPY'd to the printer.
This is probably the best way to prepare a word processing document.
Use your word processor's Print to File command to create a file that
you will print using Twoside.  If you want to use Twoside with a text
file that is not line formatted, then open the text file in your word
processor, and print it to file just as you would print a word
processor document.
     You must use as generic a printer driver as possible whenPage 8                  Twoside Version 1.0


creating the text files.  Most word processors can print to : Generic
(Text Only), Teletype, or TTY printers.  Any of these would be a good
choice.  Other choices _might_ work, however they could cause trouble.
Twoside recognizes only standard ASCII formatting commands.
Specialized printer drivers often use nonstandard control characters
to send formatting information to the printer, or they might even
switch the printer into graphics mode.  Twoside will pass these
commands to the printer, but it won't know what they mean.  This could
cause a mild problem, like overriding Twoside's odd and even margins,
or it could lead to a serious problem like mismatched pages.  (A
mess!)
     It is important that the page length defined in your word
processor can be printed by your printer, and matches the /pl=# used
for Twoside.  The problem with this is that page length is usually
defined in inches for your word processor, and it is defined in lines
for Twoside.
     If your printer has a form length of 60 lines per page, then lie
to your word processor and tell it that it is printing on 10" long
pages.  You might want to reduce or eliminate the top and bottom
margins as your printer probably provides these anyway in the form of
half-inch default margins at the top and bottom of each page.  Use
/pl=60 when using Twoside with the text file that you create.
     If your printer has a form length of 66 lines per page, then your
word processor's defaults are probably correct.  Use /pl=66 when using
Twoside with the text file that you create.
     If you want to use Twoside's ability to define different margins
on the front and back sides of the page, then tell your word processor
to use a 0" left margin before you print to file.  You might want to
tell your word processor to use an extra large right margin in order
to leave room for the margin that Twoside will add.  When I use this
technique, I set the left margin to 0", and add the default left
margin to the right margin.  In that way, Twoside can control the
margins, and the line length is the same as with the default margins.
     If you just want to use the word processor's margins when the
document is printed, then leave the left and right margin definitions
in your word processor alone, and include /om=0/em=0 in the Twoside
command line.  This is the easiest method if you don't want the text
shifted away from the binding edge.
     Be sure to give the file that you create using the Print to File
command a different name from your word processing document.  In that
way, you will still be able to easily access the document in the word
processor.  Once you have created a text file, use Twoside as
explained in Section 3.1, Printing Text Files.


3.3 Configuration File

     As Twoside developed, the list of command line arguments grew,
and it became harder to use.  (I always get command line arguments
wrong when I use programs.)  Also, the /fl=# and the /de=# values
don't change unless you change your printer or port.  It would be a
waste if those of us with 60 line printers had to use /fl=60 each time                        Twoside Version 1.0                     Page 9


we used Twoside.
     Twoside's solution to this problem is to allow the user to define
a configuration file which permanently changes the default values to
whatever you want.  The configuration file must be named TWOSIDE.CNF,
and it must be in the current directory when you use twoside.  If you
write a configuration file, then Twoside will use MY defaults when you
use it in any directory other than the one containing TWOSIDE.CNF  For
example, if TWOSIDE.EXE and TWOSIDE.CNF are in the directory C:\STUFF,
you can call Twoside from the B: drive using the command:

B:\> C:\STUFF\TWOSIDE INFO.TXT

     Twoside, however will NOT be able to find the configuration file
in this example.  If you wish to use the configuration file, you must
either copy TWOSIDE.CNF into B:\, or call twoside from C:\STUFF using
the command:

C:\STUFF> TWOSIDE B:\INFO.TXT

     Writing a configuration file is simple.  It is one of the few
tasks for which you can actually use COPY CON.  The configuration file
is simply an ASCII file containing any argument values that you want
to be defaults.  You can use any text editor to create it, but it is
simple enough to do without a text editor.  Here is an example of
creating a configuration file:

C:\> COPY CON TWOSIDE.CNF  <Enter>
/fl=60/om=8  <Enter>           <-- Use YOUR favorites on this line.
^Z  <Enter>
         1 file(s) copied

C:\>

     In the above example, <Enter> means press the Enter key, and ^Z
means hold down the Ctrl key while you press Z.

     To see that your new default values are installed, type TWOSIDE
without a file for it to print.  The help screen should display the
values that you selected.  If your values are not displayed, make sure
that you successfully created the file, and that it contains the
values that you want.
     Twoside will use MY defaults unless it can find the file
TWOSIDE.CNF.  If it can find the file, then any values in that file
will override my defaults.  Command line arguments override ALL other
values, so you can still use them if you have a configuration file.Page 10                 Twoside Version 1.0


Section 4 : It's Your Turn.
---------------------------


4.1 A Plea For Money.

     Twoside is copyrighted software.  You are permitted to use
unregistered copies of this program for evaluation purposes only.  You
are encouraged to distribute this program to friends (and strangers!),
but if you do so, you must include the unmodified files: TWOSIDE.EXE,
TWOSIDE.TXT, and README.1ST.

     Twoside isn't freeware, but it sure is cheapware.  The
registration fee for this gem of a program is a paltry $10.  Once you
have evaluated Twoside and realized that you can't live without it,
_please_ send in the registration fee so I don't lose faith in the
shareware concept and start working for a company that would charge
you $40 for a simple utility like Twoside.  You will find a
registration form on the last page of this document.


4.2 Come Into My Mind.

     Many shareware authors hold a part of their program hostage to
the registration process.  They distribute an emasculated version of
their program, and only individuals who register get the full version.
I chose not to do this for two reasons.
     First, I _hate_ spending time downloading, printing
documentation, and generally figuring out a program only to discover
that the version I have doesn't let me get a feeling for what the
registered version is like.  I usually get very frustrated with these
programs and end up deleting them and vowing never to register
anything with that author -- ever!  I wanted you to see what Twoside
is really like, and how easy it is to use.
     A second, and perhaps a more important reason is that there is no
way that I could send a disk to each registered user without raising
the price.  Software costs too much, and I don't want Twoside to be
part of this problem.  By distributing the complete version as
shareware, I am doing what I can to get quality software into the
hands of users for a reasonable price.

     I hope that I can continue to distribute complete versions of
programs at reasonable prices.  You can support this by REGISTERING
your copy.  It's a painless process, and the alternative (commercial
software) is much too expensive.
                     Problem Reporting Form
                     ----------------------

     I accept problem reports from _anyone_ (registered or not) and
will do my best to fix any reported problems in subsequent releases.
Before you report any problem, make sure that you are working with a
plain (no printer specific control codes) text file that prints
correctly when COPY'd to the printer.  Twoside _might_ format some
files with specialized codes correctly, but it was only designed to
print ASCII text files.


Printer type :_____________________________________________________

Text file name and source (if shareware) :_________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Describe problem :_________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Send this report to : David Dhuyvetter
                      1272 W. Arrow Hwy., #49
                      Upland, CA 91786
     Thank You!
...................................................................

                       Registration Form
                       -----------------

    In order to register your copy of Twoside, please fill out this
form, and send it with $10 to:

                      David Dhuyvetter
                      1272 W. Arrow Hwy., #49
                      Upland, CA 91786


   Name :__________________________________________________________

Address :__________________________________________________________

         __________________________________________________________

         __________________________________________________________

Where did you get Twoside? ________________________________________

         __________________________________________________________

     Thank you!