Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/PRINT/PSP21.ZIP/PSPRINT.DOC

Text File | 1994-01-03 | 15KB | 480 lines

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                  ┌─────────────────────────────┐
                  │ PSPrint -- PostScript Print │
                  │         Version 2.1         │
                  └─────────────────────────────┘

           Copyright 1993,1994 Control Enterprises, Inc.
                        All rights reserved.

CONTENTS
────────

 1. What is PSPrint? .............................................. 1
 2. Registering PSPrint ........................................... 1
 3. Legal Stuff ................................................... 2
 4. Simple Printing ............................................... 2
 5. Screen Interface .............................................. 2
 6. Command Line .................................................. 4
 7. PSPrint Options ............................................... 4
 8. Response Files ................................................ 6
 9. Support ....................................................... 7
10. About Control Enterprises ..................................... 8

1. WHAT IS PSPRINT?
   ────────────────

So you have a PostScript printer, which can produce beautiful
documents with various fonts, faces, font sizes, illustrations...
great.  But how do you print a plain old text file?  You can't just
send it to the printer, because it is expecting PostScript commands.
You can fire up your word processor, load the file, print it, and
exit your word processor -- what a pain!

...Or you can use PSPrint, a utility for printing ordinary text files
on PostScript printers.  At Control Enterprises, we got tired of
doing the "word processor shuffle" to print files, so we developed
PSPrint for in-house use.  Headers and page numbers were added.  The
programmers wanted line numbers.  The engineers wanted to be able to
use small fonts on legal paper in landscape mode.  A screen interface
was added.  ...And so PSPrint became a full-fledged utility, both
powerful and easy to use.



2. REGISTERING PSPRINT
   ───────────────────

PSPrint is shareware.  It is not "public domain" software, but is
copyrighted by Control Enterprises, Inc.  The demonstration version
may be freely copied and distributed, as long as the following
conditions are fulfilled:

  - The files listed in PACKING.LST must be distributed together.
  - The files must not be modified or altered in any way.

If you find PSPrint useful, please send $10 (US dollars) to:

        Control Enterprises, Inc.
        P.O. Box KK
        1808 Woodfield Dr.
        Savoy, IL 61874
        U.S.A.

See the file REGISTER.TXT for instructions and a registration form.
Visa and MasterCard are accepted, so registration may be done by
e-mail ([e-mail]), fax [phone]), or phone
(1-800-723-4234).

In return for your $10 contribution, you will receive a key program
which will transform your demonstration version into a licensed copy
without the shareware reminder screen or usage counts.  LICENSED
COPIES MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED.  Site licenses are available if you
need to use PSPrint on more than one computer simultaneously or on a
network.

                               - 1 -

3. LEGAL STUFF
   ───────────

THE PSPRINT SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  YOU ARE ADVISED TO TEST THE SOFTWARE
THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT.  YOU AGREE TO ACCEPT THE ENTIRE RISK
AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION.
IN NO EVENT WILL CONTROL ENTERPRISES, INC. BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY
DEFECT IN THE PROGRAM.

Control Enterprises, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements to
the product and documentation at any time and without notice.



4. SIMPLE PRINTING
   ───────────────

To print a file using PSPrint's default settings, just type PSPRINT
followed by the file name.  For example, to print the file READ.ME,
enter

  psprint read.me

at the command prompt.

Multiple file names may be specified, and the * and ? wildcards may
be used.  For example, to print all files in the current directory
with an extension of .TXT, as well as the file READ.ME, enter

  psprint *.txt read.me



5. SCREEN INTERFACE
   ────────────────

To use the screen interface to specify different settings, enter
PSPRINT without any file names:

  psprint

The screen interface will be displayed, containing four types of
controls: buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, and data entry fields.





                               - 2 -

Buttons
  There are two buttons on the screen interface: OK and Cancel.  If
  you choose OK, the choices on the screen are accepted; if you
  choose Cancel, PSPrint exits without doing anything.  Pressing Esc
  is a shortcut for Cancel from any point on the screen.  Pressing
  Enter is a shortcut for OK, unless the Cancel button is
  highlighted.

  If you're using a mouse, click the button you want.  When you're
  using the keyboard, press Tab or Shift-Tab to move forward or back
  from one item to another on the screen.  Each element is
  highlighted when it becomes active.  A highlighted button can be
  selected by pressing Spacebar or Enter.

Check boxes
  Check boxes are used for options which are either on or off.  An
  empty box indicates that the option is off, and an X in the box
  indicates that it's on.  To change the status of a check box, click
  it or its text.  From the keyboard, press Tab or Shift-Tab until
  the check box group (labeled "Options") is highlighted; then use
  the arrow keys to select the item you want, and press Spacebar to
  turn it on or off.

Radio buttons
  Radio buttons are like car-radio buttons.  They differ from check
  boxes in that only one radio button in a group can be on at any
  one time.  To choose a radio button, click it or its text.  From
  the keyboard, press Tab or Shift-Tab until the group is highlighted;
  then use the arrow keys to highlight the desired radio button, and
  press Spacebar to select it.

Data entry fields
  Data entry fields let you type in text.  You make a data entry
  field active by clicking it or its label, or pressing Tab or
  Shift-Tab until it's highlighted.

  The cursor can be moved by clicking with the mouse, or with the
  left and right arrow keys.  Backspace and Delete, of course, delete
  the previous and current characters, respectively.  The following
  keys also have special meaning:

        Insert                  Toggle insertion/overwrite mode
        Ctrl-Left arrow         Left by one word
        Ctrl-Right arrow        Right by one word
        Home                    Beginning of field
        End                     Move to end of field
        Ctrl-Home               Clear the field
        Ctrl-End                Clear from the cursor to the end

  Remember that pressing Enter is equivalent to pressing OK.  Use
  Tab or Shift-Tab to move between fields.

                               - 3 -

6. COMMAND LINE
   ────────────

Options can be specified on the command line, using the following
syntax:

  psprint [options] [files]

Each option begins with either a - (dash) or / (forward slash),
followed by the option letter.  Case is significant in option
letters, so -p and -P are two different options.  Options must be
separated by spaces, and are evaluated from left to right.

Certain options require additional data.  This data must follow the
option letter, without any intervening spaces.  For example, to
specify 4 as the data for the -t option, you would enter -t4.

To get help on the available command-line options, enter

  psprint -?



7. PSPRINT OPTIONS
   ───────────────

  Display help                                  -?
    Display possible options and default values.

  Print headers and footers                     -h
    Print file name, file date, and file time in page headers,
    and print page numbers in the footers.

  Line numbering                                -n
    Add line numbers to the printout.

  Both headers/footers and line numbers         -b
    Shorthand for the above two options; a good "programmer's
    option".

  Rotate to landscape mode                      -r
    Rotate output 90 degrees.

  Print two pages on one sheet.                 -2
    Shrink and rotate output so that two pages are printed on one
    sheet of paper.






                               - 4 -

  Paper size                                    -px
    Select paper size x, where x is one of the following:
        l = Letter
        g = Legal
        a = A4
    Default is l (Letter).  PSPrint will attempt to select an
    appropriate paper tray automatically.

  Page breaks                                   -Px
    Use page break style x, where x is one of the following:
        n = Normal
        i = Ignore form feeds
        f = Page break only on form feeds
    Default is n (Normal).  The -Pf option is useful for documents
    which are already paginated.

  Font to use                                   -Fxxx
    Use font xxx.  Default is PSPrint, a font which uses the IBM
    character set (line drawing, European characters, etc.).  Other
    fonts that are available on all PostScript printers are:

        Times-Roman
        Times-Italic
        Times-Bold
        Times-BoldItalic
        Helvetica
        Helvetica-Oblique
        Helvetica-Bold
        Helvetica-BoldOblique
        Courier
        Courier-Oblique
        Courier-Bold
        Courier-BoldOblique

    The PSPrint font and the Courier font family are monospaced.
    Monospaced fonts should be used to print text that is aligned by
    columns, such as programs or tables. Consult your printer manual
    for other fonts which may be available to you.

    At this time, the PSPrint font is somewhat crude: the line
    drawing characters are too thick, and characters 0-31 are not
    defined with the exception of the paragraph and section symbols.
    However, the font should be sufficient for most purposes.

  Type size                                     -sxxx
    Use type size of xxx.  Default is 10.

  Left/right margins                            -Lxxx
    Set left and right margins to xxx inches.  Default is 0.75
    inches, minimum value is 0.25 inches.  Useful when punching holes
    for 3-ring binders.

                               - 5 -

  Top/right margins                             -Txxx
    Set top and bottom margins to xxx inches.  Default is 0.45
    inches, minimum value is 0.25 inches.  Useful for changing page
    height.

  Tab size                                      -txxx
    Set tab size to xxx.  Default value is 8 spaces.

  Output device/file                            -oxxx
    Output to device or file xxx.  Default is default printer PRN.
    Valid values for parallel ports are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3.  Valid
    values for serial ports are COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4.  The
    values PRN and LPT1 refer to the same parallel port.  Any valid
    file name can also be designated; the output is a conforming
    PostScript program which may be parsed by other utilities to
    reverse the pages or print one page of many.



8. RESPONSE FILES
   ──────────────

If you often use certain combinations of options, you can put the
options into a separate files called response files.  You can then
tell PSPrint to use these options by specifying the appropriate
response file name prefixed with @.  Any number of response files
can be used and freely mixed with other options.

Options in response files may be separated by any number of spaces,
tabs, or newlines.  The files may also contain comment lines, which
are denoted by beginning a line with a semicolon.  For example, a
response file named LIST might look like this:

; list -- PSPrint options for program listings.
-b -2

If this file is saved in your current directory or in the directory
where PSPrint is installed, then it can be used to print a file named
FOO.CPP by entering

    psprint @list foo.cpp

PSPrint first looks for the response file "as is" -- in this case, in
your current directory.  If it's not found there, then it searches
the directory where PSPrint resides.  On a network, this makes it
possible to have a set of standard response files in PSPrint's
directory which can be overridden by personalized response files.





                               - 6 -

For example, let us say that D:\UTILS is in your path, and that
PSPRINT.EXE is installed in that directory.  If you enter

    psprint @c:bar.rsp

then PSPrint will search for a response file named BAR.RSP in the
current directory of the C: drive.  If it cannot find it there, then
it will search in D:\UTILS.

Remember that if you do not specify any file names, the screen
interface will be used, so in the example above, the screen interface
will be displayed with the options initially set according to the
response file.



9. SUPPORT
   ───────

Questions, comments, and bug reports can be e-mailed to
[e-mail].  Please put "PSPrint" somewhere in the subject
line.

The latest version of PSPrint is available from the following
sources:

    Anonymous FTP ─
        prairienet.org, under pub/cei, or
        Simtel mirror sites, under msdos/postscript
            (oak.oakland.edu and wuarchive.wustl.edu are
            two major Simtel mirrors)

    CompuServe ─
        (go adobe) utilities library, or
        (go ibmhw) printer utility library

    GEnie ─
        IBMPC Roundtable, or
        PSRT Roundtable

    Control Enterprises bulletin board ─
        Phone number: [phone]
        Parameters:   8-N-1
        Modem speed:  up to 14.4K
        Login name:   guest
        Protocol:     ZModem






                               - 7 -

    Prairienet ─
    Our 'home' net is Prairienet, the free-net of East Central
    Ilinois.  (Why not take the time to become a registered member --
    it is FREE to Illinois residents.)
        Phone number: [phone]
        Parameters:   8-N-1
        Modem speed:  up to 2400 baud (24 lines)
        Login as visitor, then 'go cei'



10. ABOUT CONTROL ENTERPRISES
    ─────────────────────────

Control Enterprises, Inc. is a contract software development and
control systems engineering firm.  The company was founded in 1979 as
a one-man, chemical engineering consulting firm, and has since grown
to 13 employees.  We are located in Savoy, Illinois, just outside
Champaign-Urbana.  If you need custom software or control systems,
give us a call!
































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