EDITING PRINTER DRIVERS ----------------------- Overview -------- This program includes a full screen editor, called BDE.EXE, for creating and modifying the printer definitions in the file BDRV.PDT. Chances are that you will never need to use this editor. It is included with this software package primarily to support new printers which may be manufactured after the release of this software package. If you are experiencing printer problems, then using this editor to add or edit a printer definition should be a last resort - the first thing you should try is selecting a different printer from the current options. For instance, the Epson dot matrix and IBM graphics printers can be emulated on most popular printers so you might try these printers. As a precaution, you should always maintain an unmodified copy of BDRV.PDT on a backup diskette. Running the Editor ------------------ To run the editor from the hard disk drive, change to the SWIFTDTP subdirectory by typing "CD\SWIFTDTP" and press [Enter] at the DOS prompt and then type "BDE" and press [Enter]. To run the editor from a floppy disk, copy both the file BDE.EXE from the ART disk and the file BDRV.PDT from the program disk to a blank disk. With the disk with the two files in the drive type "BDE" and press [Enter]. When you are done editing copy the file BDRV.PDT back to the program disk. BDE operates at two levels, which are termed the 'table level' and the 'entry level'. At the table level you deal with BDRV.PDT file as a collection of device records without regard to record content. You drop tho the entry level by editing the device record for a particular printer, and at that point the scope of the editor is just the current device record. Editing commands are selected via function keys, and there are separate sets for each level. Function key settings are always displayed across the bottom of the editor screen in a separate window termed the prompt window. The remainder of the screen display is divided into three addditional windows. These are the title window, the list window, and the edit window. The title window extends across the top of the display, and contains three items: (1) the program name, (2) the current printer number and the total number of printers, and (3) the name of the PDT file currently being edited. The list window appears on the left and displays the printer name from each device record. The name list is scrollable, and the name of the current printer is always highlighted. The edit window fills the remainder of the screen. It is empty until you select the entry level, when all fields in the device record for the current printer are displayed for editing. You select the entry level by pressing [Enter]. At that time you can modify the contents of the device record. You exit back to the table level by pressing [F10]. If you have made changes to the record you will be prompted to retain or discard the changes. You exit the table level to DOS by pressing [F10] again. If the PDT has been modified, you are prompted to save the changes to disk or to discard the changes. Table Level Functions --------------------- At the table level the editor deals with the PDT as a whole, which can be thought of as a collection of device records. The following edit commands, and the function keys that activate them, are available at this level: [F1] - Help [F2] - Print [F4] - Find [F5] - Sort [F6] - Copy [F7] - Add [F8] - Delete The Copy command (F6) allows you to copy the contents of one device record into another. The copy destination is the current device record (the one highlighted in the editor list window) - its contents will be replaced by the copy source record. Once you select this function, a window is opened that contains the same list of printers as the editor list window. You highlight the desired source record and press [Enter]. The contents of the selected source record are then copied to the current printer's device record. Entry Level Functions --------------------- At the entry level the editor deals with the contents of a single device record. This level is selected by pressing [Enter] from the table level, after which the contents of the current device record are displayed for editing. The following functions are available at this level: [F4] - Info [F5] - Edit in HEXADECIMAL (base 16) [F6] - Edit in DECIMAL (base 10) [F4] - Info ----------- This function provides context sensitive help for the cureent record field. A window is opened that displays a brief description of the field and gives typical values for the field where appropriate. Pressing any key returns you to edit mode. [F5] - Edit in HEXADECIMAL -------------------------- This function opens a window with the current field value displayed as a string of hexadecimal values. You can edit individual characters by modifying their numeric values. As an example, suppose the reset-printer escape sequence is "ESC@". The field will be displayed as <-@ Pressing [F5] opens a window in which the field will be dsiplayed as /1B/40 You can then typeover, insert, or delete characters. Deleting a digit modifies the value of a character, but does not delete the character. Deleting the foreward slash (/) deletes the character, thus removing the slash and the following numeric digits. You may insert an new character by toggling the [Insert] key to insert mode, and typing a hexidecimal value starting with the foreward slash (e.g., typing /20 would insert a blank). When you are finished editing, press [Enter] to return to the Entry level. Note that this function, and [F6] - Edit DECIMAL, are only selectable when the current field is an escape sequence string. [F6] - Edit DECIMAL ------------------- This functions exactly like Edit HEX, except that values are displayed in decimal instead of hexidecimal. There is one pitfall that you should avoid when editing an escape sequence, and it is more lekely to occur when using decimal mode. It is possible to insert or typeover a digit and create a numeric quantity greater than 255, which cannot be represented as a single byte. When this happens, BDE truncates low order digits until the resulting value is in range. For example, assuming a character with a value of /123, if you typed over the '1' and made it a '4', then the value that you would expect to see would be /423. However, BDE will drop the trailing '3' resulting in /42. In effect, digits are pushed off of the trailing end of the character. Escape Sequence Variables ------------------------- When editing escape sequences, you can imbed variable expressions within them that are replaced with computed values at run time. It is through this mechanism that the printer driver handles quantities that are required by a printer that can vary from one image to another. The format of an imbedded variable is where the angle brackets (< >) are required variable delimiters, 'v' is a single letter specifying a variable name, and 'f' is a single character specifying an output format. The 'f' is optional and if omitted is assumed to have the value 'A'. The following table shows the variable symbols and the table after that lists the valid format symbols. ---------------------------------------------------- Variable Definition ---------------------------------------------------- W swath width in bytes C swath width in columns R resolution in dpi (dots per inch) H horizontal resolution dpi V vertical resolution dpi M horizontal mu (motion units) U vertical mu X horizontal cursor location Y vertical cursor location S swath count N row count I current swath number P current swath height in pins B number of bit planes Q row/color char (specific to Tektronix Color-Quick) ----------------------------------------------------------- Format Char Definition ----------------------------------------------------------- L Binary int - low byte + high byte H Binary int - high byte + low byte A or 0 any number of ascii digits 1 thru 5 specific number of ascii digits C single ascii char B single binary char