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Text File | 1991-12-30 | 7.3 KB | 195 lines | [TEXT/SNTE] |
- What is Startup Downloader?
-
-
- Startup Downloader (STD) is a control panel that lets you create ╘download sets╒ of
- PostScript fonts and programs (.ps files). These files, when double╨clicked, download the
- fonts/.ps files to a selected PostScript printer.
-
-
- How do I install it?
-
-
- To install STD, just drag it into your System Folder. If you╒re using System 7, you can
- place STD anywhere on your disk.
-
-
- What does it need to work?
-
-
- STD needs System 6 or above, HFS, and a PostScript laser printer that can be used via
- AppleTalk. STD is System 7 kosher, but only uses System 7 features when things go
- wrong. Balloon Help is available.
-
-
- Just a warning
-
-
- STD has only been tested on my machine, which happens to be an SE/30 running under
- System 7 in 32╨bit mode. It also works with my printer. Since this is the only system I╒ve
- got access to, it╒s the only one that I╒m sure STD works under. If you have any problems,
- contact me and I╒ll try & fix it.
-
-
- Also, STD modifies the data and resource forks of the sets it creates, so you have to
- configure anti╨virus utilities to ignore this or the sets won╒t work.
-
-
-
-
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- How do I use it?
-
-
- Using STD is pathetically easy. Open STD from the control panel, and you should see
- something like this (System 6 users won╒t see the title bar):
-
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- On the right side are the ╘menu buttons╒, with titles (and functions) that should be familiar.
- The big box on the left shows the files currently in the set. Above the box is the name of
- the current set file (since there isn╒t an active set, it╒s set to ╘Untitled╒). On the bottom are
- two options that I╒ll explain later.
-
-
- To create a set, click on the ╥New Set╙ button. STD will prompt you for a LaserWriter file,
- and will refuse to continue unless you select one [the explination is long and involved, so
- I╒ll put it off╔for now, just select any old LaserWriter file]. After you select a LaserWriter
- file buttons start turning on, letting you do more.
-
-
- Click on ╥Add File╙. STD will prompt you to select any PostScript font or text file. Go
- ahead, add a couple of fonts. When you╒re finished, click on the ╥Done╙ button.
-
- (See what happens when you click on a file in the list╔the ╥Remove╙ button turns on. If
- you click on ╥Remove╙, the file will be removed from the list.)
-
-
- Now that you╒ve added all those fonts, click on the ╥Save╙ button. STD will ask you to
- name the file and where to put the file. There you go; when you double╨click on that file,
- the fonts and text files you chose will be downloaded to the printer. Boy, wasn╒t that fun?
-
-
- Hey, what about those two options?
-
-
- The two options at the bottom of the window control the behavior of the extractor. The first
- one, ╥Minutes to wait before starting╙, controls the length of time STD will wait for a
- printer before it complains to you. If STD can╒t find the printer in the specified time, it
- figures that the printer is turned off and will alert you to this fact.
-
-
- The second option, ╥Ignore file╨not╨found errors╙, controls STD╒s behavior when a file in
- the set can╒t be found. Usually, STD will prompt you for the file if it can╒t find it. If this is
- irritating to you, or don╒t want to be bothered, or whatever, turn this option on and STD
- will just skip over the file and go on to the next one. This won╒t stop STD from reporting
- other errors, however.
-
-
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- On to the Extractor
-
-
- There are only a few things that are relevant to the extractor, because it╒s basically a small,
- dumb thing that doesn╒t have many brains. The extractor will look for a printer for however
- long you specify. It will download everything you tell it to, and under System 7 will even
- jump into the background to keep out of your way. It will even let you quit while it╒s
- downloading.
-
-
- But when an error occurs, the extractor will be sure to let you know (unless the error is a
- file╨not╨found error and you tell it to ignore them). If it╒s a PostScript error, or if the
- printer wasn╒t found, or if it was cut off from the printer, the extractor will notify you of
- that fact and ask you to choose from three options: ╥Quit╙, which is self╨explanitory, ╥Try
- Again╙, and ╥Another Printer╙.
-
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- If you choose ╥Another Printer╙, the extractor will prompt you for another LaserWriter file
- and will use that file to determine the printer. Then it will start over.
-
- If you choose ╥Try Again╙, the extractor will try the printer again.
-
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- Things you should know
-
-
- Before you go off and download the whole Adobe Type Library, there are some things that
- you should know about STD╒s behavior.
-
-
- Ñ The LaserWriter file is the extractor╒s link to your laser printer. From the LaserWriter file
- comes the name of the printer to download to, so it is very important that a laser printer be
- selected before the extractor starts. This doesn╒t mean that you have to select a printer from
- the Chooser every time you use STD; it means that, at some point in the past a printer was
- selected using that LaserWriter file. If you choose another printer in the Chooser, the
- extractor will use that printer.
-
-
- Ñ STD does an exitserver when it connects to the printer, so any PostScript text files that
- you download shouldn╒t.
-
-
- ÑSTD will allow you to download any text file, so be sure that you know what╒s in a
- PostScript text files before you add it to a set.
-
-
- Ñ While you can quit while a job is in progress, I don╒t recommend it. It could, for
- example, leave a font half╨defined and cause ugly things to happen to your printer. In any
- case, it probably won╒t be very good for your printer╒s VM.
-
-
- Ñ STD assumes your printer╒s password is ╘0╒. If it isn╒t, well, the set will be temporarily
- downloaded. You can change the password the exitserver uses, but you╒ll have to do it for
- every set you make, because the extractor is stored in STD╒s data fork (neat, huh?).
-
-
- Ñ STD doesn╒t do TrueType, because I don╒t have the TT book (donations accepted).
- Considering that TT Chicago expands to about 300K (no joke!) when you save it as a
- PostScript file, I don╒t really see it as a problem.
-
-
- Ñ Holding down the option key while a set is launching causes the set to quit.
-
-
- The Fee
-
- If you like STD and it makes your life easier, send me $20 and help me support my habit.
- I╒ll be happy just to hear that someone has thrown away their copy of LaserStatus and is
- using this instead. Send all donations to:
-
-
- Manuel Veloso
-
- 9 High Rock Way #3
-
- Allston, MA 02134╨2414
-
- CIS: 70365,1426
-
- AOL: FISH26
-
-
- If you have improvements, suggestions, problems, comments, hate mail, post a message
- on AOL or CIS. This program is far from finished, since it only does what I want it to do.
-
-
- Legal Stuff
-
-
- This product should work in the manner described above. If it doesn╒t, throw it away.
- While I╒ve tried to make it bulletproof, you the public must realize that I can╒t cover every
- conceivable thing that you might do. Thus, if your printer explodes, your machine bombs,
- you lose that Ph.D. thesis you╒ve been working on for the last fifteen years, if Elvis comes
- and visits, if you get promoted, or if any bad, nasty, or evil thing happens because of this
- program or because of the behavior of this program you agree you will not sue me, my
- relatives, or my cat. This product cannot be distributed by disk or CD-ROM on any
- organized scale without permission, unless you╒re a user group. Violators will be
- persecuted.
-
-
- The products mentioned here are the copyrights/trademarks of their respective owners,
- whatever that means.
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