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Chapter 15: PRINTING MSP FILES
EASIGRAF saves images of the graphs it produces to disk
in the format used by Microsoft Paint, a program supplied
free with Microsoft Windows. So that other programs can
tell what format a file is, you should give it the
extension .MSP when you save it from EASIGRAF. The MSP
file can then be read in and altered by the Paint
program, or it can be read in by any other program which
can deal with MSP files, for example the more recent
versions of WordPerfect. After the MSP file has been read
into one of these programs and any desired adjustments
made, the program can be used to print it out in the
usual way. (Note that newer versions of Microsoft Paint
by default expect the file to be in a format called BMP
rather than MSP, but an option to read in MSP files
instead is still available.)
It is possible to print out MSP files directly without
first reading them into one of the above programs by
using a small utility program supplied called PRMSP.EXE.
However note that this utility may not work on MSP files
which have been saved from some versions of Paint
(because the format as been changed). There should be no
problem in using PRMSP to print out the MSP files
produced by EASIGRAF.
15:1. Using PRMSP.EXE
If you do not own Microsoft Paint then you can print out
the saved file directly from disk to an Epson- or
IBM-compatible dot matrix printer or a laser printer
using a small program supplied called PRMSP. It is
distributed in the self-extracting archive UTILS.EXE. To
use it, supposing you have saved your graph picture with
the name SAVED.MSP you should type:
PRMSP SAVED.MSP
and the file will be printed.
The full details of the options available with PRMSP are
as follows:
PRMSP infile.msp [outfile.prn] [/flag1 /flag2 etc.]
infile.msp - the name of the saved MSP file to be printed
out.
outfile.prn - the name of a file to be printed to which
will contain the correct printer codes. This is optional
and if no name is given then the printer (PRN) will be
used instead.
/I - this flag means print to an IBM-compatible printer
instead of an Epson-compatible printer.
/P - this flag means print the graph with the paper in
"portrait" orientation - across the page - instead of the
default "landscape" orientation - down the page. Note
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Printing MSP files
that in earlier versions of PRMSP this had the opposite
effect because it was taken to refer to the orientation
of the diagram rather than the paper.
/H - high density - will work with an Epson-compatible
24-pin printer to give a picture three times smaller the
default, or twice as small on a Hewlett-Packard
compatible laser printer.
/D - draught mode - should be quicker but lower quality
for dot matrix printers in high density mode or
"portrait" orientation. On Hewlett-Packard compatible
laser printers prints out double normal size.
/Snumber - this flag means print "number" spaces before
each line of the picture - use it to control where the
graph appears on the page. The default is 6. (Only for
dot matrix printers.)
/Lnumber - this flag controls the line spacing on the
printer, as used by the ESC A command. It is a value for
lines per inch. By default "number" is set to 8, but if
the lines of your graph come out separated or
overlapping, then using this flag may help you to adjust
the line-spacing to produce a better picture. (Only for
dot matrix printers.)
/Fnumber - this flag lets you determine whether a line
feed (new line) character is sent to your printer with
each carriage return character. If number is 0 then no
line feed is sent, if it is 1 then a line feed is sent.
The default is 1. If your graph comes out "double-spaced"
- with gaps between each line - then specifying /F0 may
cure the problem. (Only for dot matrix printers.)
/FF - send a form feed (new page) after printing the
file. (You must use this flag on the last file you print
on a laser printer, but other files can be printed onto
the same page first.)
/HP - produce output for a Hewlett-Packard compatible
laser printer.
/PS - produce output for a PostScript printer.
For Hewlett-Packard or PostScript printers only:
/OXnumber - x origin, default 72. Measured in points
(1/72") approximately from the left hand edge of the
page.
/OYnumber - y origin from the bottom edge of an A4 page,
default 72 in "portrait" orientation for the bottom left
corner, or 720 in "landscape" orientation for the top
left corner of the graph.
For PostScript printers only:
/SXnumber - x scale, default 1.0.
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Printing MSP files
/SYnumber - y scale, default 1.0.
/ROnumber - rotation about origin, default 0.0.
Example use of PRMSP:
PRMSP HISTO.MSP /HP /OY100 /OX200
Print HISTO.MSP to a Hewlett-Packard compatible printer
with origin at 200,100.
PRMSP MYGRAPH.MSP /PS /SX0.5 /SY3 /RO75
Print MYGRAPH.MSP to a PostScript printer, twice as
narrow and three times as high as normal, rotated through
75 degrees.
PRMSP ANOVA.MSP TEMP.PRN /S12 /I
Print the file ANOVA.MSP out to the file TEMP.PRN, in a
format suitable for sending to an IBM-compatible dot
matrix printer, with twelve spaces to the left instead of
the default 6. Then later TEMP.PRN could be printed by
entering:
PRINT TEMP.PRN
The advantage of this is that by using the DOS PRINT
command printing occurs in background - you can get on
with other things while the graph is being printed.
Notes
Except in the case of PostScript printers, PRMSP cannot
work if your computer does not send 8 data bits to the
printer. This is sometimes altered by the MODE command
which is usually in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file - see your DOS
manual for details - if your printer is on a serial cable
rather than the ordinary "Centronics" parallel cable.
Also make sure that your printer is set to receive 8 bits
rather than 7 - see your printer manual if you have
problems.
You must always use the /FF flag when you wish to produce
output from a laser printer, otherwise the image will be
stored in the printer's memory but will never be
displayed. However you may wish to print a number of
graphs onto different parts of the same page and then
only use the /FF flag with the last one.
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