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Panorama - Disk 30B (1988-06-08)(Pacific North-West Amigas Club)[WB].zip
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1988-06-04
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19KB
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211 lines
Rx1rP
GUser's GuideHGH
GH G-1Print-0 and -1Spooler-0HGH
GH GThe AmigaDOS Background Print Spooling SystemHGH
G-1Introduction-0H
The Amiga family of super personal computers from Commodore-
Amiga are basically wonderful systems. Here at 4SC, we've
used Amigas for two and a half years. There was one thing
that always bugged us, though. Every time we wanted to print
a file out, we had to enter a command such as "Run Copy
filename to PRT:", then had to wait until that file was done
printing before we could print another one. So, the boss
said, "My programmers, thou shalt devise and build for me a
Print Spooler, so that I may print files to my heart's
content." Well, we did it, and here it is!
The package consists of two programs. The first program is
simply called "Print". Its job is to submit files to the
print queue and to report the print queue's status to the
user. The second program is called "Spooler", and is
designed to be run from the AmigaDOS CLI as a background
task (by using the "Run" command). It actually prints out
the files in the print queue.
These programs are being released as "ShareWare", meaning
that we don't ask for money up front. Use the programs, and
if you feel that they are useful to you, send us a small
stipend. The gremlins here at 4SC think that $25.00 U.S. is
adequate. If you think that's too much, well, OK. Just send
us what you think is appropriate. In either case, our
address is:
Small Scale Systems of Southern California
10447-1 Larwin Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311
United States of America
Heck, you can even send us complaints or comments if you
wish. Of course, compliments are always welcome!
G-1Installation-0H
Installing the system is a fairly straight forward, two-step
process:
GStep 1:H Copy the two programs to your "C:" directory (or a
directory which is on your executable path).
GStep 2:H Modify your Startup-Sequence file to include the
following two lines:
Assign SPOOL: <directory of your choice>
Run Spooler
The first line associates the SPOOL: device with a
directory of your choice. This directory is where
GPrintH puts the printer queue data file, and where
GSpoolerH expects to find it. An ideal place is in
the RAM: device, so the command would be:
Assign SPOOL: RAM:
The second line runs the print spooling program as
a background task. Once GSpoolerH is running as a
task, you never need to worry about it. It stays
there forever. You can, of course, get out of it
by using the GStatusH command to see which task
GSpoolerH is, then use the GBreakH command to halt the
program. After a few seconds (maybe 15 or so),
AmigaDOS will display a requester. Click on the
GABORTH gadget, and GSpoolerH goes bye-bye!
That's it! You've installed the print spooler system for
your next reboot! If you want to use it -1now-0, just enter the
following two lines at the CLI prompt and you're off:
Assign SPOOL: RAM:
Run Spooler
G-1Operation-0H
Once the system has been installed, you use the GPrintH
program to submit files to the printer queue or to obtain
the status of the printer queue.
GSubmitting A File For Queued PrintingH
In order to submit a file to the print queue for printing,
you use the GPrintH command in the following format:
Print [[<tof_flags>] [<path>]<filename>]
Optional items are enclosed in square brackets ("[]"), and
the stuff inside angle brackets ("<>") are descriptions of
what you enter.
If you enter a line like:
Print df0:s/Startup-Sequence
the program verifies that the file exists, assigns it a job
number, then places it into the queue for printing. GPrintH
will display a message like:
**PRINT-S-SUCCESS: Job n submitted to queue
This indicates that the file is in the queue and will be
printed. Both GPrintH and GSpoolerH use a similar format: two
asterisks ("*"), the program name, a dash, a character
indicating the type of message ("S" for status, "W" for
warnings, "E" for errors), another dash, a shortened form of
message, and finally, the full message text.
If you have special paper handling problems on your printer
such as tractors and such, you can also tell GPrintH to print
out a form feed in one of three different manners: before
printing the file, after printing the file, or both before
-1and-0 after printing the file. You do this by placing a letter
between the "Print" command and the file name. The valid
letters are:
H or h Print a form feed before the file (-1H-0ead)
T or t Print a form feed after the file (-1T-0ail)
B or b Print a form feed before and after (-1B-0oth)
K or k Remove queue entry (don't print it)
Some examples:
Print h df0:s/Startup-Sequence
-- Form feed before the file
Print t df0:s/Startup-Sequence
-- Form feed after the file
Print b df0:s/Startup-Sequence
-- Form feed before and after the file
When you enter the filename to be printed, you may enter
just a filename or the entire path. If you enter just a
filename, then GPrintH assumes that the file is in the current
directory, figures out which directory you are in, and
prepends the filename with the directory path. In other
words, once a file is in the queue, you can change
directories, and GPrintH will still find your file and print
it. If you enter the full path, GPrintH assumes that you've
given it all that it needs to find the file.
GRemoving A File From QueueH
This is a special form of print submission. Use the "GkH" flag
rather than "GhH", "GtH", or "GbH". The "GkH" flag means "Kill the
entry". You can only kill the entry -1before-0 it starts to
print. If it starts to print, it will finish printing. Be
careful!
GDisplaying Queue StatusH
Entering the GPrintH command all alone will display the
current status of the print queue. The display will look
like:
**PRINT-S-DSPQUE: Display printer queue status:
Job 1, File: DF0:s/Startup-Sequence, Status: Pending
The first line is a message from GPrintH confirming what you
asked for. The next line shows a file which is currently
waiting to be printed. The job number is merely a number
which indicates when the file was submitted to the queue.
The file name with path is shown next, followed by the files
printing status. This status can be of four different types:
Pending: File is waiting to be printed
Printing: File is currently being printed
Finished: File has been fully printed
Removed: File entry has been removed from queue
Not Found: File not found
The "not found" status usually occurs if you queue a file
for printing, then delete it before it's printed. GPrintH
always verifies that the file exists before it is queued for
printing.
p0xP
