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SEND7221 Version 1.0b University of Rochester Psychology Department March, 1992 Sections in this document: DISCLAIMER TRADEMARKS INTRODUCTION AUTHENTICITY COPYING COMPILING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS USAGE ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES PLOTTER ERROR LIGHTS BUGS ----------------------------------DISCLAIMER--------------------------------- This software is distributed free of charge. As such, it comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. The user of the software assumes ALL RISKS associated with its use. Please read the COPYING section of this document to determine your rights to copy and/or modify this software. ---------------------------------INTRODUCTION-------------------------------- The SEND7221 program is a companion to the ADI7221 program, and is used to send the output from ADI7221 through a serial connection to an HP 7221 plotter. The SEND7221 program handles buffer control and other minor device control instructions. SEND7221 has several command line options, all of which control the way the serial port is configured. These options are discussed in the USAGE section of this document. This program may be useful for sending 7221 code produced by other programs, but may not operate correctly if the code contains anything other than graphics instructions. In particular, code that includes plotter on or plotter off instructions, or changes the handshake mode will probably not work. ----------------------------------TRADEMARKS--------------------------------- IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. AutoCAD and ADI are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Hewlett-Packard and HP are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Corp. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. ---------------------------------AUTHENTICITY-------------------------------- To ensure that your copy of SEND7221 is virus free, it is recommened that you obtain a copy of the VALIDATE program. This program is free, and is part of the McAffee Associates virus protection package (the rest of the package is shareware). McAffee associates can be contacted at (408) 988-3832. The Size reported for SEND7221.EXE and the Hex numbers associated with "Check Method 1" and "Check Method 2" should match the output from the following run of VALIDATE version 0.3: File Name: SEND7221.EXE Size: 12,581 Date: 3-16-1992 File Authentication: Check Method 1 - DD80 Check Method 2 - 001F -----------------------------------COPYING----------------------------------- You may copy and redistribute this software and its source code in its unaltered state, provided that each copy is labeled with the original copyright and disclaimer of warranty notices. Recipients of distributed copies of this software must also be given the rights outlined here. No fee may be charged for copies beyond nominal copying and media costs. You may modify your copy of the source code, and may distribute the modified versions under the following conditions: All modified files must be clearly labeled as modified versions, such labels must include the authors name, the date, and the nature of all changes. Any program that contains the source code from this software, in whole or in part, must be licensed free of charge, under the same conditions as those outlined in this document. The one exception being that you can provide a warranty for your program if you choose. A reasonable attempt must be made to notify the orignal author of this software prior to distribution of modified versions. Such notification should include the nature of all changes made to the software. The original author can be contacted at the following address: Dave Lutz Psychology/Meliora Hall Univeristy of Rochester Rochester, NY 14627 Electronic mail may be sent to one of the following addresses: Internet: lutz@psych.rochester.edu or lutz@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu BITNET: lutz@uordbv Bug reports can also be sent to any of the addresses listed above. ----------------------------------COMPILING---------------------------------- The source code for SEND7221.EXE has been included so that you may compile it yourself if you wish. The code is written in C, and was tested using Microsoft C 5.1. A Makefile for that compiler has been included in the distribution. If you do not have MSC 5.1, you may have to create your own Makefile. The source for SEND7221.EXE contains code that may be compiler dependant, and is definitely CPU dependant. (sorry folks, serial I/O on a PC is a royal pain) I have tried to isolate the compiler/CPU specific code within one module (COMIO.C). This module will probably have to be modified if you use anything other than Microsoft C 5.1 on an IBM compatible PC. The following discussion assumes that the files in the distribution were installed as follows: /ADI - .DOC files and precompiled .EXE files /ADI/ADI7221 - source for ADI7221.EXE /ADI/SEND7221 - source for SEND7221.EXE It is critical that you DO NOT COMBINE the source code for ADI7221 and SEND7221 in the same directory. The two programs have modules/files by the same names that have different contents. Before you begin compilation, CD to /ADI/SEND7221. Next, look at the definitions in MAKEFILE.MSC and modify them for your local site. Assuming you have MSC 5.1, you should type "make makefile.msc". The code should compile with no errors, except that you will get the normal "Warning target does not exist" message for each module as it is compiled. As it is currently defined, the makefile will first produce an executable called SEND7221.EXE in the SEND7221 directory. This executable is then packed via Microsoft's EXEPACK command, producing the final SEND7221.EXE in /ADI. Once the final exeutable is in place, you can delete all of the .OBJ files and the intermediate SEND7221.EXE file from /ADI/SEND7221. -----------------------------SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS----------------------------- SEND7221 should run correctly on any IBM compatible PC that has at least 50k of free memory, a serial port, and (of course) and HP 7221 plotter. The plotter should be connected to the computer via a NULL modem cable. The default settings for SEND7221 assume that the plotter is connected to COM1, and has been set for 2400 baud, parity enabled, even parity. There is no limit to the size of the input file, and the memory requirements of the program do not change with the its size. ------------------------------------USAGE------------------------------------ The command line for the SEND7221 program can be quite simple, and consists of the following when default settings are used: SEND7221 infile.hpp The file infile.hpp is a file containing HP 7221 plotter codes which were produced by the ADI7221 program. The codes are assumed to contain graphic instructions that the plotter will use to plot a drawing. The above command assumes that the plotter is connected to COM1, at 2400 baud, parity enabled, even parity. There are several command line options which can be used to set various parameters for serial port configuration. The complete synopsis for the command is as follows: SEND7221 [/C:?] [/D:?] [/S:?] [/P:?] [/B:????] infile.hpp /C:? = Com port number (1-4) Default=1 Use /C if you have the plotter connected to a serial port other than COM1 (ie COM2 = /C:2). /D:? = Number of data bits (7/8/D) Default=7 Use /D to specify the number of data bits. This is only necessary if you disable parity checking on the plotter. In that case, you can use /D:8. /S:? = Number of stop bits (1/2) Default=1 Specify the number of stop bits. There is no need for this option unless the program is modified to support baud rates of 75 or 110 baud. If that is the case, and you choose to use 75 or 110 baud, you should also use /S:2. /P:? = Parity (E/O/N/D) Default=E Set parity to even, odd, none, or don't care. If you disable parity checking on the plotter, you can use /P:N or /P:D. /B:???? = Baud rate (300/1200/2400) Default=2400 Set the baud rate. Use this if you decide to use a buad rate lower than 2400 baud. This might be necessary if you encounter a lot of transmission errors on your serial connection. /T:???? = read Timeout in seconds Default=120 Set the number of seconds that the program is willing to wait for buffer space to free up in the plotter. You may need to increase this beyond the default of 2 minutes (120 seconds) if you set the pen speeds very low in AutoCAD (see ADI7221 for information on configuring AutoCAD). Please note that lower baud rates do not necessitate longer timeout settings. The timeout only applies to the period of time between sending packets. An example of a more complex invocation of the program might be: SEND7221 /C:2 /B:1200 /T:240 infile.hpp This would send infile.hpp out COM2, at 1200 baud, allowing 4 minutes (240 seconds) for the buffer to clear between packets. Since the ADI7221 and SEND7221 programs will usually be run in sequence, a batch file, PLOT7221, has been included in the distribution. The command line for this batch file consists of the following: PLOT7221 plotname The plotname parameter should not include a file extension. PLOT7221 looks for a file named plotname.PLT, and attempts to convert it to a file named plotname.HPP via the ADI7221 program. If the ADI7221 program completes successfully, SEND7221 is then called to send plotname.HPP to the plotter. Command line options for the SEND7221 program can be included on the PLOT7221 command line. These options MUST follow the plotname parameter. The complete synopsis for the PLOT7221 batch command is as follows: PLOT7221 plotname [SEND7221 options] --------------------------ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES------------------------- Error: Invalid option: ??? You specified a command line option that SEND7221 could not decode Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Invalid com port: ??? The com port you specified with the /C option is not within the range of 1 - 4. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Invalid baud: ??? The baud rate you specified with the /B option was not one of 300, 1200, or 2400. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Invalid data bits: ??? The number of data bits you specified with the /D option was not one of 7, 8, or D. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Invalid stop bits: ??? The number of stop bits you specified with the /S option was not one of 1 or 2. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Invalid parity: ??? The parity you specified with the /P option was not one of E, O, N, or D. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Too many input files. You specified more than one input file to be processed by SEND7221. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: Input file not specified. You failed to include the name of the input file in the command line. Retype the SEND7221 command. Error: can't allocate input buffer. There is not enough memory to run the program. You either have a PC with a very low amount of memory, or you have too many programs running in a multitasking environment. If you are in a multitasking environment like Windows, try closing some applications and rerunning the SEND7221 command. Error: can't open input file for reading. SEND7221 could not find the input file, or there was an I/O error on the disk. Check the spelling of the input file's name. If it is correct, run the MS-DOS CHKDSK command to see if there is a problem with the disk. Error: I/O error reading input file. SEND7221 encountered an I/O error on the input file after it had been opened successfully. This probably indicates a problem with the disk. Run the MS-DOS CHKDSK program to determine if there is a problem with the disk. Error: I/O error closing input file. SEND7221 encountered an I/O error on the input file after it had been opened and read successfully. This probably indicates a problem with the disk. Run the MS-DOS CHKDSK program to determine if there is a problem with the disk. Error: I/O error sending init string to plotter. This error indicates that the very first attempt to send information to the plotter has failed. It is likely that the plotter is turned off, or is configured incorrectly. Make sure the plotter is turned on, and that it is on-line (the online button is lit). Check the serial cable. It should be a NULL modem cable, and should be securely connected to COM1 (or the port you specified on the command line). Check to ensure that the baud rate and parity settings on the plotter are the same as those used by SEND7221 (see the USAGE section for details). Error: I/O error sending data to plotter. This error indicates that something has gone wrong with the second or subsequent attempt to communicate with the plotter (ie the init string seemed to go through correctly, but a later attempt to send data failed). Check the plotter to ensure that it has not been powered off or put in local or standby modes. Check the serial cable to ensure that it is still connected securely. If the file you are sending was not created by ADI7221, it is possible that it contains device control instructions that caused SEND7221 to fail. You will not be able to plot this file with SEND7221. If the plotter was able to receive some of the data (ie it started to produce a plot), try increasing the timeout period (the /T option). If you set the pen speeds to one of the lower settings (or just left them at the defaults that AutoCAD supplies) the buffer may not be clearing within the 2 minute (120 second) timeout period. If the plotter did not begin to produce a plot, procede as if this were the "I/O error sending init string" message. Error: I/O error sending HP_END command to plotter. This error indicates that something has gone wrong with the connection after several successful communications. Check the plotter to ensure that it has not been powered off or put in local or standby modes. Check the serial cable to ensure that it is still connected securely. If the file you are sending was not created by ADI7221, it is possible that it contains device control instructions that caused SEND7221 to fail. You will not be able to plot this file with SEND7221. Increasing the timeout period will have no affect on this error. The timeout applies only to sending graphics commands; END_PLOT is a device control command. -----------------------------PLOTTER ERROR LIGHTS---------------------------- Error light on solid: The plotter detected a parity error during transmission. Check to ensure that the parity enabled/disabled and even/odd settings on the plotter match those used with the SEND7221 command. If the parity settings are correct, make sure the serial cable is connected securely, that it is a NULL modem cable, and that the connector ends are clean. If everything else seems ok, try lowering the baud rate. A lower baud rate may reduce the chance of an I/O error. Error light blinking: The plotter detected an error in one of the 7221 command codes. If the file you are attempting to send was not created with the ADI7221 program, you will not be able to use SEND7221 to plot that file. You may have configured AutoCAD incorrectly. Specifically, you may have specified more speeds or more pens than your plotter supports. Make sure you configured AutoCAD in accordance with the instructions in the AutoCAD Setup section of ADI7221.DOC. Otherwise, check the cables, connectors, and command line switches as for other types of plotter I/O errors. If everything seems to be correct, you may have encountered a bug in either ADI7221 or SEND7221. Out of Limit light on solid: The plotter has detected an attempt to move the pen beyond the plotting boundaries. If you select EXTENTS or LIMITS when asked by AutoCAD for the part of the drawing you wished to plot, those dimensions may be too large for the plotter. Make sure that you have not attempted to create a drawing that was larger than 15.2 x 10.0 inches. You may also need to check the configuration options that were specified in AutoCAD prior to producing the plot. Make sure that you configured AutoCAD in accordance with the instructions in the AutoCAD Setup section of ADI7221.DOC. If everything seems to be ok, you may have encountered a bug in either ADI7221 or SEND7221. ------------------------------------BUGS------------------------------------- SEND7221 doesn't check the status of the plotter (ie are there any pens in the pen bays) before sending data. This is theoretically possible, but I didn't put it in. I might add it to a later version. It is possible to ask the plotter what type of error has caused the Error light to begin flashing, but I haven't provided you with a way to do it. You can do this by hand if you have a program that allows you to communicate directly through the serial port. Check the HP manual for the device control command for reporting errors. Error and Warning messages should probably have been given numbers so they would be easier to find in this manual. There are only about 15 possible errors, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.