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- PTEX Version 3.1 October 9, 1993
-
- What is it?
- PTEX is a printer utility. Version 1.0's sole purpose in life was to put
- page-breaks where they belong. Most people like these near the top and
- bottom of the page. Unfortunately, a growing contingent of PRINT_ME.BAT
- authors are putting page-breaks in the most awkward places. I shouldn't
- hazard a guess as to whence their printers came, but I digress.
-
- Why version 3.1?
- "Hey, it's the 90s!"
- "Everybody who's anybody is upgrading!"
- "Using antique software is sooooo passe'!"
-
- This is usually computer-speak for "Oops, the last version had some
- problems." Well, PTEX must really be big-league now, just like
- you-know-what.
-
- Version 2.0 had a bad habit of adding a blank line just above the last line.
- This happened only under very unusual circumstances, though.
-
- Version 3.0 wanted to leave 0-byte temporary files all over the place. This
- was obviously a communist plot to sabotage Western software, because I write
- better code than that. Regardless, it was more of an inconvenience than a
- menace to democracy.
-
- You should know that, unlike you-know-what, PTEX is still not
- technologically advanced enough to torch a hard drive. So I guess it's not
- big-league after all.
-
- Oh, well.
-
- Anyway, after literally moments of diligent debugging and combing through
- dozens of lines of complex if-else statements, the problems were solved!
- What it boils down to is this: Erase 2.0 and 3.0; use 3.1.
-
- What new features are there?
- Glad you asked! New for 1993: No more Random-Blank-Line-At-The-End!
-
- But wait, there's more! In addition you receive:
- * Automatic line-wrap!
- * Automatic page-numbering (whether you want it or not)!
- * Automatic What-The-Heck-File-Was-That (WTHFWT) next to the page number!
- * Automatic Earth-Friendly two-sided printing!
- * Automatic Money-Friendly two-sided printing!
- * Works on most popular printers!
- * Works on most unpopular printers!
-
- What do you plan for future versions?
- Better documentation.
-
- How do I use it?
- Type PTEX <filename.ext>, then follow the directions. If you type PTEX with
- no parameters, it asks you for a file name.
-
- In order to keep long lines from running off the page, PTEX formats all
- files. PTEX formats the file internally, so the number of pages printed
- with PTEX may differ from the number of pages printed with another program.
- PTEX does not format the file on disk, i.e. the original file will not be
- modified in any way.
-
- The tricky part is making sure you print page two on the back of page one,
- and so on. The directions explain how to do this with most popular
- printers. If you own an unpopular printer, try those steps anyway. You
- might start out by printing this file. Type PTEX PTEX.DOC.
-
- What is your Upgrade Policy?
- If you're reading this, and I can only assume you are, congratulations! You
- have upgraded to PTEX version 3.1.
-
- Now for the business end of it. This is not Freeware; it is Shareware.
- That means that if you use it, you must pay for it. It is a little
- unreasonable to think I would unleash the Hounds of Hell to hunt you down,
- but I might.
-
- If you use PTEX, please pay. The amount is left to your discretion. Next
- time you buy a box of paper, remember that PTEX is saving money for you and
- you really should send a portion of that savings to the author. This will
- also put your name on the Official PTEX Secret Handshake List, making you
- eligible for any future upgrades. How would you like to be the first kid on
- your block to have PTEX 4.0?
-
- Legal Opinion
- My lawyer charges too much.
-
- Distribution Babble
- You may not distribute PTEX.EXE without PTEX.DOC under any circumstances!
-
- BBS SysOps are encouraged to post PTEX. If you have an interest in any
- future versions, please send me a post-card with your name, your BBS name,
- number and address.
-
- Shareware distributors are also encouraged to distribute PTEX. However, if
- you use it as part of the distribution of your disks, you must pay. For
- example, if you call PTEX from GO.BAT to print the shareware documentation,
- you need to pay for it. Again, the amount is left to your discretion.
-
- Non-U.S. users: Register by sending a post-card stating where you obtained
- PTEX. Any future upgrades will be distributed through the more popular
- sources. U.S. banks collect service fees to exchange foreign cheques,
- which means that unless you send quite a bit of money, my bank will get it
- all. I'd rather not let that happen. Of course, if you really want to
- send me a great sum, I won't argue. I promise.
-
- I hope you find it useful!
-
- David A. Bell
- Post Office Box 620644
- Littleton, Colorado 80162 USA
- CIS: 74274,2305 INTERNET: 74274.2305@compuserve.com
-
- You-know-what is a registered trademark of You-know-who.
-