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APrf2 - User's Guide
AboutThisDoc
This file describes release 2.10 of the utility APrf2. This program
is (c)1989-1990-1991-1992 by Denis GOUNELLE, any commercial usage or selling
without author's written authorization is strictly forbidden. You can copy
and spread this program at the following conditions:
- all the files must be provided
- none of the file must have been modified
- you don't charge more than $6 for copy fee
"PowerPacker 2.3b" is (c)1989 by PowerPeak and Nico FRANCOIS.
"PowerPacker Pro 3.0b" is (c)1990 by PowerPeak and UGA SoftWare. The
"powerpacker.library" library is (c)1990 by Nico FRANCOIS. AREXX is (c)1987
by William Hawes. The "reqtools.library" library is (c)1990-1991 by Nico
FRANCOIS.
No warranty is made that there's no errors in APrf. YOU USE THIS
PROGRAM AT YOUR OWN RISKS. In no event will I be liable for any damage,
direct or indirect, resulting of the use of APrf.
Introduction
APrf2 is a new version of APrf which can use the new functions of
2.0 system release. This program still works under 1.3 system release, but
without offering some of the new features.
APrf is a printing utility, which allows to add an header or a
footer, to set up margins, to have a multi-columns output, etc... and uses
your Preferences settings. It also have an AREXX-compatible message port, an
application window (or "AppWindow", under 2.0 system release only) and can
load files compressed with "PowerPacker 2.3b" or "PowerPacker Pro 3.0b".
You can send me your suggestions and criticism writing to:
M. GOUNELLE Denis
Boite 71
6, rue des cailloux
92110 CLICHY - FRANCE
You can also send a message to the following Internet address :
gounelle@alphanet.ch. Note that this mailbox is not mine, so please send
only short messages. As I don't have direct access to the messages, don't
expect an answer before a dozen of days.
Many thanks to Serge HAMMOUCHE, Jean-Yves PROUX, Jean-Philippe RAPP,
Jean ROUGELIN, Michel SCHINZ, and Pierre VITET for tests and ideas.
Running_from_CLI
There's no need to use a "RunBack" or "ARun" utility, as APrf will
detach itself from the CLI window. The command line is of the form:
APrf [filename][-c#][-f#,#][-l#][-n#][-oF][-p#][-r#][-s#][-t#]
[-x#][-A][-Cseq][-D#][-F{L|C|R}fmt][-H{L|C|R}fmt][-Ifont]
[-N#][-Oopts][-P{p|e|f}][-Spages][-X]
If you specify the <filename> argument, the corresponding file will
be taken as the file to print. Here's a description of the other arguments:
-c# (Columns number)
Prints file in # columns.
Default value: # = 1
Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.
-f#,# (page Format)
Selects page format and pages where to print header and/or
footer. The first # can be one of:
0 nothing
1 header
2 footer
3 both header and footer
Default value: # = 1.
The second # can be one of:
0 on all pages
1 on all pages but the first
2 on even pages
3 on odd pages
Default value: # = 0.
You can modified only one of these parameters : "-f1,2",
"-f1" and "-f,2" forms are accepted. See section 2.6 for
more information.
-l# (Left margin)
Sets a left margin of # characters. Note that the margins
set up in Preferences is ALWAYS used.
Default value: # = 0
Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 999.
-n# (line Numbering)
Numbers lines with # digits numbers.
Default value: # = 0 (no line numbers).
Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 10.
-oF (Output)
Printing will be re-directed to file F.
-p# (Page length)
Sets page length to # lines.
Default value: "Paper length" set up in Preferences.
Minimal value: # = 5. Maximal value: # = 999.
-r# (Right margin)
Sets a right margin of # characters. Note that the margins
set up in Preferences is ALWAYS used.
Default value: # = 0
Minimal value: # = 0. Maximal value: # = 999.
-s# (column Spaging)
Columns are separated by # spaces.
Default value: # = 1
Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.
-t# (Tabulation)
Sets tabulation stop positions to #+1, 2#+1, 3#+1, etc..
Default value: # = 8.
Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.
-x# (copies)
Prints # copies of the file.
Default value: # = 1
Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 999.
-A (Arexx mode)
Sets AREXX mode (see section 3.3 for more information).
-Cseq (Control sequence)
Selects the control sequence "seq" (see section 3.5 for more
information).
-D# (Date format)
Sets date format in header. # can be one of:
0 AmigaDOS format (dd-mmm-yy)
1 International format (yy-mm-dd)
2 American format (mm-dd-yy)
3 European format (dd-mm-yy)
Default value: # = 0.
See section 2.6 for more information.
-F{L|C|R}fmt (Footer format)
Specifies page footer format.
See section 2.6 for more information.
-H{L|C|R}fmt (Header format)
Specifies page header format.
See section 2.6 for more information.
-Ifont (Internal font)
Select the given font.
See section 3.5 for more information.
-N# (page Numbers)
Sets first page number to #.
Default value: # = 1.
Minimal value: # = 1. Maximal value: # = 899.
-Oopts (Options)
Allows you to modify several options. "opts" can be any
combination of :
l letter quality
d draft quality
8 8 LPI spacing
6 6 LPI spacing
F fanfold paper
S single sheet paper
t truncate too long lines
f control characters filter
a ANSI sequences filter
k output buffer size of 1 Kbytes
n don't send "Form Feed"
u underline header
See the description of "Options" menu, at section 2.5, for
further informations.
-P{p|e|f} (print Pitch)
Selects print pitch :
-Pp pica
-Pe eelite
-Pf fine
Default value : "Pitch" set up in Preferences.
-Spages (Selection)
Selects the pages to print. "pages" can be one of :
x only page x
e even pages
o odd pages
x-y from page x to y
x,y,z, pages x,y,z,... (up to 16 pages)
You can also use the two last forms together, as in
"-S1,3,5-8" or "-Se,1,3".
CAUTION: the page numbers that you specify for page
selection must depend of the first page number (see -N
option)
-X (eXpress) Sets "eXpress" mode (see section 3.2 for further
information).
If you make an error in your command line, a window will appear on
the Workbench screen, with the message "Bad arguments". Click in the "OK"
gadget to make the window disappear, and correct your command line. Then,
run APrf once more.
The "Tools" menu has a command that gives the command line
corresponding to the current option settings (see section 2.5 for further
information).
Running_from_Workbench
There's three ways to run APrf from Workbench, if you want to
specify the files that hare to be printed:
- by double-clicking on a "Project" icon whose "Default tool" is
APrf
- by clicking on one or more file icons, holding down the SHIFT
key, and double-clicking on APrf icon
- by clicking on APrf icon (and if required on some file icons),
holding down the SHIFT key, and double-clicking on a file icon
In any case, the selected files are transmitted to APrf. The program
will display the first filename in the "File to print" gadget (see section
2.4). The "Next file" command in the "Project" menu allows you to skip to
the next file (see section 2.5), and the "Default options" command in the
"Tools" menu allows to go back to the first file in the files list (see
section 2.5).
As when you run APrf from the CLI, you can give some arguments to
modify default options. To do this, click on a file icon and select the
"Information" item in the "Icons" menu (on Workbench screen). Then click on
the "New" gadget in the "TOOL TYPES" field, and add the arguments according
to the following syntax:
APRF=[-c#][-f#,#][-l#][-n#][-oF][-p#][-r#][-s#][-t#][-x#]
[-Cseq][-D#][-F{L|C|R}fmt][-H{L|C|R}fmt][-Ifont]
[-N#][-Oopts][-P{p|e|f}][-Spages]
These options are described in section 2.1. If you run APrf from
Workbench without arguments (i.e. if you just click twice on APrf's icon)
options will be taken from "TOOL TYPES" field of APrf's project icon. Please
notice that -A (AREXX mode) and -X (eXpress mode) options can't be specified
when running APrf from Workbench.
Getting_started
APrf needs "reqtools.library" v2.0c, so you must copy it in your
"LIBS:" directory (if not yet done) before trying to run this program.
If all goes well, a new screen will be opened, and you'll see
several gadgets. The AREXX port is also opened (see section 3.3). Under 2.0
system release, APrf will always open the application window (see section
3.4).
Otherwise, a window will appear on Workbench screen with a message
telling you what problem occurred. Click in the "OK" gadget to make the
window disappear, APrf stops and returns a value of 10 (ERROR, see "IF"
command of AmigaDOS).
APrf can return a value of 10 without displaying any message, in
only three situations:
- APrf couldn't open "reqtools.library"
- APrf couldn't open the error window
- APrf couldn't open the Workbench screen
Now, I will suppose that APrf is running well. The two following
sections are going describe the gadgets and menus of APrf. If you are using
APrf for the first time I suggest to run the program, in order to understand
these explanations.
Gadgets
This section describes all the gadgets displayed on the screen, from
the left top corner to the right bottom one:
File to print
This gadget shows the name of the file to print.
To modify its value just click on it: a file requester will
appear. If you click on the CANCEL gadget of this requester, or
on the OK gadget without giving a file name, the previous name
won't be modified.
A '*' character will appear on the right of the file name, when
the file is loaded in memory (see section 4.1).
Output file
This gadget shows where a file will be printed.
Default value is "PRT:", but can be changed with -o option (see
section 2.1).
To modify its value just click on it: a file requester will
appear. If you click on the CANCEL gadget of this requester the
output file will become "PRT:".
Page selection
This gadget shows which pages will be printed.
Default value is "*" (all the pages), but can be changed with -S
option (see section 2.1).
Please refert to section 2.8 to see how to modify the selection.
The nine next gadgets allow to specify respectively: the left margin
size, the right margin size, the tabulation size, the number of lines per
page, the first page number, the line numbers size, the number of columns,
the column spacing, and the number of copies that have to be printed.
Each gadget shows the current value of its corresponding parameter.
You can click on the value to modify it with the keyboard (press Amiga-X to
erase the old value, don't forget to press RETURN to validate the new
value). You can also increase the current value by clicking on the up arrow,
and decrease it by clicking on the down arrow. If a value doesn't change,
you have reached the lower or the higher limit ! As long as you keep the
left mouse button down, the value will be increased or decreased.
Left margin: (see -l option in section 2.1)
Default value: 0
Lowest value : 0
Highest value: 999
Right margin: (see -r option in section 2.1)
Default value: 0
Lowest value : 0
Highest value: 999
Tabulation: (see -t option in section 2.1)
Default value: 8
Lowest value : 1
Highest value: 999
Page length: (see -p option in section 2.1)
Default value: "Paper length" set up in Preferences
Lowest value : 5
Highest value: 999
First page number : (see -N option in section 2.1)
Default value: 1
Lowest value : 1
Highest value: 899
Page selection will be lost each time you will change the
first page number.
Line numbers : (see -n option in section 2.1)
Default value: 0 (no line numbers)
Lowest value : 0 (no line numbers)
Highest value: 10
Columns: (see -c option in section 2.1)
Default value: 1
Lowest value : 1
Highest value: 999
Col. Spacing: (see -s option in section 2.1)
Default value: 1
Lowest value : 1
Highest value: 999
Copies : (see -x option in section 2.1)
Default value : 1
Lowest value : 1
Highest value : 999
The four next gadgets are used to choose a value between severals
one. Use the arrow-like gadget at the right of the value to change it. If
you hold down one of the SHIFT keys when selecting the gadget, the values
will change in reverse order.
Print pitch
This gadget indicates print pitch. Default value is taken
from "Pitch" set up in Preferences, but can be changed with
-P option (see section 2.1).
Font
This gadget indicates the internal font to use. Usually it's
the defaut font, but this can be changed with -I option (see
section 2.1). For more information, see section 3.5.
Date format
This gadget shows the date format in the header (see section
2.6). By default, the format is the AmigaDOS format, but
this can be changed with -D option (see section 2.1).
Page format
This gadget shows the selected page format (see section
2.6). By default, the format is "header", but this can be
changed with -f option (see section 2.1).
on
This gadget shows on which pages header and/or footer will
be printed (see section 2.6) By default, its value is "all
pages", but this can be changed with -f option (see section
2.1).
The next gadgets allows you to personnalize the header and the
footer.
Header
This gadget shows the format of the three parts of the
header : the left part, the central part, and the right
part. Default value of each part can be changed with -H
option (see section 2.1).
To modify the value of any part just click on it : a window
with a string gadget will appear. Press Amiga-X to erase
current value, RETURN to validate, or click on the window
close gadget to abort.
For more information, see section 2.6
Footer
Same as header gadgets, but for the footer. Default value of
each part can be changed with -F option (see section 2.1).
For more information, see section 2.6
The two diamond-shaped gadgets on the bottom of the screen allows
you to start printing (left gadget) or previewing (right gadget) without
having to play with the menus.
You can also click on the main window's close gadget (upper left
corner) to quit the program, or on the "zoom" gadget (upper right corner,
under 2.0 system release only) to iconify APrf.
Menus
APrf has three menus: "Project", "Tools" and "Options". Each command
can be selected by mouse or by a keyboard shortcut, but "Options" menu items
must be selected by mouse. Here are the options of the Project" menu:
Next file (Amiga-N)
If you have run APrf from Workbench and selected several
icons, this command allows you to skip to the next file in
the list of selected files. The "File to print" gadget is
updated (see section 2.4), and the old file is removed from
memory (if it had been loaded, see section 4.1).
Print (Amiga-P)
Start printing.
Palette...
Allows to modify APrf screen's colors. To save the new
palette immediatly, select the "Save config" command and
enter "palette" as a configuration name. Otherwise, when you
will quit the program, APrf will ask you if you want to save
the new palette.
About...
Displays some informations about APrf. To close the window,
click inside it or press any key.
Iconify (Amiga-I)
APrf goes sleeping, freeing at least 32 Kb of CHIP memory
and some other workspace (the current file is removed from
memory if it had been loaded). The screen is closed and,
under 1.3 system release, a small window which title is
"APrf2 v2.10" will appear on the top left corner of the
Workbench's screen. Under 2.0 system release, the
application window remains opened. In both cases, AREXX
messages are still waited for.
To awake APrf, you must activate this window and click then
on the right mouse button. You can quit APrf without having
to awake it by clicking on the close gadget of the small
window.
Quit (Amiga-Q or ESCAPE)
Quit APrf. A requester will apear: click on "YES" to
confirm, or on "NO" to cancel.
Here are the commands of the "Tools" menu:
Default Options (Amiga-D)
Restores the default options (first it loads Preferences
then it scans the command line). If you have run APrf from
Workbench and selected several icons, the first file of the
list becomes the file that will be printed.
This command may be useful, for example, if you modify the
Preferences settings and want APrf to know about it, without
having to quit the program.
Load file (Amiga-L)
Loads immediately the file to print in memory. If the file
was already in memory, yet this command reload it (see
section 4.1).
Unload file (Amiga-U)
Removes the file to print from memory (see section 4.1).
Preview (Amiga-V)
Activates the preview function (see section 2.7).
Command line (Amiga-K)
Displays the argument list that you have to give in order to
make the current options beeing the default options. To
close the window, click inside it or press any key.
Save config (Amiga-S)
Save the current options (except the name of the file to
print) in a new line of the "S:APrf.Init" file. A window
appears, and you must enter the name of the new
configuration. Close the window to cancel the operation. See
section 3.5 for other informations.
Doc Info (Amiga-X)
Displays the page, line and character counts of the output
file. Please notice that the character count will always be
an approximation. To close the window, click on the "OK"
gadget.
Here are the items of the "Options" menu:
Letter
Selects the printing quality: "letter" or "draft". Default
value is taken from "Print Quality" set up in Preferences,
but can be changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
8 LPI
Selects line spacing: "8LPI" or "6PLI". Default value is
taken from "Spacing" set up in Preferences, but can be
changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
Fanfold
Selects paper type: "fanfold" or "single". Default value is
taken from "Pitch" set up in Preferences, but can be changed
with -O option (see section 2.1).
Truncate
If active, too long lines are truncated instead of being
wrapped on several lines. By default, it is not active, but
this can be changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
CTRL filter
If active, the control characters (ASCII code lower than 32
or greated than 126) found in the file to print are not send
to the printer. By default, it is not active, but this can
be changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
ANSI filter
If active, the ANSI sequences described in section 6 are not
send to the printer. By default, it is not active, but this
can be changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
Buffer 1Kb
If active, the output buffer size will be 1 Kb (instead of
one page). By default, it is not active, but this can be
changed with -O option (see section 2.1). See section 4.2
for more information.
Send FF
If active, a "Form Feed" character is send each time the
bottom of the page is reached. By default, it is active, but
this can be changed with -O option (see section 2.1).
Und. header
If active, the header will be underlined. By default, it is
not active, but this can be changed with -O option (see
section 2.1).
Header_and_footer
APrf can add a header, a footer, or both, on your documents. The
choice can be made when calling APrf (-f option, see section 2.1) or with
the "Page format" gadget (see section 2.4). A header or a footer takes to
line on the page.
When you ask for a header (and/or a footer) format, APrf uses the
values of the "Header" (and/or "Footer") gadgets to build this header
(and/or footer). The left gadget shows what will be on the left, the central
gadget what will be centered, and the right gadget what will be on the
right. Format specifications can include the following sequences :
%a name of the day (e.g. "Monday")
%b name of the month (full, e.g. "September")
%B name of the month (short, e.g. "Sep")
%d day of the month (01 to 31)
%D date as shown by the "Date format" gadget
%f basename of the file (e.g. "foo")
%F full name of the file (e.g. "RAM:Test/foo")
%h hour (00 to 11)
%H hour (00 to 23)
%m month of the year (01 to 12)
%M minutes (00 to 59)
%n page number
%p period of the day (AM or PM)
%s file size in bytes
%S seconds (00 to 59)
%v program release (e.g. "APrf v4.10")
%w day of the week (0 to 6)
%x copy number
%y year of the century (00 to 99)
Default value for header is "%f" for the left part, "Page %n" for
the central part, and "%D" for the right part. Default value for footer is
"Page %n" for the central p art, and nothing for the other parts. You can
also specify your own header (and/or footer) format, by clicking on the
gadget corresponding to the part you want to modify, or (when starting APrf)
with -H (and/or -F) option : "-HLformat" modifies left part of the header,
"-HCformat" modifies central part, and "-HRformat" modifies right part.
Last, you can select on which pages you want header and/or footer to
be printed, by clicking on the "on" gadget (see section 2.4) or with -f
option (see section 2.1).
The_preview_function
This function allows you to see the final aspect of a text,
depending upon the current option settings. To use it, first set up your
printing settings, then choose the "Preview" command from the "Tools" menu.
A window will appear in the middle of your screen, and shows how will look
the first selected page (window size is shaped by the page size). To look
the next page, click inside the window or press RETURN. To stop, click on
the window's close gadget or press ESCAPE.
Please note that APrf won't be able to open the preview window if
page length value is very high : highest value for page length is 93 lines
in NTSC mode (122 in PAL mode).
Modifying_page_selection
To modify page selection, click on the "Selected pages" gadget: a
window will appear in the midle of the screen, showing a grid with one
hundred numbers, each number corresponding to a page number. These numbers
are written on a white background if the corresponding page is selected, or
on a blue background if not.
If you click on a number, you will change the selection for the
corresponding page. You can also use the following gadgets:
ALL select all pages
INVERT reverse selection
NONE no page selected
OK accept new selection (or RETURN)
UNDO undo all changes (takes back old selection)
CANCEL abort modification (or ESCAPE)
There's also a string gadget, in which you can enter a selection
specification. This new selection will be added to the current one. Licits
values for the string are:
* all the pages
x page x only
e even pages
o odd pages
x-y from page x to y
x,y,z,... pages x,y,z,...
You can also use the two last forms together, e.g. "1,3,5-8" or
"e,1,3".
Don't forget that page selection depends of the first page number,
and that you won't be allowed to enter an empty selection (that is, with no
page selected).
Using_powerpacker.library
APrf can use "powerpacker.library" according you have installed it
in the "LIBS:" directory of your hard disk or Workbench disk. This allows
you to print any files compressed with "PowerPacker 2.3b" or "PowerPacker
Pro 3.0b": the file will be decompressed automatically at loading. If data
file has been encrypted, APrf will ask for a password.
The_eXpress_mode
It can happen that you want to print a file quickly, without using
the Intuition interface (if your Preferences are correctly set, it should be
frequent). If you specify -X option when calling APrf, once the command line
has been parsed, printing starts immediatly. APrf doesn't open any screen,
and stops when printing is done. Error messages are displayed in a special
window, on WorkBench's screen.
The_AREXX_mode
When starting, APrf always open an AREXX compatible port, nammed
"APrf_rexx", and waits for messages on this port. Valid messages are :
quit APrf closes the message port and terminates.
wakeup APrf closes the message port and open its screen.
reset APrf loads Preferences and sets all options to their
default values
load APrf loads the file to print
print APrf starts printing
Any other message will be considered as a command line, and scaned
as described in section 2.1. If any error occurs, APrf will display a
message on the WorkBench's screen, and terminates. If you send a "load"
message and APrf don't know which file is to load, your command won't have
any effect.
Here is an exemple of AREXX program, which print the
"S:Startup-Sequence" file with a left margin of 10 characters, and
terminates APrf :
/* Print S:Startup-Sequence */
ADDRESS "APrf_rexx"
"S:Startup-Sequence -l10"
"print"
"quit"
Please note the " characters arround commands !
If you specify -A option when calling APrf, it will go in AREXX
mode: only the application window (under 2.0 system release) or the
iconification window (under 1.3 system release) is opened, and the program
works the same way as when iconified. From the Intuition interface you can
go in AREXX mode just by selecting the "Iconify" command in the "Project"
menu (see section 2.5).
The_Application_Window
When running under 2.0 system release, APrf automatically opens an
application window (also called "AppWindow") on the Workbench screen. Then
you will have the following possibilities:
- if you select one or several icons and drop them over the
application window, APrf will eventually open it's screen, put
it to front, and you will be able to print the file(s) as if you
started the program from Workbench.
- if you click on the close gadget of the application window, the
program will stop running (no confirmation in AREXX mode)
- if you activate the application window and click on right mouse
button, APrf will open it's screen and normal interface will be
accessible (same as sending "wakeup" command from AREXX)
- to save the current size and position of the application window,
enter "appwin" as a configuration name (see "Save config"
command in section 2.5)
Take notice that the application window replaces the iconification
window.
The_APrf.Init_file
When starting, APrf tries to load the "S:APrf.Init" file. This file
allows you to define typical configurations and/or fonts. To define a
typical configuration, you add a line of the form:
name:options:sequence
where "name" and "options" are strings of characteres ("name" shouldn't be
longer than 8 characters), and "sequence" is a list of decimal codes
separated by spaces. "options" and/or "sequence" strings may be empty. Only
the 8 first configurations will be used. Here are two examples:
my8lpi:-p90 -O8:
landscap:-p80:27 48 108 72
Each name you gave will appear in a new "Control" menu. If you
select one of these names, the "options" string will immediatly be parsed as
a CLI command line. Also, at printing time, the characters whose ASCII code
is given in the corresponding sequence will be send to the printer (after
the initialisation sequences, but before the text itself). You can select
several names at the same time.
When calling APrf from the CLI or from the WorkBench, the -C option
allows you to select a sequence at startup time. The "option" string will be
parsed after the other calling options. If the sequence you specified in the
-C option doesn't exist, the option will be ignored.
The "S:APrf.Init" file can also give you access, from APrf, to the
internal fonts of your printer. To define a font, you add a line of the
form:
fontdef:name:sequence
where "name" is the name of the font, and "sequence" the list of codes to
send to your printer to select the given font. Exemple :
fontdef:Prestige:27 107 2 27 120 49
You can enter any number of font. Font definitions should be specified at
the beginning of the file, before typical configurations definitions. To
select a font, use either the -I option (see section 2.1) or the "Font"
gadget (see section 2.4).
Another line format allows to specify APrf screen's colors. The
format is:
palette: c1 c2 c3 c4
where "c1", "c2", "c3", "c4" are RGB color specifications. These values can
be in decimal or in hexadecimal (in the latter case, add "0x" before the
value, like "0x0F00"). If there are several palette specifications, only the
last will be used.
Last, you can specify the size and position of the application
window (under 2.0 system release only) with a line of the form:
appwin: x y w h
where "x" and "y" are the position of the upper left corner, "w" the width
and "h" the height of the window. There is no check upon these values, if an
error occurs the window won't be opened.
You can put empty lines in the "S:APrf.Init" file. Any line
beginning with a semicolon character (";") is supposed to be a comment and
is not interpreted.
The "S:APrf.Init" file will be loaded again each time you select the
"Default options" command in the "Tools" menu. In "eXpress" mode (see
section 3.2), the file "S:APrf.Init" will be loaded only if required (i.e.
if you specified a -C or a -I option). Take notice that the sequences will
be written with a PRD_RAWWRITE command, so they won't be interpreted by the
printer device.
Memory_management
Before printing or previewing a file, APrf loads it in memory. Once
the file has been printed or previewed, it is kept in memory in prevision of
another print or preview operation. The great advantage is that APrf has not
to load a file each time you ask for previewing it, or when you ask for
printing it after a preview.
A file is removed automatically from memory either if you iconify
APrf (see section 2.5), or if you choose to print another file (see section
2.4), or if you select the "Next file" command from the "Project" menu (see
section 2.5). It can be removed too (but not always) if you select the
"Default options" command from the "Tools" menu.
In addition, the "Load file" command from the "Tools" menu enforces
APrf to load a file (this will be reloaded even if it was already in
memory), while the "Unload file" command in the "Tools" menu makes APrf to
unload a file from memory.
To let you know if a file is or isn't loaded in memory, APrf
displays a "*" character on the right of the file name when this file is
actually loaded in memory.
This behaviour can present two inconvenients. First of all, a file
occupies memory even if you don't need it anymore. A solution is to iconify
APrf (see section 2.5) or to select the "Unload file" command from the
"Tools" menu.
The second inconvenient is that if you modify a file on your disk,
any changes could be ignored, because APrf don't load the file again. In
order to avoid this, if APrf sees that the file has been modified, it will
ask you if you want to reload it.
The_output_buffer
APrf uses an output buffer in order to make less "write" commands.
With a 1 Kb buffer, printing to a file is twice faster than with the first
releases of APrf whose buffer contained only one line. Even if printing to
printer doesn't seem to be faster, the number of "write" commands is divided
at least by 5 (at most by 14 or 15). Tests have shown that system charge was
greatly reduced, and that THE OTHER TASKS WERE LESS SLOWED DOWN.
By default, APrf uses an output buffer of one page (see section 2.5,
"Buffer" option from the "Options" menu). When you change your page size,
the output buffer is automatically re-allocated in order to store a whole
page. If there's not enough memory to allocate this one page buffer, APrf
will try to allocate a 1 Kbytes buffer (a message will inform you about
this). If there's still not enough memory, APrf will stop with an error
message "Not enough memory".
Miscellaneous
This section is a bric-a-brac of some informations that didn't find
a place in previous sections. It deals with some importants points
concerning how APrf works. I strongly advise you to read it once at least
and to remind to read it again if you think APrf is working oddly.
If "Fanfold" option is not activated, here is the behaviour of APrf:
before printing a page, the program displays a requester asking you to
insert a new sheet of paper in your printer. When you're ready, click on
"YES" to print the page. If you click on "NO" printing will be aborted.
You can abort printing at any time, by clicking in the box where the
current copy and page numbers are displayed. A requester will appear, asking
you confirmation: click on "YES" to stop printing and click on "NO" to
resume printing. If you abort printing, APrf will immediatly stop to send
data to the printer, and wait for the last write request to be finished
(this can be quite long !).
To make your files have a better looking, you can include the
following ANSI sequences:
ESC[0m Normal character set
ESC[3m Italics on
ESC[23m Italics off
ESC[4m Underline on
ESC[24m Underline off
ESC[1m Boldface on
ESC[22m Boldface off
ESC[1"z Draft quality
ESC[2"z NLQ quality
All these sequences will be sent to your printer, but the characters that
compose them will neither be retained, nor be displayed when APrf is in
preview mode. Any other sequences will be not recognized and will be
considered as part of text to be printed. You can filter these sequences if
you don't want them to be send to the printer (see section 2.5, "ANSI
filter" item in "Options" menu).
The size of these sequences is limited to 32 characters by OUTPUT
line (not input line !), i.e. to 6 or 8 sequences, which should be
sufficient in most case. If there's too much sequences on an output line,
the error message "Lines too long, printing aborted" will be displayed.
2.1 alias Running_from_CLI
2.2 alias Running_from_Workbench
2.3 alias Getting_started
2.4 alias Gadgets
2.5 alias Menus
2.6 alias Header_and_footer
2.7 alias The_preview_function
2.8 alias Modifying_page_selection
3.1 alias Using_powerpacker.library
3.2 alias The_eXpress_mode
3.3 alias The_AREXX_mode
3.4 alias The_Application_window
3.5 alias The_APrf.Init_file
4.1 alias Memory_management
4.2 alias The_ouput_buffer
5 alias Miscellaneous