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- <Chapter 17: Installation>
- Before you can run PEP, you need to answer four questions about your
- hardware configuration:
-
- 1. What kind of graphics display do you have?
- 2. What kind of printer do you have?
- 3. How does your computer send data to the printer?
- 4. Do you have a mouse?
-
- To supply this information to PEP, run the installation utility,
- INSTALL.EXE. INSTALL is a simple, menu-driven program, and you should have
- no difficulty in using it.
-
- If you have a hard disk, begin by making a directory for PEP and
- copying the contents of your PEP disk (or disks) into that directory. Then
- run INSTALL. If you do not have a hard disk, you can run INSTALL on a
- diskette drive. Start by making backup copies of PEP. Then insert your PEP
- program disk into your diskette drive and run INSTALL.
-
- When you start up INSTALL, you are presented with a short series of
- menus. Each menu item begins with a digit. Type the digit of the item you
- want to select, and the next menu appears. At any point, you can use the
- escape key to cancel the last choice and return to a prior menu. When you
- have finished specifying your hardware configuration, INSTALL displays the
- choices that you have made and gives you the option of installing those
- choices or restarting from the beginning. Later, if you change your
- hardware configuration, you can just run INSTALL again. Then you will be
- able to use PEP with the new configuration.
-
- After installing PEP, you will probably want to add the PEP directory
- to your DOS path. (Running INSTALL does not change your CONFIG.SYS or
- AUTOEXEC.BAT files). Putting PEP in your DOS path makes it more convenient
- to keep picture files in directories other than the PEP home directory.
-
- <Section 17.1: What kind of graphics display do you have?>
- To run PEP you must have a graphics display. Four types of display
- are supported: those compatible with the IBM Color Graphics Adapter (CGA),
- those compatible with the IBM Extended Graphics Adapter (EGA), those
- compatible with the IBM Video Graphics Array (VGA), and those compatible
- with the Hercules monochrome card
-
- If you specify CGA, you have an additional choice. The CGA card has
- multiple display modes; PEP supports two. You can display in black and
- white and have 640 pixels horizontally and 200 vertically, or you can
- display in four colors (black, white, red and blue) and have only half as
- many pixels (320 X 200). If you have a color monitor and a CGA card, you
- can choose either option. If you have a monochrome monitor, you should
- choose black and white.
-
- If you have an EGA or VGA display, you can choose either a light or a
- dark display background. If you choose a light background, PEP will
- display text and graphics in black (and other colors) on white background,
- and so will mimic normal printed output. If you choose a dark background,
- PEP will display white (and color) foreground on a black background.
-
- <Section 17.2: What kind of a printer do you have?>
- PEP supports seven kinds of printer: the HP DeskJet, the HP LaserJet,
- the Canon Bubble Jet, the Postscript printers (such as the Apple
- LaserWriter), the Epson printers (FX80 or later), the IBM graphics
- printer, the IBM color printer, and any printer compatible with one of
- these.
-
- If you specify an Epson printer, you have an additional choice. There
- are two types of Epson printer: 9 pin and 24 pin. The 24 pin printers
- offer higher resolution and faster printing speed. If you choose the 24
- pin option, PEP will print at 180 dots per inch. If you choose the 9 pin
- option, PEP will print at 144 by 120 dots per inch (and at several other
- lower resolutions). If you have a 24 pin printer, you should select the 24
- pin installation option. (However, you may select the 9 pin option if you
- wish to use one of the lower resolutions.) If you have a 9 pin printer,
- you must choose the 9 pin option.
-
- The registered version of PEP offers enhanced printing for the
- LaserJet III and IV. If you specify a LaserJet printer, you will be asked
- whether you have an earlier version (LaserJet I or II), or a more recent
- version (LaserJet III or IV). The latter printers use compression
- techniques that speed the transfer graphic data from the computer. The
- driver for these printers also includes an extra resolution option that
- enables 600 dot per inch output for the LaserJet IV. These LaserJet
- enhancements are available in the registered version only.
-
- If you specify a Postscript printer, you also have an additional
- choice. PEP can output to a Postscript printer in either of two ways: by
- translating a picture into Postscript, or by rasterizing the picture,
- making a bitmap image, and sending the bitmap to the printer. If you have
- a Postscript printer, you can choose either option. Normally, translating
- into Postscript will be faster. Bitmap output has the advantage of being
- completely WYSIWYG: what you see on your computer's display screen can be
- reproduced pixel for pixel on your printer.
-
- <Section 17.3: How does your computer communicate with your printer?>
- If your printer is connected directly to your computer by either a
- parallel or a serial port, specify which port is used. PEP will send
- printer data directly to that port, bypassing DOS for maximum printer
- speed. Alternatively, you can choose to output via DOS to the printer
- device, PRN. You can also choose to capture printer data to a file. If you
- choose this option, each time you print from PEP (via the PRINT/GO command
- <[6.1]>), the print data will be turned into a file named PRINTER.OUT. You
- can later copy this file to your printer.
-
- If you specify direct connection by a parallel port, you have an
- additional choice. You can choose to output using the Basic Input/Output
- System (BIOS) software that is part of your computer, or you can output
- directly to the parallel port hardware. This second option is available
- only if your parallel port is hardware compatible with the original
- IBM-XT. If it is, then choosing this option will give you the best
- possible performance, especially if you are printing in the background
- while editing in PEP. If your parallel port is not hardware compatible
- with the XT, or if you are not sure, then you should choose the BIOS
- option.
-
- <Section 17.4: Do you have a mouse?>
- You can use PEP with or without a mouse. If you have a mouse, it must
- be Microsoft compatible. Almost every kind of mouse available for the PC
- comes with a driver that makes it Microsoft compatible. To use the mouse
- with PEP you must be sure to have the mouse driver installed in your
- system. Installing the mouse driver involves running a utility supplied
- with the mouse. Normally this utility is called MOUSE.COM. Either add the
- command MOUSE to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or run MOUSE before you start
- PEP.