JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September/JCSM Shareware Collection (JCS Distribution) (September 1996).ISO/printing/12680b01.ziv/DUPLEX.EXE/DUPLEX.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-01 | 11KB | 291 lines

             ┌───────┐
        ┌────┴──┐    │               (R)
       ─┤       │o   ├───────────────────
        │  ┌────┴┴─┐ │  Association of
        │  │       ├─┘  Shareware
        └──┤   o   │    Professionals
       ────┤   │   ├─────────────────────
           └───┴───┘    MEMBER





            D U P L E X

Duplex is a shareware program which helps you to print a text-
file on both sides of the paper.

This program is produced by Feico Nater Shareware, Beukweg 24,
7556 DE Hengelo Ov, phone [phone].  Feico Nater is a member
of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants
to make sure that the shareware principle works for you.  If you
are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP
member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to
help.  The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or
problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical
support for members' products.  Please write to the ASP Ombudsman
at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442, USA or send a CompuServe
message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.


This program is shareware. You may have paid a small amount for
this program, but this does not mean that you are licensed to use
it.  That small amount is for diskette, postage and handling
only.  You only have permission to see if it suits your needs.
If you continue to use this program, you are expected to register
with the author and pay the registration fee.  The fee is only
US $10.00 or Hfl 15.00.  If you register, you support shareware
and you make it possible that more programs ar produced and
distributed this way.

You are encouraged to give copies of this program to others.  The
copies must be complete and unaltered, and you may charge only
a small amount of money for diskette, postage and handling.

Whether you register or not, you are encouraged to tell the
author what you like or dislike.
1 How to use DUPLEX

DUPLEX is usually started by entering:
      DUPLEX file-name
After pressing F10, two files are produced in your default
directory:
      $OUT1 which contains the odd pages.
      $OUT2 which contains the even pages.
You can print these by entering:
      PRINT $OUT1
or:
      COPY $OUT1 LPT1
When printing is completed, turn the pack over and print $OUT2.

Before you use DUPLEX, you must know something about your
printer, and also about your input-file.  Therefore DUPLEX first
asks you to answer some questions.  You can save the answers to
these questions by pressing F8, so you won't have to answer them
again.  If you press F10 without pressing F8, then DUPLEX will
discard the answers to your questions when it has completed.

The questions are divided in two groups: some are related to your
printer and others to you input-file.  You'll probably answer the
printer-related questions only once.

2 Printer-related questions

2.1 Printer type

DUPLEX distinguishes four kinds of printers, and they have been
pictured below.  They are:
a   inverting, top-printing
b   inverting, bottom-printing
c   non-inverting, top-printing
d   non-inverting, bottom-printing
An inverting printer turns the paper over, a non-inverting
printer does not.  Some printers print on top, so you can
immediately read what has been printed, and some print on the
bottom.
A top-printing printer has a disadvantage: when several sheets
are printed, they will be in backward order.  DUPLEX fixes this
problem.
If you use continuous fan-fold paper, set the printer-type to
non-inverting.  Top- or bottom-printing makes no difference.

2.2 Maximum lines per page and maximum characters per line

May-be you don't know the exact answers to these questions.  To
find out, copy the file COUNT.DOC to your printer.  The result
will also tell you what happens if you exceed the maximum values.

Some printers skip to the next line if you exceed the maximum
characters per line.  To avoid this specify characters per line
one fewer.  Better still, see if you can adjust your printer not
to do so.

If the longest line in your text-file is shorter than the
maximum, DUPLEX will center the page between margins.  If your
text exceeds the number of characters per line, DUPLEX will warn
you.

Many printers skip to the next page if you exceed the maximum
lines per page.   To avoid this DUPLEX suppresses line-feeds
preceding form-feed.

2.3 Printer port

This option is not available in the current version of DUPLEX.

2.4 Init string.

Here you can specify a string which must be sent to the printer
before printing starts.  For example, you may want to control the
font or the number of characters per inch.  Read your printer
manual for instructions.  The string can contain any printable
character and also the Esc character.  A triangle shows where the
string ends, this triangle is not part of the string.  Make sure
there are no unwanted spaces in the string.

3 File-related questions

3.1 Input format

A input-file usually contains three control-characters.  They
are:
CR (carriage return, decimal 13) moves the carriage to the left
margin.
LF (line feed, decimal 10) advances the paper one line.
FF (form feed, decimal 12) advances the paper to the next page.

CR and LF usually occur together. They should occur frequently
in any text-file.  FF may be missing in some text-files.

Depending on the occurence of FF, DUPLEX distinguishes three
kinds of input-files.  They are:
a   form-feed formatted
b   line-feed formatted
c   unformatted
a   An FF-formatted input-file contains a form-feed wherever a
new page must begin.  There is a maximum number of lines between
two form-feeds and this format expects that your printer can
print at least that number of lines per page.  If your printer
cannot print that many lines per page, the surplus lines will be
on the next page, which is ugly, but cannot be helped.  DUPLEX
correctly handles the extra page.
b   An CRLF-formatted input-file contains no form-feeds, but a
number of (carriage-return and) line-feed characters to skip to
the next page.  This format expects that your printer will print
EXACTLY a certain number of lines per page, often 66.  If you'd
attempt to print such a file on a printer which prints a
different number of lines per page, you will see page headers in
the middle of pages.  DUPLEX fixes this problem, provided you set
parameters correctly and your printer can print AT LEAST the
expected number of lines.
c   An unformatted input-file contains no redundant line-feeds,
and few form-feeds.  With this format the page-breaks will be
where they fall, and this may be in ugly places, such as
immediately below a chapter heading.

The file you are now reading is unformatted.

It is advised that you inspect your input-file with a text-editor
before starting DUPLEX.  If you have 4DOS or NDOS, you can use
LIST.  The form-feed often looks like the female symbol or like
an Egyptian cross.  If you see page-headers but no form-feeds,
your file is probably CRLF-formatted: count the exact number of
lines between two page headers.

If you specify CRLF format, you must also specify the exact
number of lines per page that the input-file expects.
Preferably, this should not be more than your printer can print.

3.2 Page-numbers

If you answer Y to this question, DUPLEX will add page-numbers
to your text.  This is particularly convenient if something goes
wrong during printing and you don't know what really happened.
Page-numbers will be at the top of the pages, left on even pages
and right on odd pages.  If pages are numbered already, you had
better specify N.

3.3 File-name.

This is the name of the input-file.

4 Storing different options

May-be you have several printers and you want to save defaults
for each.  It can be done, because DUPLEX saves its defaults in
a file with the same name.  First create a copy of DUPLEX.COM
with another name:
      COPY DUPLEX.COM DUPLOX.COM
Then start both programs and set defaults.  Do not forget to
press F8 to save.  Eventually press F9 to quit without printing.
This creates DUPLEX.OPT and DUPLOX.OPT, and although DUPLEX.COM
and DUPLOX.COM are equal, they have different .OPT-files and
therefore different defaults.
You can also make different .OPT-files for the same printer.  One
specifies 80 characters per line and an Init-string to set 10
characters per inch.  Another specifies 96 characters per line
and an Init-string to set 12 characters per inch.
5 How to use the printer

Some printers warp the paper so much that it cannot be used
again.  These printers are no good if you want to print both
sides.  But may-be the printer can be adjusted to a non-inverting
position, which does not warp the paper.

Your printer must be reliable.  If your paper jams, you are in
trouble.  Many sheets of double print may be spoiled because the
printer fed two sheets at once near the beginning of the job.

After printing the first side, the pack must be fed again.  The
paper must be turned over in some way.  Be sure you do it the
right way.  If you print in landscape-orientation on an inverting
printer, the pack must not be turned over at all.

If you set defaults correctly, you should not reshuffle the paper
in any way before refeeding it.

You can print by entering PRINT $OUT1 and PRINT $OUT2, or COPY
$OUT1 LPT1 and COPY $OUT2 LPT1 or otherwise.  Depending on your
printer type, DUPLEX will tell you which file must be printed
first.

The PRINT-command has the advantage that the computer bcomes
available for further jobs.  However, remember that the PRINT-
command produces an extra form-feed at the end.  Therefore the
last page must be removed before refeeding.

If your printer is non-inverting, $OUT1 and $OUT2 must be printed
in the right order.  DUPLEX will tell you.

Why doesn't DUPLEX print immediately?  Well, because this makes
it possible to use the PRINT command, which prints in the
background.

DUPLEX always produces an even number of pages.  So if your
source contains an odd number of pages, an extra form-feed will
be appended to $OUT2.
6 Printer types

Non-inverting, printing on top
                
     ───────────────────>
════════                ════════
Printing order: 1 3 5 2 4 6     first $OUT1, then $OUT2



Non-inverting, printing on bottom (e.g.HP Laserjet)

     ───────────────────>
════════               ════════
Printing order: 2 4 6 1 3 5     first $OUT2, then $OUT1



inverting, printing on top   (e.g.HP DeskJet)
    <──────────┐
════════       │
               │
               │<-
               │
      ─────────┘
════════
Printing order: 2 4 6 5 3 1  or  5 3 1 2 4 6
$OUT1 will contain the odd pages in reversed order.



inverting, printing on bottom  (HP LN03 and others)
    <──────────┐
════════       │
               │
             ->│
               │
      ─────────┘
════════
Printing order: 6 4 2 1 3 5  or  1 3 5 6 4 2
$OUT2 will contain the even pages in reversed order.