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"zLSlab documentation"z *********************************** * LSlab * * the disklabelprinter * * version 1.0 - 17.3.91 * * written 1990/91 by S.Berendes * * Copyrights by LorraineSoft * * All rights reserved! * *********************************** For copyright notices read the file Info.doc. CONTENTS: 1) Installation 1. Copying LSlab to an extra disk 2. Starting LSlab 3. Errors occuring while starting up 4. The printer configuration 2) How to use 1. LSlab window 2. Entering a label 3. Setup-request 4. Justifying the labelfeeds 5. Terminating LSlab 6. Error messages 3) Hints 1) INSTALLATION "z1. Copying LSlab to an extra disk"z To install LSlab you must do the following: 1. Copy the files LSlab,LSlab.info and LSlabel.cfg to the destination directory. 2. Copy the printer config file "epsonx.cfg" to the destination, the "s:" or the "devs:" directory. You shoul rename it to the name of your printer. E.g.: 1> copy :LSlabel/epsonx.cfg s:<yourprinter>.cfg 3. Adapt the printer configuration to the printer you use (see below) WARNING !! LSlab needs the ARP.library. If you haven't used it yet you should copy it to the LIBS: directory of your booting disk. You can find the ARP.library in the libs: directory on the LSlab distribution disk. "z2. Starting LSlab:"z If you are on the workbench simply open the drawer that contains LSlab and the config file LSlabel.cfg. Start LSlab by double-clicking the LSlab icon. From a shell (is there anyone who still uses the raw CLI ?) 'cd' to the directory containing LSlab and the config file. To start LSlab type '[run ]lslab'. Don't forget to hit >RETURN< as you are in a line oriented i/o handler. "z3. Errors occuring while starting up:"z If the message "No memory !!" is displayed in the window's title bar and LSlab would shut down after a few seconds there would either be not enough memory (try to end some other tasks) or the memory is to dispersed (Reboot your Amiga). "z4. The printer configuration:"z As LSlab sends the printing data directly to the parallel port, you must tell it the codes of your printer. To do this, you need: 1. The manual of your printer. 2. A texteditor or a word processor in ASCII mode, e.g. DMe, Micro- Emacs,Ed,Beckertext or so. 3. The printer configuration file (named pcf in the following) of your LSlab disk named <yourprinter>.cfg. Start the text editor and load the pcf. Search the codes of your prin- ter in its manual. Enter the codes instead of the default codes (for Epson LX 800 compa- tible printers) by entering the ASCII codes of each character of a code sequence separated by spaces behind the keywords. Please note that the first ASCII code must begin in column 10. E.g.: PicaOn 27 80 / | \ Keyword ASCII- ASCII- code of code of "ESC" "P" | column 10 Below the meaning of the keywords in the pcf is listed: Pica - Select PICA width (10 cpi) Elite - Select ELITE width (12 cpi) WideOff - Switch off ENLARGED mode WideOn - Select ENLARGED mode (5/6 cpi) SmallOff - Switch off CONDENSED mode SmallOn - Select CONDENSED mode BoldOff - Switch off BOLDFACE mode BoldOn - Select BOLDFACE mode SuperOff - Switch off SUPERSCRIPT mode SuperOn - Select SUPERSCRIPT mode SubOff - Switch off SUBSCRIPT mode SubOn - Select SUBSCRIPT mode LineOff - Switch off UNDERLINED mode LineOn - Select UNDERLINED mode ItalOff - Switch off ITALICS mode ItalOn - Select ITALICS mode Behind the codes of this block a "D" can be added if this style could not be printed in NLQ (E.g. CONDENSED on many 9-pinwriters). LSlab would switch of NLQ for that line. E.g.: .... ItalOff 27 53 D ItalOn 27 52 D .... if the printer is unable to print italic characters in NLQ mode. At the next four codes a "n" must be added at the position of the corresponding value: SetLM - Set the leftmargin to n chars (PICA width) SetRM - Set the rightmargin to n chars (PICA width) LF216 - To do a linefeed of n/215 inch SetPlen - Set the paperlength to n lines E.g.: .... SetPlen 27 67 n .... NLQ Off - Switch off NLQ mode NLQ On - Select NLQ mode UnidiOff - Switch off unidirectional printing UnidiOn - Select unidirectional printing FullSpd - Select full speed printing HalfSpd - Select half speed printing XStylOff - Select the normal font (E.g. ROMAN XStyleOn - Select a second font SANS SERIF) USChars - Select the US character set InitPrt - Initialize the printer 8LPI - Set the printer to a LF of 1/8 inch (8lpi) 6LPI - Set the printer to a LF of 1/6 inch (6lpi) Center - Select centered printing Left - Select leftbpu 2) HOW TO USE: "z1. LSlab window"z The LSlab window could be separated to three parts: The window title bar is used to display messages. Also there are two additional gadgets: INFO - Brings up a request that displays the current version of LSlab and some advertising. ICON - Sends LSlab sleeping. Some of the allocated memory is released and the window is brought to a minimal size. In this window you can either shut down LSlab completely by clicking at the close- gadget or re-activate it by pressing the right mouse button. If you have entered a label and then iconify LSlab, please note that this label isn't removed so you can work on it immediately after re-activating LSlab. Below this there is the label input field. The functions of the gadgets is explained in chapter 2.2 Entering a label. In the last line there are the gadgets used to control LSlab's in- and output: FR - Clicking at this gadgets activates the Directory-Function (see chapter 2.2). To deactivate this function click at this gadget once more. CLR - Clicking at this gadget will clear the label. The styles and linefeeds would be set to the default values (see als 2.3). LOAD - This gadget is used to load a saved label. Choose the directory (a list of the available devices can be brought up by clicking at the "Devices" gadget) and the file you want to load. WARNING !! A label designed before will be overwritten in any case. If you want to save it first, click at the "Cancel" gadget. SAVE - This gadget is used to save a label. Activate the filename text- gadget and enter the name under that you want to save the label. Otherwise do the steps described at LOAD. WARNING !! If there already exists a file with that name it would be overwritten. But I think there will be a .bak-file function in the next update. SET - Clicking at this gadget calls the setup-request. It is used to adjust the size of the used labels and the quality of the print- out. Also you can adjust the programm to the configuration of your computer. See chapter 2.3 for explanation. PRT - This gadget is used to print a label "z2. Entering a label:"z First I will explain the 21 or 16 (LSlab_NTSC) textgadgets at the left side of the LSlab window. They are used to specify the amount of line- feeds between the textlines. When starting LSlabel they will contain either 27 or 36 correspondig to 8 or 6 lines per inch. You can adjust linefeeds in steps of 1/216 inch equaling a '1'. A 27 equals a linefeed of 1/8 inch, a 36 one of 1/6 inch. If there are more linefeeds than fitting on the label, the message "Too many linefeeds !!" is displayed. LSlab won't do anything about it except from displaying this message. You will have to reduce the amount of linefeeds by yourself till LSlab shows the normal headline "LSlab V1.0 - by S.Berendes" again. But please note that LSlab reserves a linefeed of 27 to ensure the last line fits on the label. If you print the last line in superscript mode, you can exceed the allowed amount of linefeeds by 10. The allowed amount can be calculated by the formula "number_of_line * 36". On the other hand the first linefeed will be included into the calculation in any case, ie it would also be included if the SKIP-function is activa- ted. If you use the SKIP-function you should set the first linefeed to 0 to avoid confusion. The first line (the headline) contains the following gadgets: IDX: You can enter the index of the disk in this gadget (max. 2 chars) e.g. PD,S(ystem),A(pplication),G(ames) and so on. DISKNAME: You can neter the name of the disk here. DF0: Clicking at this gadget reads the name of the disk in drive df0: and copies it to the diskname gadget. DF1:,MS0:,MS1: This gadgets have the same functions as the DF0: gad- get, but are freely configurable. WARNING !! Due to technical restrictions the name of the disk may not exceed 21 characters. Otherwise the name is ignored, ie nothing is changed. SKIP: Clicking at this gadget activates the SKIP-function. That means that the headline containig index and diskname is skipped. So is the first linefeed between the headline and the first textline. To disable this function click at the gadget once more. The functions of the gadgets of the next 21 or 16 (LSlab_NTSC) lines are equal. So I will describe only one line. The big textgadgets on the left are used to enter the text to print. The seven boolean gadgets on the right are used to specify the style of the line. <<-- : This gadget is used to set the alignment of the line: "<<--" (default): The line is printed leftbounded. "-><-" : The line is printed centered. "-->>" : The line is printed rightbounded. NORM : This gadget is used to set the height of the characters: "NORM" (default): The line is printed normally. " UP " : The line is printed in superscript mode. "DOWN" : The line is printed in subscript mode. PICA : If this gadget is selected, the line is printed in PICA chars, ie 10 cpi. Otherwise the line is printed in ELITE (12 cpi). You can choose the default setting of this gadget in the setup- request. SIZE : This gadget is used to set the width of the characters: "SIZE" (default): The line is printed in normal PICA/ELITE chars. "WIDE" : The line is printed in enlarged PICA/ELITE chars. "COND" : The line is printed in condensed PICA/ELITE chars. BOLD : If this gadget is selected, the line is printed boldfaced. LINE : If this gadget is selected, the line is printed underlined. ITAL : If this gadget is selected, the line is printed in italics. You can now design a label by first entering the diskindex and -name or selecting the SKIP gadget. Then you enter the text you want to be printed and choose the apprpriate style. If the message "Line too long !!" is displayed when leaving a textgadget or clicking at the PICA or the SIZE gadget, the text in this line wouldn't fit onto the label. Shorten the text of the line or choose another character width. The "Directory-Function": If you have selected the "FR" gadget and then leave a textgadget by pressing >RETURN<, a filerequest will be brought up. You can now choose a file. If you leave the filerequest by "OK" the selected name is co- pied to the last cursor position of the gadget just left. WARNING !! If there is some text behind the cursor position it will be over- written. If no file is selected and the filerequest is still left by clicking at the "OK" gadget the name of the path displayed in the "Drawer" gad- get is copied to the textgadget. "z3. Setup-request:"z The setup-request is used to adjust the size of the used label and the quality of the printout. Also you can adjust the programm to the confi- guration of your computer. The gadgets have the following functions: Prt-File : In this gadget the path and name of the printer config file must be given. If you leave the gadget by pressing >RETURN< the program checks if the file exists. Otherwise the messa- ge "Error in config-file !!" is displayed. Printer-Port : In this gadget the name of the printer port must be en- tered. Normally this would be "par:", but if you use a multi i/o card, this can be changed. Drive2-4 : In this gadgets you can enter the names of three drives. They will appear in the gadgets in the upper right corner used to load the name of the disk in that drive. You can simply give the name of the three external Amiga drives, but also the names of other filesystems' drivers, e.g FFS, MS-DOS,TOS,MAC-DOS or so. Labellength : Here you give the length of one label in lines. A line is 1/6 inch high. Leftmargin : Here you enter the width of the leftmargin in PICA-chars (10 cpi). Width : In this gadget you enter the width of a label in PICA-chars. Labeljustify : The two gadgets titeled "TEST" and "+216" and the text- gadget right of theese are used to set the labelfeed very exactly. See the next chapter for details. 8LPI : If this gadget is selected the standard linefeeds will be 36 (equaling 6 lines per inch). Otherwise the standard linefeeds will be 27 (8 lines per inch). PICA : If this gadget is selected the standart char width will be 10 characters per inch (PICA), ie that the PICA gadgets in the in- put field are selected automatically. Otherwise the standart char width will be 12 cpi (ELITE). WARNING !! The settings of the "8LPI" and the "PICA" gadget are con- sidered only when LSlab starts or the input field is cleared. The actual label isn't changed. HIGH : If this gadget is selected every line is printed twice to get an usable printout even with a weak ribbon. If NLQ is selected every line is printed four times. WARNING !! This is very slow. NLQ : If this gadget is selected the label is printed in NLQ. FONT 2 : If this gadget is selected the label is printed in the second font (see chapter 1.4 for details). OK : Clicking at this gadget ends the setup-request. The adjustments made in the setup-request are taken over by the program and are saved in the file "LSlabel.cfg". Also the printer configuration file is loaded and parsed. CANCEL : This gadget ends the setup-request too, but the adjustments will neither be saved nor taken over. WARNING !! If LSlab displays the message "Error in config file !!" the printer configuration file couldn't be loaded. Perhaps it's de- fect. "z4. Jsutifying the labelfeeds:"z To get the printer to the beginning of the next label very accurately it is possible in LSlab to set the length of a label exactly in 1/216 inch steps. To do so call the setup-request. Beyond the headline "Label justify" there are two gadgets titeled "TEST" and "+216". First you must enter the length of the label (see above). You can calculate this by measuring the length in inch and multiplying it by 6. But normally it would be noted on the labels' wrapping. You should only measure the length of the label itself. Do not include the space between the labels because otherwise LSlabel's linefeed-checking doesn't work right (it works right, why doesn't it, naturally, but if it gets wrong values you will find it works wrong). Then put the labels in the printer so that the top of a label is at a marked point, e.g. the top of the printer head. Then click at the gad- ged "TEST". The printer will do the linefeeds given under Labellength. If you've set up the length of a label correctly the top of the printer head will be a bit above the bottom of the label. Then click at the "+216" gadget until the top of the next label is at the top of the printer head. If you click at the "TEST" gadget once again the number of 1/216 inch linefeeds at the end of the label is displayed in the text gadget right of the "+216" gadget. If you use labels of different sizes you don't have to do this proce- dure every time. Simply remember the amount of 1/216 inch linefeeds and enter it into the textgadget right of the "+216" gadget. WARNING !! The TEST-function takes usage of some printer codes. If the setup-request is brought up by the program itself and the message "Error in config-file !!" is displayed this means that the printer con- fig file can't be loaded or parsed. You shouldn't use the TEST-func- tions because otherwise one of two things happens: Either nothing is done (lucky guy) or you will get a red box blinking on a black screen (also called guru meditation, alert or system crash). "z5. Terminating LSlab:"z To terminate LSlab simply click at the close gadget of either the main or the iconify window. The printer will be set to the values specified in Preferences. So the printer will have to be ON-LINE. Otherwise LSlab can't be terminated. By the way - the printer is also reset to Prefs' specifications when LSlab is iconified. So if you want to print normal text you don't have to terminate LSlab. Simply iconify it, but make sure the printer is ON-LINE. "z6. Error messages:"z "Error in config-file !!" - This means that either LSlab was unable to read the config-file LSlabel.cfg, ie this file is not in the current directory. In this case the setup-request is brought up so you can enter the settings as described in chapter 2.3. End the setup-request by "OK" and the values will be saved. This message is also displayed if LSlab was unable to load or parse the printer config file. In the first case call the setup request and enter the right name and full path so LSlab dis- plays the message "LSlab V1.0 - by S.Berendes" when leaving the gadget by >RETURN<. "Error while printing !!" - This means LSlab couldn't print the label. "Diskname too long !!" - The name of the disk in the selected drive was longer than 21 chars. Relabel the disk. "Too many linefeeds !!" - The amount of linefeeds to do is to much for the label (see above). "Error while saving !!" - This message is displayed in two cases: 1. LSlab was unable to save a label. 2. LSlab was unable to write the configuration file. "Error while loading !!" - LSlabel was unable to load a saved label. "Line too long !!" - The even entered texline is too long (see above). "Printer not initialised !!" - The printer can't be set to Prefs' spe- cifications when terminating LSlab. "Error while justifying !!" - A error occured using the TEST-function. 3) HINTS: 1. You should note that the top of the printer head is not the top of the first line to print so you shuld mark the position of the head when removing the labels from the printer. Also paper park functions work not exactly enough to use them (at least not those of star-prin- ters). 2. LSlabel was written for my printer. I think that some printers are able to print some styles in NLQ is not the only problem. So if you have a problem please write to me (see also Info.doc). If it is pos- sible you should send also a copy of the codes of your printer and a hexdump of the label you were unable to print. 3. I hope this manual is exactly enough to answer all your questions. But feel free to send questions, comments, bug reports or money. But if you want to get a direct answer please include some cash for posting. Otherwise you will get the answer or credits in the next re- lease. 4. You can switch of the printer if you want as LSlabel initializes be- fore each label.