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IMAGEPRINT Print Quality Enhancer Version 1.3 for the IBM PC and IBM Graphics Printer/Epson (C) Copyright Image Computer Systems 1985, 1986 This product is marketed as User-Supported Software. This is an opportunity to test and evaluate software before you buy it. We at Image Computer Systems rely on your support to continue developing quality products at reasonable prices. If you find yourself using IMAGEPRINT, please register your copy. See the Introduction Section "Registering your copy of IMAGEPRINT" for details. You are encouraged to give unmodified copies of PC-DOS/MS- DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskettes (with 1 font file) to your friends and acquaintances. We want to reach as many people as possible with this product. If you have a REGISTERED IMAGEPRINT diskette (with more than 1 font file), please do not give anyone a copy. We know that it is tempting to "help a friend", but anyone that has the funds to purchase a computer and printer and word processor surely can spare another $20 for the purchase of a product as useful as IMAGEPRINT. And stay honest in the process. The programs and the documentation on the PC-DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette and the REGISTERED diskette are copyrighted. No programs or documentation can be added or deleted or altered without written approval from Image Computer Systems. See the APPENDIX Section "Rules and Regulations" for details. IBM, PC-DOS, IBM PC, IBM PC XT, IBM PCjr, Graphics Printer, Proprinter are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research Corporation. Compaq is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation. PC-Write is a trademark of Quicksoft. Epson is a trademark of Epson Corporation. WordStar is a trademark of MicroPro Corporation. MS-DOS, Word are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Multimate is a trademark of Multimate Corporation. Lotus, Symphony are trademarks of Lotus Corporation. CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction What is IMAGEPRINT? ...........................1 What does IMAGEPRINT include? .................1 What printers is IMAGEPRINT compatible with? ..3 What computers will IMAGEPRINT run on? ........4 Files on the IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette .4 Registering your copy of IMAGEPRINT ...........5 Support from Image Computer Systems ...........6 Image Computer Systems locations ..............6 Using IMAGEPRINT Making a copy of the IMAGEPRINT diskette ......7 Starting IMAGEPRINT - An overview .............7 Inputting from a file ........................10 Typewriter mode ..............................11 Backslash commands ...........................12 Fonts ......................................13 Print quality ..............................14 Character attributes .......................14 Character offsets ..........................16 Cancelling character attributes/offsets ....17 Print density ..............................17 Lines per inch .............................18 Straight-through mode ......................18 Soft Hyphens when formatting ...............19 Printing a backslash .......................19 JX-80 color control ........................19 Formatting commands ..........................20 Enable formatting ..........................22 Page length ................................22 Page number ................................22 Move to next page ..........................23 Headers and footers ........................23 Set header and footer width ................24 Lines per inch .............................24 Line spacing ...............................25 Start paragraph ............................25 Word wrap with justification ...............25 No word wrap ...............................25 Left margin ................................26 Right margin ...............................26 Extra gutter, even pages ...................26 Extra gutter, odd pages ....................26 Temporary indent ...........................26 Center line ................................26 CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------------- Force printing .............................26 Force paper movement .......................26 Stop before printing page ..................27 Immediate backslash execution ..............27 Comments ...................................27 International character sets .................28 Using with a word processor/text editor ......29 Using with PC-Write ..........................29 Appendix IMAGEPRINT backslash commands summary ........31 IMAGEPRINT formatting commands summary .......32 Error messages ...............................33 Technical notes ..............................35 Other Image Computer Systems products METATEXT ..................................36 CP/M version of IMAGEPRINT ................37 BASIC Windowing Toolbox ...................39 OKIDATA 192/193 Bar Coding controller .....40 Rules and Regulations ........................41 Image Computer Systems - a profile ...........42 Index ...........................................43 REGISTRATION FORMS ..............................45 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION WHAT IS IMAGEPRINT? IMAGEPRINT is a program which allows you to produce high quality characters on your dot matrix printer. With IMAGE- PRINT you can print important letters, resumes, and documen- tation on your standard IBM Graphics Printer or Epson printer or compatible printer. There is no need to buy a daisy wheel printer, another parallel port, another cable. IMAGEPRINT runs as a standard applications program. Text input to IMAGEPRINT can come either directly from the keyboard (typewriter mode) or from a disk file. The text input can contain embedded backslash ("\") commands, which select bold, underlining, double width, italics, etc. Text can be formatted (left and right justification, margins, etc) with a word processor or by using IMAGEPRINT's built-in formatting capabilities. WHAT DOES IMAGEPRINT INCLUDE? Characters - Whether you're working with an IBM Graphics Printer, an Epson printer, or a compatible printer, IMAGEPRINT allows you to print the IBM Graphics Printer's extended character set, which matches the IBM PC's character set, in letter quality. All of the mathematical symbols, national charac- ters and graphics characters are included. Character attributes - IMAGEPRINT provides all of the standard IBM Graphics Printer character attributes like bold, double width, underline, ten characters per inch and compressed. Additional features provided by IMAGEPRINT include italic, half-high, twelve characters per inch (cpi), true super- script and subscript, 6 or 8 lines per inch, Epson JX series printer color control and proportional character spacing. Print Modes - There are four IMAGEPRINT print qualities: Draft quality. In this mode, IMAGEPRINT uses the printer's built-in facilities to create a rough draft of the output for 1 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- proofing. Only the printer's standard dot-matrix font is used. Printing occurs at normal printer speed. Medium quality fast 3 pass printing. In this mode, the print head moves at standard printer speed. The printing is more dotty than the other two modes, especially in the horizontal direction. This mode is useful for memos and reports that don't need top print quality, or for fast proofing. High quality 3 pass printing. In this mode, the print head moves at one half standard printer speed. This is the default quality of IMAGE- PRINT. The print quality is excellent and can be used for your important correspondence. High quality 6 pass printing. In this mode, the print head moves at one half standard printer speed. Use this mode for your most important letters, or if your printer ribbon is getting old. Fonts - All font files on IMAGEPRINT diskettes have a standard name format: FONTxx, where xx is the number of the font. The distribution diskette contains 1 font: Cubic (FONT1). Registered users of IMAGEPRINT have a total of 6 typefaces: Cubic: Attractive well-proportioned font that works (FONT1) well at both 10 and 12 cpi. Roman: Stylishly bold. Not as heavy as block, not (FONT6) as light as Cubic. Outline: Unusual font. Characters are very large, and (FONT7) the center is hollow. Best at 10 cpi. Like Block, it works well as a heading. Small: The smallest font. A nice alternative (in (FONT10) proportional mode) to compressed (17.1 cpi). Pica: Larger font than Cubic. Best at 10 cpi. (FONT11) Block: Heavy font, very thick. Useful for headings, (FONT12) emphasis. Stands out with bold attribute. 2 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- If you only have the Cubic font, you can get a demonstration of other IMAGE fonts by running "FONTDEMO" on the IMAGEPRINT diskette. FONTDEMO.BAT is a batch file that copies the data file F.DAT to LPT1:. There is a file called FTABLE.TXT on the IMAGEPRINT disk- ette, containing an ASCII character table. You can use it to print each of your IMAGEPRINT fonts for easy reference to character shapes or individual character codes. Edit FTABLE.TXT, changing the font name and the leading backslash command to select the desired font. Then use IMAGEPRINT to copy FTABLE.TXT to the printer. e.g. "IMP80 FTABLE.TXT". Formatting - IMAGEPRINT recognizes "dot commands" that select left and right margins, text micro-justification, even and odd page gutters, automatic centering, headers, footers, six and eight lines per inch and line spacing. Backslash commands, including double width, do not affect the formatting. See the Section "Formatting commands" for more details. WHAT PRINTERS IS IMAGEPRINT COMPATIBLE WITH? IMAGEPRINT is compatible with any of the following dot matrix printers: Canon PW-1156A Epson FX, GX, RX, LX, JX, "286" series printers Epson compatible printers IBM Graphics Printer or compatibles IBM Proprinter NEC Pinwriter Okidata 92/93 (with Plug 'n Play version 2.1 or higher) Okidata 192/193, 292/293 (IBM compatible versions) Panasonic 1080, 1091, 1092 Star Micronics SG series Future Epson printers (Epson has a policy of downward compatibility for its new printers) This is only a partial list. If in doubt about your printer's suitability, check that it recognizes the standard Epson ESC Z, ESC Y, and ESC 3 control codes. The minimum line feed distance should be 1/216 inches, but printers with a minimum line feed distance of 1/144 inches will also work, but the characters may appear slightly flattened. 3 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- IMAGEPRINT works with printers connected to the parallel interface on ports LPT1:, LPT2:, or LPT3:. The PC-DOS/MS- DOS version of ImagePrint will not work with serially interfaced printers. WHAT COMPUTERS WILL IMAGEPRINT RUN ON? IMAGEPRINT works with an IBM PC, IBM PC-XT, IBM PC-AT, IBM PCJr, and any true compatibles, like a Compaq. It runs under PC-DOS or MS-DOS versions 1.1 and above. There is also a CP/M-80 version of IMAGEPRINT that works with printers attached to either a serial or parallel port. See the Appendix Section "Other Image Computer Systems products" for details. FILES ON THE IMAGEPRINT DISTRIBUTION DISKETTE README Introduction, directions IMP80.EXE IMAGEPRINT program for an 80 column printer FONT1 Cubic font MANUAL.DOC The IMAGEPRINT User Manual FONTDEMO.BAT Batch file used for a demonstration of Image Computer Systems fonts F.DAT Data file for FONTDEMO.BAT IMPTUTR1.TXT Simple IMAGEPRINT demonstration IMPTUTR2.TXT Detailed IMAGEPRINT demonstration FTABLE.TXT Font ASCII table. Print with IMAGEPRINT after altering the font selection and name NATIONAL.COM Redefine IMAGEPRINT to ten international character sets; individual character assignment PCWRT24.HLP Patch for PC-Write 2.4-2.55 help file HELPE.DEF PCWRT26.HLP Patch for PC-Write 2.6 help file ED.HLP PC-WRITE.DEF PC-Write definition file If you have a REGISTERED diskette, you will also have: IMP136.EXE ImagePrint program for a 136 column printer FONT6 Roman font FONT7 Outline font FONT10 Small font FONT11 Pica font FONT12 Block font The above files are more fully described in the appropriate sections. 4 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTERING YOUR COPY OF IMAGEPRINT This IMAGEPRINT diskette is distributed as User-Supported Software. Registration costs 20 dollars/17 pounds and gives you the following: (1) You are supporting us in our effort to release quality software at an extremely low price. We realize that the "distribution" version of IMAGE- PRINT, with the Cubic font, is a perfectly usable pro- duct without any of the extras you get if you register. We could have distributed a version of IMAGEPRINT that had features removed, or deleted sections of the user's manual, but we have given you everything you need. Please give us the support we need by sending in 20 dollars/17 pounds, not only for what you will get, but also for what you already have. (2) When you register your copy of IMAGEPRINT we will send you the latest release of both the 80 and 136 column versions of IMAGEPRINT. The 136 column version of IMAGE- PRINT works with wide-carriage printers, and the 80 column version works with letter-width printers. (3) Also included are the six fonts described in Section "What does IMAGEPRINT include?", Subsection "Fonts". Each font contains an entire IBM Graphics Printer's character set. Type "FONTDEMO" to see a font demonstra- tion. Or you may order the distribution diskette containing the latest version of 80 column IMAGEPRINT, 1 font (Cubic), and all support files for 10 dollars/9 pounds. Diskettes are DOS 2.0 double-sided format, even though IMAGEPRINT is compatible with DOS 1.1 and above. If you have single-sided diskette drives, or are using DOS 1.1, we can supply IMAGEPRINT on two DOS 1.1 single-sided diskettes for an additional fee of 5 dollars/4 pounds. At the end of this manual is a registration and order form. Order by mail or phone. We accept MasterCard and Visa. Our addresses are listed in the Section "Image Computer Systems locations." 5 INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------- SUPPORT FROM IMAGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS If you are not a registered user, please don't contact us for technical assistance. It wouldn't be fair to other reg- istered users who are actively supporting us. If you are a registered user, and you have an urgent problem or question, give us a call. Otherwise send a letter, clearly stating your question or problem. We will attempt to reply the same day we receive your letter. It is our policy to provide full support and to ensure your complete satisfaction with this product. Suggestions and comments are welcome from everyone. IMAGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LOCATIONS Our addresses are: USA Image Computer Systems P. O. Box 647 Avon Connecticut 06001 Ph: (203) 678-8771 EUROPE Image Computer Systems Ltd. 27 Cobham Road Ferndown Industrial Estate Wimborne Dorset ENGLAND BH21 7PE Ph: 0202-876064 6 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- USING IMAGEPRINT MAKING A COPY OF THE IMAGEPRINT DISKETTE First, make a copy of the IMAGEPRINT diskette. The IMAGE- PRINT diskette is not copy protected so it can be copied in the conventional way. Step 1: Place the original IMAGEPRINT diskette in drive A: Step 2: Place an empty formatted diskette in drive B: Step 3: Type "COPY *.* B:" The copy command is safer than the "DISKCOPY" procedure because the diskettes can be accidentally reversed and still not overwrite the IMAGEPRINT diskette. Store the original diskette in a safe place. If you are unfamiliar with this procedure, refer to your operating system manual. STARTING IMAGEPRINT - AN OVERVIEW Put your IMAGEPRINT copy in the currently active drive. Make sure you have the Disk Operating System (DOS) prompt displayed. Then invoke IMAGEPRINT. The syntax for invoking IMAGEPRINT for an 80 column printer is: IMP80 INPUT_SOURCE [LPTx:] [slash options] (x = 1,2 or 3) The command line can be typed in as either upper or lower case. Both the printer specification and trailing slash commands are optional. Examples: (See below for explanation) IMP80 CON: {input from console, default to LPT1:} IMP80 TEXTFILE LPT1: {input from TEXTFILE} IMP80 C:LETTER.TXT LPT2: /D {draft mode, ouput to LPT2:} IMP136 CON: /O/L {optimize print head movement, 6 print head passes per line} To use the 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT, substitute "IMP136" for "IMP80". Note - The 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT is not included on the IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette. 7 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- The input_source specification is the source of input to IMAGEPRINT. This can be either the keyboard (typewriter mode) or a disk file. There is no default for this specifi- cation; you must specify the input_source. See the fol- lowing sections for details. Following the input_source specification is the printer port specification. This can be LPT1:, LPT2: or LPT3:. If you don't specify the printer port, it will default to LPT1:. Following the printer port specification are optional slash commands. They are: /D - (D)raft Example: IMP136 AFILE LPT3: /D Print a rough draft of the text, using only the printer's built-in print modes. Draft mode is useful for proofing before printing a final copy. Printing occurs at the printer's normal speed, using the printer's standard characters. Where- ever possible, a standard printer mode equivalent to an IMAGEPRINT mode is selected so the printed text closely resembles IMAGEPRINT output. For example, a "\N" (normal character offset) in the input text will cause ESCAPE "T" (cancel subscript or superscript) to be sent to your printer. Note - You should avoid using backslash commands for which your printer has no corresponding build- in function. For example, in draft print mode, if a "\p" proportional spacing backslash command is detected in the input text, then IMAGEPRINT will send ESCAPE "p" (std. Epson escape sequence) to your printer. If your printer isn't capable of proportional spacing and doesn't recognize the command, then the letter "p" may print. 8 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- /O - (O)ptimize Example: IMP80 CON: /O This is a very useful facility, as it can greatly speed printing, especially if a lot of text is on the far right of the page. If print head movement optimization is enabled, then IMAGEPRINT will send regular spaces to locate the print position, rather than always returning the print head to the left margin for each print pass. Note - IMAGEPRINT assumes that the printer is in 10 characters per inch mode if print head optimization is enabled. At 10 cpi, each space character will locate the print position 1/10 inches to the right of the current print position. If you have set your printer's DIP switches to cause the printer to power-up in a density other than 10 cpi, then text will print at the wrong location because each space IMAGEPRINT will send isn't equal to 1/10 inches of horizontal movement. /F /Q /L - Select print quality The print quality can be selected when invoking IMAGEPRINT using "/F", "/Q" or "/L". These three selections correspond to the backslash commands "\F", "\Q" and "\L" that can be embedded in the input text. This allows printing of text files using different print qualities without having to re-edit the text file to change the quality selection. When IMAGEPRINT is invoked, FONT1 is always loaded as the default font. Because IMAGEPRINT is compatible with DOS 1.1 and above, it does not recognize sub-directory paths, etc. of later versions of DOS, so you must always have FONT1 on the same diskette as the IMAGEPRINT program. If there are any errors when invoking IMAGEPRINT, the cause of the error will be displayed on the screen, and control will return to the operating system. Errors, and their meanings, are listed in the Appendix. While IMAGEPRINT is running, if the printer becomes not ready (turned off, taken off-line, out of paper..), IMAGEPRINT will usually time-out (see below), display an error message, and return control to the operating system. 9 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- The time-out value is determined by your operating system, not by IMAGEPRINT. If you have specified infinite printer retry with your operating system MODE command or if you have run an infinite retry utility program, IMAGEPRINT will not time-out. You can abort IMAGEPRINT by pressing CTRL-C (the CTRL key, plus the "C" key at the same time), but usually only if the printer is actively printing. If your printer is not ready (see above), then the CTRL-C key combination may not be recognized because the part of your operating system that drives your printer may be in an endless loop. INPUTTING FROM A FILE: To use IMAGEPRINT to print a diskette file, type: IMP80 filename [LPTx:] [slash options] (x = 1,2 or 3) To use the 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT, substitute "IMP136" for "IMP80". Note - The 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT is not included on the IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette. Using a text editor or word processor (see Section "Using with a word processor/text editor"), create the diskette file you wish to print with IMAGEPRINT. Type in any back- slash commands as standard characters. Then send the file to the printer using either the 80 column version of IMAGE- PRINT (IMP80) or the 136 column version (IMP136). For example: IMP80 LETTER.DOC /d IMP136 A:LETTER.DOC LPT3: /O IMP80 RESUME LPT2: Backslash commands and dot formatting commands are automatically recognized and acted on. They are not printed. Text files sent to IMAGEPRINT must have a standard DOS end- of-file marker byte (26 decimal, 1A hexadecimal). Otherwise IMAGEPRINT may not recognize the end of your text file. This byte is automatically appended to files by almost every word processor and text editor on the market. If your text editor doesn't append this byte, then type it in as the last char- acter in your text file. 10 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- TYPEWRITER MODE: To use IMAGEPRINT in typewriter mode, type: IMP80 CON: [LPTx:] [slash options] (x = 1,2 or 3) To use the 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT, substitute "IMP136" for "IMP80". Note - The 136 column version of IMAGEPRINT is not included on the IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette. The first parameter following the program name is the source of input, and in this case, you will input from the console, or keyboard. All backslash commands will be recognized. The current line can be edited with the standard DOS keyboard buffer editing syntax. The most useful keys are: BACKSPACE - delete character to left of cursor. TAB - move to next tab stop. FUNCTION KEY 1 - display previous line 1 character at a time. FUNCTION KEY 3 - display previous line in its entirety. <RETURN> - print the line that is visible on the screen. Each line on the screen will not print until the <RETURN> key is pressed, because an internal line buffer stores the characters. Following the input_source specification is the printer port specification. If you don't specify the printer port, it will default to LPT1:. To exit IMAGEPRINT and return to the operating system, press the function key F6, or press the keys CTRL and "Z" together as the first entry on a line. Then press <RETURN>. 11 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- BACKSLASH COMMANDS Backslash commands, which select character density, width, etc., are standard printable characters, embedded within the text of a file created for use with IMAGEPRINT. For example, "\I" gives you italics, and "\U" gives you underlining. These backslash commands are recognized as IMAGEPRINT commands, and are removed from the stream of data sent to the printer. They are not printed. If formatting is enabled (".EN"), backslash commands, including the double width command, will not affect margin justification. There is no space between the backslash and the following character(s) that identifies the command. Almost all back- slash commands are made up to two characters: the backslash, plus one more alphabetic character. The only exception is font selection, where the backslash can be followed by up to two numeric characters. There are two kinds of backslash commands: toggling and non- toggling. Toggling commands reverse the current state of the mode selected. For example, because BOLD is a toggling command, the first "\B" encountered enables BOLD mode, the second cancels BOLD, the third enables BOLD again, etc. You can turn off all active toggling modes with "\C" (cancel). Non-toggling commands are cancelled by selecting another mutually exclusive mode. For example, if "\|" is selected (12 characters per inch), a later "\>" (10 cpi) command will both cancel 12 cpi mode and enable 10 cpi mode. In the following table, the command letters following the backslash are shown in upper case, though lower case will work also. The backslash command mnemonics (except for the color commands) represent, as closely as possible, the action involved. For example, superscript is ^, subscript is v, compressed is <, 12 cpi is |, 10 cpi is >. There are examples of backslash commands in the diskette files IMPTUTR1.TXT and IMPTUTR2.TXT. In the following tables, ESC stands for the escape character (1B Hex, 27 Decimal). 12 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- FONTS: \00 ... \99 Example: \1This is FONT1 (Cubic), \6this is FONT6 (Roman). Select a different font. The font file selected must be on the same drive that IMAGEPRINT was started on, or an error occurs, and the program terminates. Your new font choice remains in effect until over- ridden by another font choice. The numbers following the backslashes correspond to the font files: 1 - FONT1 (Cubic) 6 - FONT6 (Roman) 7 - FONT7 (Outline) 10 - FONT10 (Small) 11 - FONT11 (Pica) 12 - FONT12 (Block) The default font is FONT1. It is always loaded be- fore IMAGEPRINT reads any text input, so it must al- ways be available. There can be up to two digits following the back- slash. The first character following the backslash must be a digit. If the second character following the backslash is also a digit, then IMAGEPRINT as- sumes that the two digits combined are to be used to select a font. Examples: "\0123" would use FONT1 to print "23" "\06123" would use FONT6 to print "123" "\6abc" would use FONT6 to print "abc" "\10abc" would use FONT10 to print "abc" "\1123" would use FONT11 to print "23" Mixing different fonts on the same line slows the printing because of the font file disk access time. IMAGEPRINT has to load each font while accumulating the line before printing, and also has to load each font to print the line. Using a RAM memory disk or a hard disk greatly reduces the font access time. See the Section "What does IMAGEPRINT include?" for details on the fonts. 13 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT QUALITY: Three IMAGEPRINT print qualities are available that use IMAGEPRINT fonts: \F - (Fast) Medium quality 3 pass printing. In this mode the print head moves at standard printer speed. The printing is more dotty than the other two modes, especially in the horizontal direction. All character attributes can be used except BOLD. \Q - (Quality) High quality 3 pass printing. In this mode the print head moves at one half standard printer speed. This is the default quality of IMAGEPRINT. The print quality is excellent. \L - (Laser) Top quality 6 pass printing. In this mode, the print head moves at one half standard printer speed. Use this mode for your most important printing, or if your printer ribbon is getting old. The above print qualities are distinct from selecting standard printer draft mode by having a "/D" on the command line that invokes IMAGEPRINT. (See the Section "Starting IMAGEPRINT - An overview"). CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES: \B - BOLD Toggle bold mode. Bold characters appear darker and thicker in appearance. Example: \bThis is bold\b, this is not \BThis is bold\c, this is not This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "E" (emphasized) mode. 14 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- \H - HALF HIGH Toggle half high mode. Half high characters are compressed in the vertical direction, much like subscript or superscript characters appear on the standard IBM Graphics Printer. \hThis is half high\h, this is not \HThis is half high\C, this is not The IBM Graphics Printer has no equivalent mode. \I - ITALIC Toggle italic mode. Italic characters lean to the right. \iThis is italic\i, this is not \IThis is italic\C, this is not The IBM Graphics Printer has no equivalent mode. \U - UNDERLINE Toggle underline mode. Characters received after this command will be underlined. A space is considered a character, and will be underlined too, unless formatting (".EN") and left and right justi- fication (".WW") are enabled, in which case only printable characters can be underlined. \uThis is underlined\u, this is not \UThis is underlined\c, this is not This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "-" mode. \W - DOUBLE WIDTH Toggle double width mode. One double width character takes up exactly 2 normal character widths. If formatting is enabled (".EN"), you must not span spaces, line feeds, or tabs in double width mode. If you do, an error message will display on your compu- ter's screen. The reason for this restriction is that a line may break at any point and, if double width mode is still active, then the margins of the next line may not be correctly located. Double width can, however, encase a word that contains soft or hard hyphens. 15 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- Examples: \wWord Anotherword\w {ERROR} \WWord\W {OK} \wOneword\w \wAnotherword\w {OK} \wHy\-phen\-a\-ted\w {Soft hyphens - OK} \wOver-ride\w {Hard hyphens - OK} This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "W" mode. CHARACTER OFFSETS: \^ - SUPERSCRIPT Select Superscripted printing for the following characters. Use \N to exit this mode. This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "S0" mode. \V - SUBSCRIPT Select subscripted printing for the following characters. Use \N to exit this mode. This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "S1" mode. \N - NORMAL OFFSET Select a standard offset for the following characters. The offset of a character is the distance above or below the standard print position on a line. This command ends superscript and subscript mode. Examples: \vThis is subscript, \^this is superscript, \nsubscript and superscript turned off. This mode corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "T" mode. 16 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- CANCELLING CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES/OFFSETS: \C - CANCEL Cancel all character attributes and offsets. This command is useful because keeping track of the current state of the toggling commands can become difficult. Bold, Half high, Italic, Underline, and Double width are all cancelled, plus any superscripting and subscripting. PRINT DENSITY: \> - 10 CPI > > e x p a n d e d Select 10 characters per inch mode. This is the standard density for an IBM Graphics Printer. IMAGEPRINT defaults to this density. \| - 12 CPI Select 12 characters per inch mode. In this mode, 96 characters will print on an 8" line. There is no equivalent command on an IBM Graphics Printer. \< - COMPRESSED squeezed<< Select 17.1 characters per inch mode. In this mode, 132 characters will print on an 8" line. This density corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's compressed mode. \P - PROPORTIONAL Select proportional inter-character spacing. This means that a "W" will take up more space than a "!". The number of characters that will print on a line depends on the accumulated character widths. There is no equivalent command on an IBM Graphics Printer. Print density examples: \<This is compressed, \pthis is proportional, \|this is 12 cpi, \>and this is 10 cpi. 17 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- LINES PER INCH: \S - SIX LINES PER INCH Select 1/6 inches inter-line spacing. This is the default value of IMAGEPRINT. This command is identical in action to the ".LI 6" formatting command. This is the standard vertical line spacing of the IBM Graphics Printer. \E - EIGHT LINES PER INCH Select 1/8 inches inter-line spacing. This corresponds to the IBM Graphics Printer's ESC "0" (zero) command. STRAIGHT THROUGH MODE: \[ - BEGIN STRAIGHT THROUGH MODE Text received after this command is printed in standard printer quality. The only backslash command recognized in this mode is the "END STRAIGHT THROUGH MODE" command ("\]"). All other backslash commands received are printed as normal text. This mode is useful for mixing standard printing and IMAGEPRINT quality printing on the same page. It is also useful for sending non-printing ASCII character values (values below 31 decimal, 1F hex) to your printer, which would otherwise be swallowed by IMAGEPRINT. Standard printing and IMAGEPRINT quality printing cannot be successfully mixed on the same line. The character placement and paper movement will not be correct. \] - END STRAIGHT THROUGH MODE Characters received after this command are printed in IMAGEPRINT quality. All backslash commands are enabled following this command. 18 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- SOFT HYPHENS WHEN FORMATTING: \- - POTENTIAL WORD BREAK If formatting has been enabled (".EN"), then a line can be broken any place a soft hyphen backslash com- mand "\-" appears in a word. To minimize the size of gaps between words, long words should be broken up into sections by the soft hyphen. Examples: "for\-mat\-ting" "il\-lus\-tra\-tion" PRINTING A BACKSLASH: \\ - DOUBLE BACKSLASH To print a single backslash character, put double backslash characters in the input text, with no intervening space. JX-80 COLOR CONTROL: For those of you that have Epson JX-80 printers, IMAGEPRINT has facilities to change a line's color. It is not possible to intermingle different colors on the same line. If more than 1 color backslash command is on a line, the left-most command is the one recognized for that line. The backslash commands and the corresponding colors are: \! BLACK \@ RED \$ BLUE \% PURPLE \& YELLOW \* ORANGE \= GREEN 19 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- FORMATTING COMMANDS IMAGEPRINT has text formatting capability using individual commands that specify the page length, left and right margin, word wrap, etc. You must explicitly turn on formatting with the ENABLE FORMATTING command (".EN"). The ".EN" command must come before any other formatting command. Otherwise, all text preceding ".EN", including formatting commands, is printed literally. Each formatting command is preceded by a ".", which must be the FIRST THING ON THE LINE, in column 1. Formatting commands like this, that have a leading ".", are called dot commands. The command type is made up of two characters, upper or lower case, following the dot, separated from it by zero or more spaces. There must be no space between the two command characters. If there is an optional trailing variable, it is separated from the command type characters by zero or more spaces. You can have comments following the trailing variable, separated from it by at least one space. For example, all of the following commands are equivalent: .lf3 .Lf 3 This is a comment - move paper 3 lines . LF 3 Depending on the type of command, a trailing variable can either be a literal string, or a relative or absolute numerical value. An example of an absolute numerical value in a command is ".LM 3". Following this command, the left margin will be set to column 3. An example of a relative numerical value in a command is ".RM -10". Following this command, the right margin is shifted ten columns to the left. If the formatting command normally expects a trailing variable, and it is missing, the default value is assumed. The default values of the variable parameters are: .PN 1 (page number 1) .PL 66 (page length = 66 lines, or 11 inches at) (6 lines/inch) .LS 1 (no extra gap between lines) .LM 1 (left margin = column 1) .RM 80 (right margin = column 80 for IMP80,) (column 136 for IMP136) No headers or footers These commands are explained in the following sections. 20 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- The diskette files IMPTUTR1.TXT and IMPTUTR2.TXT show IMAGE- PRINT formatting and backslash commands in use and have extensive comments. IMPTUTR1.TXT is an example of a busi- ness letter. IMPTUTR2.TXT is a more comprehensive demon- stration of IMAGEPRINT commands. The character positions each backslash command takes up is taken into account during formatting. The extra width gen- erated by the DOUBLE WIDTH command is also taken into account. The double width and underline backslash commands should not span spaces or tabs or line feeds. Each indiv- idual word should be "wrapped": \wdouble\w \wwidth\w \uunderlined\u \wsemi-detached\w \wsoft\w \why\-phen\w This is because a line may be broken at any point by the formatting. The double width mode continuing on to the next line can cause margin shift and the underlining mode continuing on to the next line can cause leading spaces to be underlined. Note that if you span spaces or tabs by ANY backslash command your headers and footers can be affected. Again, because of formatting, a line or page may be terminated at any point, and the de-activating backslash command may not have been reached before the header or footer prints. If the headers or footers contain backslash commands then the backslash commands can get "out of sync". For example, if italic mode is active beyond the end of a page and a footer prints that has a section of italic text, delimited by "\i", then the first "\i" encountered in the footer will TURN OFF italic mode and the second will turn it back ON. In other words, the section of text in the footer that was to be italicized will be the only text in the footer NOT italicized. Compressed, 12 characters per inch and 10 characters per inch cannot be mixed on a line that is to be left and right justified. The left and right margins shift when switching density. Keep the entire document in one density or use the FORCE PRINTING formatting command (".FP") to clear the formatting buffer before changing density. If formatting has not been enabled, IMAGEPRINT recognizes tabs, line feeds, and form feeds. If formatting is enabled (".EN"), form feed characters are ignored. If formatting, use the ".PA" dot command to move to the next page. 21 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .EN ENABLE FORMATTING Default: not enabled. If you are going to use IMAGEPRINT's dot command formatting capabilities, include the enable command in your text before any other dot command or printable text. Once ".EN" has been sent, all of the dot commands are recognized. Otherwise no scanning for dot commands takes place and all text is printed literally. Backslash commands are always enabled, except in the special case of "\[". Formatting is not initially enabled because you may have already formatted your text with a word processor or you may not want formatting. When ".EN" is first encountered in the input text the values for variable parameters are set to the default values. ".EN" should only be sent once. There is no "disable formatting" command. Once enabled, formatting is active until IMAGEPRINT returns to the operating system. You can get the effect of disabled formatting if you send the ".NW" command and set the left margin to 1 and the right margin to the width of your printer. If you have defined headers and footers, there is no way to cancel them. .PL x PAGE LENGTH x default: 66 lines, or 11 inches at 6 lines/inch. Set page length to x lines. If you don't specify headers and footers, the entire page is available to you for printing text. The page length command normally appears once in a document, before the first printable text. .PN x PAGE NUMBER x default: 1 Set the current page number. If an "&&" string appears in a header or footer, the current page number will be substituted. The page number incre- ments automatically as each page is printed. 22 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .PA MOVE TO NEXT PAGE This command forces the current contents of the print buffer to be sent to the printer and moves the paper to the top of the next page. If you have specified headers and footers, they will auto- matically print. If you are already at the top of a new page, this command will have no effect. HEADERS AND FOOTERS: A header is the text that automatically prints at the top of each page and a footer is the text that automatically prints at the bottom of each page. IMAGEPRINT allows a variable number of header and footer lines on both even and odd pages. You might have 3 even page headers, 5 odd page headers, 2 even page footers and 3 odd page footers. If you specify only 1 kind of header or footer, it will print on both even and odd pages. Three dots "..." in a header or footer string cause justification to take place. For example: .EF ...even page footer, right justified .EF even page footer, left justified... .EF ...even page footer, centered... .EF left justified...centered...right justified If the header or footer is longer than the width specified by the ".SW" (set width) command, it will be truncated. Headers and footers do not shift if the left or right margins are altered. The only way to shift the headers and footers is with the ".EE" and ".OE" commands. If the header or footer string contains an "&&" string, then the current page number is substituted for the "&&". The header/footer storage pool holds about 950 characters. This is more than most people will ever need. If you run out of room by specifying a lot of headers and footers (and get the error message), you may not be taking advantage of "...". The headers and footers are justified and expanded as they are printed and do not take up much room in storage. The file IMPTUTR2.TXT shows all four types of headers and footers in use. 23 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .EH string EVEN PAGE HEADER Default: empty For example, the following dot commands would cause a 5 line header to print on all even pages, and all odd pages too, if no odd header had been defined. The 2 printing header lines would be preceded by 1 blank line and followed by 2 blank lines. The first line of document text would be immediately below the last header line, on line 6. .EH .EH ------------------------------------------------ .EH ... ImagePrint Demonstration page && .EH .EH .OH string ODD PAGE HEADER Default: empty Same format as ".EH" above .EF string EVEN PAGE FOOTER Default: empty Same format as ".EH" above .OF string ODD PAGE FOOTER Default: empty Same format as ".EH" above .SW x SET HEADER AND FOOTER WIDTH x default: 80 for IMP80.EXE, 136 for IMP136.EXE This command allows you to set the length of the headers and footers and thus the header or footer right margin when using justification ("..."). Headers and footers are truncated if they are longer than the ".SW" value. .LI x LINES PER INCH x default: 6 Only two values for x are recognized: 6 or 8 lines per inch. All other values are ignored. Six lines per inch works well with proportional, 12 and 10 cpi characters. Eight lines per inch works well with compressed (17.1 cpi) characters. Switching the lines per inch value in the middle of printing a document can cause page alignment problems. 24 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .LS x LINE SPACING x default: 1 x is the number of line feeds between text lines. For example, to print on every other line, send ".LS 2". .PP x START PARAGRAPH x default: 0 The paper will move down one line, and the first line of the new paragraph will be indented x spaces. .WW WORD WRAP WITH JUSTIFICATION Default: enabled Turn on left and right justification within the boundaries of the left and right margins. If the line is too short, spaces are inserted into the line following punctuation characters ("." "," "?" "!"). If IMAGEPRINT quality mode was selected, and the line is still not left and right justified, then the line is micro-justified by increasing the gap between words by an equal amount. If draft mode was selected ("/D" on the command line), then justification is done by padded with spaces. The soft hyphen ("\-") backslash command can be used to break extra-long words up into smaller segments so less spaces are needed to justify a line. For example, "dynamite" can be broken up into 3 sec- tions: "dy\-na\-mite". Lines will also break at hard hyphens. e.g. "semi-detached". Proportionally spaced lines ("\P") cannot be right justified. .NW NO WORD WRAP Default: disabled Cancel the ".WW" command above. Text sent after this command will not be right justified. To keep a table or chart from being automatically formatted, use the ".NW" command to turn off format- ting. For example: .nw disable formatting Qty Code Price Total --- ---- ----- ----- 1 3232 65.95 65.95 .ww enable formatting 25 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .LM x LEFT MARGIN x default: 1 Set the left margin. This is the starting column for printing in both the word wrap and no word wrap modes. .RM x RIGHT MARGIN x default: 80 for IMP80, 136 for IMP136 Set the right margin. No text will print beyond this column. .EE x EXTRA GUTTER, EVEN PAGES x default: 0 This value is added to both the left margin of your text and the left margin (column 1) of the headers and footers. In the case of even numbered pages, this value is often zero or negative. .OE x EXTRA GUTTER, ODD PAGES x default: 0 The same as ".EE" above, but for odd numbered pages. This value is often positive. .TI x TEMPORARY INDENT x default: 0 Indent x spaces for the start of the next line. This indent is added to the value of the left margin, not the left side of the paper. The current contents of the print buffer will be printed before the tempor- arily indented line is printed. .CE CENTER LINE Center the following line of text between the left and right margins. .FP FORCE PRINTING Any characters in the formatting buffer will be printed, even if word wrap mode is enabled and the right margin has not been reached. You must use this command to empty the print buffer before changing the left or right margins. Otherwise the buffered text will print within the new margin settings. .LF x FORCE PAPER MOVEMENT x default: 1 Move the paper x lines. If x is greater than the remaining lines on the current page, the paper will move to the top of the next page. 26 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- .ST STOP BEFORE PRINTING PAGE Default: disabled This command will cause IMAGEPRINT to pause between pages, so people printing on single sheets of paper have time to insert the next piece of paper in their printer. A prompt to "Press a key" will appear on the screen. .!! \? IMMEDIATE BACKSLASH EXECUTION This command causes the following backslash command, separated from ".!!" by zero or more spaces, to be acted on immediately. Only a single backslash command may follow a ".!!". The question mark represents the single character following the backslash. Suppose you want to print a document, including headers and footers, at 17.1 (compressed) characters per inch density, rather than the default 10 cpi. Usually backslash commands, embedded in a line of text, are acted on as that line of text is printed. If you precede the first line of text in your document with "\<", by the time the first line of text prints, any headers will have already printed at 10 cpi. To get around this, precede any printable text with ".!! \<". .. string COMMENTS If the dot in column 1 is followed by another dot, separated from it by zero or more spaces, then the entire line is considered to be a comment line, and is ignored by IMAGEPRINT. For example: .. This is a comment line . .This is also a comment line 27 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER SETS The diskette file NATIONAL.COM allows you to customize IMAGEPRINT for use in ten different countries, as well as allowing you to place any IMAGEPRINT character at any ASCII position. Remember that IMAGEPRINT's characters are those of the IBM Graphics Printer. To get a printout of available char- acters, use IMAGEPRINT to copy FTABLE.TXT to the printer, as described in Section "What does IMAGEPRINT include?", Subsection "Fonts". To use NATIONAL.COM, you must have the version of IMAGEPRINT you wish to alter (IMP80 or IMP136) accessible for modifi- cation (on the same diskette or in another drive). Type "NATIONAL", plus the name of the IMAGEPRINT program. For example, "NATIONAL IMP136" or "NATIONAL B:IMP80". NATIONAL.COM has built-in instructions that automatically appear when the program is invoked. If you select another country's characters, those characters will replace the standard USA characters at the ASCII posi- tions shown. You can always reset the character translation back to the standard USA characters by selecting the USA character set. Individual characters can also be reassigned to different ASCII locations. NATIONAL.COM will not run on DOS versions below 2.0. 28 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- USING WITH A WORD PROCESSOR/TEXT EDITOR Your word processor must be able to create standard ASCII files to work correctly with IMAGEPRINT. There must be no hidden formatting characters. WORDSTAR, when in "editing a document file" mode, often sets the high-order bit of text character bytes to indicate formatting information. This has the effect of adding 128 to the ASCII value of a character and causes a character from the upper half of a font to print. You can avoid this problem by indicating to WORDSTAR that you are editing a non-document file. You must first create a diskette file and then exit from your word processor to use IMAGEPRINT. If you wish to print from within your word processor, you will find METATEXT much more convenient. See the Section "Other Image Computer Systems products" for a description of METATEXT. USING WITH PC-WRITE One of the best programs around is PC-Write, a full feature word processor offered to the public under the Shareware program by Bob Wallace, its originator. PC-Write is ideal for use with IMAGEPRINT. Included on the IMAGEPRINT diskette are support files for both versions 2.4 through 2.55 and version 2.6 of PC-Write. PC-WRITE.DEF defines the [ALT + 1 key] formatting symbols that appear on your screen, and also the backslash command substitutions that occur when printing. PCWRT24.HLP and PCWRT26.HLP are patches to the on-line help screens. The PC-Write manual should be read in combination with the following notes. PC-Write version 2.4 through 2.55: Incorporate the character assignments contained in PC- WRITE.DEF into your RULER.DEF and RULER.PRT files. The file PCWRT24.HLP should be substituted for the last help screen in the standard PC-Write file HELPE.DEF. Versions of PC-Write earlier than 2.4 didn't display formatting characters on the help screens, and PCWRT24.HLP contains not only the ALT commands, but also the visible formatting characters. You can use PC-Write to do the editing. Once this change is done, all of the ALT keystrokes and corresponding formatting characters are displayed in the last screen of the on-line help. 29 USING IMAGEPRINT -------------------------------------------------------------- When creating a file to print with IMAGEPRINT, be sure to run PR.EXE to convert the ALT keystroke characters into backslash commands. PC_Write version 2.6: Incorporate the character assignments contained in PC- WRITE.DEF into your ED.DEF and PR.DEF files. PCWRT26.HLP is a small patch file that should be substi- tuted for the part of the text file ED.HLP that is dis- played when the "Enhance text" topic is selected on the main help menu. You can use PC-Write to do the editing. You must double up your ALT keystrokes when selecting an IMAGEPRINT facility. For example, ALT"W" + ALT"W" is the equivalent of one "\W". This doubling is necessary because PC-Write automatically cancels all active attributes at the end of every line, so you must make it seem as though the attribute has already been cancelled. All doubled up ALT keystrokes persist beyond the current line. The characters assigned to the ALT keystrokes are not logically part of the text and they don't affect paragraph justification. You can toggle their visibility by pressing ALT + the space bar. Remember that you must always "print" to a disk file that will be the input source for IMAGEPRINT. Note that you cannot use any of IMAGEPRINT's dot formatting commands if you are using PR.EXE to format your printed output. IMAGEPRINT's dot formatting commands conflict with PC-Write's dot commands. The following table lists the ALT keystrokes that select the various IMAGEPRINT commands: ALT-B ALT-B - (B)old ALT-H ALT-H - (H)alf Height ALT-I ALT-I - (I)talic ALT-N ALT-N - (N)ormal offset ALT-U ALT-U - (U)nderline ALT-D ALT-D - Subscript, (D)own ALT-W ALT-W - Double (W)idth ALT-A ALT-A - Superscript, (A)bove ALT-C ALT-C - (C)ancel all above offsets and attributes ALT-T ALT-T - (T)en cpi ALT-Q ALT-Q - 17.1 cpi ALT-L ALT-L - Twe(L)ve cpi ALT-P ALT-P - (P)roportional ALT-S ALT-S - (S)ix lpi ALT-E ALT-E - (E)ight lpi ALT-F ALT-F - FONT1, Cubic ALT-K ALT-K - FONT10, Small ALT-G ALT-G - FONT6, Roman ALT-X ALT-X - FONT11, Pica ALT-J ALT-J - FONT7, Outline 30 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX IMAGEPRINT BACKSLASH COMMANDS SUMMARY \01 - select font 1, Cubic \06 - select font 6, Roman \07 - select font 7, Outline \10 - select font 10, Small \11 - select font 11, Pica \12 - select font 12, Block \F - select (F)ast mode - no bold \Q - select (Q)uality mode (3 passes) \L - select (L)aser quality mode (six passes) \B - toggle (B)old mode \H - toggle (H)alf-high mode \I - toggle (I)talic mode \U - toggle (U)nderline mode \W - toggle double (W)idth mode \N - (N)ormal offset \^ - Superscript \V - Subscript \C - (C)ancel all character attributes & offsets \> - select 10 cpi >>s p r e a d a p a r t \| - select 12 cpi \< - select CONDENSED squeezed<< \P - select (P)roportional \S - (S)ix lines per inch \E - (E)ight lines per inch \[ - start straight through mode \] - end straight through mode \\ - "\" \- - soft hyphen (when formatting enabled) ****JX-80 colour control**** \! - black \@ - red \$ - blue \% - purple \& - yellow \* - orange \= - green 31 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- IMAGEPRINT FORMATTING COMMANDS SUMMARY .EN (EN)able formatting - This command must be received before any other formatting commands are recognized. .PL x x = (P)age (L)ength .PN x x = (P)age (N)umber .PA Move to top of next (PA)ge .OH string define (O)dd page (H)eader string .EH string define (E)ven page (H)eader string .OF string define (O)dd page (F)ooter string .EF string define (E)ven page (F)ooter string .SW x x = (S)et (W)idth of headers, footers .LI x x = (L)ines per (I)nch (6 or 8 only) .LS x x = (L)ine (S)pacing .PP x x = temporary indent for new (P)aragra(P)h .WW Enable (W)ord (W)rap with justification .NW (N)o (W)ord wrap .LM x x = (L)eft (M)argin .RM x x = (R)ight (M)argin .EE x x = (E)ven page (E)xtra left gutter .OE x x = (O)dd page (E)xtra left gutter .TI x x = (T)emporary (I)ndent for next line .CE (CE)nter next text line between margins .FP (F)orce (P)rinting of text buffer .LF x x = number of (L)ine (F)eeds .ST (ST)op before printing each page .!! \? Execute a backslash command immediately .. Comment 32 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- ERROR MESSAGES ERROR - Bad syntax. Should be: IMP80 inputfile [LPTx:] (x = 1,2,3) This is a reminder of the correct way to run IMAGEPRINT. You probably forgot to specify the input source. See the Section "Starting IMAGEPRINT" for details. ERROR - Default font file (FONT1) not found or invalid The default font is Cubic (FONT1). IMAGEPRINT always tries to load FONT1 when it is invoked. This message appears if FONT1 is not on the currently active drive, or it doesn't contain the right data. ERROR - Font file not found or invalid: ???????? Either the font file you specified in a backslash command is not on the currently active drive, or it doesn't contain the right data. ERROR - Invalid 2nd parameter - printer Your printer port specification is either misspelled (LPR1:), or there is no parallel port available corresponding to your selection. Perhaps you have tried to select LPT2: when you have only 1 parallel port on your computer. ERROR - Input file not found Your text input file cannot be found. Make sure you have spelled all names correctly. ERROR - Input file fault An error was detected while reading from the input file. This can occur if you removed the diskette IMAGEPRINT was reading from, or if a diskette read error occurs. 33 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- ERROR - Time-out on sending to printer Returning to DOS The printer was unable to accept the character that was sent to it. Perhaps the printer was turned off, ran out of paper, or was taken off line. The amount of time that must pass before a time-out error is detected depends on the operating system of your computer, not on IMAGEPRINT. ERROR - Invalid backslash command: '\?' An unrecognizable backslash command has been sent to IMAGE- PRINT. The question mark above represents the erroneous character, which will be displayed on your screen. ERROR - Invalid command following '.!!': string The string following ".!!" does not start with "\". Only backlash commands can follow the immediate execute command. ERROR - Double width active beyond word A "\W" double width backslash command must not cross a line feed or tab or space. Examples: \wtwo words\w {Wrong - double width crosses space} \wWORD\w {OK} \wsoft-hy\-phen\-ated\w {OK, hard, soft hyphens can be in encased word} Not enough room in Header/Footer buffer The header/footer buffer save area is full, or there is no room for the size of header/footer you are trying to add. If you are right justifying text with spaces use "..." to do the same thing. It takes up less room. 34 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- TECHNICAL NOTES FONT1 is the default font and is always loaded when IMAGEPRINT is first invoked. If you are a registered user, with six fonts, you can rename another font to "FONT1", and thus define your own personal default. Don't forget to make a copy of the standard FONT1 (Cubic) first if you do this. The effective dot density of IMAGEPRINT is 216 dots per inch vertically by 240 dots per inch horizontally. IMAGEPRINT normally positions the print head 1/14 of an inch above the next print line. This is done so that unusually tall characters can print correctly. If you need exact paper positioning, just before running IMAGEPRINT position the top of the page slightly lower, relative to the print head, than you would otherwise, because the paper will move 1/14 of an inch before the first line is printed. IMAGEPRINT works by driving the printer in dot graphics mode. Printing an 80 column line of text means that about 6000 bytes are sent to the printer. If a transmission error occurs and a byte or two is lost, then the graphics byte count is wrong, and you can end up printing a lot of garbage. If this happens, turn the printer off and wait for the operating system to time out (if your computer is set up to time out), or wait for the printer to resynchronize with IMAGEPRINT. This shouldn't take more than 1 print pass. Just as on the standard IBM Graphics Printer, graphics characters do not print correctly in half-high mode. All non-printing characters between ASCII 0 and 31 are ignored, except for horizontal tab (9), line feed (10), and form feed (12). To send a non-printing character to the printer, use the STRAIGHT THROUGH MODE ("\[ ... \]"). 35 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER IMAGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS PRODUCTS METATEXT METATEXT offers the same high quality printed output as IMAGEPRINT, but is much easier and simpler to use. Basically, all you have to do is load Metatext and then use your computer as you normally would. METATEXT remains memory resident in your computer and up to 3 fonts can be co-resident, allowing instant font switching. When only one font is loaded, the 80 column version takes up about 33K of RAM, and the 136 column version takes up about 36K of RAM. Once METATEXT has been loaded, it then automatically inter- cepts and enhances data you send to your printer. You do not have to exit your word processor to print, as you would with IMAGEPRINT. METATEXT is designed to be compatible with word processors and is completely compatible with Lotus Symphony, Word, WordStar, Multimate, PC-Write etc., because it emulates the IBM Graphics Printer, recognizing all of that printer's es- cape sequences. METATEXT DOESN'T ALTER THE REGULAR OPERATION OF YOUR COMPUTER OR SOFTWARE IN ANY WAY. A METATEXT Puck is included with METATEXT. The Puck is a small, flat device which sits on your desk top. It is attached to your computer's printer port by a flexible cable. Turning over the puck is all that you need to do to switch between quality typeface and regular printer operation. You can do this while in an applications pro- gram, such as a word processor. A professionally printed manual comes with METATEXT. META- TEXT is supplied with Courier, Cubic, Elite, Italic, Orator, Typewriter, Roman, Outline, OCRA and OCRB fonts. All Image fonts are interchangeable. METATEXT has been voted one of the top 100 microcomputer software packages for the IBM PC by PRACTICAL COMPUTING. See the March 1986 issue of BYTE magazine, page 40 or the Feb 11, 1986 issue of PC Magazine, page 270 for more infor- mation on Metatext. METATEXT sells for 89 dollars/75 pounds. To order Metatext, you can use the order form at the end of this documentation. 36 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- CP/M-80 VERSION OF IMAGEPRINT IMAGEPRINT is also available for CP/M, version 1.4 and up. There is no User-Supported version of CP/M IMAGEPRINT. CP/M IMAGEPRINT (IMP80 & IMP136), with six fonts, is available from Image Computer Systems for 30 dollars/24 pounds, plus a media and handling charge of 6 dollars/5 pounds. Additional fonts are available for 5 dollars/4 pounds. IMAGEPRINT outputs to the logical device "LPT:", which can be a serial or parallel port. Your port must send all 8 bits of each byte to your printer - e.g. bit 7 must not be auto- matically set to zero. To order CP/M IMAGEPRINT, use the order form at the end of this documentation. The following diskette formats are available: > 8 inch single sided single density CP/M-80 diskettes OR > The 5 1/4 inch single or double sided, double density diskettes listed below. Note that some of the diskette formats are for CP/M-86 computers, which IMAGEPRINT does not run on. The CP/M-86 formats are offered for those of you who, for some reason, need to transfer IMAGEPRINT from a CP/M-86 computer to a CP/M-80 computer. A. B. Dick Magna III CCS 512 ds Access Matrix ss dd CCS 1024 ds Actrix ds dd Col. Commander 964 Ad. Dig. Super 6 ds CDP old CP/M86 Associate ds CDP CP/M86 1.6 Avatar TC10 ds Davidge ds Beehive Topper ds DEC VT-180 Robin Bondwell 12 ss Digilog 1000 Bondwell 14 ds Direct 1025 BMC if800 M20 Epson Std. QX-10 CAL PC ds dd Epson Europe QX-10 Casio FP1000 Epson Multifont (ss : single sided, ds : double sided, dd : double density) (continued on the next page) 37 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- Epson old QX-10 Pegasus 512 ds Fujitsu 16 CP/M Philips PC2010 Gnat 10 ds dd PMC-101 Groupil III Reynolds & Reynolds Heath Magnolia ss Sanyo MBC-1000 Heath Magnolia ds Sanyo MBC-1150 Hewlett-Packard 86 Seequa CP/M ss Hewlett-Packard 125 Seequa CP/M ds IBM CP/M86 ss Superbrain ss 35 track IBM CP/M86 ds Superbrain ss 40 track IDEA Bitelex ss Superbrain CP/M ds IMS 5000 Turbo ss Superbrain SI/OS ds IMS 5000 Turbo ds Systel II ss Insight Dev. IQ-120 Systel III ds ISM CP/M ds Teletek ss Kaypro 2 Tektronix 4170 Kaypro 2X Televideo CP/M Kaypro 4 TI Pro. CP/M ss Kaypro 10 TI Pro. CP/M ds LNW-80 ss dd TRS 3 FEC CP/M Lobo MAX-80 256 ss TRS 3 FEC T805 Lobo MAX-80 512 ss TRS 3 Holmes CP/M Luxor ss dd TRS 3 Hurr. Lab CP/M Magic Computer ds TRS 3 Mem. Mer. CP/M Micral 9050 ds TRS 4 Tandy CP/M+ Micron Quark TRS 4 Mont. CP/M Morrow MD2 ss TurboDOS ds Morrow MD3 Wangwriter CP/M Morrow MD11 Xerox 820 ss dd NCR Dec. Mate 5 Xerox 820 ds dd NEC PC ss dd Xor 5 ds NEC PC ds dd Z-90 old ss Okidata if800 M20 Z-90 new ss Olympia EX II ss Z-90 ds dd Olympia EX-100 Z-100 ss CP/M Osborne ss dd Z-100 old ds Osborne 4 ds Z-100 new ds Osborne Osmosis Zorba 7 dd Otrona Attache (ss : single sided, ds : double sided, dd : double density) If you have one of the following computers, you will have to send us a pre-formatted 5 1/4" diskette. We can write to these diskette formats, but we can't format them. We will deduct a 4 dollar/3 pound media charge. Cromemco CDOS ss dd Olivetti ds Cromemco CDOS ds dd Olivetti ETV 300 Cromemco ITerm. CP/M ss Toshiba T-100 Cromemco ITerm. CP/M ds 38 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- BASIC WINDOWING TOOLBOX BASIC WINDOWING TOOLBOX (B-WINDOW) is a collection of functions that give windowing capability to a BASIC pro- grammer using an IBM Personal Computer or true compatible. With B-WINDOW you can write BASIC programs that look much more visually exciting and professional. Windows can be opened over sections of the screen and when the windows are closed, the original contents of the screen reappear. Special windowing cursor control, string and character display and border drawing are included. And B-WINDOW is lightning-fast because it is written entirely in assembler. In addition to windowing functions, B-WINDOW also gives you easy access to the interrupt structure of an IBM Personal Computer, and also allows you to reassign printer ports. The B-WINDOW functions come in two formats: 1) Binary files that are BLOADable by interpreted BASIC, and 2) ".OBJ" files that can be linked to your compiled BASIC program. Programs that use B-WINDOW can be developed using a BASIC interpret- er. When a program is fully debugged, it can be compiled. Sample of code that uses B-WINDOW functions: 100 'Define a window 110 WIDTH% = 70 : HEIGHT% = 10 : HASBORDER% = TRUE 120 CALL WDEF (WNUM1%, WIDTH%, HEIGHT%, HASBORDER%) 130 'Write in active window 140 X% = 5 : Y% = 2 150 CALL WGOTOXY (X%, Y%) 160 S$ = "String to be written into window" 170 CALL WWRITE (S$) 180 ' Close most recently opened window 190 CALL WCLOSE B-WINDOW is fully compatible with IBM and Microsoft BASIC interpreters, and IBM and Microsoft BASIC compilers, includ- ing the Microsoft QuickBASIC compiler. B-WINDOW is User-Supported Software. Registering only costs $20/17 pounds, shipping included, and you can pay by MasterCard or Visa. Software developers - if you meet one simple requirement, there is no restriction on using B-WINDOW in a product of your own. See the B-WINDOW documentation for details. 39 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- OKIDATA 192/193 BAR CODING AND LARGE CHARACTER PRINTER Image Computer Systems has developed a printed circuit board controller for Okidata 192 and 193 printers which allows high quality bar code and large character printing. The controller is simple to program: a single command is used to produce a complete bar code or string of large characters. Bar codes and large characters can be freely intermixed with normal printing, and can appear anywhere on a label or page. Standard printer features are unaffected by the controller. Bar codes supported are: - Code 39 - Code 2-from-5 Standard Industrial Interleaved Matrix - EAN/UPC 8 12 13 5 character add-on code All of the complex real-time bar code generation algorithms are contained in the Image controller. All you need to specify is the bar code data and the bar code's location. Large characters can be up to 8 inches high by 8 inches wide. Shading options are: - White on black background - Black on white background - Vertical stripes - Horizontal stripes - Dotted The Image controller attaches in place of the standard serial interface card (inside the printer), and is available with either a serial or parallel interface. A special feature of the Image controller is a ribbon wear indicator. A log of ribbon use is maintained in non- volatile RAM, and an alarm sounds when the ribbon has faded enough so that bar codes may be too faint to scan reliably. The list price of the Image controller is $300, in single quantities. Please contact Image Computer Systems for more information and/or print samples. 40 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- RULES AND REGULATIONS COPYING IMAGEPRINT A PC-DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette has only one font, Cubic. Individuals may make copies of the PC- DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette and give it to friends or acquaintances. There must be no fee involved. Computer clubs may also copy the diskette and give it to their members. There must be no fee involved, other than a small fee for the cost of making a copy of the diskette. The PC-DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette must be be unaltered if copied and given away as a diskette or transmitted by any telecommunications link or made available on a computerized "bulletin board". The programs and documentation are a complete entity that must not be separated or modified in any way. PC-DOS/MS-DOS REGISTERED IMAGEPRINT, with six font files, may not be copied, except for backup purposes, by the registered owner. The ONLY source of REGISTERED IMAGEPRINT, or any fonts other than the Cubic font, is Image Computer Systems. Site licensing arrangements and discounts are available for IMAGEPRINT. Quantity discount rates are: 1-50 copies : $20 each, no discount 51-200 copies : $15 each 201 and up : $10 each METATEXT site licensing discounts are also available. Please contact Image Computer Systems for details. DISCLAIMER Image Computer Systems makes no representations or warran- ties with respect to IMAGEPRINT programs or documentation and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of mer- chantability or fitness for any particular purpose. In no event shall Image Computer Systems be liable to the purchaser or any user for any damages, including any incidental or consequential damages, expenses, lost profits, lost savings, or other damages arising out of the use or inability to use the product. 41 APPENDIX -------------------------------------------------------------- IMAGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS - A PROFILE Image Computer Systems is a software and hardware development company that has been supplying OEMs and systems houses with specialized printer products since 1974. Unlike many other developers, we take the User-Supported software concept very seriously. We see User-Supported software as part of an emerging trend toward high quality software sold in high volume at a low profit margin. The key to this is low overhead. The User-Supported approach allows us to put the bulk of our money into development. Products like IMAGEPRINT, METATEXT and the OKIDATA 192/193 bar coding controller take a lot of time and money to develop, but they are the best on the market. Our low prices reflect our savings on advertising. Support us and we'll support you. 42 INDEX -------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX 10 cpi, 1, 2, 9, 12, 17, 21, 24, 27 12 cpi, 1, 2, 17, 21, 24 17.1 cpi (compressed), 2, 17, 24, 27, 30 6 lines per inch, 1, 18, 20, 22, 24 8 lines per inch, 1, 18, 24 Applications programs, 1, 36 ASCII, 3, 4, 18, 28, 29, 35, 37 Backslash, 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-19 Bar Coding, 40 BASIC, 39 Block font, 2, 13, 30, 31, 36 Bold, 1, 2, 12, 14, 17, 31 Buffer, 11, 21, 23, 26, 32, 34 Cancel, 8, 12, 17, 22, 25, 29 Center text, 3, 26 Color, 1, 12, 19 Comment, 20, 21, 27, 32 Compatibility, 3, 6, 36 Compressed, 1, 2, 12, 15, 17, 21, 24, 27, 30 Copy files, 7 Courier font, 36 CP/M, 4, 37, 38 Cubic font, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 41 Density, 9, 12, 17, 21, 27, 35, 37, 38 Diskette, IMAGEPRINT, 4 Distribution diskette, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 41 DOS, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 28, 34, 38, 41 Dot commands, 10, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 35 Double width, 1, 3, 12, 15, 17, 21, 30, 31, 34 Elite font, 36 Enable formatting, 15, 19, 20, 22 Epson, 1, 3, 8, 19, 36, 37, 38 Error, 9, 13, 15, 23, 33, 34 Escape, 8, 12, 36 F.DAT, 3, 4 Fast printing, 2, 14 FONTDEMO.BAT, 3, 4 Footer, 3, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 32 Force printing, 23, 26 Form feed, 18 Format text, 1, 3, 12, 15, 20-27 FTABLE.TXT, 3, 4, 28 Gutter, 3, 26 Half-high, 1, 35 Header, 3, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 32 Immediate command, 27, 32, 34 IMP136.EXE, 24 IMP80.EXE, 4, 24 IMPTUTR1.TXT, 4, 12, 21 43 INDEX -------------------------------------------------------------- IMPTUTR2.TXT, 4, 12, 21, 23 Indent, 25, 26, 32 Italic, 1, 12, 15, 17, 21, 36 Justification, 1, 3, 12, 23, 24, 25, 29, 32 Keyboard, 1, 8, 11, 36 Large characters, 40 Laser, 14 Left margin, 3, 9, 20, 26, 32 LPT:, 37 MANUAL.DOC, 4 Margin, 1, 3, 9, 12, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32 Mathematical, 1, 37 METATEXT, 29, 36 NATIONAL.COM, 4, 28 Normal offset, 16 OCRA font, 36 OCRB font, 36 OKIDATA 192/193, 40 Orator font, 36 Outline font, 2, 13, 30, 31, 36 Page length, 20, 22 Page number, 20, 22 Paper movement, 35 Paragraph, 25, 29 PC-WRITE.DEF, 4, 29, 30 PCWRT24.HLP, 4, 29 PCWRT26.HLP, 4, 29, 30 Pica font, 2, 13, 30, 31, 36 Printer port, 3, 4 Printer compatibility, 3 Proportional, 1, 2, 8, 17, 24, 25 README, 4 Registered users, 2, 5, 6, 35, 36, 41 Right margin, 3, 20, 25, 26, 32 Roman font, 2, 13, 30, 36 Select font, 13 Select printer, 7, 8 Small font, 2, 13, 30, 36 Subscript, 1, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 30, 31 Superscript, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 30, 31 Time-out, 9, 10, 34 Toggle (commands), 12, 14, 15, 17 Typewriter font, 36 Typewriter mode, 1, 8, 11 Underline, 1, 15, 17, 21 Width, headers and footers, 24, 32 44 PC-DOS and MS-DOS REGISTRATION/ORDER FORM (PC-SIG) **************************************************************** USA: Image Computer Systems EUROPE: Image Computer Systems P. O. Box 647 27 Cobham Road Avon, CT 06001 Ferndown Industrial Estate Wimborne, Dorset, England **************************************************************** Company ___________________________________ Name ___________________________________ Address ___________________________________ Address ___________________________________ Zip Code (Postal code) ___________ __ PC-DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT distribution diskette $10/9 pounds (Latest version, 1 font) __ PC-DOS/MS-DOS IMAGEPRINT registration diskette $20/17 pounds (Latest version, 6 fonts) __ PC-DOS/MS-DOS METATEXT $89/75 pounds (Resident IBM printer emulation, 10 fonts) __ PC-DOS/MS-DOS METATEXT & IMAGEPRINT $99/85 pounds (Package discount, 13 fonts) __ BASIC WINDOWING TOOLBOX $20/17 pounds (Lightning-fast windowing functions for) (compiled and interpreted BASIC) Subtotal __________ __ Surcharge if DOS 1.1 single-sided diskettes $5/4 pounds (See "Registering your copy of IMAGEPRINT") __ Surcharge for COD order $5 (USA only - Requires cash or cashier's check and) (order must be over $80) Connecticut residents add 7 1/2% sales tax __________ United Kingdom residents add 15% VAT __________ Total __________ Payment is by: __ Personal check __Money order/Bank draft __ MasterCard __Visa __COD (order over $80) Card number _______________________ Expiration date ___________ Card Holder Signature _________________________________________ Card Holder Name (Please Print) _______________________________ __ PLEASE SEND MORE INFORMATION ON METATEXT CP/M-80 ORDER FORM (PC-SIG) *************************************************************** USA: Image Computer Systems EUROPE: Image Computer Systems P. O. Box 647 27 Cobham Road Avon, CT 06001 Ferndown Industrial Est. Wimborne, Dorset, England *************************************************************** Company ___________________________________ Name ___________________________________ Address ___________________________________ Address ___________________________________ City, State, ZIP ___________________________________ __ CP/M-80 IMAGEPRINT $30/24 pounds (80 and 136 column versions, 6 fonts) Additional fonts: __ FONT 0 (Courier) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 2 (Elite) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 3 (Italic) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 4 (Orator) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 5 (Typewriter) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 8 (OCRA) $5/4 pounds __ FONT 9 (OCRB) $5/4 pounds Media and handling charge for all orders $6/5 pounds Subtotal ___________ Less $4/3 pounds if Crom/Tosh/Olivetti (See doc) ___________ Connecticut residents add 7 1/2 % tax ___________ United Kingdom residents add 15% VAT ___________ Total ___________ Payment is by: __ Personal check __Money order/Bank draft __ MasterCard __Visa Card number ________________ Expiration date __________________ Card Holder Signature _______________________________________ Card Holder Name (Please Print) _______________________________ Diskette type: _____ 8" CP/M-80 SSSD or 5 1/4" format description: (See documentation) ________________________________________________ Be sure to enclose a pre-formatted 5 1/4" diskette for any of the following computers: Cromemco Toshiba T-100 Olivetti