Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/prntutil/pamflite/pamflite.doc

Text File | 1995-04-25 | 10KB | 206 lines

                    Pamphlet Lite - Release 2  (4/93)

   This is a summary of Self-Styled Software's Pamphlet Lite booklet
printer (PAMFLITE.PRG, Release 2 4/93).  Included are brief instructions,
a summary of changes since release 1, and some comparisons with the
general text file printer Two Column Printer (2COLUMNS.PRG) from which it
is derived.

   First:  The only printer driver included with Pamphlet Lite is for HP
DeskJet printers (Plus and 500 series).  This is because my DeskJet is the
only printer that I have been able to get my hands on that can do the
landscape mode printing required by Pamphlet Lite .  If and when this
changes I'll write drivers for other printers.  There are instructions
included here for writing drivers for other printers on your own.

   The DeskJet driver has changed a little.  It now uses bidirectional
printing when in draft mode.  Printouts are about a third faster this way
but the print is more ragged than with single directional printing.  The
amount of this raggedness varies from font to font and tends to be worse
with smaller fonts.  You can still use the old driver if you prefer.

   The biggest change you'll find in Release 2 is that Pamphlet Lite is
now a full GEM program with drop down menus and windows.  This was part
of the effort to make the program compatible with MultiTos.  As a side
benefit, you now have access to desk accessories while the program is
running.  Memory management was improved as part of this too.  Pamphlet
Lite now uses disk buffers instead of RAM buffers when memory gets tight
so you can print much bigger files with a given amount of memory.
A down side of the new GEM stuff is that the program is bigger and a
little slower.  Whether or not Pamphlet Lite really works well under
MultiTos remains to be seen at this point.  I'll try to make any other
changes that are needed after I get my hands on a Falcon and MultiTos.

   The other obvious change in this release is that printouts are now done
"pre-sorted".  You don't have to reshuffle the sheets between sides, just
move them from the output tray to the input tray all at once.


Send bug reports, comments, or questions to:

        GEnie...JWC-OEO
      or
        Mail...Self Styled Software
               321 J Street
               Sparks, NV 89431


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:  Pamphlet Lite is designed to work on any ST, TT, or
Falcon (the last one is still untested at this point).  It was developed
on a Mega 2 running under TOS 1.4 and has been tested on several different
setups.  Minimum memory required to use the program is about 260k bytes.
It should run in any resolution although not all displays are fully
visible on a 40 column screen.  A Beta tester using a TT says it runs
faster if it is set to "Use TT RAM" but that it will not run at all when
set to "Run in TT RAM".

   Documentation is limited to this file and the help options contained in
the program.  Pamphlet Lite is a close cousin of Two Column Printer; much
of the information in 2COLUMNS.DOC also applies to it.  Two Column
Printer is available in the Atari ST sections of GEnie (as 2COLUMNS.LZH)
and Compuserve (as COLUMS.LZH).  Like Pamphlet Lite, it is FREEWARE.


What does it do?

   Pamphlet Lite prints text files in book/pamphlet format.  It uses
landscape mode two sided printing on 8.5 x 11 inch paper to give four
5.5 x 4.25 inch pages on each sheet of paper.  Each page can have a
heading (either the page number, the pamphlet, name or both).  Sheets are
put together by stapling them in the middle, between the pages.
Alternately the sheets could be folded or cut in the middle, and then
added to a half sized three ring binder, or glued into an existing
booklet (such as a program manual).

   A cover/tile sheet could be added for fancier work but it would have to
be done with a separate program.  You could also leave room for
illustrations in the body of your text by adding a series of blank lines
but these illustrations also would have to be added by another program.

   I put this program together at the request of a user of Two Column
Printer who wanted a quick and dirty booklet printer.  For my own use I
have found it to be great for adding README files and other supplemental
documentation to the binders and booklets that some commercial programs
use for their manuals.


How does it differ from Two Column Printer?

   The biggest differences between Pamphlet Lite (PL) and Two Column
Printer (TCP) are the order in which "columns" are printed on each sheet
and the way the sheets are bound together.

TCP prints two consecutive columns on each side of a sheet of paper,
each side of a sheet constitutes a "page" and sheets are bound along their
left side.  With PL, each "column" becomes a page and the sheets are bound
between these columns/pages.  Unlike TCP, the text from the bottom of one
column on a given sheet of paper does not necessarily continue at the top
of the column next to it.

   TCP prints multi-columned "magazines"; PL prints "books".  TCP uses
paper more efficiently and is the better choice for general purpose text
file printing.

   PL does not have a single sided print mode like TCP nor does it have
any of its automated operating modes.

   Features/options found only in PL include:  User specified document
name; heading underline option; and a "no page number" option.


Instructions

   Pamphlet Lite will lead you through the necessary steps and has
several "help" options and bailout points if you get lost.  Press the
"Help" key or choose "Help" under the file menu for aid in getting
started.  The same dialog boxes that formed the bulk of the first release
are still there, most now have a "Pause" button which lets you suspend
their operation and get access to the menu bar.

   Reloading the sheets after the first side of the printout is much
easier with this release.  Just pull the sheets out of the output tray and
put them in input tray.  Don't turn or reshuffle them.  As they go in the
input try, the sheets should be oriented print side up with the odd
numbered columns/sheets to the outside ("top" of the printout to the
right).

   You may find that the printer sometimes pulls in two sheets instead of
one while you print the second side, especially if you use thin paper.
The following steps will help prevent this:

  1)  Carefully even the sheets after taking them out of the output try.

  2)  Pull any unused sheets in the paper tray out by an inch or two.

  3)  Put the printed sheets on top of them (printing up and to the
  outside) and push them both forward into the printer by giving them
  a series of taps with the movable rear paper holder on the Deskjet
  paper tray.


Margins, in and out

   Both inner and outer margins will be 1/2 inch wide when you print with
lines set to their maximum possible width.  As shorter line lengths are
set, space is added first to the inner margins, then after 14 characters,
space is added equally to the inner and outer margins.  Default settings
give 1/2 inch outer margins and 3/4 inch inner margins on each page.


Known problems with GEM

   You may find that some screen redraws are less than perfect (mouse
droppings) when you use a desk accessory while Pamphlet Lite is formatting
a file (and maybe while its printing one too).  The only way I found to
prevent this resulted in much slower formatting.  You also may find that
desk accessories are sluggish during formatting.


Using other printers...landscape mode

   As stated, this version is designed specifically for the HP Deskjet
Plus and 500.  I have not included drivers for other printers because I do
not have access to any that can do landscape printing.  If you want to
make a driver for some other printer you can try the following:

    Edit a "Two Column Printer" driver that works with your printer and
use the supplied Deskjet Pamphlet Lite driver as a guide.  Add the codes
that set landscape printing to the end of the "initialize printer"
sequence.  Replace the maximum characters per line listed for each font
with the font's pitch multiplied by 9 ("9" here is the paper length minus
2).  Try the maximum page length used by the Deskjet as a first guess.  If
by a wonderful coincidence your printer automatically prints with a 1/2
inch left margin in landscape mode (like the Deskjet), you are home free.
If not, read on.

   Pamphlet Lite requires a 1/2 inch left margin for proper page alignment
but it contains no codes to ensure this will happen (none are needed for
the Deskjet).  If your printer does not do this by default you will have
to search your printer manual for a way to set the left margin in
landscape mode, figure out what's needed for a left margin of 1/2 inch,
and add these codes to your driver (a good place for this would be at the
end of the "initialize printer" sequence).  If you get a driver working
for a printer other than the Deskjet and are willing to share it, please
send me a copy at one of the address above.


Using other printers...wide carriage/portrait mode

   It should be possible to use Pamphlet Lite in normal portrait mode on a
wide carriage printer.  Each sheet would have to be manually inserted
sideways and aligned so that printing begins 1/2 inch in from the left
side of the paper.  Edit a Two Column Printer driver that works with your
printer.  Change the "maximum characters per line" entry for each font to
the number you get by multiplying its pitch by 9.  Use the settings on the
Deskjet driver as a first guess for maximum page length.  You'll also need
to comment out any codes you have in the "Fancy Heading" section (both set
and disable).  These are used for some DeskJet specific things in the
DeskJet Pamphlet Lite driver.  Change whatever you have here to a single
space followed by a comma.


The Resource file

If you do any modifications to the RSC file, be sure it ends up being
between 10700 and 12000 bytes long.