¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢ Printer Draft Font Maker¢¢ by¢¢ Thomas J. Andrews¢¢ Copyright 1997¢¢ Developed from "The Printer Font¢ Maker" for Gemini 10X and Epson FX80¢ printers by James Duffin (Copyright¢ 1984)¢¢¢ This program can create and edit¢ downloadable draft characters for the¢ Star Micronics NX-1001 9-pin dot¢ matrix printer. While designed¢ specifically for the NX-1001, it¢ should work with any printer¢ compatible with the Epson LX850,¢ which the NX-1001 emulates when in¢ "standard" mode. The program can¢ download directly to the printer or¢ create a disk file that can be copied¢ to the printer at a later time or¢ from another program. It can also¢ use Epson FX80 and Star Gemini 10X¢ font data files created with James¢ Duffin's "Fontmaker." (Antic¢ Magazine, March 1985)¢¢ Hardware requirements are: a 48K or¢ better Atari 8-bit computer,¢ joystick, disk drive, and, of course,¢ a compatible printer. This program¢ will work with Atari DOS 2.0s, 2.5,¢ and MYDOS 4.5. It should work with¢ almost any DOS but the horrendous DOS¢ 3.0 (is ANYBODY still using that¢ thing?), but it hasn't been tested¢ with any others. It's written in¢ Atari BASIC and works with Turbo¢ BASIC XL, with a bit of special setup¢ procedure. I highly recommend using¢ Turbo BASIC. The operating speed¢ difference is worth the effort.¢¢ This ARC file should include¢ STARFNT.BAS, STARFNT.DOC, and several¢ font data files with NX extensions.¢ Getting Started¢¢ Getting the NX fontmaker up and¢ running couldn't be simpler. Just¢ RUN STARFNT.BAS from either Atari¢ BASIC or Turbo BASIC XL, or use your¢ favorite autorun or menu program. ¢ Sometimes, the display is unstable¢ during disk access when using Turbo¢ BASIC. It doesn't affect anything¢ but the display, but it can be¢ annoying. If this happens, make sure¢ you save any font data you want to¢ keep, then try pressing RESET and¢ RUNning the program again. The¢ instability should disappear.¢¢ Using STARFNT¢¢ The first screen you see contains a¢ short description of the program. ¢ Pressing any key will take you to the¢ main operating screen.¢¢ On the Main Screen you'll see an¢ empty dot matrix grid, a list of¢ commands, and a group of characters. ¢ These characters are the ones you can¢ use for downloading. Use the¢ joystick to move the cursor over the¢ character you want to use, then press¢ the trigger button to select it.¢¢ Once a character has been selected,¢ any font data already in memory for¢ it is copied to the dot matrix grid. ¢ A plus sign in the grid indicates a¢ blank spot and a filled circle¢ indicates a printed dot. Edit the¢ character by moving the cursor over¢ the grid space you wish to change,¢ then pressing the button. Dots may¢ be adjacent to each other vertically,¢ but not horizontally. When finished,¢ copy the edited character to memory¢ by using one of the commands listed¢ on the screen (except "D"). A small¢ representation of the character will¢ be drawn on the bottom of the screen¢ and the character in the list will be¢ shown in inverse to indicate it has¢ been edited.¢¢ Since all CHR$(155)'s will be changed¢ by the printer interface to¢ Chr$(13)'s before they get to the¢ printer, a 155 is not allowed in the¢ font data. If a 155 is detected when¢ copying the edited font data the¢ program will automatically change it¢ to a 153, which is similar in¢ appearance in the grid, and ask you¢ to re-edit the character.¢¢ Key Commands¢¢ E Edit Character. This is the¢ command to use when you want to copy¢ one character to memory and then do¢ another.¢¢ D Descender On/Off. This toggles the¢ descender of the character being¢ edited. Descender off means the¢ character will use the top 8 pins¢ when printed. Descender on means it¢ will use the bottom eight.¢¢ S Save Font. This saves the font¢ data into a disk file that STARFNT¢ can load and use in another session. ¢ The files with the NX extension are¢ this type of file. It can NOT be¢ used to download a font to the¢ printer.¢¢ L Load Font. This loads font data¢ files created with the SAVE command¢ above. All font data in memory¢ before the command is initiated will¢ be cleared. Any characters showing¢ font data will be indicated in the¢ character list.¢¢ F Load FX80 Font. This loads and¢ converts FX80 font data files created¢ with James Duffin's original program,¢ similar to the LOAD command above.¢¢ G Load Gemini Font. This loads and¢ converts Star Gemini 10X font data¢ files created with James Duffin's¢ original program, similar to the LOAD¢ command above.¢¢ START Load Printer. This downloads¢ the characters in memory directly to¢ the printer. If the printer has a¢ DIP switch controling print buffer¢ functions, it must be set to the¢ download position for this command to¢ work. Once a font is downloaded to¢ the printer, it will remain there¢ until the switch is turned off or it¢ is replaced with another font. For¢ test purposes, you will be asked if¢ you want the characters printed for¢ you.¢¢ OPTION Create Font File. This¢ creates a font file that can be¢ dumped directly to the printer from¢ another program or from DOS. The¢ file will contain all the commands to¢ download the characters and set the¢ printer to use them.¢¢ All commands using disk files will¢ ask for a filename. Any legal¢ Device:Subdirectory:Filename¢ combination of 40 characters or less¢ will be accepted. A name without a¢ device code will use "D:" as a¢ default. To get a directory of any¢ drive, press RETURN at the Filename?¢ prompt, then answer with a drive¢ number.¢¢ I've had a lot of fun converting Mr.¢ Duffin's program for my printer. I¢ have plans to develop a similar¢ program to edit and download NLQ¢ characters for my NX-1001, so look¢ for it if you have any interest. I¢ also intend to write a version of my¢ Print Star that will download font¢ files created by these two programs. ¢ Programming the Atari 8-bit is still¢ as enjoyable as ever - why should I¢ stop now?¢¢ Thomas J. Andrews ¢¢ e-mail: tandrews16@delphi.com¢¢¢ o=o=o=o=o=¢¢¢
