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EZFXHELP.TXT
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1989-02-27
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#1#
EZ-Forms Executive
by EZX Corporation
and MaeDae Enterprises
EZ-Forms Executive gives you the capability to use your computer to create
forms tailor-made to suit your unique needs. Once created, these forms
can be filled out and stored under code names pertaining to their use
(i.e. billing, invoice, comments, etc). EZ-Forms Executive also gives you
the capability to print and/or store completed or master forms. Comments
or suggestions for improving EZ-Forms Executive will be appreciated.
EZ-Forms Executive requires an IBM PC or compatible with at least 512K of
RAM. Printers supported include the Epson graphics printers and most
other dot matrix and laser printers. Display adapters known to work with
EZ-Forms Executive are the IBM monochrome, color, and enhanced graphics
adapters.
#20#
General help for all menus:
This menu is broken up into two basic windows. The window at the top
of your screen shows several options to choose from. The window at the
bottom of the screen expands on what will occur if you choose the
highlighted option (the one that has a different background color).
Options may be selected in one of two ways. You can either press the
first letter of the desired command or move the highlight bar over the
desired option and press enter. To move the highlight bar use either
the space bar, up arrow, down arrow, left arrow, or right arrow. You can
also use home to move to the first top line item on the menu. This is
very useful when you need a reference point on the main menu to start a
macro from.
Using the first letter of a command only works in the ACTIVE window. If
you don't have any pulldown then the active window is the top window.
Once you pulldown one of the options that becomes the active window. You
must use one of the commands in the pulldown once it is active. You can
always use Escape to back out of the pulldown and return to the top menu.
#21#
You are now using the EZ-Forms Executive Main Menu. From here you can
access the main functional areas of EZ-Forms. Refer to the On-Line
Manual to get a feel for what a fully featured forms manager can do.
We have tried to design EZ-Forms to let you get your job done quickly and
easily. Please feel free to forward any suggestions for improvement to us
at EZX Corporation, Attn: EZ-Forms Author.
#117#
You can create many different sizes of forms in EZ-Forms Executive. One
of the most common is 64 lines by 80 columns. Text 80 columns wide at
10 cpi will just fill a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Most printers use
66 lines per page vertically. So allowing for a little leeway on
positioning the printer head at the VERY top of the page, things should
fit well.
If you have a 80 column printer like the Epson MX80 you can print a form
as large as 88 lines by 132 columns by using compressed print and 8 lines
per vertical inch.
Some of you who are lucky enough to have a wide carriage printer may be
able to print up to 130 columns normal size print or about 230/240 in the
compressed mode. The largest form you can print on a MX100 with wide paper
is 88 lines (if you use 8 lpi) by 230/240 columns. This is a huge form!
#118#
Press G to start the graphics drawing. The default is N to prevent errors.
You are now in a full screen graphics walk-around mode. Depending on the
mode selected (see the characters in the lower right hand and upper right
corner of the screen) different things will happen. Options are:
G Graphics - A full screen walk-around mode where you use the cursor
keys to draw figures. Whatever character is needed will
be substituted to make the lines solid.
N Neutral - You can walk around without affecting any characters.
E Erase - Erase the character under where you move the cursor.
D Drag - This mode will drag/repeat the character under the
cursor as you move it around. Use N to position the
cursor over the character to be repeated before using D.
1-4 Palette - Shorthand method to select the default graphics palette.
P Pick - Pick a character from a table of supported characters.
Press either G, N, E, D, 1-4, or P to select the function. The active mode
is shown in the lower right corner of the screen.
Note: P is valid only in modes D or N. In the other modes the inserted
character is erased or overwritten and will not remain in your form.
#119#
Set the graphics palette with Alt+L. You can choose single line graphics,
double line graphics, or a combination. As a short hand method press
1-4. A sample character based on the palette selected will appear in
upper right corner of your screen. Esc will return you to the editor.
#120#
The patch function will try to connect any adjoining character graphics
symbols. The symbols will be joined with one of the other character
graphics symbols that best completes the form. ONLY the immediate four
characters are scanned (characters left, above, right, and below). Based
on these a character out of │ ─ ┌ └ ┐ ┘ ├ ┤ ┬ ┴ ┼ is picked. You MUST have
already placed a character graphics symbol of some type in the scanned
character space for it to be considered for patching. Example:
│ │
─────── will be patched to ─────┼─
│ │
Please note the first example had a character graphics symbol in the area
and needed to be patched. If it had not been there, EZ-Forms would
have left the space blank instead of substituting the intersection symbol.
EZ-Forms Executive has to make a lot of assumptions when it is patching a
form. Sometimes it won't choose the character you think it should. This
command gives you a good start on the patching. You will sometimes have
to add the final touches.
#140#
Specific help for Math menu:
You are being asked to either Execute the formulas already set up, Modify
existing formulas, Check the formulas for syntax, or Show all the math
formulas used in the form you are editing. Math formulas can be modified
ONLY in Master forms. In Completed forms you can do calculations or view
formulas but not modify them. Syntax checking is done when you enter
formulas and each time you execute them.
See the master forms MATHINFO, MATHDEMO, and MATHINVC.
#141#
Format for a formula:
L24C72~6.2=L12C5~5+L12C41~6
│ │ ││││││ │ ││││ │ │└─ Width of cell 2 (6 char wide) can be 1-9
│ │ ││││││ │ ││││ │ └─ Separator between cell and width designator
│ │ ││││││ │ ││││ └─ Source 2 Column (column 41)
│ │ ││││││ │ │││└─ Source 2 Line (line 12) -- may be K for constant
│ │ ││││││ │ ││└─ Operator (Only + - * / or range addition : )
│ │ ││││││ │ │└─ Width of cell 1 (5 characters wide) can be 1-9
│ │ ││││││ │ └─ Separator between cell and its' width designator
│ │ ││││││ └─ Source 1 Column (column 5)
│ │ │││││└─ Source 1 line (line 12)
│ │ ││││└─ Separator for formula, an = must be there!
│ │ │││└─ Number of digits after decimal point, 0 to 9
│ │ ││└─ A period to separate the width from decimals
│ │ │└─ Number of total digits in result, can be 1-9
│ │ └─ Separator for cells!
│ └─ Destination column (column 72)
└─ Destination line (line 24)
The formula must be specified EXACTLY as in the example given above.
#150#
EZ-Forms Executive Editor Commands:
FUNCTION KEYS ALT FUNCTION KEYS CTRL FUNCTION KEYS
═════════════════════════ ═══════════════════════ ═══════════════════════
F1 - Help AF1 - ┌ ╒ ╓ ╔ CF1 - ┼ ╪ ╫ ╬
F2 - Resize Master Form AF2 - ┐ ╕ ╖ ╗ CF2 - N/A N/A N/A N/A
F3 - Insert Field Markers AF3 - └ ╘ ╙ ╚ CF3 - ░ α Φ N/A
F4 - Delete Field Markers AF4 - ┘ ╛ ╜ ╝ CF4 - ▒ ß Θ N/A
F5 - Draw Line AF5 - ─ ═ ─ ═ CF5 - ▓ Γ Ω N/A
F6 - Erase Line AF6 - │ │ ║ ║ CF6 - █ π δ N/A
F7 - Draw Border AF7 - ├ ╞ ╟ ╠ CF7 - ▌ Σ ∞ N/A
F8 - Erase Border AF8 - ┤ ╡ ╢ ╣ CF8 - ▐ σ φ N/A
F9 - Clear Form AF9 - ┬ ╤ ╥ ╦ CF9 - ▀ µ ε N/A
F10- Editor Menu AF10- ┴ ╧ ╨ ╩ CF10- ▄ τ N/A N/A
Graphics set: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
NOTE: The Alternate and Control Function Keys have four different sets
of codes depending on the palette selected using Alt+L. The Greek
characters in palette 2-4 in the control function keys are used to
send special escape sequences to the printer. See the manual for
more details on this. Keys labeled N/A return a space (" ").
#151#
Single keystroke commands (many of these can also be executed thru F10):
Alt+A - Alternate Character Lookup Ctrl+A - Add Block Attributes
Alt+B - Bold Text Ctrl+B - Box Draw for Marked Block
Alt+C - Copy Block Ctrl+C - % (OS break disables this)
Alt+D - Delete Block Ctrl+D - Date (Auto Date Setup)
Alt+E - End Block Ctrl+E - Erase Block Attributes
Alt+F - Find Text Ctrl+F - Feed Date/Time into form
Alt+G - Graphics Walk-Around Ctrl+G - Delete Character
Alt+H - Hide Block (disable block) Ctrl+H - % (backspace)
Alt+I - Information about Form Ctrl+I - % (tab)
Alt+J - Justify Text Ctrl+J - % (ctrl enter)
Alt+K - Cross Hatch Generator Ctrl+K - Dual Map for Old ^K Commands
Alt+L - Line Graphics Palette (1-4) Ctrl+L - Large Character Lookup
Alt+M - Move Block Ctrl+M - % (enter)
Alt+N - N/A Ctrl+N - Number (Auto Number Setup)
Alt+O - Override protect (cmp form) Ctrl+O - N/A
Alt+P - Patch Form Ctrl+P - Print Current Form
Alt+Q - N/A Ctrl+Q - N/A
Alt+R - Replace Text Ctrl+R - Read Text from Disk (Import)
Alt+S - Start Block Ctrl+S - Save Form and Resume Edit
#152#
Single keystroke commands continued:
Alt+T - Text rotation (vertical) Ctrl+T - Time (Auto Time Setup)
Alt+U - Underline Ctrl+U - User Defined Math Operations
Alt+V - Visible block enable Ctrl+V - Verbose (Help Message Level)
Alt+W - Word Wrap Ctrl+W - Write Text to Disk (Export)
Alt+X - Exit Editor Ctrl+X - Exit to DOS Shell (Global)
Alt+Y - N/A Ctrl+Y - Delete Line
Alt+Z - N/A Ctrl+Z - Encrypt/Decrypt Form (toggle)
Alt+= - Macro Menu
Ctrl+Enter - Inserts a line in the form at the current cursor line. Make
sure ALL text can move down a line without trying to
overwrite a protected line or character. In this move a
protected area won't change.
Notes:
% Not available because the return code conflicts with another key!
#153#
Most printers support printing of these characters. EZ-Forms Executive
provides printer drivers to handle these characters. If you have a text
only printer then EZ-Forms Executive provides a translation of these
characters to something your printer can handle.
The export function gives you the ability to translate these characters
into normal ASCII characters that most word processors can handle.
Cursor movement commands:
═════════════════════════
Use the keypad arrows to move Home Move to upper left of screen
left, right, up, and down. End Move to lower left of screen
Ctrl+Home Upper left of form
Use the Control key with the Ctrl+End Lower left of form
keypad left and right arrows Ctrl+PgUp Top of block - same line
to move to left and right of form. Ctrl+PgDn Bottom of block-same line
Note: Commands with a + in them are entered by holding down the first key
and then pressing the second key. For example: to use the Ctrl+Home
command you would hold down the Control key and then press Home once.
#154#
Note: Auto numbering, auto date, and auto time are set up only in master
forms. When you "fill out" the master form this information is
used to automatically insert the updated number, date, or time into
the completed form.
Special character oriented commands affecting only printing:
Alt+U -- Underline the character under the cursor. NOT on graphics!
Alt+B -- Bold the character under the cursor. NOT on graphics!
Alt+1 -- User defined function 1. \
Alt+2 -- User defined function 2. \ Use the Alt+I command to see
Alt+3 -- User defined function 3. / the installed names for these.
Alt+4 -- User defined function 4. /
Note: These affect only the printed form. A status of these commands is
shown on the bottom of the screen. You can see the status updated
as you move the cursor. Character status will toggle from U and B
if you press the key again. The user defined functions can be
altered thru the installation portion of EZ-Forms Executive.
#171#
Enter these characters into your form thru the use of function keys.
FUNCTION KEYS ALT FUNCTION KEYS CTRL FUNCTION KEYS
═════════════════════════ ═══════════════════════ ═════════════════════
F1 - Help AF1 - ┌ ╒ ╓ ╔ CF1 - ┼ ╪ ╫ ╬
F2 - Size Form AF2 - ┐ ╕ ╖ ╗ CF2 - N/A N/A N/A N/A
F3 - Insert Field Markers AF3 - └ ╘ ╙ ╚ CF3 - ░ α Φ N/A
F4 - Delete Field Markers AF4 - ┘ ╛ ╜ ╝ CF4 - ▒ ß Θ N/A
F5 - Draw Line AF5 - ─ ═ ─ ═ CF5 - ▓ Γ Ω N/A
F6 - Erase Line AF6 - │ │ ║ ║ CF6 - █ π δ N/A
F7 - Draw Border AF7 - ├ ╞ ╟ ╠ CF7 - ▌ Σ ∞ N/A
F8 - Erase Border AF8 - ┤ ╡ ╢ ╣ CF8 - ▐ σ φ N/A
F9 - Clear Form AF9 - ┬ ╤ ╥ ╦ CF9 - ▀ µ ε N/A
F10- Editor Menu AF10- ┴ ╧ ╨ ╩ CF10- ▄ τ N/A N/A
Graphics set: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
NOTE: The Alternate and Control Function Keys have four different sets
of codes depending on the palette selected using Alt+L. The Greek
characters in palette 2-4 in the control function keys are used to
send special escape sequences to the printer. See the manual for
more details on this. Keys labeled N/A return a space (" ").
#186#
Many of the editing commands have optional prompt messages to provide
information and serve as a safety catch in case of mistakes. The extent
of the user help/interference offered by EZ-Forms is tied to the message
level. The more potentially harmful a command, the lower the message
level has to be set for the command's warning/prompt to disappear.
Examples:
Command Tied to Help/Message level
═══════ ══════════════════════════
Patch form 4 (no message 3 and below)
Block delete 1 (no message at level 0)
Various other commands 1-4 (level varies)
Most of the block operations and some of the other editing commands
provide this feature.
The default (unless installed otherwise) is to provide the maximum level
of user help messages.
#190#
This command allows you to encrypt your form. Some people confuse
encryption and password protection. A couple of definitions may help
clear up what they mean.
Encryption: Scramble the contents/information so it appears to be
garbage. This process requires a user to enter a key to be
used to encrypt the data. When you want to decrypt the
information the same key must be used to correctly recover
the information.
Password: This is access control. You are not allowed access unless you
know the password. Does not involve encryption.
EZ-Forms does encryption NOT password checking. The key you use to encrypt
your form is NOT stored by EZ-Forms. If you forget your key you can also
forget about ever decrypting your form. Nuff said.
Everything will be encrypted in master forms (just text not attributes).
Only the unprotected text is encrypted in completed forms.
#200#
Help for Directory Screen: To edit a form use the up or down arrows on the
numeric keypad to highlight a form name and then press enter.
All files in the directory listing are sorted. EZ-Forms Executive can
handle a directory containing up to 550 forms. If you have more master or
completed forms than that in a SINGLE directory then please break the
directory into smaller ones before running EZ-Forms Executive.
EZ-Forms stores descriptions of forms, print attributes, etc. in the form.
Because of this it takes longer to do a file directory. A basic rule of
thumb for the time to read a form is 5 forms per second on floppy or 10 on
hard disk. This means a hard disk with 200 master forms should take about
20 seconds to retrieve the directory. This delay is caused by the slowness
of the drives and can be speeded up 3-5 times if you store the forms on a
RAM disk! Directories are much faster if the default directory contains
the forms. As your disk drive becomes fragmented the directories will
take longer. See your local PC guru to find out how to de-fragment your
hard disk. A disk cache of about 100k bytes will also greatly reduce the
time needed to do a directory and help overcome the effects of a
fragmented hard disk. Please ensure your Config.SYS contains sufficient
buffers (20 or 30 -- see your DOS manual for details).
#201#
EZ-Forms Executive allows you to obtain an abbreviated directory by
pressing any key during the time the additional form information is being
read.
Directory information is obtained in the following order:
1) All the form names are read along with their modification dates.
2) The form names are sorted.
3) The forms are opened one at a time to read the form size, print
attributes, and description. This is the slow part of the directory
process.
When you do a directory the above three steps are done. You have the
option to interrupt the process during step 3. All the forms before the
interruption will contain full information. The forms after the
interruption occurred will contain spaces in the unread information areas.
This shortened method for reading the directory is provided to make it
easier for you to handle large groups of forms.
#210#
You are being asked to think of a name for this form. There are some
things you should know about the form name and path. EZ-Forms Executive
provides full access to all drives and directories on your system. Because
of this, form names are a little complex. The first part of the form name
is the drive and path (this part is optional). The last part of the form
name is simply the designator or name for this form.
Example: C:\EZFX\MyForm.FRM
│││ ││ ││ │
╞╛╞════╛╞════╛╞══╛
│ │ │ ╘═══ Extension (master forms use a .FRM extension)
│ │ ╘═════════ Your form name for later reference
│ ╘═══════════════ The working directory
╘═════════════════ The working drive
Form names consist of up to 8 characters with only some of the keyboard
characters valid. For example: a space isn't valid as part of a filename
and neither is a @ character.
If you would like to add a description to the form use the up arrow to
move to the top line. When finished editing press enter or down arrow.
#212#
EZ-Forms Executive couldn't locate any forms in the specified directory.
Master forms have a .FRM extension; completed forms have a .FOF extension.
Do you have any forms like these in the specified directory?
The computer uses a "mask" for directories. The mask used is either
"*.FRM" or "*.FOF". EZ-Forms Executive automatically adds this mask to
the path for you.
#213#
EZ-Forms Executive couldn't locate your form. Are you sure you entered
the correct path to get to your form. Computers are dumb, you have to
tell them everything.
Try using the select form option on the main menu. EZ-Forms Executive
will find all the forms in your specified directory and allow you to use a
color bar to select the form.
#215#
You are being asked to think of a name for this form. There are some
things you should know about the form name and path. EZ-Forms Executive
provides full access to all drives and directories on your system. Because
of this, form names are a little complex. The first part of the form name
is the drive and path (this part is optional). The last part of the form
name is simply the designator or name for this form.
Example: C:\EZFX\MyForm.FOF
│││ ││ ││ │
╞╛╞════╛╞════╛╞══╛
│ │ │ ╘═══ Extension (completed forms use .FOF extension)
│ │ ╘═════════ Your form name for later reference
│ ╘═══════════════ The working directory
╘═════════════════ The working drive
Form names consist of up to 8 characters with only some of the keyboard
characters valid. For example: a space isn't valid as part of a filename
and neither is a @ character.
If you would like to add a description to the form use the up arrow to
move to the top line. When finished editing press enter or down arrow.
#220#
This area allows you to specify the path EZ-Forms Executive will use to
access master forms. You can access forms anywhere on your system.
Example: C:\EZFX
│││ │
╞╛╞═══╛
│ ╘════════ The working directory
╘══════════ The working drive
Since ALL master forms have a .FRM extension, EZ-Forms Executive will ask
the computer to tell it all the forms on drive C: in the subdirectory
\EZFX. The "mask" used to get the directory is C:\EZFX\*.FRM. If there
are no forms in the directory you specified you may see the error message
that says "Could not find C:\EZFX\*.FRM".
If you are not sure what you should use just press enter without changing
any of the information. Chances are that the default is what you want
(that is why we made it the default).
Refer to your Disk Operating System (DOS) manual for detailed information
on paths and file names.
#225#
This area allows you to specify the path EZ-Forms Executive will use to
access master forms. You can access forms anywhere on your system.
Example: C:\EZFX
│││ │
╞╛╞═══╛
│ ╘════════ The working directory
╘══════════ The working drive
Since ALL completed forms have a .FOF extension, EZ-Forms Executive will
ask the computer to tell it all the forms on drive C: in the subdirectory
\EZFX. The "mask" used to get the directory is C:\EZFX\*.FOF. If there
are no forms in the directory you specified you may see the error message
that says "Could not find C:\EZFX\*.FOF".
If you are not sure what you should use just press enter without changing
any of the information. Chances are that the default is what you want
(that is why we made it the default).
Refer to your Disk Operating System (DOS) manual for detailed information
on paths and file names.
#228#
EZ-Forms is looking for a new unique form name with an optional drive and
directory path. When creating a form use a unique name to ensure you
don't overwrite another of your master forms when you save it.
Example: C:\EZFX\NewForm.FRM
│││ ││ │
╞╛╞════╛╘═════════╧═ The new master form you want to create
│ ╘═════════════════ The working directory
╘═══════════════════ The working drive
If you don't specify the .FRM extension EZ-Forms will add it for you.
The ONLY allowable extension for a master form is .FRM!
Refer to your Disk Operating System (DOS) manual for detailed information
on paths and file names.
#230#
EZ-Forms is looking for a master form name with an optional drive and
directory path.
Example: C:\EZFX\YourForm.FRM
│││ ││ │
╞╛╞════╛╘══════════╧═ The master form you want to edit
│ ╘══════════════════ The working directory
╘════════════════════ The working drive
If you don't specify the .FRM extension EZ-Forms will add it for you.
The ONLY allowable extension for a master form is .FRM!
Refer to your Disk Operating System (DOS) manual for detailed information
on paths and file names.
#235#
EZ-Forms is looking for a completed form name with an optional drive and
directory path.
Example: C:\EZFX\YourForm.FOF
│││ ││ │
╞╛╞════╛╘══════════╧═ The completed form you want to edit
│ ╘══════════════════ The working directory
╘════════════════════ The working drive
If you don't specify the .FOF extension EZ-Forms will add it for you.
The ONLY allowable extension for a completed form is .FOF!
Refer to your Disk Operating System (DOS) manual for detailed information
on paths and file names.
#300#
Your options are:
U Select a printer by pressing U and going thru the use a predefined
printer type. This must be done before you can customize a printer
driver. This first step sets up the basic printer defaults.
M Modify a predefined printer type. This allows you to customize the
printer driver for things like initialization string, user defined
functions, etc. You should first choose a basic printer type with the
U option.
C Change the printer and user defined function names. This option
allows you to alter the default names displayed for these.
S Show the installed printer defaults. This screen will display a number
on the left side to number each string. These numbers correspond to
the numbers on the "Modify predefined printer type" section.
EZ-Forms Executive will support almost any printer on the market. Some of
the printers like the Epson are so numerous we have taken the time to
really customize EZ-Forms Executive to provide many print options.
#301#
EZ-Forms Executive provides two basic categories of support for printers:
1) Text drivers for those printers that support the Extended ASCII
character set and a translated draft mode for generic printers. This
driver will support:
IBM Graphics printer compatible codes (ASCII codes above 127 like ┌ ┼ ┐
etc). EZ-Forms Executive sends the same character graphics symbols as
you see on the screen to the printer. NO bit-image graphics escape
sequences are used. Use of other escape sequences is optional.
- Works with Epson FX-85 in the IBM mode and many laser printers.
HP LaserJet MUST use font cartridge Y or our optional soft fonts disk.
- Supports printing of forms in 4 sizes (with cartridge Y).
- Soft fonts disk also supports landscape/sideways fonts.
- HPGraph provides a static 10 cpi, 66 lpi font with graphics symbols.
Plain dot matrix/daisywheel. Only standard ASCII (like 1, 2, Z, -,
etc.) are sent to this printer. No control codes. ALL character
graphics symbols are translated to a standard symbol like -, |, and +.
This type should work with ANY printer.
#302#
IBM Quietwriter Model 2 (user provided info - see if it works for you).
- Use IBM Graphics Printer type with NO Escape sequences.
- Regular forms (up to 8" wide), ALL dip switches must be OFF/DOWN.
- Wide forms (over 8" wide), ONLY dip switch 3 is ON/UP.
2) Bit-image graphics driver for fully Epson compatibles.
- Able to take FULL advantage of all print capabilities in EZ-Forms
Executive. This includes solid vertical and horizontal lines in 4 sizes
and 2 graphics densities.
- Printers in this category are:
(1) Epson RX-80, MX-80, FX-80, FX-85, MX100, FX100, FX185, LQ1500, etc.
(2) Panasonic 1080, 1090, 1091, 1092, 1592, and 1595
(3) IBM Proprinter
(4) Star Gemini-10X and Radix-10
(5) Plus many others
Others: - Capability varies with other printer types.
- Most of them do not support solid graphic lines.
#303#
Notes:
1. The HP LaserJet using Font Cartridge Y will handle only about 80 lines
on a page when using 8 lines per the inch. Six lines per inch comes
out perfect. Using the same method as described in note 1, choose
80 lines per the page.
2. To save the print attributes you must use the install option (I) on the
print menu AND then save the form to disk. If you fail to save your
form after editing it, then all new print attributes will be lost!
3. Some printers using the text driver may substitute single line graphic
characters for the double line version (example: ┼ verses ╬).
#305#
These codes are broken into five basic groups.
1. Codes 1-8: Printer initialization/exit, form initialization/exit, and
and the 6 lines per inch (6 lpi) and 10 characters per inch
(10 cpi) codes. The drawing below shows you how they are
used.
╒═════ Printer Initialization
│ ╒═══ Form Initialization
│ │ ╒═ Print one line
│ │ │ -- Send text quality codes to printer (see 19 & 20)
│ │ │ -- If 6 lpi use 6 lpi codes else use 8 lpi codes
│ │ │ -- If 10 cpi use 10 cpi codes else use 17 cpi codes
│ │ ╘═ End printing line and loop back to print another line
│ ╘═══ Form Exit
╘═════ Printer Exit
2. Codes 9-16: User defined character attributes. These codes are used
for editor Alt 1-4 functions that can attach to characters.
3. Codes 19-20: Selects either high quality or draft quality text.
#306#
4. Codes 21-68: Character graphics symbols. If you are using a text driver
this string will be sent to the printer to print the
the character shown. On some printers you can get them
to print character graphics symbols but they aren't in the
same order as the IBM Extended ASCII Symbols. These codes
allow you to translate the order to match your printer.
Also you can install an escape sequence for each one of
these symbols to get your printer into graphics, draw the
character, then return to normal text mode. These
translate strings offer you a means to really customize
EZ-Forms Executive. These codes do not affect the graphics
drivers. In the bit-image graphics drivers, a graphics
escape sequence is used to draw the entire line at one
time instead of using these translate strings.
5. Codes 69-98: Greek characters. These are user defined commands to
direct the printer to do something. They are defaulted to
spaces to maintain correct form spacing. Add any printer
commands you want for these special characters. The first
time EZ-Forms encounters the symbol in a form it will send
the on sequence. The second time it will send the off
sequence (they toggle states each time used).
#307#
EZ-Forms Executive allows you to customize the "translate strings" it uses
to work with your printer. These printer command strings consist of up to
18 (24 decimal) characters to be sent to the printer plus a length
character you use to tell EZ-Forms how many of the characters to send.
All codes are displayed in hex (base 16). If you are changing codes in
this area you probably are already used to working in hex. If not, then
most computer books provide a quick tutorial on working with hex and may
even provide a conversion table between decimal and hex. We include a
form for this (HEX-DEC.FRM).
Please be careful when modifying these codes. You can easily install
codes that have your printer doing all sorts of strange things. Nuff said.
#310#
This menu gives you complete control over the way you print a form. It
also places a lot of responsibility on you to know how your printer
works. In particular you need to know how wide the form is and whether it
will fit on the width of paper in your printer. Most Epson series
printers can only print 80 characters per line normally or 132 characters
per line using compressed print. This is the type of information you will
need to refer to your printer manual for or see a PC Guru in your area.
Warnings:
═════════
Epson series printers can't print both compressed and bold at the same
time. Because of this conflict, EZ-Forms disables bold when printing a
compressed form.
#320#
The "Status" on the left reflects the selected options for printing. These
options can be changed by pressing the key shown under the "Select"
heading.
Some combinations of the options are not valid. That is why some of the
selected options under "Status" switch their condition. For example,
when you press 8 for 8 lines per vertical inch - the 6 will be deleted
from the "Status" area. You can't have both 6 and 8 lines per inch
selected at the same time.
Many printers do not support the full range of options shown. A summary
of printer capability is shown below.
Plain dot matrix - Only D, C, M, L, and P.
Epson compatible - ALL options are supported.
HP ThinkJet - All options.
HP LaserJet - D, C, 6, 8, and L.
IBM Graphics - ALL options are supported.
Epson LQ1500 24 pin printer - ALL options are supported. This printer
also supports both high quality and draft
quality text thru the draft option when
printing. The default is high quality text.
#321#
To change the default printer type use the installation portion of
EZ-Forms Executive located off the main menu. Don't forget to tell
EZ-Forms Executive to retain the new printer type.
Notes:
1. Some options are not compatible with others. For example -- if you
choose D for draft, then you CAN'T also have high quality dark lines
and vice versa! The draft option also selects the text quality mode.
2. Using preprinted forms. EZ-Forms Executive has a clear forms overlay
selection on the "Print Options" menu allows you to easily use many
of the preprinted forms. To use this feature you first create a master
form to act as the template. Make sure that all the "fields" match
or align with those on your preprinted form. Fill out the master form.
When you go to print, select C for clear forms overlay. This will
ensure only the unprotected area (the text you just typed in) will be
printed. The master form outline is protected in completed forms, so
it doesn't print! See the form CFO-GRID.FRM for a template.
3. For the installed print options to be stored in the form you must first
call the form up in the editor, choose the desired options from the
print menu, press I to install the options in the form header and most
important SAVE the form to disk.
#335#
EZ-Forms allows you to download custom fonts to your printer before
printing a form.
Steps in the process:
═════════════════════
1. You select any font other than 0. Assume Font 1.
2. Tell EZ-Forms to print.
3. EZ-Forms will run a DOS shell to execute FONT1.BAT (place the commands
for downloading your font in FONT1.BAT).
4. After FONT1.BAT executes, normal printing of your form will take place.
The batch file's name is built up of 'FONT' plus the 'font number you
select' plus '.BAT'.
Example: You select font 27, then EZ-Forms will execute FONT27.BAT before
printing your form.
#360#
You must fill out a master form with a unique field identifier before
using database merge. A ^ was chosen for this. Simply place a ^ in the
completed form for each field.
Before printing, EZ-Forms will scan your completed form to locate all
the fields (^s). The form will be cleared and the first record will be
read in and printed. Between records the form will be cleared to ensure
none of the data is left over from the previous record.
EZ-Forms will read in each field into the form at the designated area.
Since we are working with a completed form, you will not be allowed to
overwrite any protected text.
#370#
EZ-Forms allows you to customize the name of the printer and user defined
print functions/attributes. When you chose a basic printer type (under
Use Printer), EZ-Forms installs a generic set of text labels. As you
customize the printer driver you should modify these names to document the
changes. Example: If you customize user function 4 to switch your printer
into double high then install the user function 4 name to say "Double
High Character".
The names you install can be called up for review while you are in the
editor. Call up any form and press Alt+I for information. You will be
able to see what the user defined functions will do from their names.
Use the modify printer driver option to modify the command codes sent to
your printer when a user defined function is attached to a character.
#375#
This very confusing screen shows you the codes contained in the user
configurable printer command strings. These strings control many of the
operations during printing. See the modify option on the printer selection
menu for a breakdown of what each command string does.
The format for the information is:
Location 1 2 3-26
What it is [Command string number] [length] [printer commands]
Number base (in decimal) (in hex) (in hex)
The first byte of the command tells EZ-Forms how many of the possible 24
bytes to send to the printer.
Hex (base 16) was chosen for the commands to reduce the display space and
to allow more commands per string (example: 255 is hex FF). If you have
trouble with hex don't despair. We have included a form containing a hex
to decimal conversion table.
#400#
This installation area allows you to define:
1) The default master form path. This is where EZ-Forms will look for
your master forms (the ones ending with a .FRM extension).
2) The default completed form path. This is where EZ-Forms will look for
your completed forms (the ones ending with a .FOF extension).
Note: When you fill out a form it will be read from the master form area
and saved to the completed form area. Example:
Master path: C:\EZFX
Completed path: A:\
If we fill out C:\EZFX\YourForm.FRM the name will be converted to
A:\YourForm.FOF and be saved on drive A. This is ONLY the default.
You can override the default form name and path at save time. The
.FRM or .FOF extension cannot be changed!
#401#
3. The default path for accessing the on-line manual and context sensitive
help. Make sure you include the index files (.INX) along with the help
and manual files (.TXT) in the specified directory.
4. Default message level. This is used in the editor to determine the
extent of interference EZ-Forms presents to the user trying to execute
a command (or help if you would prefer to look at it from that side).
A message level of 4 will ensure all messages are displayed. Level
0 should be reserved for the expert user since this will take the
safety (Are you sure (Y/N)?) off several potentially dangerous commands.
5. Sound/beep on errors. Some people find programs that beep on errors to
be annoying (me for one). This option will allow you to disable ALL
warning beeps in EZ-Forms.
#410#
EZ-Forms Executive allows the default form paths, program colors, etc. to
be saved in a configuration file. If no configuration file is specified
on the command line (ex. C:>EZFX MyConfg.CNF) when you call up EZ-Forms
then EZ-Forms will use the default name of EZ-Forms.CNF.
You are being asked for the name of the configuration file to load. You
may have several configuration files saved under different names.
Examples: Epson.CNF (for Epson printers), BW.CNF (for black and white
composite monitors attached to a composite color card), etc.
Please make sure that the configuration file you are asking EZ-Forms to
use is really an EZ-Forms configuration file!
Remember you can always press ESC if you got into this area by accident.
#500#
To access wordwrap press Alt+W. The first time Alt+W will enable
wordwrap. The second time, Alt+W will exit wordwrap (you can also use
Escape).
While you are in wordwrap you will be able to type ONLY in the blocked off
area. You can use the keypad cursor keys to move around along with Enter,
PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, Ctrl left arrow, and Ctrl right arrow. For text
editing you have Delete, Backspace, and Insert.
Commands:
Keypad arrows -- movement. Home -- First character.
Bksp and Del -- character editing. End -- Last character + 1.
Ins -- toggle insert status. Ctrl+PgUp -- Top of form.
Ctrl+Y -- delete line. Ctrl+PgDn -- Bottom of form.
Ctrl+Enter -- insert line. Ctrl+Home -- Upper left.
Alt+M -- add static marker to blank line. Ctrl+End -- Lower left.
End will place the cursor after the last character on the line. If the
line contains a character at the end, EZ-Forms will go into a end of line
hold where the cursor "hangs" at the end but is waiting for your command.
#600#
Macros allow you to record a keystroke sequence for later playback.
EZ-Forms Executive maintains a general buffer to record your keystrokes.
Once you have recorded a keystroke sequence you can then duplicate it and
attach it to one of the shifted function keys 1 thru 10. You also have
the option of adding a descriptive text label for each recorded macro.
Use Ctrl+Q to flush the keyboard buffer if your macro gets out of control.
Macros can contain virtually any keystroke that you can enter from the
keyboard. Here are some suggestions to make using macros easier.
1. If you start a macro from the main menu use the numeric keypad home
key to reset the menu to a known starting position.
2. When using editor commands in your macro try to start from a known
position. Examples:
a. Use Ctrl+Home to move the cursor to the upper left corner of the
form for a starting position.
b. When using Alt+G in a macro set the default palette first before
drawing anything.
3. Be aware of the keystroke limit. As you enter each keystroke you will
see a small box in the center of your screen that shows which
keystroke you are entering and the maximum allowable keystrokes.
#END#