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STARTUP.TXT
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1990-03-19
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STARTUP.PS
The Ultimate Mac-to-UltraScript™ PostScript driver
Brought to you by Bugbasher Software
Version 1.1 - March 19, 1990
(c) 1989, 1990 Hubert Nooijen
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
As we all know, UltraScript has BIG trouble printing PostScript files
from the Macintosh or Spectre. That is, until now! With STARTUP.PS, a
little PostScript program with a GREAT effect, those compatibility
problems are a thing of the past! UltraScript will now print virtually
everything from the Mac, including those famous programs as Aldus
FreeHand, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Word and Aldus PageMaker. You
can choose landscape or portrait, reduced or enlarged, and all the
stuff from the Print and Page Setup dialog boxes on the Mac. Your
printer will never be the same again...
Usage
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STARTUP.PS should be placed in the same folder as UltraScript. It will
be automatically executed by UltraScript before any print job (that's
why it's called STARTUP.PS); thus it should not be selected for
printing (or the print job will be aborted).
To print to a file on the Mac, immediately hold down COMMAND-K (NOT
COMMAND-F!) after clicking OK or pressing RETURN at the Print dialog
box, until the message "Creating PostScript® file..." (or whatever)
appears. A file named POSTSCRIPTx (x = 0 - 9) will be created.
Transfer the file to the Atari as text-only (WITHOUT linefeeds!); it
is then ready to be printed by UltraScript. With STARTUP.PS installed,
nothing else has to be done, no patching, no hassle!
Compatibility
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STARTUP.PS has been thoroughly tested and amended over a period of
eight months before this release; it has found to be extremely robust
and did not even cause a single breakdown! It has been tested with the
LaserWriter driver versions 4.0, 5.1, 5.2 (who said that version 5.2
does "definitely not work"?) and 6.0 (the newest and the one I use).
Tested software include:
Cricket Paint 1.0,
Digital Darkroom 1.0,
FileMaker II 1.0,
Fontographer 2.3 & 3.0,
FreeHand 1.0, 2.0 & 2.02,
FullWrite Professional 1.0,
HyperCard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2.2 & 1.2.5,
Illustrator 88 1.6, 1.8.3 & 1.9.3,
ImageStudio 1.5,
MacDraw II 1.0 & 1.1,
MacPaint II 1.0,
MacWrite 5.0,
MacWrite II 1.0,
MS Excel 2.2,
MS Word 4.0,
Nisus 1.01,
PageMaker 3.0 & 3.5,
ReadySetGo! 4.5,
Streamline 1.1,
SuperPaint 2.0,
System 4.2, 4.3, 6.0.2, 6.0.3 & 6.0.4,
The Art Importer 2.0,
Wingz 1.0,
WriteNow 1.0 & 2.0,
Xpress 2.00, 2.11 & 2.12,
and the MonoType Gill Sans font family. Everything printed through
UltraScript without any problems found, when STARTUP.PS is installed.
In version 1.1 of STARTUP.PS, code has been added to make UltraScript
compatible with download fonts created with Fontographer (and others).
Notes
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* When transferring PostScript files from the Mac to the Atari
(e.g. with Transverter), they should be transferred as text-only
WITHOUT linefeeds! This is very important, because a Mac
PostScript file with linefeeds cannot be interpreted correctly by
any PostScript interpreter (this is not my fault, but due to the
way Apple writes its PostScript dictionary).
* Use STARTUP.PS only with Mac files; rename it to something else
(like STARTUP.PS0) when printing files from Atari applications,
ESPECIALLY DYNACADD. Otherwise you could get a funny picture
(this is NOT a bug in STARTUP.PS!).
* UltraScript can't use true Adobe Type 1 fonts (not yet...),
because Adobe uses a - previously secret - encryption scheme for
their fonts. The same is true for other font vendors which market
Type 1 fonts. So, be sure not to leave any Adobe downloadable
fonts in the system folder or any folder open to SuitCase II (a
Font/DA-installer).
This is a compatibility problem common to all PostScript clones
which are not licensed from Adobe Systems Inc.; but I'm working
on it... (no, I'm NOT kidding, folks!)
* Be sure to use the screen fonts for the LaserWriter, not for the
ImageWriter: the difference is the correct naming of printer
fonts. E.g.: if you select Times with a laser font, the printer
font name will be 'Times-Roman', which is correct; with an
ImageWriter font, it will be 'Times'. But 'Times' does not exist,
so a bigger size of the screen font will be used (ImageWriter
method)...
* UltraScript has a bug concerning the page size: if you select A4
size paper on the Mac and A4 (or bigger) in UltraScript, the top
of the page gets truncated. A3 doesn't work even correctly...
Solution: keep A4 (or US Letter) as the default page size in
UltraScript and use US Letter on the Mac. This ensures printing
the entire page under UltraScript.
* For best results, use always the newest versions of the
LaserWriter driver; some Mac programs even require it. Currently,
you could at best use version 5.2; version 6.0 is only of
significance for people who have a colour PostScript printer or
software interpreter (Freedom of Press!). For us UltraScript
users, it doesn't make a whit of a difference...
In general, whatever version you use, they all work without any
problems.
Problems
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If you experience any compatibility problems with STARTUP.PS (should
be surprising...), please do not hesitate to contact me at the address
at the end of this documentation. Obviously, I cannot guarantee 100%
compatibility with all Mac applications...
Copyrights
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Due to its nature - a little text file containing just the PostScript
source code - STARTUP.PS is placed in the public domain. You may wish
to copy and distribute it to your heart's content, but with ONE
restriction: I do own the copyright of the PostScript source and thus
STARTUP.PS may not be distributed in modified form by anyone without
my permission. If you have suggestions for source code modifications,
please contact me first (my address is found at the end of this
documentation); I will incorporate it into the next version of
STARTUP.PS. This is in order to prevent a bewildering number of
different STARTUP.PS versions floating all around the world.
I believe that my program, STARTUP.PS, is an indispensable tool for
every UltraScript user, thus you could do me a great favour if you
like to pay a small amount (I suggest minimum Hfl10,-, DM10 or $8) for
it as a credit of my work. You are absolutely free to do so, because
STARTUP.PS is in the public domain; but I hope to gain enough money
this way to buy a genuine PostScript laser printer! I'm just one of
those hobbyists who try to make a living out of writing programs...
Hubert Nooijen
Diamantpad 18
2628 SC Delft
The Netherlands
Giro account nr. 1884895 (PostBank)
LAST NOTE:
==========
It is still possible to create artwork in Aldus FreeHand which
UltraScript won't print when using STARTUP.PS: those files contain
text which follows an arbitrary path (normal text placement is O.K.).
The cause is the range checks performed by STARTUP.PS (for the same
reason, Canvas files don't appear to work). Unless I've made a
completely rewritten STARTUP.PS version which circumvents this
problem, the best you can do is export the file as Encapsulated
PostScript, add a 'showpage' at the end, and print it through
UltraScript without the STARTUP.PS file (rename it to something else).