Cream of the Crop 1

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PCSet User Guide Contents 1. Purpose of PCSet 1.1 PCSLite - Differences 2. Loading PCSet 3. F8 Key - Quit 4. F10 Key - Help 5. F1 Key - Edit 6. F2 Key - Load 7. F3 Key - Save 8. F4 Key - Load Defaults 9. F5 Key - Delete 10. F6 Key - Send 11. F7 Key - Setup 12. F9 Key - Shareware Info 13. ASCII Chart 14. Registration Info A. Adding PCSet/PCSLite to your DOS 5 help file Section 1. Purpose of PCSet PCSet is useful for anyone who wants to be able to print plain DOS text files to their printer with any of the various effects that your printer can do - underlining, bold print, italics, etc. Each printer has similar capabilities, some can do much more than others. PCSet will also allow you to explore and experiment with each of the many settings your printer no doubt has. If you are trying to determine which codes to feed your word processor to have these effects seamlessly integrated into your documents, then you can experiment with these codes using PCSet first, without the hassle of having to load your word processor and a tiny text file and repeatedly edit your printer definitions - a sometimes daunting and always time-consuming task. For example, many printers include such features as Second Strike, Overprint, and Bold Face. Which one will look best on paper when you ask you printer to print in bold? It may not actually be the Bold Face feature, but how would you know? If you care to write a small BASIC, C, or other type program, you can find out. But what if you're not so inclined? PCSet can help make this task much easier. PCSet allows you to save any set of printer codes (Code Sets) you come up with to disk for later use. It includes Epson FX-80e compatible printer codes in memory; these can be loaded at any time at the touch of a function key. Code Sets, even the defaults, can be edited and sent to your printer to see the effect they have, immediately. By using one or many of the Code Sets as text fields, rather than code fields, you can even print simple memos. However, PCSet's abilities here are limited. The best reason to use text in PCSet is to have a test string to send to your printer after setting one or more attributes. You may even choose which printer to print to - you are not limited to LPT1 only. LPT1 - LPT3 and COM1 - COM4 are all supported. NOTE: I chose not to trap the Ctrl-C interrupt in PCSet. Ctrl-Break, however, is trapped and ignored. I chose to leave Ctrl-C in, just in case. Be aware, however, that PCSet uses video paging and border color, and if you Ctrl-C out of PCSet, depending upon where you are within the program, your screen may or may not blank, and your cursor (and anything you type) may or may not be visible. Problems such as these can be avoided by using F8 to exit, rather than a Ctrl-C, or to run PCSet with the /p option after doing a Ctrl-C. See Section 2 for more information about the /p option. Section 1.1. PCSLite - Differences PCSLite is a smaller version of PCSet, for the more experienced user. It is not distributed with the PCSet archive file, but is available on the PCSet distribution diskette. It is also shareware, but if you register PCSet, and send a diskette on which to copy the latest version of PCSet, you will also be registered as a user of PCSLite. There are only four differences between PCSet and PCSLite. PCSLite does not have any help text. It also does not give you the option of changing the output printer (since output printer is stored with a Code Set file. If you save a Code Set when LPT2 is set, then when you load that Code Set, PCSLite [and PCSet, for that matter] will automatically set the output printer to LPT2). It does not have in-code defaults. And the F9 key does have a label on the main screen, unlike on the main screen of PCSet (mainly because there's room for it). PCSLite loads a bit faster and uses less system memory because it is about 12K smaller than PCSet. Except for the exceptions mentioned above, PCSLite is exactly like PCSet. Section 2. Loading PCSet To load PCSet, simply type PCSET at your DOS prompt. Of course, a hard-disk based system must contain PCSet in a directory in your PATH for this to work. For example, if PCSet is in the C:\UTIL\PTR directory, and that directory is NOT in your PATH, you must type C:\UTIL\PTR\PCSET to run PCSet. If you wish, you may add one parameter to the command line - the filename of an already-saved PCSet Code Set file already saved that you wish to load immediately. Example: A> PCSET PRO3PTR.SET This will load the file PRO3PTR.SET (ProPrinter III Setups, perhaps) into PCSet automatically. There are a few checks done and a few possible errors. They are: A> PCSET NOFILE pcset: invalid filename - This filename does not exist. The same error would occur if you tried to enter a character that DOS does not allow in a filename. A> PCSET FILE1 FILE2 pcset: too many arguments - You may specify only one file at a time. A> PCSET NOPCSET.FIL pcset: file is not a pcset code file - PCSet puts a unique identifier in the file. If the file does not contain this identifier, the file is rejected. A> PCSET EDITPCS.FIL pcset: file is not correct size - PCSet files are all one specific size. If the unique PCSet file indentifier exists, but the filesize is not correct (perhaps because it was incorrectly edited in a text editor), then you will see this error. A> PCSET pcset: error setting video mode - PCSet requires a CGA card or above. If CGA 80-column color text mode could not be set for some reason, you will see this error. PCSet also allows two command-line switches. They are /p and /h (/P and /H will also work). A> PCSET /p - PCSet resets the border color to black and sets the video page to 0. As described in the Note in Section 1, use this option if you Ctrl-C out of PCSet. A> PCSET /h or A> PCSET /? pcset: usage: pcset [ [/h|?] | /p | filename ] /p option sets current video page to page 0, border to black /h option displays this message /? option displays this message (DOS 5.0 help format) filename is any valid PCSet file. - Use /h flag or the /? flag to show this help message. The /? flag also displays additional help text, in keeping with the DOS 5 help system format. A> PCSET /x pcset: usage: pcset [ [/h|?] | /p | filename ] - An invalid flag generates this message, a reminder of the valid switches. After successfully loading PCSet, you will see the main PCSet screen. Once you see this, you will use Function Keys to make the program work for you. Note: Of course, PCSLite works the same as described above, but you must replace all references to "PCSET" to "PCSLITE". Section 3. F8 Key - Quit It may seem strange to skip right to the F8 key, but since it is so important in the running of PCSet, it will be handled first. F8 is labelled END on the bottom of your PCSet Main Screen. But not only should you use F8 to exit a PCSet session, but also as a general escape key. For example, if you are entering a filename and make a mistake and wish to start over, just press F8. Any time you are asked for input, you may press F8 to get back to the Main Screen. Do realize, that this is really an escape key - not a stop data entry key. For example, if you press F8 in the middle of entering a long Code Set, you will escape right then and there, and the edited field will NOT be saved. NOTE: Many programs use the ESC key for this same function. PCSet does not use the ESC key at all. Do not get confused. Section 4. F10 Key - Help Just as with F8, noting this key here is going out of order, but necessary. Be aware that just as with the F8 key, the F10 key is ALWAYS available (while in PCSet, not PCSLite). When you press F10, you will see a Help screen relevant to what you are currently doing. This is called Context-Sensitive Help. It means the program knows where you are in PCSet and won't show you help for Save File when you really need help on Set Printer. The hope is that by using on- line context-sensitive help, you will not need to keep a hardcopy of this document handy (unfortunately, on-line help makes the program's size much larger, but that is what PCSLite is for). Section 5. F1 Key - Edit Once in PCSet, you will see fields for your Code Sets. If you entered a file name on the command line, these fields would be filled with that file's Code Sets. If you did not enter a file name, the fields will be blank. When you press F1, PCSet will ask you to input the letter of the Code Set you wish to edit. Code Sets are labelled A-T. These are the only valid Code Sets, and the only accepted input (upper or lower case will both work equally well). After selecting a Code Set, you will be prompted for the Name of the Set. This Name is 20 characters long. The Left and Right Arrows, Backspace key, Insert and Delete, Home and End to edit. Once you have entered a new Name or edited an old one, press Enter. You will notice that PCSet does not immediately update the Code Set. Instead, it asks you for the Codes themselves. The field is not immediately updated in case you decide to abort the changes while entering data into the Codes field. The same keys are available in the Codes field as are for the Name field. This field is 50 characters long. Generally, you would enter only numbers separated by commas in this field. Each number would be the ASCII code for a code sequence that your printer can understand (see Section 13 for a list of ASCII codes). However, you can enter any text you wish. PCSet knows the difference by looking at the first character in the field - if it is a number, PCSet assumes that this field has codes. If not, it assumed to be text. This does mean that you cannot have a number (0-9) as the first character of a field you wish to use as text. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Numbers entered in a Code Set should not be over 255. If they are, PCSet will give you an error when you try to send that Code Set to your printer. Also, if you start a Code Set with a number and there are ANY non-numbers (even a space) anywhere in the field (except for the , delimiter), you will see an error at Send-time. You may zero-fill a number (e.g. 1 = 001, 23 = 023). | Examples of Codes: | | My printer manual has the following entry for Reset Printer: | | Name: ESC+@ | Dec.: 27,64 | Hex.: 1B,40 | | In PCSet, you would enter the same thing as shown for the "Dec." codes. | When this Code Set was sent to the printer with PCSet, the printer would | reset itself. (Note: Either 27,64 or 027,064 are valid). When you are finished editing the Codes field, press Enter. Your newly edited codes will appear on the Code Set listing. Section 6. F2 Key - Load After pressing F2, you will be asked to Enter a filename to load. After doing so, the filename you input will be searched for in the current path, or in the absolute path, if you entered one. If the file cannot be found, you will be told so. Example: Filename to Load: nofile <Enter> OR Filename to Load: c:\nodir\nofile <Enter> RESULT Invalid Filename and/or Pathname. Press Any Key. Your cursor will return to the filename for editing. The same keys are available here as are in the Edit Codes section - Arrow Keys, Backspace, and all alphanumeric keys. PCSet stops reading the filename after the first space, so if you type "no file" PCSet will try to open the file "NO". A blank filename will return you to the Main Screen. If the file you specified does exist, but does not have the unique PCSet file identifier or the correct filesize (as discussed in Section 2), then you will see these errors, respectively: That File is Not a PCSet File. Press Any Key. OR File Size is Invalid. Press Any Key. You will then be asked to retype the filename. Section 7. F3 Key - Save After pressing F3, you will be prompted to enter the name of a filename to save the current Code Set. As with F2 - Load, if the filename you have given (by pressing Enter) is not valid, PCSet will tell you so: Save to Filename: c:\nodir\nofile <Enter> File Cannot be Opened. Check Any Path Given. Press Any Key. Usually, this error results from an invalid path being given, so check that first. If the file you specify already exists, you will be given the chance to prevent its erasure: File Already Exists. Overwrite (Y/N)? Type a Y or an N here. If you say Y, the old file will be replaced. Use caution when overwriting a file. PCSet has no way of telling that that file just happened to be 10 months worth of dBase data. Again, the Arrow keys, the backspace key, and the alphanumeric keys are all available. And again, PCSet stops reading the filename at the first space. Section 8. F4 Key - Load Defaults If you press F4, you will be asked to confirm that you wish to replace the current Code Sets with the default Epson FX-80e codes. These codes, or minor variations thereof, are very much a standard in the printer industry, although I make no guarantee that they will work with your printer. They may, however, be a good starting point, and may help if you are confused about how Code Sets should be entered. If you say Y to the confirm question, the codes will be loaded from memory, overwriting any other Code Sets. If you say N, nothing will happen. Section 9. F5 Key - Delete Use this option to start from scratch. You will be asked to confirm the key press - only pressing Y will confirm. After pressing Y, your Code Set fields will be blank and you can begin fresh. By saying N, nothing will happen to your data. Caution: if you say Y, the current Code Set will be deleted, regardless of whether it has been saved or not. Section 10. F6 Key - Send This is a major function key, though its use is simple. When you press F6, you will be asked to enter a Code Set to send to the printer. PCSet uses what ever printer has been set by using the F7 - Setup utility, or uses LPT1 as a default. Codes A-T are the only valid answers. Enter (or F8, of course) may be pressed to return to the Main Screen. After you specify which Code Set to send, PCSet polls your printer to see if it is ready to receive data. If you printer is ready, the code will be sent. Ir it is not ready, you will see: Please Wait.... until the time-out period defined by your system has passed. If you PCSet has not received word from your printer that it is ready to print before that time- out period is over, you will eventually see: Please make sure printer is On and Online, then try again. Press Any Key. Press a key and you will be asked for a Code Set again. Ensure that your printer is on. If you have not already set the printer to match yours (assuming that your printer is not LPT1, parallel printer #1), you should do so now. If you check your printer and it is online, then the code will be sent. There are two exceptions: As mentioned earlier in Section 5, if you enter a non-number in a non-text field, or if one of your codes is greater than 255, you will see an error: Codes: 27,45,1a or 27 45 1 or 3 Blind Mice Code Set contains a non-number. Please re-edit. Press Any Key. Codes: 27,45,256 or 027,045,300 or 027,0045,001 Invalid Code in Code Set (over 255). Please re-edit. Press Any Key. In both cases, after pressing any key, you will be returned to the Main Screen so that you can edit the Code Set right away. Assuming everything goes well, your printer has accepted the codes you sent and is waiting now to print something else. If you have set up one of your Code Sets to be text, send it and see what the result is. NOTE: PCSet automatically sends a Carriage Return / Line Feed combo at the end off every text line. Unlike most other parts of PCSet, after completion of the send, you will remain in send codes, to save you keystrokes should you wish to combine one or more Code Sets. Once you have sent one Code Set, PCSet will also display the last set that you did send. You can use this information to ensure that you pressed the correct key to get the desired result. If you wish to send a DOS text file to your printer in, say, condensed mode, and you have a PCSet Code Set for Condensed On, then load PCSet and send that Code Set. Then, exit PCSet and do one of the following: A> copy textfile prn <ENTER> If your printer is LPT1 A> copy textfile lpt2 <ENTER> A> copy textfile com1 <ENTER> If your printer is COM1. NOTE: Serial printers are a special case. If you do not have your serial printer set up properly, refer to your DOS and/or printer manual. However, in general, a serial printer (plugged into the COM1 port) can be set up like this: A> mode com1: 9600 n 8 1 p <ENTER> OR A> mode com1:9600,n,8,1,p <ENTER> You can also use the PCSet default printer if you also use the following DOS command: A> mode lpt1:=com1 <ENTER> Again, consult your DOS and/or printer manual for exact syntax, which may vary from DOS level to DOS level, and depending upon your DOS distributer (i.e. IBM, Tandy, etc). Section 11. F7 Key - Setup After hitting F7, your screen will change to a display of all possible DOS printers: LPT1 - LPT3 and COM1 - COM4. If you just started PCSet, there will be an X next to LPT1, the default. If you have loaded a PCSet Code Set file, there will be an X next to which ever printer was set when that file was saved. You may change the current printer by using the Up and Down arrow keys and the space bar and X keys. Use the X key to place an X next to the output printer you wish to use, and use the space bar to delete any X's you need to. Press Enter when you have made your selection. If you selected no printers, or if you selected too many printers, you will get an error: You must choose one printer. OR You may not choose more than one printer. Your cursor will be returned to the X blocks and you can try again. If you choose properly, PCSet will then poll your printer to make sure that it is On and Online, ready to print. If it is not, you will see: Error - Please make sure printer is On and Online. Once the printer is ready, press Enter again. If you choose a non-existent Parallel Port, you will see: That Parallel Port does not exist on this system. And finally, if all is well, you will see: Printer is set to LPT1. Press Enter to return to Main Screen. The name LPT1 would be replaced by which ever printer device name you chose. As the notes at the bottom of the setup screen say, you may be able to choose a non-existent COM port. Doing so will hurt nothing, but will result in no printing, either. NOTE: LPT4 is a legal printer in non-PS/2 machines, but is not included here because it is very uncommon. Let me know if this is a problem. Section 12. F9 Key - Info By pressing F9 at the Main Screen, you will see an on-line Shareware information screen. This key is only available at the Main Screen. Press any key to return to the Main Screen. Section 13. ASCII Chart The following is a chart of ASCII codes. Of special interest will be the alphanumeric codes. I give decimal notation here only, as hex notation will not work with PCSet. I have not shown the IBM character set characters for non-printable characters (0-31 and 127) as these may affect your printer if you print this document. Instead, I include standard abbreviations for these characters (ex: FF = Form Feed). Code Character Code Character Code Character ---- ----------- ---- ----------- ---- ----------- 0 NUL 86 V 172 ¼ 1 SOH 87 W 173 ¡ 2 STX 88 X 174 « 3 ETX 89 Y 175 » 4 EOT 90 Z 176 ░ 5 ENQ 91 [ 177 ▒ 6 ACK 92 \ 178 ▓ 7 BEL (Beep) 93 ] 179 │ 8 BS 94 ^ 180 ┤ 9 HT 95 _ 181 ╡ 10 LF (Ln Fd) 96 ` 182 ╢ 11 VT 97 a 183 ╖ 12 FF (Fm Fd) 98 b 184 ╕ 13 CR (Cg Ret) 99 c 185 ╣ 14 SO 100 d 186 ║ 15 SI 101 e 187 ╗ 16 DLE 102 f 188 ╝ 17 DC1 103 g 189 ╜ 18 DC2 104 h 190 ╛ 19 DC3 105 i 191 ┐ 20 DC4 106 j 192 └ 21 NAK 107 k 193 ┴ 22 SYN 108 l 194 ┬ 23 ETB 109 m 195 ├ 24 CAN 110 n 196 ─ 25 EM 111 o 197 ┼ 26 SUB 112 p 198 ╞ 27 ESC (Escape) 113 q 199 ╟ 28 FS 114 r 200 ╚ 29 GS 115 s 201 ╔ 30 RS 116 t 202 ╩ 31 US 117 u 203 ╦ 32 space 118 v 204 ╠ 33 ! 119 w 205 ═ 34 " 120 x 206 ╬ 35 # 121 y 207 ╧ 36 $ 122 z 208 ╨ 37 % 123 { 209 ╤ 38 & 124 | 210 ╥ 39 ' 125 } 211 ╙ 40 ( 126 ~ 212 ╘ 41 ) 127 delete 213 ╒ 42 * 128 Ç 214 ╓ 43 + 129 ü 215 ╫ 44 , 130 é 216 ╪ 45 - 131 â 217 ┘ 46 . 132 ä 218 ┌ 47 / 133 à 219 █ 48 0 134 å 220 ▄ 49 1 135 ç 221 ▌ 50 2 136 ê 222 ▐ 51 3 137 ë 223 ▀ 52 4 138 è 224 α 53 5 139 ï 225 ß 54 6 140 î 226 Γ 55 7 141 ì 227 π 56 8 142 Ä 228 Σ 57 9 143 Å 229 σ 58 : 144 É 230 µ 59 ; 145 æ 231 τ 60 < 146 Æ 232 Φ 61 = 147 ô 233 Θ 62 > 148 ö 234 Ω 63 ? 149 ò 235 δ 64 @ 150 û 236 ∞ 65 A 151 ù 237 φ 66 B 152 ÿ 238 ε 67 C 153 Ö 239 ∩ 68 D 154 Ü 240 ≡ 69 E 155 ¢ 241 ± 70 F 156 £ 242 ≥ 71 G 157 ¥ 243 ≤ 72 H 158 ₧ 244 ⌠ 73 I 159 ƒ 245 ⌡ 74 J 160 á 246 ÷ 75 K 161 í 247 ≈ 76 L 162 ó 248 ° 77 M 163 ú 249 ∙ 78 N 164 ñ 250 · 79 O 165 Ñ 251 √ 80 P 166 ª 252 ⁿ 81 Q 167 º 253 ² 82 R 168 ¿ 254 ■ 83 S 169 ⌐ 255 blank 84 T 170 ¬ 85 U 171 ½ Section 14. Registration Info If you like and use PCSet and/or PCSLite, a donation is requested. This can work in any one of several ways. Simplest, you could send a check or money order for $15.00 to the address at the end of this file, made out to Steve Mount, and continue to use the version of PCSet/PCSLite that you have. You will be placed on a mailing list (that I guarantee you never to sell to anyone) to get any announcements I make about PCSet or related programs. Next, you could send a low-density diskette, 3½ or 5¼, to that same address, with a self-addressed, stamped diskette mailer/protected envelope along with $15.00 to get the latest versions of PCSet and PCSLite. The "latest" versions may be the same as the ones you have, but then again, they may not be. Next, you could send $20.00 and specify which type of diskette you need, and I will supply the stamps and diskettes, and send you the latest versions of PCSet and PCSLite. In both cases, I will add you to the mailing list, too. Lastly, if printer codes are not your forté, you could send $30.00, prepaid return envelope, printer manual (or copies of the control codes pages), and appropriate diskette, and I will make up as many PCSet Code Sets as I can for you. If you want me to supply the diskette, add $3.00. Postage, add another $3.00. If you go this option, send your phone number as well, in case we need to discuss anything. PCSet and PCSLite are the result of a lot of hard work and effort. Myself, my wife, and some friends have put it through a battery of tests. However, bugs are inevitable. If you find one, please let me know about it. And if you have any special requests that you feel could benefit any PCSet/PCSLite user, let me know that, too. Your suggestion could make it to the next release. Steve Mount RR 1 Box 320 Starksboro, VT 05487-9702 Contact me on CompuServe: ID 73720,3404 THE PCSet, PCSLite PROGRAMS AND THIS MANUAL ARE COPYRIGHTED DOCUMENTS. THE OWNER OF THE COPYRIGHT GIVES OTHERS PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE UNALTERED COPIES OF THE PROGRAMS AND DOCUMENTATION TO OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES. THESE PROGRAMS ARE NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. IF YOU USE PCSet AND/OR PCSLite, PLEASE PAY THE REGISTRATION FEE. IT WILL ENSURE CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE PROGRAMS FOR ALL USERS. PCSET, PCSLite, AND DOCUMENTATION COPYRIGHT (C) 1991 BY STEVE MOUNT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Appendix A. Adding PCSet/PCSLite to your Dos 5 help file The 1.6 version of PCSet and the 1.5 version of PCSLite include DOS 5.0 compatible help switches (the /? switch). This switch, or flag as it is also known, is passed to PCSet or PCSLite by the DOS 5 HELP program. But for HELP to work with the PCSet and PCSLite programs, you must first edit your DOS help file. This file is called DOSHELP.HLP. Adding PCSet and/or PCSLite to this help database is rather simple, provided you have a straight text editor. For this example, I will use the DOS 5 EDIT program to edit the help file, as it is included with every copy of DOS 5. Note that this Appendix is not meant to be an introduction to using EDIT. Also note that the concepts used here can be applied to nearly all text editors. First, enter EDIT by typing EDIT at the A/B/C prompt. Note that the QBASIC program must be in your PATH for EDIT to find. See your DOS manual for details. When you see the EDIT screen, choose the File option and then choose Open. Change your directory as needed by using the Dirs/Drive box, and type PCSET.DOC into the File Name box. Press ENTER and this file should appear. Now select the Search option, then the Find option. In the Find What box, type "load/save" without the quotation marks. Press ENTER. This is the one we are looking for - it is a description of the PCSet and the PCSLite programs. Use your mouse or keyboard to select all text from the word "PCSET" to the word "details." Once selected, the entire four-line block of text should be highlighted. Choose the Edit option and select Copy. The text will be loaded into memory. Now for the final part. Choose File and then Open. In the File Name box, type \dos\doshelp.hlp (assuming all DOS files are in a directory named \dos. If they are not, then change this File Name appropriately). The help file will appear. Choose Search, then choose Find. Type PAUSE into the Find What box and press ENTER. Place your cursor on the next line down, on top of the P in PRINT. Press Shift-Insert, and the PCSet/PCSLite help text will appear! Now choose File, and then Exit. EDIT will ask you if you wish to save DOSHELP.HLP - say Yes, and you will return to the DOS prompt. Your DOS help file is all set to give you brief help on the PCSet and PCSLite programs. Providing, of course, that PCSet/PCSLite are in a PATH in which DOS can find the programs. If you have any doubts about any of these procedures, refer to your DOS manual. This is the text to insert: PCSET Used to load/save printer Code Sets which are used to configure a printer for use with DOS commands or other programs. PCSLITE Smaller version of PCSET: no on-line help, no defaults, and no printer name changes.