dPRINT


A printer control utility to be used from within dBASE.


by

ADVANCED SOFTWARE SYSTEMS, INC.
309 BLACKSMITH ROAD
CAMP HILL, PA 17011




INTRODUCTION


The provisions for controlling a printer from within dBASE and its
clones are cumbersome and tedious. For this reason dPRINT was de-
veloped. By using the RUN command in dBASE, both in the interactive
mode or from within program files, many printer functions are easily
invoked or canceled. In order for dPRINT to work the printer must
be an IBM printer or be capable of interpreting IBM commands, such as
the EPSON in the IBM mode. Also, the DPRINT.EXE file must be in your
working directory or in a directory to which a path is set.


SYNTAX

At either the interactive dot prompt or on a program line the proper
usage of dPRINT is:

RUN dPRINT XX,XX,XX,XX,XX

Each XX in the example represents a two letter command. The two
letter commands and their functions are:

SC - Start Condensed Print
CC - Cancel Condensed Print
SE - Start Emphasized Print
CC - Cancel Emphasized Print
SD - Start Double Strike
CD - Cancel Double Strike
SQ - Start Near Letter Quality
CQ - Cancel Near Letter Quality
SP - Start Auto Perforation Skip
CP - Cancel Auto Perforation Skip
SW - Start Double Wide Print
CW - Cancel Double Wide Print
SU - Start Underscore
CU - Cancel Underscore
L7 - Set Page Length to 7 Inches
L1 - Set Page Length to 11 Inches
L4 - Set Page Length to 14 Inches
08 - Set to 8 Lines Per Inch
FF - Perform Form Feed
RR - Reset to Power-up Settings






When issuing the RUN dPRINT command either 1,2,3,4 or 5 of these
commands may be used. Just remember to separate them with commas
if more than one command is used.


EXAMPLES

As an example, say you wanted to print a line in Near Letter Quality
while in the interactive mode:

. RUN DPRINT SQ
. ? 'This line would be printed in near letter quality'
. RUN DPRINT CQ

In this example the first command turns on the near letter quality
mode, the second command prints the line and the third line cancels
the near letter quality mode.

As another example say you were writing a program in which the first
line should be double wide print and the second line should be normal
size, near letter quality, and underlined. Your program segment
would appear as:

RUN DPRINT SW && start double wide
? 'This line would be printed double wide' && print line
RUN DPRINT CW,SQ,SU && cancel wide, start NLQ,start underscore
? 'This line would be NLQ and underlined'
RUN DPRINT CU && cancel underscore

Since the CQ command to cancel the near letter quality mode has not
been issued subsequent lines would be printed in near letter quality.


EXACTLY WHAT THE COMMANDS DO

SC - Start Condensed Mode
This command changes character spacing to condensed printing which
is 17.1 characters per inch.

CC - Cancel Condensed Mode
This command cancels the condensed mode and returns spacing to
the normal 10 characters per inch.

SE - Start Emphasized Print
Causes the print head to strike each character twice to produce
a darker, bolder character.

CE - Cancel Emphasized Print
Stops printing in emphasized print mode.

SD - Start Double Strike
Prints each character twice to make the print to appear darker.





CD - Cancel Double Strike
Cancels double strike printing which was started with the SD
command.

SQ - Start Near Letter Quality
Causes subsequent lines to be printed in the printers resident
near letter quality print mode.

CQ - Cancel Near Letter Quality
Stops the printers near letter quality mode and returns the
printer to the printers standard DP mode.

SP - Start Automatic Perforation Skip
Causes the printer to skip the perforation between pages of
continuous forms. This skip recognizes the length of the
form which is set by the L7,L1 and L4 commands.

CP - Cancels the automatic perforation skip which was started using
the SP command.

SW - Start Double Wide Print
Causes subsequent lines to be printed in characters which are
twice as wide as the current character spacing. This prints
half as many characters per inch.

CW - Cancel Double Wide Print
Stops the double wide print started with the SW command and
causes subsequent lines to be printed with normal character
spacing.

SU - Start Underscore
Begins underscoring. All spaces and characters that follow
will be underscored.

CU - Cancel Underscore.
Stops underscoring which was started with the SU command.

L7 - Set Page Length to 7 Inches
Sets the length of the current printed page to 7 inches
which is equal to 42 lines when in the normal 6 lines per
inch mode.

L1 - Set Page Length to 11 Inches
Sets the length of the current printed page to 11 inches
which is equal to 66 lines when in the normal 6 lines per
inch mode.

L4 - Sets Page Length to 14 Inches
Sets the length of the current printed page to 14 inches
which is equal to 84 lines when in the normal 6 lines per
inch mode.

08 - Set to 8 Lines Per Inch
Sets line spacing to eight lines per inch. At power-up
the default line spacing is six lines per inch.






FF - Form Feed
Advances the paper to the next top of form and performs a
carriage return.

RR - Reset to Power-up Settings
Returns all settings to their original power-up state.


A WORD ABOUT USING RR

Whenever the command RR is used when invoking dPRINT it takes
precedence over all other commands. That is, all other commands
are ignored and everything is reset to the printers Power-up
settings.


PRINT MODES IN COMBINATION

When using the dPRINT commands in combinations you must keep in
mind that not all combinations work together. When you use comb-
inations of print modes some modes take priority and suppress
other modes. If you have problems with your combinations check
the Print MOde Priority Chart in your printer's manual.


SHAREWARE

dPRINT is being sold under the shareware concept. It is not
public domain software. It is a copyrighted program with all
rights reserved. If the program suits your needs and you continue
to use it, you are expected to register your copy by sending $ 19
along with the completed registration. Registration assures you
of receiving future versions of dPRINT and gives you a clear
conscience.





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REGISTRATION STATEMENT

I have enclosed $19.00 please record my registration as a user of
dPRINT.


NAME :______________________________________________________

STREET :______________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, ZIP :______________________________________________________


MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Advanced Software Systems, Inc.
MAIL TO: 309 Blacksmith Road
Camp Hill, PA 17011

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