PRTSET
by Steve Burns
VERSION 4.2

PRTSET is a program to take the tedium out of writing printer control
files. This program will ask for the printer control codes one at a
time and will automatically build a .COM file for sending codes to the
printer.

For example, if you wanted to turn on the correspondence quality mode
on your printer the BASIC command might look something like this:

PRINT CHR$(27);CHR$(120);CHR$(01)

This could get rather tedious entering these codes each time you wanted
to change to correspondence mode or even writing a one line BASIC
program to do this and then loading BASIC and running the program.
With PRTSET you only need to enter the commands once and a file will be
created which you might want to call LQ.COM. Then each time you want
correspondence quality print you would just type LQ . Several of
these files may be created in a short period of time, controlling
everything on your printer from print style to horizontal and vertical
spacing. Furthermore, a small batch file could be created, allowing
you to enter several of these filenames on the command line, thus
setting your printer any way you want, very quickly.

To start the program, simply type PRTSET. The opening screen is
displayed and you are asked to enter the first control code. These
codes may be entered as single keys from the keyboard, i.e. A, S, x,
etc. or they may be entered as decimal values or hex values. Decimal
values must be three characters long and hex values must only be two
characters long. For example you could enter the character "A" as just
"A" from the keyboard, 065 decimal or 41 hex. The length of the input
string is what determines if it is an ASCII character entered from the
keyboard, or a decimal or hex entry. In the same manner, the ESCAPE
key will enter the ESC code (this will be displayed as a small left
pointing arrow), or you may enter 027 decimal or 1B hex. Each of the
codes entered is ended with a . After all codes have been entered,
enter a final to let PRTSET know you are done entering codes.
Next PRTSET will ask for a filename to call the file you are making. I
usually try to keep the filenames short, yet descriptive. For example,
I use LQ for letter quality, DQ for draft quality, 10 for 10 characters
per inch (pica), 12 for 12 characters per inch (elite), etc. You may
use anything you want and can remember because each of these files may
be executed individually. For example, if you want to set draft quality
and 12 characters per inch, just enter DQ and then 12 .

If you need help at any time during the program, press 'F1' and a short
help screen will appear. It will show the basic procedures for
creating a printer control file. If you need to refer to an ASCII
table, one is provided simply by pressing 'F2'. When the ASCII tables
are displayed you may scroll through them one at a time with the PgDn
and PgUp keys. Pressing any other key returns you to the program.