Category : Printer Utilities
Archive   : WUNBAR41.ZIP
Filename : WB.DOC

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ ³
³ WonderBar ³
³ by Larry Pendarvis ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

This program installs a TSR which prints Postal ("POSTNET") Bar Codes.
The Resident portion of WonderBar takes up less than 3K of memory.

You may use it freely, without charge, for non-commercial purposes.

You are encouraged to give away UNALTERED copies, if you are careful to
include all 5 of the distribution files:

1. WB.COM
2. WB.DOC (this file)
3. TESTWB.BAT
4. TESTWB.TXT
5. CONFIGWB.EXE


Commercial and Government users may use this program for a reasonable time,
without Registration, for evaluation purposes. If you decide to use it on
a regular basis, you must then Register it by sending a $35.00 Check to:

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ ³
³ BINARY SYSTEMS ³
³ P.O. Box 1621 ³
³ Brandon, FL 33509-1621 ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

I will then send you a Licensed (personalized) copy.


Registration is not necessary for private use by individuals. Enjoy.

Non-profit organizations: There is a good chance I will give you a free
License, if I approve of your goals. Write.
(Libertarians, Iconoclasts, and merciful charities preferred.)






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To use WonderBar, first run WB.COM; then send the printer the digits which
correspond to the desired Bar Code, preceded by a "Trigger Character"
such as the Caret (^).
For example, if the Zip Code is 33509-1621, you will put ^33509-1621
into the document you will be printing. The Bar Code will begin at the
exact spot where your document has the "^".

This Version will print Bar Codes of any length from 5 to 50 digits.
At the present time, you will probably use only 5-digit Zip Codes,
9-digit ZIP+4 Codes, and 11-digit Delivery Point Bar Codes.
But I HAVE seen the very same code used in the inside cover of books,
with more than 11 digits.

To see how WonderBar will work with your printer, first run CONFIGWB.EXE
and select the proper printer type.
Then run WB.COM, to start the TSR program; and run the Batch file TESTWB.

WonderBar is designed to work with whatever program you are now using to
print your address labels or envelopes. It will work with font
cartridges and downloaded "soft" fonts. However, it will not work with
programs which send graphics page layouts to the printer instead of
characters.

If more than one Printer is installed on the PC, be sure not to print to
another Printer while you are printing Bar Codes. This program will work
with any parallel printer port, but printing Bar Codes while also printing
to another Printer can result in interference.

To run, type:
WB
or type
WB /U (to remove WonderBar from memory)
or
WB /D (to Deactivate it, leaving it in memory)
or
WB /A (to Re-activate it after Deactivating).


WonderBar will work with the PrintScreen key, and will even work in
LandScape mode on the Laser Printer. It also works with side-by-side
(2-up, 3-up, etc.) label printing programs, except with certain printers.

The program CONFIGWB.EXE will let you configure WonderBar for Laser, 24-
pin, or 9-pin printers, or HP DeskJet printers.
It will also allow you change the "Trigger" character from the Caret
to certain other characters, and to choose to print a narrower Bar Code
than usual.

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**** Special note for WordPerfect users: ****




The default configuration of WonderBar will sometimes fail to print Bar
Codes when using certain Word Processors (e.g. WordPerfect) with a
LaserJet printer. This is because the "^" is in a different symbol set,
and WordPerfect is smart enough to send the printer special codes to
switch to the other symbol set before printing the "^", and to switch
back afterward. Thus the Caret is not adjacent to the Zip digits in the
output stream.
There is a solution to this problem: run CONFIGWB and select the "@"
symbol as the Trigger Character.
Other word processors may require some other trigger character.
Of course, the trigger character which you choose should not appear in the
text portion of the document or mailing list which you are going to print.



























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How to use WonderBar with WINDOWS Applications



First of all, there is no problem running WonderBar with regular DOS
programs under Windows - just run WB.COM before you run your WINDOWS.

The problem arises when you use a WINDOWS application, such as MicroSoft
Word for WINDOWS: WINDOWS normally uses its own special Printer Driver,
which cannot be intercepted by WonderBar. The solution, however, is
very simple. You have to choose a different "Port" - for example, if
you are printing to LPT1:, tell WINDOWS (in the Printer Setup section,
or in Control Panel - Printers - Configure Ports) that you want to use
LPT1.DOS: instead. This will force WINDOWS to use the normal "Operating
System" Printer Interrupt.
(For Windows 3.0, select "LPT1.OS2:" as the Printer Port.)

A note about TrueType Fonts: you must not use them for the Trigger
character or the digits to print as Bar Code. Select a font which is
built into your printer, or one which is downloaded to it.
The rest of your document or mailing list can be any font you wish.




















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ABOUT SHAREWARE

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software
before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue
using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs
differ on details -- some request registration while others
require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With
registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue
using the software to an updated program with printed manual.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software,
and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific
exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished
programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are
of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs
and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of
distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy
and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a
specific group. For example, some authors require written
permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their
Shareware.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You
should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook,
whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes
fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy.
And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware
has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the
product, you don't pay for it.














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DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT



Users of WonderBar must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
"WonderBar is supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,
the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.
The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse-
quential, which may result from the use of WonderBar."



WonderBar is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge
to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your
friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of
another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to
provide personal computer users with quality software without
high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to
continue to develop new products.






















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TECHNICAL STUFF / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS



WonderBar is written entirely in 8086 Assembly Language
and assembled with Borland's Turbo Assembler.
I started with a tiny tightly-coded program called PRSWAP, from a
1985 issue of PC Magazine. I disassembled it to learn just how
it managed to cram itself into 256 bytes and run Resident.
I then wrote WonderBar 1.0 using what I had learned.
The present WonderBar has been improved from time to time over
the past two years. The greatest change from the original has been
to allow any number of digits in the ZIP Code. The first version which
did this popped the printer into Graphics mode many times during each
Bar Code, so that it didn't have to store up an arbitrary number of
Bars to print at one time. Perhaps for this reason, there were a
few printers which printed very slowly, as though they had to back
up for every bar. The present version fixes this problem by storing
the entire Bar Code and printing it all at one time.



CONFIGWB is written in C Language
and compiled with MicroSoft C/C++ 7.0.
It uses The Window BOSS routines for the popup windows.



Late Notes -------

LANTASTIC: Run WB on the PRINT SERVER before you start the network.

HP DeskJet printer: WB has not yet been tested on the DeskJet.










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If you find this program useful, and you are using it for your
own personal affairs, please feel free to enjoy it, with my
blessings. If you are evaluating WonderBar for use in a
Commercial or Government environment, then after a reasonable
trial period you must make a registration payment of $35.00
to BINARY SYSTEMS. The $35.00 registration fee will license
one copy for use on any one computer at any one time.
You must then treat this Registered software just like a book.
An example is that this software may be used by any number of
people and may be freely moved from one computer location to
another, so long as there is no possibility of its being used
at one location while it's being used at another (just as a
book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time).

If you are in Florida, the price will be a teeny bit less than
$35.00 so that the Sales Tax will bring the total amount up to
exactly $35.00 ($32.87 in Hillsborough County; elsewhere $33.01).

Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting BINARY SYSTEMS.

Anyone distributing WonderBar for any kind of remuneration is
encouraged to send me a note describing how that can be done.
More power to you!

You are encouraged to pass an UNALTERED copy of WonderBar along
to your friends for evaluation. There is no need to register it
or pay for it unless it is used by a Commercial or Government entity.

Registered users will receive a serialized, personalized copy of
the latest version of WonderBar. Registered users also will
have the right to 6 months of support from the date of registration.
If you have any problems with WonderBar, write to me at the address
on the initial screen. Registered users will get a prompt reply.
OR you may send mail to me on CompuServe; my ID is 72775,240.

Even if you are not a registered user, please feel free to tell me
of any suggestions for inclusion in the next Version of WonderBar.
In particular, if your printer is not one of those supported by the
current version, send me the Control Code specifications for your
printer; there is a good chance I will make it work with your
printer soon, once I get the specs.




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