Category : Word Processors
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Filename : QPRINTER.ART

 
Output of file : QPRINTER.ART contained in archive : QEXTRA.ZIP



PRINT CODE MACROS FOR QEDIT 2.03
================================
by Gene Catalano (June 1988)




TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: INTRODUCTION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Pg. 2
PART II: SETTING UP MACROS AND PRINT CODES Pg. 4
PART III: HOW TO CREATE PRINT CODE MACROS Pg. 6
PART IV: EDIT/CREATE YOUR PRINTER MACROS Pg. 11
PART V: SAVING YOUR MACROS Pg. 21
PART VI: FINAL REMARKS Pg. 22

ACCESSORY FILES (if downloaded, part of my package, QEXTRA.ARC):

PRINT.MAC
TEST.PRN
CLEAR.MAC

(CLEAR.MAC is a "dummy" macro file...that is, its contents are
"zilch." Actually, it contains a macro command for ALT-0, which
is to move cursor right 5 spaces, then left 5 spaces. Whenever
you want to clear all current macro keys, just load CLEAR.MAC.)

If you acquired this article by downloading my package,
QEXTRA.ARC, you should have the following 12 files: QASCII.ART,
QCONFIG.ART, QFORMAT.ART, Q-L-FORM.ART, QPRINTER.ART, ASCII.MAC,
CLEAR.MAC, FORMAT.MAC, Q-L-FORM.MAC, L-FORM.MAC, PRINT.MAC,
README.1ST, SAMPLE.BOX, TEMPLATE, and TEST.PRN. If you are
reading this article through a bulletin board service, without
the benefit of having downloaded the entire package (QEXTRA.ARC),
you can still use 100% of the information described herein. (The
files ending with ".ART" are articles, and all other files are
accessories to the articles.)







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 2




*****************************************************************

PART I: INTRODUCTION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
=============================================

As an alternative to using macros for print codes, you can "block
copy" the codes from my TEMPLATE file.

IMPORTANT: Please note that the instructions herein are for
QEDIT version 2.03, and depend on QEDIT's "macro creation" and
"literal" features. These instructions may or may not be
applicable to future versions, depending on the author's upgrade
approach.

Likewise, the instructions are for dot matrix printers. If you
have a daisy wheel or thimble printer, and are savvy (or
persistant) enough, you can probably adapt my instructions to
work for your printer. In any case, you do need your printer's
manual to create printer code macros.

You must already be acquainted with QEDIT key configuration and
macro creation, in order to make use of this information.

WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that playing with
printer controls may be hazardous to your sanity. Printers widely
vary in the coding of their many features. The code that
activates italics in my printer may not be the code that
activates italics in yours. (If your printer is "Epson
compatible," like mine, then the odds are in your favor.) I have
simplified my instructions simianly as possible, but proceed at
your own risk.

The instructions in this article will allow you to imbed
additional print controls into your QEDIT text, which (together
with the "format" macros described in FORMAT.ART) will turn the
QEDIT ASCII editor into a full-blown word processor.

Macros for non-print word-processing features (top margin, bottom
margin, paragraph reformat, page break, page numbering, headers,
footers, automatic margins, etc.) are covered in my file
FORMAT.ART.

Macros for extended code ASCII characters are discussed in my
file ASCII.ART.

In case you are curious, this text has been formatted using my
original macros from FORMAT.MAC. Text was configured for the
[ALT]8 macro (Set Left/Right Margins at 1" for 10 cpi or
proportional). So before printing, set printer for that macro.

Because printers vary widely with which codes they use for fonts
and pitches, I left out any print codes...so make sure your







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 3




printer is set for 10 cpi (pica). You can certainly dress up
this article by using print codes described in my file
PRINTER.ART! (If you don't use the "set left/right margins at 1
inch" macro, it will print out just as you see on screen: left
margin at 1, right margin at 65.)

Not only will you derive even greater pleasure from using QEDIT,
by incorporating sophisticated printer macros, but you will
understand more about your printer...which will give you greater
power with any other ASCII editor or word processor you might
use. And, should you ever decide to program, you will have an
educated acquaintance with programming print codes (which are
often the trickiest to learn).

The print codes appear on screen rather cryptically, as they did
in the early age of word processors. QEDIT will treat these
codes like regular text, so if you want to keep a word from
wrapping onto the next line as a result of these "code"
characters, you will have to make the adjustment manually.
(Funny how, in this computer age, "manual" means pushing buttons.
I never thought I'd see the day!)

Also, these imbedded print commands will not alter a text's
screen appearance, but will affect the printout...again, just
like the early word processors.

So, if these small inconveniences are not outweighed by your
desire to "word-processorize" QEDIT, and if you want to gain an
understanding of those "mysterious" printer contols, and/or are a
QEDIT fanatic like myself, read on!







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 4




*****************************************************************

PART II: SETTING UP MACROS AND PRINT CODES
-------------------------------------------

MACRO PRINT MODE ESC CODE "on" ESC CODE "off"
===== =============== ============ ==============

[ALT]1 LETTER QUALITY [ESC]x1 [ESC]x0
[ALT]2 DOUBLE STRIKE [ESC]G [ESC]H
[ALT]3 ENHANCED [ESC]E [ESC]F
[ALT]4 ITALICS [ESC]4 [ESC]5
[ALT]5 UNDERSCORE [ESC]-1 [ESC]-0
[ALT]6 SUPERSCRIPT [ESC]S0 [ESC]T
[ALT]7 SUBSCRIPT [ESC]S1 [ESC]T
[ALT]8 CENTER JUSTIFICATION [ESC]a1 [ESC]a0
[ALT]9 FULL JUSTIFICATION [ESC]a3 [ESC]a0
[ALT]0 PROPORTIONAL SPACING [ESC]p1 [ESC]p0
[ALT]Q 12 CPI [ESC]M [ESC]P
[ALT]E SKIP PERFORATION [ESC]Nn [ESC]O
[ALT]R PRINT CARRIAGE RETURN [CTRL]M[CTRL]J
[ALT]T PRINTER PAGE EJECT [CTRL]L
[ALT]Y FORM FEED [CTRL]L


NOTE: The lowercase "n" in "[ESC]Nn" (for SKIP OVER PERFORATION)
is to be replaced with the number of lines you want the printer
to skip over the perforation between form feed pages.

Above is a list of QEDIT 2.03 macros for the most commonly used
printer Controls, with their escape codes. I use macros [ALT]0
through [ALT]9 and [ALT] -Q,-W,-E,-R,-T,-Y, but you may choose
any macro keystrokes (in which case edit the "MACRO" column).
Please note that QEDIT does not allow use of "two_key" commands
for macros, which are two keystrokes preceded by the [ALT],
[CTRL] or [SHIFT] key. Also, note that QEDIT does not allow
macro creation of keys already configured through QCONFIG.EXE.

By editing the list above to suit your requirements, you may use
it as a reference for creating the macro keys.

I have used the same "family" of macros (ALT-0 through ALT-9 and
[ALT] -Q,-W,-E,-R,-T,-Y) for my "format macros," "legal format
macros," "printer macros," and "ascii macros," discussed in the
files QFORMAT.ART, Q-L-FORM.ART, QPRINTER.ART and QASCII.ART. If
you do likewise, you will have to switch among my four macro
files, by using QEDIT's "" command.

Remember: in order to reserve the "macro family" ALT-0 through
ALT-9, and ALT -Q,-W,-E,-R,-T,-Y (which is each letter
Q,W,E,R,T,Y preceded by [ALT]), for your own macro files, you







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 5




must not use any of these keys in your configuration file (which
is set up by running QCONFIG.EXE). This applies to any key
combinations you want to use for macros.

The escape codes are for the (Epson compatible) dot matrix NEC
Pinwriter 2200. Refer to the programmer's section of your
printer manual to find out which codes match, and which
don't...changing the ones which don't. (To change them, you only
need edit the one or two characters after "[ESC]" in the two
ESCAPE CODE columns.) This will be your reference list for
creating printer macros (read on). FORM FEED printer code
"[CTRL]L" and CARRIAGE RETURN/LINEFEED "[CTRL]M[CTRL]J" is
universal to all IBM ASCII compatible systems, and need no
change.

Remember that all but two print modes listed have an "off" code
(to "disable" or "stop" a print control) as well as an "on" code.
(Exceptions: CENTER JUSTIFICATION, which is turned "off" by a
carriage return, and FORM FEED and CARRIAGE RETURN/LINEFEED,
which are really [CTRL] codes.) Therefore, any adjustments to
make this list match your own printer codes must include their
equivalent "off" codes.

NOTES: Two codes are turned "off" by returning to the printer's
"default." LETTER QUALITY is turned "off" by returning it to
DRAFT mode. FULL JUSTIFICATION is turned "off" by returning it
to LEFT JUSTIFICATION.

Print mode terms may vary from manual to manual. LETTER QUALITY
may also be referred to as "LQ," "NEAR LETTER QUALITY," or "NLQ."
DOUBLE STRIKE and ENHANCED are two forms of "BOLD" print.
"CENTER JUSTIFICATION" may also be referred to as "CENTER LINE"
or "CENTER TEXT". FULL JUSTIFICATION may also be referred to as
"JUSTIFY TEXT," "JUSTIFY RIGHT MARGIN," or some variation
thereof.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 6




*****************************************************************

PART III: HOW TO CREATE PRINT CODE MACROS
------------------------------------------

Although there are two ways to create QEDIT macros--adding them
to the key configuration file, or creating a special macro
file--I prefer the second. This way, macros ALT-0 through ALT-9,
and ALT -Q,-E,-R,-T,-Y can be re-used for other macro files.
(The basic idea here, is to reserve a "family" of keys for your
macro files...because any keys used in your configuration file
are not available for macro recording.)

The full macro "family" I reserve for macro files is [ALT]-0
through [ALT]-9, and [ALT] -Q,-W,-E,-R,-T,-Y.

If the list of all printer commands in PART II matches those of
your own printer, and you like my macro assignments [ALT]0
through [ALT]9, and [ALT] -Q,-E,-R,-T,-Y, you are ready to go!
Once you are in QEDIT, just load my macro file PRINT.MAC with
the "macro_read" command.

If some of the codes match, while others don't, and you like my
macro assignments, just load the printer macro file PRINT.MAC
while in QEDIT, and re-create the incompatible macros to work for
your printer.

(If you didn't acquire this article by downloading it as part of
my QEXTRA.ARC package, then you might not have accessory files
ASCII.MAC, CLEAR.MAC, FORMAT.MAC, L-FORM.MAC, PRINT.MAC,
SAMPLE.BOX, TEST.PRN, or TEMPLATE.)

Another way to find out if all or some of the printer code
commands for my printer are compatible with your printer, is to
just print out my accompanying file TEST.PRN, while in the QEDIT
environment.

---------------
You can create a macro to automatically load PRINT.MAC. In the
following key configuration, I selected ALT-P ("@p") for the
macro, but you may choose another macro key. This example is to
be included in your configuration file, which should then be
imbedded in your QEDIT program by running QCONFIG.EXE:

@p macro_begin escape 'm' 'r' 'PRINT.MAC' return

The above macro configuration assumes that PRINT.MAC resides in
the same directory where you run QEDIT. If not, add the drive
and/or subdirectory. For example, if PRINT.MAC resides in drive
C:, subdirectory "\MACRO", you would change 'PRINT.MAC' to
'C:\MACRO\PRINT.MAC'. (Of course, you may prefer a file name
other than PRINT.MAC, in which case, change it.)







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 7




NOTES: The original QEDIT configuration file, QCONFIG.DAT, does
not include the "macro_read" and "macro_write" commands.
("Macro_record" is CTRL-M.) Of course, you can just use the
pop-up menu by hitting "[ESC]MM" to begin the macro, and hitting
"[ESC]MM" a second time to end the macro.

To include "macro_read" and "macro_write" as key configurations,
I suggest first changing the original "macro_record" from CTRL-M
to CTRL-M-C ("C" standing for macro "create") then using CTRL-M-L
for "macro_read" ("L" standing for macro "load"), and CTRL-M-S
for "macro_write" ("S" standing for macro "save"). Delete the
original "macro_record" line in your configuration file, and
replace it with these three lines:

^m_c macro_record * macro "create"
^m_l macro_read * macro "load"
^m_s macro_write * macro "save"

If you prefer to use macros other than the CTRL-M two-key
commands, change them now. Either way, you can just copy/paste
the above three command lines into your configuration file. Then
run QCONFIG.EXE to reconfigure your keys.

If you are using the WordStar-compatible configuration file
QWSKEY.DAT, [SHIFT][F1], [SHIFT][F2], and [SHIFT][F3] are used
for "macro_read," "macro_write," and "macro_record,"
respectively.)

If your printer escape codes do not match my list (or you prefer
to use different macros, or you do not have my PRINT.MAC file
on disk), you must re-create the macro keys to suit your printer.
Assuming you edited the list in PART II to conform with your own
printer, use it as a reference for creating your macros (PART
IV).

You must have QEDIT's "literal" command included in your
configuration file. In the original QCONFIG.DAT configuration
file, the command line is:


^p literal

(The "literal" command tells QEDIT to literally interpret the
next keystroke. Since you do not want [ESC] to call up QEDIT's
pop-up menus, as it normally does, you must precede [ESC] with a
"literal" command, in order to bypass QEDIT's function for [ESC],
and use it to activate a printer [escape] code instead.)

When creating a macro that includes [PGUP]/[PGDN] keys, you must
not be working in a window (that is, you must be in "full screen"
mode). This is because [PGUP] and [PGDN] take smaller jumps in
windows, than in full screen.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 8




HOW TO USE MY INSTRUCTIONS:
..........................

PART IV begins the actual macro creations. I recommend first
editing the list of 15 macros in PART IV before beginning,
according to the following directions:

The QEDIT "" command to begin creating a macro, is
the same command used to end the macro.

Any text in "less-than"/"greater-than" brackets "<...>" indicates
a QEDIT keystroke or keystroke combination that is user defined.

Any text in "left"/"right" square brackets "[...]" indicates a
literal keystroke. Therefore, "[ESC]" means to literally press
the [ESC] key, [LEFT ARROW]" means to literally press the [LEFT
ARROW] key, and so forth.

Any text in "left/right" fancy brackects "{...}" indicates an
instruction to hit the key designated therein, a multiple number
of times as indicated.

Characters not in brackets are to be typed just as you see them
(letters are not case sensitive, except any that appear on the
same line as a printer [ESC] code).

The steps described to create a macro (in PART IV) are placed on
separate lines in order to break them down into understandable,
digestible units. However, do not, I repeat, do not do the same
thing yourself...for there are absolutely no carriage returns in
any of these macros. Just treat the steps for creating each
macro as if all the commands for each macro appeared on one line,
without any spaces.

To facilitate creation of the macros in PART IV, edit each
macro's step-by-step instruction to conform with your own
customized key configurations. That is: replace every
occurrence of "" with your actual "macro_record"
keystroke. Likewise, replace every occurrence of "" with
your actual "literal" keystroke. Finally, replace each
occurrence of "" with a macro key of your choice (each
"" must be replaced with a different macro keystroke).

IMPORTANT: Likewise, any changes made to the [ESC] codes listed
in PART II must also be made to the macro creation instructions
in PART IV.

Remember to change any of the orginal macro keys in PART IV
(ALT-0 through ALT-9 and ALT -Q,-E,-R,-T,-Y), to match any
changes you may have made in the MACRO list in PART II.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 9




Once you have customized the macro instructions to your own
preferences, The instructions will be much easier to follow, for
actually creating the Macros.

EXAMPLE:
-------

The instructions for LETTER QUALITY MODE are:




[ESC]x1

[ESC]x0
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times}


Let's pretend that: my "macro_record" command is "[CTRL]F1", my
assignment is [SHIFT][F1]", my "literal" command is
"[CTRL]L", my printer's [ESC] code to Begin LETTER QUALITY MODE
is "m1", and my printer's [ESC] code to resume DRAFT MODE is
"m0". Therefore, I would edit the instructions to create a Macro
key for LETTER QUALITY MODE, to look like this:

[CTRL][F1] (begin macro)
[SHIFT][F1] (designate macro)
[CTRL]L (interpret next key as "literal")
[ESC]m1 (hit [ESC], type "m1")
[CTRL]L (interpret next key as "literal")
[ESC]m0 (hit [ESC], type "m0")
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times} (hit [left arrow] 3 times)
[CTRL][F1] (end macro)

The three [LEFT ARROW] commands place the cursor between the
"begin" and "end" LETTER QUALITY MODE markers, so, as long as
[insert] is "on", I just go ahead and type. Once I want LETTER
QUALITY MODE to end, I just move my cursor to the right of the
"end" marker, and resume typing. The inclusion of [LEFT ARROW]s
in any macro is always to place the cursor in the middle of
"begin" and "end" print code markers. Notice that the "m" in
both [ESC] codes is lower case. Printer codes are case
sensitive, so be alert to whether my macro instructions use lower
or upper case [ESC] codes. (Letters not on an [ESC] code command
line can by typed in either lower or upper case, such as the "L"
in the example's "literal" command "[CTRL]L'.)

Hopefully, you are now ready to edit the macro creation steps
below. Notation below each macro instruction assists your
editing.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 10




When you are ready to create the macros, open or create a file in
QEDIT, then follow the steps in PART IV for creating ten printer
code macros.

To save your printer macros in a permanent file, follow
instructions in PART V: SAVING YOUR MACROS.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 11




*****************************************************************

PART IV: EDIT/CREATE YOUR PRINTER MACROS
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-1: LETTER QUALITY
----------------------




[ESC]x1

[ESC]x0
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times}


NOTES: In my printer, LETTER QUALITY is sort of a "heavy" bold.
If your printer does not have a LETTER QUALITY MODE, then use
this macro for NEAR LETTER QUALITY ("NLQ") MODE.

LETTER QUALITY MODE is turned "off" by returning to DRAFT MODE,
Which, in my printer, is "[ESC]x0". Find out your printer's
DRAFT MODE [ESC] code, and replace "x0" with the appropriate
code, if different. The three [LEFT ARROW] commands place the
cursor between the "begin" and "end" LETTER QUALITY MODE markers,
so, as long as [insert] is "on", you just go ahead and type. Once
you want LETTER QUALITY MODE to end, just move the cursor to the
right of the "end" marker, and resume typing.

You may prefer not to have the "end" marker dragging beside your
cursor all the while you type. In that case, delete the "end"
marker, which is the second half of the code that lies to the
right of your cursor, and looks like: <-x0 ("<-" representing a
tiny left-pointing arrow; "x0" representing whatever your
printer's [ESC] code is for DRAFT MODE..."[ESC]" appears on the
screen as a tiny left-pointing arrow). When you are ready to
"end" LETTER QUALITY, again type the LETTER QUALITY macro, only
this time delete the first half of the code, which is the "begin"
marker, and looks like: <-x1 ("<-" representing a tiny
left-pointing arrow; "x1" representing whatever your printer's
[ESC] code is for LETTER QUALITY).







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 12




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-2: DOUBLE STRIKE
---------------------




[ESC]G

[ESC]H
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: In my printer, DOUBLE STRIKE is sort of a "light" bold.

See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT ARROW] and
"begin" And "end" markers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-3: ENHANCED
----------------




[ESC]E

[ESC]F
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: In my printer, ENHANCED is sort of a "medium" bold.

See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT ARROW] and
"begin" nd "end" markers.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 13




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-4: ITALICS
---------------




[ESC]4

[ESC]5
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT
ARROW] and "begin" nd "end" markers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-5: UNDERSCORE
------------------




[ESC]-1

[ESC]-0
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: The "hyphen" is a literal part of UNDERSCORE's "begin" and
"end" codes. So don't forget to type the hyphen along with the 1
and 0.

On my printer, UNDERSCORE appears too faded in DRAFT MODE.

See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT ARROW] and
"begin" and "end" markers.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 14




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-6: SUPERSCRIPT
-------------------




[ESC]S0

[ESC]T
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT
ARROW] and "begin" and "end" markers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-7: SUBSCRIPT
-----------------




[ESC]S1

[ESC]T
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT
ARROW] and "begin" and "end" markers.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 15




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-8: CENTER JUSTIFICATION
----------------------------




[ESC]a1

[ESC]a0
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times}


NOTES: CENTER JUSTIFICATION is turned "off" by LEFT
JUSTIFICATION "on" (for my printer that's "[ESC]a0").
(Find out your printer's LEFT JUSTIFICATION [ESC] code, and
replace "a0" with the appropriate code, if different.)

LEFT JUSTIFICATION must be placed on the line immediately below
the last line to be centered.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 16




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-9: FULL JUSTIFICATION
--------------------------




[ESC]a3

[ESC]a0
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times}


NOTES: FULL JUSTIFICATION gives your text an even right, as well
as left, margin, by distributing space between words as evenly as
possible. This may or may not create an attractive format for
your text. Like the early word processors, FULL JUSTIFICATION
will not change the text on screen, but just on the printer, as
this is a "printer" command only.

FULL JUSTIFICATION is turned "off" by returning to LEFT
JUSTIFICATION, which, for my printer, is [ESC]a0. Find out your
printer's LEFT JUSTIFICATION [ESC] code, and replace "a0" with
the appropriate code, if different.

LEFT JUSTIFICATION must be placed on the line immediately below
the last line to be "full justified".

NOTES: See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT ARROW]
and "begin" and "end" markers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-0: PROPORTIONAL SPACING
----------------------------




[ESC]p1

[ESC]p0
{hit [LEFT ARROW] 3 times}


NOTES: PROPORTIONAL SPACING adjusts spacing between letters
according to their individual widths, which varies (i.e.: an "m"
is wider than an "i"). On my printer, it also gives a crisp,
letter quality appearance to the text.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 17




-----------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-Q: 12 CPI
--------------




[ESC]M

[ESC]P
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: "12 CPI" stands for "twelve characters per inch," which
is a typewriter's "elite" mode. ("Pica" is "10 CPI.") 12 CPI
turns "off" by returning to 10 CPI which, in my printer, is
[ESC]P.

NOTES: See LETTER QUALITY "NOTES:" above, about the [LEFT
ARROW] and "begin" and "end" markers.

HOW TO IMBED 10 CPI: Use your "12 CPI" macro, without any
text between the "begin" and "end" codes...or by deleting
the first half of the "12 CPI" print code. (The "end" code
really means "return to 10 cpi").







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 18




------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-E: SKIP OVER PERFORATION
-----------------------------




[ESC]Nn <---- replace "n" with the number
of lines you want to skip
[ESC]O
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]


[RIGHT ARROW]

[LEFT ARROW]


NOTES: The lowercase "n" in "[ESC]Nn" is to be replaced with the
number of lines you want the printer to skip over the perforation
between form feed pages. (Example: If I want the printer to
skip 3 lines, I'd replace "n" with "3" like so: "[ESC]N3".)

The "O" in "[ESC]O" is an uppercase "O", not a zero.

"[ESC]O" is the "end skip perforation" command, and should
be moved to the end of your text file...or before another
section of text, if you decide to vary "skip perforation"
codes in the same document. For this reason, the macro
"block highlights" the "end" code to alert you.

My "skip over perforation" macro (ALT-E), in PRINT.MAC, is set
at "0"...so change the code if you want the printer to skip a
line (number of lines determined by the number you insert...not
to be greater than the current page length).

The "skip over perforation" macro allows you to adjust, in
text, how many line spaces you want the printer to skip over
the perforations in continuous form feed paper. The printer
will skip the number of lines you indicated, before and
after each perforation. This is one way to set top and
bottom margins--but thwarts your ability to insert headers
and footers outside the text body. (My article,
QFORMAT.ART, gives you an alternative to setting margins
that allows for headers/footers.)







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 19




------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-R: PRINTER CARRIAGE RETURN





[CTRL]M

[CTRL]J
[LEFT ARROW][LEFT ARROW]

[RIGHT ARROW]



[LEFT ARROW]
[DELETE][DELETE]


The "printer carriage return" macro does not affect text...but
sends a carriage return/linefeed to the printer, making the paper
move up 4 lines (2/3 inch). (It should move up only 1 line,
since there is only 1 carriage return/linefeed in the macro...but
this is how my printer responds.)

Before executing this macro, cursor must be on a blank line, or
QEDIT will print out any characters on that line.







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 20




------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-T: PRINTER PAGE EJECT
--------------------------





[CTRL]L
[LEFT ARROW]



[DELETE]


The "printer page eject" macro does not affect
text...but sends a form feed to the printer, ejecting the
current printer page to the beginning of the next.

Before executing this macro, cursor must be on a blank line,
or QEDIT will print out any characters on that line.

------------------------------------------------------------

ALT-Y: INPUT FORM FEED
-----------------------




[CTRL]L


"Input form feed" macro gives you a plain vanilla "page
break" without any of the fancy top/bottom margin formatting
provided by the "page break" macros.

------------------------------------------------------------







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 21




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PART V: SAVING YOUR MACROS
---------------------------

Now that you've gone through all this, you certainly don't want
to lose these macros so painstakingly created. At this moment,
should your computer's power source cease (through a power
failure, inadvertantly pressing the reset or "off" button,
tripping over the power cord, RAM lockup, or whatever), you will
indeed lose them.

To save your printer macros to disk, use QEDIT's "macro_write"
command...whatever you have configured it to be (I use
"[CTRL]MS"). You can name the macro file anything you want, but
it's advisable to save all macro files with the extension ".MAC"
or ".KEY" for easy identification. May I suggest naming your
print-code macro file PRINT.MAC?







PRINTER MACROS FOR QEDIT (cont'd) Page 22




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PART VI: FINAL REMARKS
-----------------------

Printer macros should always be executed with [insert] "on".

You can, of course, combine two or more printer commands. For
example, if you want to combine the two modes ITALICS and LETTER
QUALITY, just call up those two macros and begin typing! Make
sure you move the cursor to the right of the "end" codes, when
you want to turn "off" these features. Some print codes cannot
be combined...such combinations will either be ignored or "lock
up" the printer. All codes in this article can be combined,
except PROPORTIONAL SPACING, which ignores 12 CPI. Your printer
manual should alert you to print code incompatibilities, for any
new codes you want to include.

It would indeed be surprising if your printer does not have the
capability to use all the codes listed in PART II, as even
low-cost printers these days have an extraordinary number of
features. (There is, perhaps, the possiblity that your printer
does not support super- and sub- script.)

Having gone this far (and that's quite a bit!), you may want to
incorporate additional print codes, such as 15 CPI, 8 LPI (lines
per inch), PAGE LENGTH, RIGHT JUSTIFICATION, ELONGATED PRINTING,
and CONDENSED PRINTING. Should you do this, you may also need to
learn commands like "default initializer," which clears all (with
some exceptions) previous, non-default print commands, and other,
more subtle, commands. However, the 15 printer commands
described herein are the ones most used in most cases, and,
should you want further printer capabilities, then it is perhaps
time to convert to a dedicated word processing program.

As you peruse your printer's manual, you may discover an
incredible number of capabilities (such as language character
sets and dot matrixes)...but these are only for someone who is
creating a sophisticated word processing or graphics
program...not for someone who is using them.





  3 Responses to “Category : Word Processors
Archive   : QEXTRA.ZIP
Filename : QPRINTER.ART

  1. Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!

  2. This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.

  3. But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/