PRINTER DOLLY SHAREWARE MANUAL 1. SUPPORTED PRINTERS HP Laserjet and Deskjet along with many cartridges and soft fonts. Epson LQ printers along with cut sheet feeder. Canon BJ10e Bubble Jet Printer along with cut sheet feeder. Registered users should check with LaserScript Publishing for updates as the product is continually being enhanced. 2. PRODUCT OVERVIEW The Printer Dolly program is what is known as a "terminate and stay resident" program that remains resident in your computers memory from the time you turn on your computer. When you want to use the program, you hit the "hot key" and a small window appears that allows you to select individual commands or Setups that will control the behavior of your printers. These commands are organized into major categories that speed and simplify the printer controlling process. The specific categories are completely dependent on the printer and control file being used. The commands and categories are accessed by scrolling through a single window using the up and down arrow keys, Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn. When using Printer Dolly, it's important that you be aware of your MODE OF OPERATION. Printer Dolly always operates in one of the following modes: IMMEDIATE MODE sends the selected printer command to the printer at the instant it is selected in the pop up window. If, for instance you select "Skip to Top of Page," your printer will immediately respond. DELAY MODE simply toggles a feature ON or OFF. When a feature is selected - nothing is sent to your printer at that instant. This is the most commonly used mode because printers usually require 5, 10, or even 20 commands at one time to completely meet your needs. You will normally use this mode to develop Setups that will be saved and sent, later, when you need them. DOCUMENT INSERT MODE is the most powerful mode for complete printer control within a document. It is used in conjunction with most any screen editor or word processor. This mode places a Printer Dolly "TOKEN CODE" into your document at desired locations. This allows you to change typefaces, fonts, margin control, or anything else within a single page. This mode is very useful for making presentation overheads or other types of documents where presentation quality is important. To operate the program properly, you must always be aware of what mode you are in. The "M" key is used to select the mode. Printer Dolly also has a BATCH FEATURE that can be used to setup your printer as desired when you turn on your computer. You can toggle between LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3 if you wish using three different printer control files. This allows you to control three printers at the same time. This is very handy if you are, for instance, on a LAN and you have a private printer on your PC and also have another printer on the server. 3. INSTALLATION OF PRINTER DOLLY At this point we will assume that you have executed the self extracting PRINTDOL.EXE file and that you have all of the supplied files in a subidirectory on your hard disk. If you have no hard disk, continue to follow these instructions and simply substitute your target floppy whenever we refer to a hard disk. 3.1 Copy all of the extracted Printer Dolly files onto a freshly formatted floppy disk. This will be called your "Print Disk." 3.2 Delete all of the extracted Printer Dolly files from your hard disk. 3.3 Create a subdirectory on your hard disk called \PD (or whatever you want to call it). 3.4 Copy DOL.COM and PCONFIG.EXE from the Print Disk to \PD on your hard disk. Now you are ready to configure Printer Dolly. 4. CONFIGURATION OF PRINTER DOLLY The configuration program is named PCONFIG.EXE and is executed by entering PCONFIG at the MS DOS prompt once you are in \PD. Once you enter PCONFIG, the main menu screen will appear with the menu selections listed in the same order as the subsections in this configuration section of the manual. The menu items are selected by scrolling up and down with the arrow keys and hitting return to select the desired item. If you want to exit the program, hit Esc. Almost all of the steps in this process will either create or update the file PDOL.CFG which is read by the memory resident pop up program. If this file is ever lost, it will be necessary to repeat some steps of this configuration process. It is suggested that you configure your system as you follow the steps in this section. 4.1 Selection of Printers and Options. The purpose of this step is to create the necessary printer control files that will be used by Printer Dolly to control your printer. Although you will determine the eight character prefix name for these files, they will all be given the suffix .DCF. It is very important to note that this is the step that will determine the resident memory size of the Printer Dolly pop up program. The memory size is computed by adding the size of the largest .DCF file in the subdirectory to the fixed memory resident size of the Printer Dolly program. If you create very large control files, Printer Dolly will require more memory. Your specific situation in regard to memory requirements should guide your decisions in this process. Trial and error is the best process to use here. If you configure a file that you don't like, just delete it and configure another file. If you have a very simple dot matrix printer, there may be no decisions for you to make - you will simply select your printer name and your printer may have no available options. If, however, you have a Hewlett Packard Laserjet or Deskjet, you will have numerous options. It's important to understand that the more options you select, the more memory Printer Dolly will require. It may be wise to configure several small files as opposed to one large file. This step will require that you use the Print Disk that contains all of the building material used to build the control files. The screen is designed to be self guiding and it is not necessary to guide you through each step in the process. There is, however, one caution: the program will allow you to select, for instance, a Hewlett Packard Deskjet printer and then select cartridges for a LaserJet as additional options. You must make sure you select the proper options. If you make a mistake, you can scrap out or delete the .DCF file and start this process over. 4.2 Assignment of "Autoload" slots. 4.2.1 Purpose of Autoload Slots. Printer Dolly contains three Autoload Slots that allow you to quickly switch control files without having to enter the name of the control file. Autoload slot #1 is unique in that the file defined in this slot is the initial file that appears in the pop up window when the resident program is first executed. Depending upon the complexity of your printer environment you will, at a minimum, want to use Autoload Slot #1 and assign it to what may be your only control file. If you are using a laser printer with more than one cartridge or if you are using more than one printer, you will want to use two or three Autoload Slots. 4.2.2 The Configuration Screen. Upon selection of this function, the standard configuration screen is displayed. This screen contains information on all defaults that can be modified. The large window in the lower left portion lists up to 19 .DCF files that exist in the current directory. If this window is blank, you are either in the wrong directory or you have not created any .DCF files. The window in the upper left portion of the screen lists the Autoload Slots, the control files occupying those slots, and the LPT to which they are assigned. If this section is blank, the Autoload Slots have not been assigned. The window in the upper right portion of the screen contains information for other configuration functions. The first entry, TSR SIZE is of importance at this point in the configuration, however. TSR SIZE is the amount of memory that will be required for the resident Printer Dolly program. It is determined by adding the size of the largest .DCF file in the subdirectory to the core size of the resident Printer Dolly program. If this is too large for your needs, you should return to step 4.1 and configure smaller .DCF files and delete the large files. The lower right portion of the screen contains the conversation instructions to guide you through the current configuration step. 4.2.3 Assigning Autoload Slots. This simple four step process asks (1) for a .DCF file number, (2) the Autoload Slot number, (3) the LPT that will connect to the printer, and (4) gives you a choice of scraping out with no update, exiting with update, or making another assignment. You may return to this screen at any time to review the Autoload Slot assignments. If you are using multiple slots, you should use slot #1 for your most common control file or printer. When the resident Printer Dolly program is active, the selection AUTOLOAD NEW CONTROL FILE will instantly load the next slot progressing from 1 to 2 to 3 and then back to 1. 4.3 Selection of Screen Colors. The default colors for the Printer Dolly pop up window are white foreground and black background. This function allows you to modify these defaults. It is recommended that the foreground color be a light color that is easily noticeable when intensified. This is because the pop up program always intensifies the Mode Of Operation since it is critical that you always be aware of the current mode. As you alter the foreground and background colors, the appropriate part of the upper right window reflects the results of your selection. The conversation to select the colors is designed to be self guiding. 4.4 Selection of Hot Key for Pop Up. The Printer Dolly memory resident program, after being installed, is invoked by what is called a "Hot Key" combination. The default is ALT F1 meaning that the ALT key and the F1 key must be depressed at the same time to pop up the window and transfer control from whatever you were doing to Printer Dolly. This step in the configuration allows you to select a key other than F1 to go along with the ALT key. As you scroll through the choices, the current choice is displayed in the upper right window. The instructions in the conversation window will guide you through this selection. 4.5 Acknowledgement Beep. When sending commands to printers, the resident program will provide audio and visual confirmation or error acknowledgement if you desire. Some computers that are not 100% IBM compatible cannot provide for the precise timing required for this feature. If you have a problem with this feature, you should not enable this option. Typical symptoms on non compatible computers will be either a very long beep or a beep that never ends. If you configure the beep as active, the feature may still be silenced at any time during resident operation by simply hitting the "S" (sound) key. 4.6 Modify Document Insert Flags. After you complete the section on command processing and the DOCUMENT INSERT MODE, you will understand that these two flag characters are used to signal a command within your document. They have to be unique from anything else sent to the printer. You may change these characters to meet your needs. Follow the instructions in the lower right window to modify this default as necessary. 4.7 Specify Initial Mode of Operation. When the Printer Dolly window first pops up after it is installed, the default Mode Of Operation is IMMEDIATE MODE. This step allows you to modify this default to either DELAY MODE or DOCUMENT INSERT MODE. Follow the instructions in the lower right window to modify this default as necessary. 5. THE BASIC STEPS TO USE PRINTER DOLLY. 5.1 Loading the Program. The Printer Dolly resident program is named DOL.COM. To start using the program, simply enter DOL after making sure you are in the proper subdirectory. It is recommended that if you want the program available at all times, you make the install automatic by modifying your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in your root directory to automatically install Printer Dolly when your computer is turned on. 5.2 Activating and Erasing the Window. The window is activated by depressing the ALT key and, at the same time, depressing the other hot key. If you did not override the hot key defaults in the configuration step, F1 is the other hot key. To make sure of the proper hot key, the proper combination is displayed on the initialization message when DOL.COM is executed. The window will pop up on either the right or left side of your screen depending upon your cursor position. Printer Dolly never covers up your cursor. To erase the Printer Dolly Window, depress the Escape key and the window will disappear, returning control to your prior task. 5.3 Scrolling Through the Window. The most basic way of accessing commands is to use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. Depression of either of these keys moves the highlight bar up or down one command. If you hold either of the keys down, the window will scroll at a speed dependent upon your computers speed or settings. The HOME key will always return the highlight bar to the first command in the control file. The END key will always set the highlight bar to the last command in the control file. The PGUP and PGDN keys will move the highlight bar to the next or previous logical grouping of commands. You should find these keys convenient for finding your way through the control file commands when your looking for a specific category. 5.4 Invoking a Command. Invoking a command consists of moving the highlight bar to the command and depressing the ENTER key. It is important to remain aware of the MODE OF OPERATION when issuing commands. If, for instance, you depress enter when the highlight bar is on "TmsRmn Bold Italic 10pt.", that command will be sent to the printer instantly if you are in IMMEDIATE MODE. If you are in DELAY MODE, it will simply be turned on or off. If you are in DOCUMENT INSERT MODE, the window will disappear and a short string of numbers will appear at your cursor location. These modes are explained in detail in other sections of this manual. 5.5 Changing a Numeric Value for a Command. Some printer commands require numeric values that vary. For instance, the Set Right Margin command requires definition of where the margin should be set. The commands that require numeric values are apparent when viewing them in the window. After the description, there is a dash "-" and a number from one to five digits that usually represents a default value. To change this number, the "E" (Edit) key must be depressed. This will cause the small ancillary window to pop up where a message will prompt you to enter the number of your choice. As soon as you enter your number and hit return, you will see that the value has changed. These values will remain changed as long as the control file is loaded. However, THEY WILL NOT BE PERMANENTLY SAVED UNLESS YOU SAVE YOUR CONTROL FILE TO DISK. This function is covered later. 5.6 Changing the Mode Of Operation. To toggle between the three modes, you need only to depress the "M" (Mode) key. The Mode Of Operation is constantly displayed at the top of the window, in high intensity, at all times. The three Modes Of Operation are: IMMEDIATE MODE DELAY MODE DOCUMENT INSERT MODE The detail functions of these modes will become apparent as you read this manual. 5.7 Moving the Ancillary Window. While the normal pop up window will display on either side of your screen, you will notice that the ancillary window used for error messages, warnings, and data entry, pops up in the very center of your screen. If you desire, you can move it to another location of your choice. To do this, depress the "W" (Window) key. You will get a blank window. Use the arrow keys to move the window around until it is in a place that suites your needs. The window will continue to pop up in that location as long as the program is loaded. 6. PRINTER DOLLY SPECIAL FUNCTIONS The special functions discussed in this section are listed first in the pop up window. These special functions differ from the printer commands that you see listed later in the control file because they are functions of the Printer Dolly program - not commands to your printer. 6.1 Changing the LPT assignment. Although the LPT assignment for a control file is set in the configuration process, this command will let you change it at any time. It is useful if you made a mistake in your configuration or you have changed the LPT assignment since the configuration. Activation of this command pops up the ancillary window where you are prompted to enter 1, 2, or 3. Printer commands will be redirected accordingly from that point on. 6.2 Using the Setup Feature. The Setup feature is one of the most useful functions of this program. It allows you to develop a complex set of commands for your printer, save them under a name of your choice, and send all of these commands at once with a single operation. This function is necessary for effective printer control because printers almost always need numerous commands to meet your desired needs. If you had to send each of the required commands, one at a time, the value of a printer setup program would be marginal. Commands necessary, for instance, just to setup a laser printer to print a spreadsheet would include first resetting the printer, setting all four margins, selecting a font with landscape orientation, and defining lines per inch. 6.2.1 Developing a Setup. When the Mode Of Operation is set to DELAY MODE, selection of a printer command simply toggles it ON or OFF instead of sending the command to your printer. To develop a setup, you need only to turn ON the commands necessary to meet your needs. For instance if you wanted to setup your Laserjet II to print a spreadsheet, you would turn on Reset To Factory Default, the desired paper size, the top margin, the left and right margins, the text area and, if you are simply using the internal fonts, the Line Printer Compressed 8 point landscape font. Before you save this combination of commands it might be a good idea to send them to your printer using the Send Setup to Printer command and then print something to see if you get the desired results. You should also note that Printer Dolly is aware of the features of your printer that can not be turned on at the same time. For instance, if you were to turn on Courier 10 cpi Bold and then turn on Tms Rmn 8pt Proportional, the original Courier selection would be automatically turned off for you since it is impossible to have two different fonts turned on at the same time. 6.2.2 Saving a Printer Setup. Once you are satisfied with a specific combination of commands, you should invoke the Save Setup command. You will be prompted to enter a name for the Setup. It can be any string up to 16 characters long. The Setup in this example might be saved under the name "WIDE SPREADSHEET." If that name exists, you will be asked if you want to replace the prior Setup under that name. Up to 15 Setups can be saved for each printer control file. 6.2.3 Retrieving a Printer Setup. To retrieve a previously saved Setup, simply scroll to the Retrieve Setup function and hit enter. The ancillary window will appear with instructions telling you to use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the existing names. When you find the name you want, hit enter and the commands in the current control file will be automatically set ON or OFF with the appropriate numeric values. 6.2.4 Deleting a Printer Setup. Since you are limited to fifteen Setups for a single control file, you may want to delete unneeded Setups from time to time. The Delete function is similar to the retrieve function. Scroll to the Delete Setup Printer Dolly command, hit enter, a window will appear instructing you to scroll through the list of existing Setups. When you find the one you want to delete, hit enter. As a safety feature, you will be asked to confirm your intention to delete by depressing the "D" key. When this key is depressed you will receive confirmation of the delete. The next Setup name will then be displayed. When you are done with all deletes, hit the Escape key to return to normal operation. 6.2.5 Sending a Setup to the Printer. This feature instantly sends all commands to the printer that are set to an ON status. The commands are sent in the proper sequence so that they will not produce unexpected results. 6.3 Control File Switching. For a full understanding of this feature make sure you have read section 4.2, Assignment of Autoload Slots, in the configuration section. Invoking this Printer Dolly command loads the control file that was defined in the next Autoload Slot. If Autoload Slot #3 is active, the file defined in Autoload Slot #1 is loaded. If an Autoload Slot was configured empty, it is skipped. This feature allows you to easily control up to three printers at the same time. While this is usually not required for most computer users, users working on Local Area Networks often have a choice of three printers assigned to LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3. 6.4 Loading a File by Name. Although the Autoload Slot feature allows you to switch between three printer control files, you may desire a wider choice. This feature allows you to load a .DCF control file from any directory on your system. Invoking this command displays a window prompting you for the full file qualification. Loading of an invalid file can sometimes erase your existing file but this is no problem - you can simply reload the original file with this or the Autoload Slot feature. 6.5 Save Control File To Disk. When printer control files are initially generated in the configuration step, the numeric values initialized in some of the control commands may not suit your needs. Also, you may want for a control file to always have certain commands turned on. This function allows you to change the default numeric values, set any desired commands on, and save the modified control file to disk. From that point on, it will always be loaded ready to meet your needs. 6.6 Manual Escape Sequence. If Printer Dolly accomplishes its intended function for you, you may never have to use this feature. It is suggested that you not even read this section unless you have found that you need to send a command to your printer that does not exist in our control files. However, in the case that we have not done a perfect job of anticipating all of your needs, the following paragraphs describe this function. To use the manual escape function, you will need to become familiar with the escape sequence commands for your printer and obtain a copy of an ASCII table showing all 256 characters. Invoking this feature displays a window that will allow you to enter a string of up to 47 of the 256 ASCII characters with the exception of the null character - binary zero. You will notice, by reading the instructions in the ancillary window, that the backspace, escape and enter keys have been replaced by F1, F2, and F3. This is necessary because the backspace, escape, and enter characters can be part of the escape sequence itself. If you hit the escape key while this window is displayed, you will get the "left arrow" character which is actually the escape character - a binary 27. If you review your ASCII table, you can see that many of the characters can be sent simply by depressing one of your keyboard keys. If you need to include a specific binary value, however, you may need to hold the ALT key down while entering a specific number, in decimal, on the numeric keypad. When you release the ALT key, the character will appear in the window. For instance, you can enter a binary 1 by depressing the ALT key and the 1 key on the keypad at the same time. You should see the white smiling face that is represented by a binary one in ASCII. To enter the line feed character, depress ALT and enter 10, etc.. Once you have completed your entry, hit F3 and the escape sequence will be sent to your printer. 6.7 Command Processing. Command Processing is required when you need printer control within a single document. All of the commands discussed in the prior sections addressed sending commands to the printer and then sending normal ASCII text files. This feature allows you to put printer commands directly into your documents so that you can switch typefaces, adjust margins, start and stop underlining, even print in columns on some printers. Applications for this feature can be such things as presentation overheads, announcement flyers, improving the readability of spreadsheet printouts, reports, letters with large type headings and smaller type text, or anything else that your printer is capable of doing. This feature is best used in conjunction with a full screen editor. Editors tend to differ from word processors because they develop normal ASCII text files with no internal control characters except for line feed and carriage return characters. Some word processors will also operate in this ASCII file mode. The feature will also work with the DOS EDLIN utility although this utility is very basic in function and is not pleasant to use. There are also many good screen editors on the shareware market. 6.7.1 Using the DOCUMENT INSERT MODE. To make effective use of this feature, it is necessary that you read this section and 6.7.2, the section on Command Processing. The first step in creating your desired document is to bring up your full screen editor and, for purposes of this discussion, begin with a blank screen - in other words you will create a new ASCII text file. Before you type anything, pop up the Printer Dolly window and toggle to the DOCUMENT INSERT MODE by depressing the "M" key once or twice until you are in that mode. You can now scroll down to any printer command and depress the enter key. The Printer Dolly window will disappear and a short string of characters will appear at the current cursor location. If you haven't modified the defaults during configuration, you will see the ~| characters followed by some other characters. This code is a shorthand code for the escape sequence that will direct the printer to accept the command you selected. These codes are designed to be recognizable, for instance the code for a page eject is ~|EJECT_, the code for switching to a Tms Rmn 10 point Italic font in landscape mode is ~|TR10IL. If you want to obtain a better understanding of this coding logic, see the README file on the distribution diskette. If you desire, you could type a few lines of text and insert more printer commands to become more familiar with this process. Another method is to load an existing text file into your editor, move the cursor around the document and insert printer commands at specified locations. You must also be aware that the printer command will not destroy your existing information if your editor is in insert mode but will destroy characters if you editor is not in insert mode. These codes will sometimes make your text look terrible on the screen, particularly if your inserting them in the middle of lines, however they will not appear on your printed output. To improve the appearance of spreadsheets, print your spreadsheet to a file and load the file into your full screen editor. Headings may have more meaning if in a large bold typeface, the numbers may be more attractive in different fonts, and specific numbers can easily be highlighted in bold or underlined to make them stand out. You can do virtually anything your printer is capable of with this feature. 6.7.2 Activating Command Processing. This section deals with the Printer Dolly command in the window that says <>COMMAND PROCESSING OFF. If you invoke this command, nothing will happen except that it will then say <>COMMAND PROCESSING IS ACTIVE!!. Invoking it again will toggle it off. When you send a text file to the printer that contains imbedded printer commands, as described in the previous section, Command Processing should be ACTIVE. When Command Processing is active, a background section of the program intercepts these imbedded printer commands and converts them to commands that your printer can understand. If the Command Processing is off, the commands themselves will print on your printout which would not be desired. When command processing is active, it is always active - regardless if the Printer Dolly window is popped up! It is always looking for ~| in a row and attempts to convert the next few characters to a printer command. When you are not printing a file with imbedded Printer Dolly Commands, it is best to turn off this feature. As stated in the configurations section of this manual, these characters can be changed to anything you desire. Also, you must be sure that the control file that was used to develop the imbedded codes must be loaded when the printer file is sent to the printer. This is because the background program uses the loaded control file as a table to look up the real printer commands. IMPORTANT! In cases where the wrong control file is loaded or you are printing a file that naturally has the ~| characters, you will get and error window with a message "Escape Mismatch, See Printer Dolly Manual." You can erase the window and continue by hitting the escape key but YOUR PRINTOUT WILL BE CORRUPTED. You should (1) load the proper control file or (2) turn Command Processing off. The document will need to be reprinted. 6.7.3 The HP PCL Strip Function. Hewlett Packard uses a standard called Printer Control Language (PCL) for their Laserjet and Deskjet printers. Manufacturers of competitive products also use PCL. Because this standard is becoming very common, Printer Dolly has been designed with this feature that applies only to PCL. Occasionally, you may choose to enhance the printout of a document that already has printer escape commands imbedded inside of it. If these commands are not stripped out, you would not obtain your desired results when the document is printed. If you find that the Setups sent to the printer from Printer Dolly are not having the expected effect, this is likely the cause. The solution is to toggle the HP PCL Strip Function ON and retry the process. The background program that performs the stripping can distinguish between Printer Dolly's commands and other commands so you should not experience any conflicts. Remember, however, this feature only works if you are stripping escape sequences in HP PCL. 7. BATCH PRINTER SETUP This section assumes that you have read the section on Setups and Autoload Slots. This feature allows you to put commands into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that will automatically send any Setup to your printers when your computer is turned on. Actually, these commands can be put into any batch file or can be entered directly if you desire. This feature is activated by including parameters on the execute line when DOL.COM is executed. The optional parameters must begin with a back slash "\", followed by a 1, 2, or 3 that indicates the desired Autoload Slot you are referencing. Following this must be the name of the Setup. For example, assume that you configured a control file in Autoload Slot #1 and then created a Setup for that control file and that you named your Setup "SPREADSHEET WIDE". The lines that you would put into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file would be as follows: CD\PDOLLY DOL \1SPREADSHEET WIDE CD\ These commands would execute a batch version of Printer Dolly that would load the control file defined in Autoload Slot #1, look up the proper Setup, and send this Setup to the LPT you defined in Autoload Slot #1. These steps alone, however, would not cause an install of the memory resident program. To accomplish a batch setup and an install, the following commands should be used: CD\PDOLLY DOL \1SPREADSHEET WIDE DOL CD\ 8. KEYBOARD SUMMARY Since Printer Dolly uses several keys that require memorization, the following summary is provided for your review. "D" (Delete) key -Used in the process of deleting a Setup. It is used only in this mode and has no action if hit in normal mode. "E" (Edit) key -Used for calling up the edit window so that a numeric value can be entered or changed. "M" (Mode) key -Used for switching modes between IMMEDIATE, DELAY, and DOCUMENT INSERT MODE. "S" (Sound) key -Toggles the beep acknowledgement off and on. "W" (Window) key -Will call up a blank version of the ancillary window and allow you to use the arrow keys to reposition according to your desires. 9. CUSTOMER SUPPORT Registered users may obtain assistance in using Printer Dolly, by calling (714) 282-0756. To become a registered user, send a check for $39.00 to: LaserScript Publishing 371 Yorkshire Cir. Anaheim, California 92808 END OF SHAREWARE MANUAL.