=============== READ ME FIRST =============== ZBPLT101 PRINTING THE MANUAL We made some executive decisions about the formatting of the Reference Manual. We started with the assumption that you have access to a HP LaserJet II printer (otherwise, why would you have LJPLOT in the first place?). We also decided to do you, and the trees, a favor by reducing the number of printed pages in the Manual. With that thought in mind, the Reference Manual has been processed by Korenthal Associates 4PRINT program (see footnotes). The reason for using 4PRINT is that it saves paper by printing two pages of output on a single page of paper. Because of this, printing the Manual requires some special handling. To get a printout of the Reference Manual use the LJMANUAL batch routine. Your LaserJet should be on-line and ready, and should have at least 15 sheets of paper in the tray. At the DOS prompt ( usually 'C:>' or 'A:>' ) type: LJMANUAL dev_name and hit the Enter/Return key. The 'dev_name' parameter specifies the 'device name' that the output is sent to. On non-networked printers using a device name of PRN or LPT1 will usually work. Entering a question mark (?) as a device name, or not specifying any device name, will bring up a help screen. If, for some reason, you are unable to print your own copy, send us a check for a $2.00 and we'll mail you a printout. Sorry, no charge card orders accepted on this offer. Mail to: ATTN SALES DEPT ZAMBINI BROTHERS SOFTWARE 17736 FIVE POINTS DETROIT MI 48240-2122 ====================================================================== Be sure to read the disclaimers at the end of the Manual. We promise it will be worth your time. ====================================================================== CONTENTS OF THE ZBPLT101.ZIP ARCHIVE. Filename Ext Description -------- --- ---------------------------------------------- readme 1st LJPLOT - READ ME file. *** YOU ARE HERE! *** ljmanual bat LJPLOT - Routine to print the Reference Manual. ljmanual bin LJPLOT - Reference Manual - pre-formatted.BINARY ljplot exe LJPLOT - Driver for ljplot1 and ljplot2 modules. ljplot1 exe LJPLOT - First Pass Module. ljplot2 exe LJPLOT - Second Pass Module. zbenvl exe ZAMBINI Envelope printer - Good for one-shot jobs. ---- SAMPLE PLOT FILES INCLUDED ---- arctest plt PLOTFILE - Samples of various line weights used in ARCs. border plt PLOTFILE - Samples of some Border Lines. border2 plt PLOTFILE - Twin line full border - Portrait. border3 plt PLOTFILE - Twin line full border - Landscape. boxes plt PLOTFILE - Samples of various boxes. checkreg plt PLOTFILE - Produces a simple check register sheet. disk5 plt PLOTFILE - The old floppy disk still lives. envelope plt PLOTFILE - Prints a no.10 envelope addressed to Z.B.S. hello plt PLOTFILE - Prints underlined Hello at top of page. --> ljorder plt PLOTFILE - Order Form for LJPLOT. ltrhd plt PLOTFILE - A Letterhead with graphic starburst. message plt PLOTFILE - While You Were Out telephone message form. metric plt PLOTFILE - Simple test of metric conversions. pattern plt PLOTFILE - Samples of various Pattern Fills. shading plt PLOTFILE - Samples of various Shading Fills. spkr plt PLOTFILE - Plot of a hi-fi box speaker. ====================================================================== QUICK START - FOR THOSE WHO HATE MANUALS. At the DOS prompt type: LJPLOT and hit the Enter/Return key. This will bring up the on-line help screen with more information. To actually run one of the sample plot files included, at the DOS prompt type: LJPLOT file.id dev_name and hit the Enter/Return key. File.id is the complete filename and extension of the file to be plotted, and Dev_name is the 'device name' of the printer to receive the output. For non-networked printers a device name of PRN or LPT1 will usually work. Try this, type: LJPLOT LJORDER.PLT PRN and hit the Enter/Return key. ====================================================================== PAPER SOURCE LJPLOT sets the paper source on the LaserJet to 'manual input.' You must insert a sheet of paper into the manual input slot on top of the paper tray. This allows for using different sizes of paper that you may or may not have paper trays for. There is a reason for this. The LaserJet uses an internal timer to detect paper jams. It can tell from the paper tray what size paper to expect and how long it should take to go through the printer. If it takes too much time going through the printer, the LaserJet assumes there is a paper jam. If you tell the printer to feed from a letter size tray, then you manually feed in a legal size sheet, the printer will be tricked into thinking there is a paper jam. ====================================================================== NUMBER OF COPIES LJPLOT resets the number of copies to one. For multiple copies use the 'Compile Only' option and then copy that file to the printer multiple times. ie: LJPLOT myfile.plt C COPY ZBLJTEMP.OUT /B PRN COPY ZBLJTEMP.OUT /B PRN COPY ZBLJTEMP.OUT /B PRN DEL ZBLJTEMP.* Note: After issuing the first COPY command, the entire line can be repeated by hitting the F3 key and the return key. ====================================================================== PRINTER ERROR 21 The following is quoted from the LaserJet II Technical Reference Manual, page 13-9. "As data is received by the printer, it is processed and stored in an intermediate format. The intermediate data is later processed and printed. During the physical printing of a page, the page moves through the printer at a constant speed. Thus, there are pages that cannot be printed because the page's intermediate data cannot be processed and printed fast enough to keep up with the physical speed of the page as it moves through the printer. When this condition occurs, '21 ERROR' is displayed on the printer's control panel. A page causing this error can never be printed by this device; however, it may be possible to remove or redistribute the page's data and subsequently print the page." The only advice we can give you is to try reorganizing your commands so the printer gets its instructions in a more top to bottom (right to left in portrait mode) structure. If that doesn't work, you can try reducing the overall size of the plot. ====================================================================== COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: I have the following code in my plot file: POI 0.0 ** point horizontal right LINE 2.0 ** draw 2 inch line MOVR 0.25 0.0 ** move pen 1/4 inch to the right TEXT All purchase orders must be signed. MOVR 0.25 0.0 ** move pen 1/4 inch to the right LINE 2.0 ** draw 2 inch line When I run the plot, the first line comes out fine, but the second line runs right through my text. What's wrong? A: The problem is that LJPLOT doesn't know where the LaserJet's cursor is after the TEXT statement. LJPLOT initially sets the character set to a 10 character per inch font. However, you could easily have specified a different font size or even a soft font (provided you had made it permanent before running LJPLOT) or cartridge font by using the CHAR command. LJPLOT would then have no way of knowing how much space that TEXT actually used. If LJPLOT tried to guess, it would be wrong as often as it would be right! Since only YOU know how much space that text is using, change the MOVR command after the TEXT line to move the pen the correct distance. ====================================================================== ZBENVL.EXE ZBENVL is a simple little program we wrote for in-house use. Its only function is to take the address text that you type in and print out a quick envelope on the LaserJet. You wouldn't want to use it for a 500 person mailing list. But, when you just need one or two envelopes done in a hurry, it's a real time saver. ZBENVL prompts you for each line of text. You type in the lines and it converts the text to uppercase (as per the new USPS guidelines) and prints it on the envelope. Just start it up, it will tell you what to do. ZBENVL IS FREE. It's our gift to you. We decided to put it in the Public Domain, so you can use it as much as you like without feeling guilty. Feel free to make as many copies as you like and give them to your friends. There are only three things that you can NOT do: 1) You can NOT alter the program in any way. 2) You can NOT charge any fee for distributing the program. 3) You can NOT change the name of the program on copies you are distributing (you can rename YOUR copy to anything you like). ====================================================================== FOOTNOTES (1) We used 4PRINT version 4.0 to format the Reference Manual. 4PRINT can also print double-sided, with 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns per side, to get up to 8 pages of output on a single page. We use it around here a lot! 4PRINT is available for $54.95 from: KORENTHAL ASSOCIATES INC 230 W 13TH ST NEW YORK NY 10011 Owner's of earlier versions of 4PRINT are eligible for a special upgrade price. You can also contact them on CompuServe ( GO PCVENB ) and at 1-800-KA-PROGS ( ORDERS ONLY ). You may also want to get PCBOOK which is available free via PCmagNet on CompuServe. It formats the output so the resulting printouts can be folded into 5.5" x 8.5" pamphlets. ====================================================================== If you're using the DOS TYPE command to view this file and it went by too fast, at the DOS prompt type: MORE < README.1ST and hit the Enter/Return key.