mcguffey@unc.UUCP (Michael McGuffey) (12/29/86)
[Eat this, line-eater] If I "print file" from MS Word v3.0 with applaser.prd as the printer, shouldn't I get a PostScript file as output? I may be doing something wrong, but I am getting a file in the MSPRINT format (as described in the Printer Information booklet). We have a LaserWriter connected to our Vax and I would like to use it to print my Word documents. If anybody has written a MSPRINT -> PostScript filter, I would be interested in getting a copy of it. -- -mike Michael J McGuffey mcguffey@unc decvax!mcnc!unc!mcguffey
tj@utcs.UUCP (12/31/86)
The first time you use the printer in an MS Word "session" MS WORD sends an APPLASER.INI file to the printer. This contains a number of "functions" that in turn read this file that you see when you print to file. If you wanted to print it from your VAX connected PostScript printer all you should have to do is copy the INI file onto the front of the file before sending it. This could be done automatically by writing an MSPRINT vax command that sends a copy of the INI file then the "PostScript" file created from print file. And now a brief complaint to software developers about the postscript drivers they are creating for their wordprocessing etc packages. First, communications.... Most PostScript devices are serial devices and support Xoff/Xon communications. Some support DTR style handshaking, Some are Parallel devices, BUT for the most part, serial Xon/Xoff is the common denominator. When using these devices from IBM/PC's the software developer should use Xoff/Xon and I am really sorry that the operating system doesn't do it for you, but this means you have to do it. Of course it should be a user selectable option in the printer setup. Next the PostScript code... One of the joys of PostScript is that you need not send control characters. No communications problems etc. Simple text files. SO WHY, WHY do you guys insist on writing drivers that use control characters? This makes it impossible to use your driver output on systems that are not ASCII (there ARE STILL IBM mainframes in the world!) since the translations NEVER work properly! More on the PostScript code... EXITSERVER allows you to make PERMANENT changes to the printer. I don't want my printer vulnerable to other people since it is a network connected printer. I want to change the EXITSERVER password to prevent this, but with all the software (poorly written) out there that changes things by using the EXITSERVER password I can't. It will mean making changes to every driver that is out there in the hands of people that send their output up to a network connected machine for printing. More on PostScript code... %! Percent exclamation. Simple right... The Adobe books indicate in the comment convention section that PostScript code SHOULD start with %!. This really is a good feature. Too bad the developers of micro software are so short sighted thay can't see past the end of THEIR program. Sure it doesn't matter what the PostScript code looks like when you have your micro attached to your very own $50,000 linotronic typesetter..... Lots of us have those... Catch my drift.. WE MIGHT HAVE TO USE SOMEONE ELSES device. They might have it connected to their machine in such a way that I can send my micro's "PostScript" output to it, but they might also enforce the %! PostScript Documented convention. (This prevents binary and other files from being misinterpretted as PostScript and causing the printer much grief!) Well..... sorry to make this such a long reply but I have just completed a project here at U of T where we have PostScript Laser Printers and a PostScript Typesetter attached to a UNIX machine and used as a network printer from MVS, VM, and Unix machines on Campus. AM now starting to deal with blech PostScript code produced by applications software and its a mess! tj
johnl@ima.UUCP (John R. Levine) (12/31/86)
In article <476@unc.unc.UUCP> mcguffey@unc.UUCP (Michael McGuffey) writes: >If I "print file" from MS Word v3.0 with applaser.prd as the printer, shouldn't >I get a PostScript file as output? I may be doing something wrong, but I am >getting a file in the MSPRINT format ... >... If anybody has written a MSPRINT -> PostScript filter, I >would be interested in getting a copy of it. MS Word comes with a PostScript interpreter for MS Print files -- that's how it prints on the laserwriter. The interpreter is in APPLASER.INI. Send that to your laserwriter followed by the MS Print output and it works just fine. -- John R. Levine, Javelin Software Corp., Cambridge MA +1 617 494 1400 { ihnp4 | decvax | cbosgd | harvard | yale }!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE.something Where is Richard Nixon now that we need him?