[comp.laser-printers] Printing "landscape" from troff

root@hobbes.UUCP (John Plocher) (04/22/87)

I have:  Apple LaserWriter-Plus	Adobe TranScript 2.0

I want:  Using enscript (or raw postscript) it is simple to produce 2 column
landscape output:

	<            11"           >
	<    5.5"    ><    5.5"    >
	+--------------------------+^
	|  some text    more stuff | 8.5"
	|  in columns   in another |		(you get the picture)
	+--------------------------+v

Can this be done from within *troff?  Right now I can do this by
setting margins, printing each column on a different page & cutting
and pasting to get what I need:

	<    8.5"        >
	<    5.5"   >
	+----------------+v    v
	|  some text     |
	|  in a column   |8.5"
	|  goes here     |
	|		 |^    11"
	|		 | 
	|		 |
	+----------------+     ^

I have been told that I can also imbed the PS codes to use landscape mode in
my *troff files and set .ll and its ilk to the desired values.

These two ways seem to be kluges - there *has* to be a better way...
Do you know of it?

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moore.wbst@XEROX.COM (04/24/87)

The last time I looked, troff couldn't do lines longer than about 7.5".
This is surprising because typesetter independent Troff lets one declare
the device width.  Since the ti-troff doesn't look at the width value,
the declaration is a no-op.  This makes the general case of printing
full landscape lines impossible.  Since, the questioner only wanted to
print two columns of 5.5" text this might still be possible but only
outside of Troff.  For example on might print 5.5"x8.5" pages and then
use some post processor to rotate the pages and make them two up. 

Lee

patwood@unirot.UUCP (Patrick Wood) (04/28/87)

I've never had any problems printing landscape lines with ditroff.  Our
PostScript driver can go up to the width of the output device.  One problem
you can have is troff's internal variables overflowing when the word size
vs resolution hits a certain critical point.

Pat Wood
bellcore!phw5!phw

krstan@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Stanley) (04/28/87)

In article <8704241829.AA04217@brillig.umd.edu> moore.wbst@XEROX.COM writes:
>The last time I looked, troff couldn't do lines longer than about 7.5".

I beg to differ. I use tbl for landscape tables all the
time. I do tell the MM package the length - I don't use
troff by itself.


			Keith R. Stanley
			Room 4H-328
			Bell Laboratories 
			Naperville, Illinois 60566
			(312)-979-3416
			decvax!ihnp4!ihlpa!krstan @ Berkeley