hemmat@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (06/06/90)
In article <1990May14.215409.16644@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> shimmin@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (John Shimmin) writes: >In article <21069@boulder.Colorado.EDU> >huntert@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Tim Hunter) writes: >>The recent article on hairlines in Mac programs reminded me of something I'd >>like to be able to do: >> >>I know that Adobe Illustrator (or is it Aldus Freehand?) saves it's files as >>postscript code. I'd like to be able to get this type of output for other >>programs, such as Pagemaker or Excel. If I could get a text file of postscipt >>code from these applications, then I'd be able to send it to the local unix >>.... >> Tim Hunter University of Colorado, Boulder >> huntert@tramp.Colorado.EDU 'I really don't like lobster!' > >A little documented feature of macs is that if you hold down the 'k' key >after you send the print command, you will generate a postscript text >file. i'm not sure if it matters what printer you have selected with >the chooser. The times I have tried it, a laser printer was selected, >but it seems like it might work independently of the chosen printer. > >John Shimmin I have tried holding down the "k" key after sending a file to the laser-printer, and successfully generated a psc file. I then tried to laser-print this file from an IBM PC, after transferring it of course, using TOPS and was not successful at all. I have received no error messages, no output, nothing what-so-ever. Is the Mac's generated postscript different from standard postscript? and if it is, is there any way to convert one to another? Any pointers/help will be appreciated. All I am trying to do is to generate standard postscript files from Mac applications and be able to send them to a laser printer via main-frames. Thanks in advance. M. Hemmat -- Hemmat@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu Hemmat@ukanvax.bitnet
ccc_ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University) (06/06/90)
The Command-K sequence causes the LaserWriter driver to prepend the contents of its "Laser Prep" dictionary to the PostScript file it generates. Unfortunately, Laser Prep seems designed to be uploaded as a separate job; there are a couple of places where it checks if a special operator that it's trying to set up is already defined, and if so, it does a "flushfile" (i e ignore the rest of the job). What this means is that, if Laser Prep is included as part of a longer file, and you try sending that file to a LaserWriter that has already had Laser Prep loaded into it, then the subsequent part of the file simply gets ignored. Brute force test: try switching the LaserWriter off and on again (to clear out its memory), then try sending the problem file from the IBM PC. Or, if the file is being sent via an RS-232C connection, and you're feeling really brave, you could try editing the file to insert a Control-D character (the PostScript convention for marking "end of file") between the Laser Prep part and the document proper. If it prints OK in either case, then this is the problem. Otherwise, it's not... Lawrence D'Oliveiro Computer Services Dept fone: +64-71-562-889 University of Waikato fax: +64-71-384-066 Hamilton, New Zealand electric mail: ldo@waikato.ac.nz On Tracy Ullman: "The thrill of being baffled has worn off."