[comp.windows.interviews] Emulate *yourself*

heitkoet@GORBI.INFORMATIK.UNI-DORTMUND.DE (Joerg Heitkoetter) (06/12/91)

		"The three most dangerous things in the world are a
		 programmer with a soldering iron,  a hardware type
		 with a program patch and a user with an idea." 
			-- 'The Wizardry Compiled' by Rick Cook

Dear InterViewer(s),

the first impression on InterViews should not be the last. This is
the summary of some first weeks dealing with InterViews.

*******************************************************************
          This writing is for PostScript users, only.
              PostScript hackers please beware!
  Make sure you put on your perill sensitive sun glasses...
*******************************************************************

When I tried to print some of the InterViews documents on our local
QMS laser, it kept busy thinking -- then printed nothing.

I got some suggestions from friendly people out on the net (thanks
to all of *you*!!). But nothing made it work.

I finally decided to find a user's solution, even if I must admit
that learning the language would be *best*.
But I just wanted to *print* some manuals, not suddenly find myself
learning a new language.

However, I downloaded the GNU GhostScript (V2.1) stuff from our local
ftp server and installed it configurated with X11/SunView/Epson and
LaserJet drivers. (O.K. it's not *that* easy, the one who wrote the
Makefiles didn't expect someone to use more than 1 printer in a GS
installation...)

BUT:  GhostScript has no problem displaying all InterViews manuals,
though sometimes a *clearpage* is missing, and the pages
get stacked on top of each other, forming a messy, blacker getting
"shape".

Issuing a 

	GS>/laserjet finddevice setdevice
	
makes GhostScript print in memory, dumping a HP LaserJet bitimage
in your /tmp directory. All you have to do is switching your QMS
(or whatever) to the LaserJet emulation and print out the dumped
pages:
	You finally managed to print the unprintable!
	*********************************************

p.s.	Newer QMS lasers are able to switch to HP emulation
        automatically

p.p.s.	You can even print the epson output of GS
	(after: GS>/epson finddevice setdevice)
	on your ATARI ST using the epson emulation on your NEC
	dot matrix printer (like I did).


So long, and thanks for all the manuals

	-joke

Joerg Heitkoetter
(heitkoet@gorbi.informatik.uni-dortmund.de).

////////////////////////////////////////////
University of Dortmund
Systems Analysis Research Group
Department of Computer Science * LSXI
P.O. Box 500 500 * D-4600 Dortmund * Germany
////////////////////////////////////////////