source: git/doc/print.ini.sgml @ fc4ee5b

<refmeta>
<refentrytitle>print.ini</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
</refmeta>

<refnamediv>
<refname>print.ini</refname>
<refpurpose>survex printer settings
</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

<refsect1><title>Description</title>

<Para>
The print.ini file serves as a repository for printer descriptions for
the Survex printer drivers.
</Para>

<refsect2><title>File Format</title>

<Para>The format of the <filename>print.ini</filename> file
is similar to the <filename>.ini</filename> files used on Microsoft Windows.
The file is divided into sections, each section corresponding to a separate
printer description.  A section starts with a section name
in square brackets, e.g.:
</Para>

<screen>[generic_pcl]</screen>

<Para>followed by some options of the form
&lt;option&gt;=&lt;setting&gt;, e.g.:</Para>

<screen>pixels_across_page=960</screen>

<Para>Most options are preceded by a comment (indicated by a semicolon ';')
briefly explaining the option.
</Para>

<Para>
Each section can contain a 'like' option.  If present this contains
the name of another section (possibly in another print.ini file).
Options not specified in the current section will be taken from that
section.  This allows a printer definition to be based on that
for another similar model of printer.
</Para>

<Para>Here is an example of how this works:</Para>

<screen>
[dm_9pin_12inch]
like=dm_11inch_9pin
lines_down_page=108</screen>

<Para>This says that the definition 'dm_9pin_12inch' (for a 9pin dot
matrix printer using 12 inch paper), is just like the 11 inch definition
for the same printer, except that there are more lines per page.
</Para>

<Para>Each printer driver reads a different section -
<command>printdm</command> (the Dot Matrix driver) reads
<screen>[dm]</screen>,
<command>printhpgl</command> (for HPGL plotters) reads
<screen>[hpgl]</screen>,
<command>printpcl</command> (for PCL printers) reads
<screen>[pcl]</screen>, and
<command>printps</command> (for Postscript printers) reads
<screen>[ps]</screen>.
Several definitions are supplied for each printer driver, covering
most commonly encountered printers of each type.
</Para>

<refsect3><title>printdm</title>

<Para>The definitions provided for printdm are: dm_8pin_a4,
dm_8pin_11inch,
dm_8pin_12inch,
dm_9pin_a4,
dm_9pin_11inch,
dm_9pin_12inch,
dm_24pin_a4,
dm_24pin_11inch,
dm_24pin_12inch,
dm_panasonic_24pin,
dm_lx86_9pin_11inch,
and bj (for driving Canon BJ printers).
</Para>

<Para>
In the unlikely event that you need to change the printer control
codes, here is a quick overview of the format: printable characters
are literal, except for backslash.  A backslash
<!-- stupid docbook-to-man can't cope with \...
'\'
indicates that the following character is to be interpreted as a
control code.  So \[ means send the value 27 decimal (1B hex,
also called 'ESC' for Escape). If the backslash is followed by a small
x and two hex digits - e.g \x0c, then that means send the code 0C hex
(12 decimal, also called 'FF' for FormFeed).
-->
followed by an 'x' followed by two hex digits represents the character
with that hex value.  A double backslash means a literal backslash.
</Para>

<Para>
This is all rather cryptic (printer codes inherently are) but the provided
set-ups will work with nearly all dot matrix printers, so you are unlikely
to need to fiddle with these runes.
</Para>

</refsect3>

<refsect3><title>printhpgl</title>

<Para>The definitions provided for printhpgl are:
hpgl_generic_a4landscape,
hpgl_generic_a1landscape, and
hpgl_generic_a0landscape.
</Para>

</refsect3>

<refsect3><title>printpcl</title>

<Para>The definitions provided for printpcl are:
pcl_generic_a4 and pcl_modern_a4.</Para>

<Para>Note that if you are using a PCL printer the defaults are set
not to use advanced printer features for compatibility. If you want to
try these (equivalent to HP laserjet III or later), then you should
use the modern_pcl_a4 printer definition (see below for how to do this).
This will enable horizontal and vertical tabbing.
</Para>
</refsect3>

<refsect3><title>printps</title>

<Para>There's only one definition provided at present:
ps_generic_a4.</Para>

</refsect3>

<!-- FIXME: fettle this
<Para>If you find that your printout does not come out correctly, then the
best way to make changes for your printer is to create a new section called
[my_printer], and start with a like=something where something is the closest
section to your printer. Then add new options to override the ones that are
not correct for your printer. Finally you need to change the section for the
type of printer you are using to point to your new definition. E.g. if you
are using a dot-matrix printer then you need to change the [DM] section to
say like=my_printer .
</Para>
-->

</refsect2>
</refsect1>

<refsect1><Title>Customising Printer Settings</Title>

<Para>
The only settings most users will want to customise are which printer
definition is used, and where to send the output.  If you're using a Dot
Matrix Printer you will also need to set calibration details.
</Para>

<Para>You shouldn't modify the master print.ini (located in /usr/share/survex
on Unix, or in the same directory as the Survex program files on other
systems), or your changes will be overwritten by upgrades.  Instead create:
</Para>

<ItemizedList>
<ListItem><Para>/etc/survex/print.ini (Unix - system-wide settings)</Para></ListItem>
<ListItem><Para>~/.survex/print.ini (Unix - per user settings)</Para></ListItem>
<ListItem><Para>myprint.ini in the directory where Survex is installed (other platforms)</Para></ListItem>
</ItemizedList>

<Para>
The drivers look for the section "[dm]", "[ps]", "[pcl]" or "[hpgl]" as
appropriate.  The file you create should should contain something like
this to select a particular printer:
</Para>

<screen>
[pcl]
like=pcl_modern_a4
</screen>

<Para>
For printdm, it should also contain calibration measurements (calibrate
your printer by running <command>printdm --calibrate</command>):
</Para>

<screen>
[dm]
like=dm_24pin_a4
mm_across_page=202
mm_down_page=278
</screen>

<Para>
You can override other settings too, such as the output destination.
This is usually inherited from [base], and can be overridden in [base]
(where it'll apply to all printer drivers) or in a printer driver
specific section (such as [dm]).
The output destination is set by an option of the form
output_&lt;platform&gt=&lt;device&gt;, where device can be a device name
(e.g. PRN, LPT1, LPT2 under &msdos;, <filename/Printer:/ under &riscos;) or a
filename:
</Para>

<screen>
[dm]
output_msdos=LPT1
like=dm_24pin_a4
mm_across_page=202
mm_down_page=278
</screen>

<Para><!--FIXME what else has popen? msdos too?-->
Under &unix; output may be piped into another command like so:
</Para>

<screen>
[base]
; send output to printer 'oak'
output_unix=|lpr -Poak
</screen>

<Para>Note you can also override the output setting using the --output
command line option.
</Para>

<Para>
If the output device isn't a device or a pipe command, it is taken as
a filename to write the printer data to.  This can then be sent to a
printer later.
</Para>

<caution>
<Para>If you're using &msdos; you need to be careful when sending output
to a file - printdm, printpcl and printhpgl all produce binary files, which
<emphasis>must</emphasis> then be sent to the printer with
<userinput>COPY /B OUTPUT PRN</userinput> where OUTPUT is the filename and
PRN the device name.  Do <emphasis>not</emphasis> use COPY without the
/B.  If you do, the output may be corrupted. Sorry, this is a deficiency
of &msdos;, and there is nothing we can do about it.</Para>

<Para>If you send output straight to the printer, by putting <filename/PRN/
or <filename/LPT1/ in the configuration file, then this problem should not
occur.</Para>

<Para>printps produces text files as output, and so should be unaffected by
this problem.</Para>
</caution>

<Para>
printdm can also drive Canon bubblejets in native mode (which gives a
higher resolution than in Epson emulation mode).  To use this,
set "like=bj" in the "[dm]" section - like so:
</Para>

<screen>
[dm]
like=bj</screen>

</refsect1>