If you print from the DOS command level very often, it will be advantageous to create a
printer setup file. Then instead of setting font style etc. manually each time, you can
complete the setup with a single command from your computer. For example, you can
create a file containing printer commands to select Economy mode, and select elite pitch
with the Standard You can find the commands in Chapter 6. We suggest the
following:
. Economy mode
<ESC> “O”
. Elite pitch
<ESC> “!” <1>
<ESC> “!” <1> is a powerful command that, in addition to selecting elite pitch, cancels
unwanted features such as underlining which might be left from previous commands. The
angle brackets around the <1> indicate character code 1, which is a control code, not the
printable digit “l”.
You may want topiace additionalcommands in thisfile, such as leftand right margins, line
spacing and bottom margin commands. Or you may want to create a variety of setup files
with a different set of commands in each.
To avoid excess line feeds, you should place the commands on one line in the setup file.
You may or may not be able to generate a setup file with word-processing software; it
depends on whether your software lets you enter control codes. If your system includesthe
file EDLIN.COM, however, you can easily create a setup file with the DOS line editor.
An appropriate name for this setup file would be SJELITE.DAT. To use the DOS line
editor, type the command EDLIN SJELITE.DAT, then type the underlined parts of the
following display. Press RETURN at theend of each line. Do not typethe symbol “A”.This
symbol means to hold the CTRL key down while pressing the next key: for example, ‘V
means to type CTRL-V. ACmeans to type CTRL-C, which indicates the end of the input.
A>EDLIN SJELITE. 13AT
New file
AV indicates that the following character is a control code. *V[ enters the <ESC> code.
<ESC> has character code 27, and “[” is the 27th character from A in the ASCII sequence.
Similarly, ‘VA enters the control code <1>. See your DOS manual if you need further
information about EDLIN.
You can now setup the printer by sending it the file SJELITE.DAT. To avoid unnecessary
logging of commands, switch hard-copy output off (by pressing CTRL-PRTSC if hard
copy ison). To print thefile README.DOC in Economy elite type,give the followingtwo
commands:
A>COPY SJELITE . DAT PRN
A>PRINT README. DOC
78
