DebbyG ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
: It had been a long time since I'd worked with environment files myself (8
: yrs since my first programming job where we had a 2680 - jeesh).  5.5 was
: confusing at first for me because the beta documentation didn't say where
: these env files came from.  While poking around by create date in
: HPENV.SYS, I did find a 1/2 dozen PCL@ files that do work.
                          ^^^^^^^^^
Five, but you're close. :-)

: Why they don't
: let you know, I can't say.

Neither can I.  It's embarrassing, but we seem to have omitted the
documentation for these files.  They *are* a part of the Release 5.5
network printing package.  I'll file an SR.  Thanks for pointing this out.

: I'm currently using the PCLLPD.HPENV.SYS file
: very nicely and had been using the PCLELITED.HPENV.SYS until I realized my
: SYSGEN listings were getting truncated (132 columns chopped to 80).

Since we neglected to document the files properly, let me give you a
sneak preview here.  We shipped five network printer setup files with
Release 5.5, all in HPENV.SYS.  Although there are five separate files,
there are really only three functional differences.  This is because
there are two pair of files which (within their pair) are almost identical.

PCLELITE and PCLELITD are 12-pitch portrait mode setup files.  This allows
80 characters per line with one-inch margins.  The only difference between
the two is that PCLELITE specifies simplex (one-sided printing) mode, while
PCLELITD specifies duplex.

PCLLP and PCLLPD are similar (simplex and duplex) files for landscape
operation MPE style (60 lines per page, 132 characters per line, with 1/2
inch top and bottom margins, and just under 1/2 inch left and right margins).
The resident LP font in the LaserJet series of printers is not scalable,
and the size provided is incompatible with these measurements.  So we
used a suitably-scaled Courier font instead.

By the way, the duplex specification in PCLLPD is for long-edge binding.
This gets you head-to-toe output, similar to what you'd get with HP2680
fanfold paper.

Finally, PCLPOST switches the printer's language personality to PostScript
for printing PostScript files (assuming the printer supports that
personality).  The spooler switches the printer back to PCL at the end
of the output.

Sorry for omitting the description of these files from user documentation,
and I hope this helps with their use.

-Larry "MPE/iX Spooler 'R' Us" Byler-