File Name: PMARQADI.COM Title: Real-mode Plotter driver for the Compaq PageMarq 15 and Compaq PageMarq 20 printers, Autodesk Device Interface (ADI) version 4.0 Driver Version: 1.02 Instructions Version: 09/01/94 CATEGORY: Driver EFFECTIVITY DATE: 07/22/93 PRODUCTS AFFECTED: PageMarq 15 and PageMarq 20 printers OPERATING SYSTEM: MS-DOS SYSTEM CONFIGURATION: AutoCAD Releases 2.5 through 11, or AutoSketch version 1.04 or later. SUPERCEDES: N/A DESCRIPTION: This document explains the installation and use of an Autodesk Device Interface (ADI) plotter driver for the COMPAQ PageMarq 15 and 20 laser printers. The driver is designed to run with AutoCAD and AutoSketch in the "real" mode on DOS systems. A "protected-mode" plotter driver for AutoCAD Releases 10/386 and higher is also available and is described in a separate document. We recommend that you use the "protected-mode" driver if you are able. This driver is a product of and is supported by COMPAQ Computer Corporation, not by Autodesk. HOW TO USE: INSTALLING THE DRIVER SOFTWARE The driver for AutoCAD and AutoSketch is contained in the file PMARQADI.COM, which is about 8000 bytes long. You will probably want to install a copy of this file in the same directory where you store AutoCAD or AutoSketch. For example, to copy the file from disk drive A to a directory named ACAD on drive C, use the DOS copy command: C:> COPY A:PMARQADI.COM C:\ACAD This plotter ADI driver must be installed (loaded into memory) prior to entering AutoCAD or AutoSketch. The driver is a "terminate and stay resident" (TSR) software program. Once loaded, it remains in memory until you turn off or reboot your computer or uninstall the driver using the uninstall option. To install the driver, enter: C:> PMARQADI The driver will then be installed with the following defaults: Input from AutoCAD or AutoSketch (rather than from a file). Output directly to the printer. Printer connected to parallel port 1 (LPT1). Messages displayed on monitor (AutoSketch is off). Printer settings will be reviewed at each plot time. Use interrupt 78(hex). Paper will come from upper cassette. Paper is letter size. One copy per plot. Line width units will be in dots @ 400 dpi = .0025 in. To change this setup, you can include one or more option codes on the command line. If you use more than one code, separate each by a space. The options and codes are listed below: CODE OPTION INPUT: Vxx use interrupt Vector xx hex, default is V78 Ifilename Input from binary file named "filename" U Uninstall driver from memory OUTPUT: LPTx output to parallel port LPTx, x=1 to 4, default is LPT1 COMx output to serial port COMx, x=1 to 4 Ofilename Output to file named "filename" Wx line Width units x: (default 4 is dot width @ 400 dpi) 1= 1 mm, 2= 0.1 mm, 3= 0.01 in, 4= 0.0025 in DISPLAY: A disable screen messages for AutoSketch H or ? display this Help screen D Disable review of options at plot time PAPER: F printer has a multipurpose Feeder Nx Number copies x: 1-99, 1 is default Tx paper Tray x: 1-4,1=upper(default),4=manual or feeder Px Paper size x from list below, default is Letter size PAPER SIZES: 1=executive 7.25 x 10.5 in 5=a5 148 x 210 mm 9=b4 257 x 364 mm 2=letter 8.5 x 11.0 in 6=b5 182 x 257 mm 10=a3 297 x 420 mm 3=legal 8.5 x 14.0 in 7=a4 210 x 297 mm 4=ledger 11.0 x 17.0 in 8=folio 210 x 330 mm As an example, one could install the driver using a combination of the above options: C:> PMARQADI LPT2 N2 P3 F T4 This will install the driver into memory. When plotting, the driver will send output to the printer connected to parallel port LPT2. The printer will make two copies using legal size paper from the installed multipurpose feeder. The following is a detailed explanation of each option. INPUT OPTIONS: Vxx, Ifilename, U Vxx Interrupt Vector option. The driver will be installed into the computer's memory as a terminate-and-stay-resident program. The driver will wait for input from AutoCAD through interrupt xx, where xx is the hexadecimal interrupt number. Use this if you have interrupt conflict problems. Usually the default V78 will work. Ifilename Input file option. The driver will look for the AutoCAD BINARY plot file named "filename" as input directly from your disk drive. "filename" can be an valid DOS path and file name. AutoCAD binary printer plot files usually have the extension .plt . This option does not install the driver as a TSR. See the section titled "USE AS A POSTPROCESSOR" for more details. U Uninstall option, no inputs. This will override all other options and will remove the driver from memory. Terminate- and-stay-resident programs such a this driver must be removed in the reverse order of their installation. Put the command PMARQADI U at the end of the batch file that you use to invoke AutoCAD. Then the driver memory will be released to other applications when you switch out of AutoCAD. OUTPUT LOCATION OPTIONS: LPTx, COMx, Ofilename Choose ONE of the following: Ofilename Output file option. Output will go to a file for printing at a later time. This will create an file named 'filename' for later printing. This is useful for printing copies of a plot without needing to be in the AutoCAD environment, or for use with a spooler. Using this option as a TSR with AutoCAD, you will be able to change the output file name within AutoCAD before creating each plot. The output file created can be directly sent to your printer using the DOS copy or print commands. See the section titled "OUTPUTTING FILES FOR DIRECT PRINTING FROM DISK" for more details. LPTx Output will go to printer connected to parallel port LPTx where x is 1 to 3. COMx Output will go to printer connected to serial port COMx where x is 1 to 4. Consult your printer user's manual for interfacing details. Default Equivalent to option LPT1. If an output options is not specified, output will go to printer connected to parallel port LPT1. OUTPUT APPEARANCE OPTION Wx Line Width units option. You can print different line widths by assigning different line types (1 to 127) to each color in your drawing. The line widths will the line type number times line width unit selected by this option. Choose x as follows. The default is x = 4. x = 1 1 mm 2 0.1 mm 3 0.01 in 4 0.0025 in (equal to dots @ 400 dots per inch) DISPLAY OPTIONS: A, H, D, and ? A AutoSketch option. Use this option if you are using AutoSketch. It will disable the display of driver messages on your monitor while printing. This will avoid corruption of the screen display of your AutoSketch drawing. However, you will not see certain driver status messages. H or ? Help options. This option will override all others and display on the monitor a help screen listing all of the options. The driver does not become memory resident. D Disable review option. Disables review of the following settings at each plot time: output file, paper cassette, paper size, and number of copies. This option may be usefull if you use AutoCAD scripts for plotting. PAPER HANDLING OPTIONS: F, Nx, Px, and Tx Tx Tray option. This selects the source of paper. The default is the upper or only cassette (1). The driver supports manual feed or a multipurpose feeder and up to three different cassettes. Choose x as follows: x = 1 Upper tray (default) 2 Lower tray 3 Bottom tray (for three tray printers only) 4 Manual Feed or Multipurpose Feeder If the multipurpose feeder is installed, you must also include option code F below. F Multipurpose Feeder option. Use this code to indicate that a multipurpose feeder is installed on the printer. Nx Number of copies option. Replace x with the number of copies desired for each plot. The default is one copy. Px Paper size option. Replace x with the number corresponding to the desired size from the list above. CONFIGURING AUTOCAD FOR THE ADI PLOTTER DRIVER It is necessary to reconfigure AutoCAD for an installed ADI plotter driver. You will need to do this once before you use the ADI driver for the first time. To configure AutoCAD, first select the configuration option at AutoCAD's main menu. At the configuration menu, choose the option (number 2) to allow detailed configuration. And then enter Y (yes) to confirm that you want detailed configuration. Next, select the Plotter configuration option (number 5). Then, select the Autodesk Device Interface plotter, which applies to real-mode ADI plotter drivers. Do NOT choose the "ADI P386" option, which applies to protected mode drivers. On early versions of AutoCAD, you might have to tell AutoCAD where to find the generic ADI plotter driver file that comes with AutoCAD. If so, it is in a AutoCAD driver file called PLGEN.DRV. Next, answer the questions to configure an ADI plotter: 1. Select output format as an Installed ADI driver. 2. Select the same interrupt that you used when installing the driver in memory. The default of V78 is usually OK. 3. Select multiple pens, and set the number of pens to 100. The pen numbers will correspond to ploted grayscales. More on this below. 4. Select multiple dashed-line styles, and set the number to 127. Rather than dashed lines, the plotter will interpret the line style as the line width. More on this below. 5. Choose no variable pen speed. 6. Set the maximum horizontal (X) width and maximum vertical (Y) height to the maximum plot size for the largest paper size that you will use. Make the X width the smaller dimension (portrait orientation). See the table below which shows paper and maximum plot sizes. 7. Set the number of plotter steps in both the X and Y directions to 800 dots per inch. Note however that the driver will cause the printer to operate at 800 x 400 dpi resolution. 8. Pen motion optimization: select 0 for no optimization. Due to a quirk in AutoCAD, pen and pattern numbers greater than 42 will not plot if pen sorting is turned on. COMPAQ PAGEMARQ 15/20 PRINTER PAPER AND MAXIMUM PLOT DIMENSIONS Physical Size Maximum Plot Size Paper Name Width x Height Width x Height 1. Executive 7.25 x 10.5 in 6.8 x 10.1 in 2. Letter 8.5 x 11.0 in 8.0 x 10.5 in 3. Legal 8.5 x 14.0 in 7.9 x 13.6 in 4. Ledger 11.0 x 17.0 in 10.5 x 16.6 in 5. A5 148 x 210 mm 136 x 200 mm 6. B5 182 x 257 mm 171 x 249 mm 7. A4 210 x 297 mm 197 x 284 mm 8. Folio 210 x 330 mm 197 x 321 mm 11. B4 257 x 364 mm 246 x 355 mm 10. A3 297 x 420 mm 284 x 411 mm Paper and plot dimensions are always specified in portrait orientation, width less than height. For further information see: the plotter configuration section of the Installation & Performance Guide to AutoCAD; the plotting section of your main AutoCAD Reference Manual; and your printer User's Manual for printer details. AutoCAD will now be configured to do a printer plot using the installed plotter driver. CREATING PLOTS WITH THE DRIVER To send plots to the printer from AutoCAD's drawing editor, type the AutoCAD command 'plot' at the command line. Alternately, from AutoCAD's Main Menu, select the Plot option. After specifying the plot area, AutoCAD will display the current plot settings. Select to change these settings if you want to gain access to the color, line type, and pen settings. (See below for information on linewidths and grayscales). Make any changes and confirm your choices. Make sure your printer is connected, turned-on and on-line, and hit return when ready. Then your plot will be produced on the printer. To abort the plot, type CTRL-C. If you get an "Abort,Retry ?" message, check that your printer in on-line, and then enter R for retry. PAPER ORIENTATION The coordinate system used by the plotter driver and printer assumes the paper is in portrait orientation, width less than height. When considering how your plot will look on the paper, specify 0 rotation for portrait orientation. To get a plot in landscape orientation, use AutoCAD's 90 degree plot rotate option. You will set the default rotation during AutoCAD's configuration dialogue. The rotation can be reset before each plot. LINE WIDTHS and GRAYSCALES To each color in your drawing, AutoCAD will assign a plotter pen and a plotter linetype. You can adjust these assignments at each plot time. The plotter driver and printer will use the linetype value to set the width of the plotted lines. The units are selected by the option code Wx described above. For example, is option code 4, the default was selected, linetype 6 is 6 x 0.0025 in = 6/400 dpi = 0.015 inches wide. Linetype is 0 the printer minimum of 1/400 inch. Be careful with filled solids and wide polylines. AutoCAD expects a specific pen width (AutoCAD's default is 0.01 inches) for drawing filled entities with multiple line passes. IMPORTANT: If you plot filled entities, change AutoCAD's overall pen width setting to be the same as your choice using the linetype setting. AutoCAD asks for a default pen width during the configuration dialogue, and AutoCAD's pen width setting can be reset before each plot. For example, if you keep AutoCAD's default width of 0.01 inches, the set linetype to 4 with linewidth units equal to 0.0025 inches. Then the resulting linetype width (4 x 0.025 = 0.01) will match the default width. The plotter driver and printer will use the pen number (0 through 100) to set the grayscale pattern for each drawing color. Pen numbers 0 and 1 print solid black. Pen 100 prints all white. Pens in between print shades of gray. OUTPUTTING FILES FOR DIRECT PLOTTING FROM DISK You may wish to create a file that may be plotted directly from disk. Once a file is created, you can then print using the DOS copy command without running AutoCAD. Here is an example: Say you want to produce a plot of the columbia.dwg. Install the plotter driver using option O by typing: C:> PMARQADI Ocolumbia.prn Run AutoCAD and plot the columbia.dwg file. The file columbia.prn will be created on the default disk for later printing from the command line. Beware of certain messages that will come from AutoCAD which will seem unusual when you are creating these output files. After you request a plot, AutoCAD displays the plot settings. AutoCAD will give the status message "Plot will NOT be written to selected file". This is alright, because it refers to AutoCAD's binary plot file format, not to the printer-ready files created by this memory resident driver. Later, the driver will ask for you to confirm the output file name. You may enter another name, at this time, or press enter to accept the command line entry. Also, AutoCAD will still request you to do plotter setup and to "Press RETURN to continue". When this occurs, simply hit RETURN, and the driver will create the output file. Assuming your printer is connected to LPT1, you can then print later by using the DOS copy command. C:> COPY COLUMBIA.PRN LPT1 USE AS A POSTPROCESSOR The ADI plotter driver can also work as a postprocessor, reading AutoCAD ADI binary files from your disk and sending them directly to the printer. First, plot to an ADI binary plotter file from AutoCAD or AutoSketch. This is done by configuring AutoCAD or AutoSketch for binary-file output rather than for the installed interrupt driver. Then, when the Autodesk product is no longer running, you may use the driver to plot from the binary file to your printer. Here's an example. Say you want to produce a plot of columbia.dwg. First, run AutoCAD's configuration program to select the ADI Printer and plot to binary file. Use the PLOT command in AutoCAD. This produces a binary plot file called "columbia.plt". Next, exit AutoCAD and plot the drawing by invoking: PMARQADI Icolumbia.plt This will cause the driver to make a plot of the contents of the file "columbia.plt". When the plot is done, the driver will vanish from memory (it does not install itself as it would if you wanted to plot directly from AutoCAD). USE WITH AUTOSKETCH The driver can be used with AutoSketch. Just remember to use the A option code on the control line. Failure to do this will cause the driver to put messages on the AutoSketch screen, overwriting the pulldown menu there. AutoSketch must be reconfigured so that it knows you will be using an ADI driver to do printer plots. To initiate AutoSketch's reconfiguration type: C:>SKETCH /R (AutoSketch 3.0 uses -R) Configure AutoSketch's plotter as a Autodesk Device Interface Plotter. AutoSketch will then prompt you to give it more information regarding this ADI driver. See the previous section titled 'CONFIGURING AUTOCAD FOR THE ADI DRIVER'. Then follow the instructions in configuration and installation sections of your AutoSketch manual. When you open the plot area dialogue box, the values for x and y may be incorrect. Set them now, to the size of the paper you have in your printer. Remember that the driver assumes that the paper is in the portrait orientation. Rotating the plot will be necessary for landscape oriented plots. Before every plot from AutoSketch, make sure that the printer is turned- on, connected and on-line. Failure to do this will return you to the drawing screen with out any error messages. If the printer goes off-line, runs out of paper or becomes disconnected at any time during the plot, no more data will be sent to the printer and you will be returned to the drawing screen again without any error messages. If your drawing is not being plotted at all or stops plotting and you are returned to the drawing editor, make sure the printer has paper, is turned-on and is on-line. TIPS AND HINTS Here are some tips for using the driver: 1. If you will use the driver with every session of AutoCAD, you may want to place the PMARQADI command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the correct options set, because you must install the driver after every reset of your system. Or put the PMARQADI command in a batch file which you use to invoke AutoCAD or AutoSketch. Also put the command PMARQADI U at the end of this batch file to remove the driver from memory when it is no longer needed. 2. It is good practice to save your work before beginning a printer plot. Sometimes when aborting a plot, especially if the printer has not been set on-line properly, DOS will put you out of AutoCAD and back to the DOS command line. If this happens, unsaved work may be lost. AutoCAD, AutoSketch and ADI are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.