PSX - PostScript Soft Font Downloader Copyright 1991, Costas Kitsos ----------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENTATION FOR PSX (Version 2.00) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Contents Introduction Installation Windows Installation About PSX.CFG Starting PSX Using PSX Selecting Output Options Downloading Type 1 PostScript Soft Fonts Downloading Type 3 PostScript Soft Fonts Downloading Bitstream QEM PostScript Soft Fonts Printer Control & Utilities Quitting PSX Using PSX as a Command Line Dowloader Bibliography Product Support Legal Stuff ----------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction PSX is a PostScript Soft Font Downloader that supports PostScript Type 1, Type 3, and Bitstream QEM formats. The program allows you to output to LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 or to direct output to a file. You may also print font samples with PSX and device configuration reports that inform you of your printer's memory status and available fonts. PSX v2.0 supports batch downloads (more than one soft font may be downloaded at a time) and command line font downloads if you wish to bypass the Main Menu. Installation PSX is designed with a hard disk in mind and although floppy disk installation and operation is possible it will not be optimal. The following instructions assume hard disk installation. You may copy PSX.EXE to any subdirectory of your hard disk. It does not need to reside in the same subdirectory as your PostScript soft fonts. You don't need to keep these instructions on your hard disk. Windows 3.0 Installation a. Although PSX is not a Windows 3.0 Application it works fine as a DOS Application running under Windows. Start Windows. b. Open the Program Group containing your DOS Applications c. While in Program Manager. Click on File. d. Click on New. e. Click on Program Item. f. Under Description type: PSX Under Command Line type: [drive]:[\path\] PSX.EXE To force monochrome display use the optional parameter "/B" Substitute [drive] and [\path\] with the appropriate drive and path where the program is located, e.g. C:\PSUTIL\PSX.EXE g. Click on OK. Windows will install PSX.EXE (with a DOS icon) in your selected group. This completes Windows installation. ----------------------------------------------------------------- About PSX.CFG PSX.CFG should reside in the same subdirectory as PSX.EXE. It contains configuration information that PSX uses when downloading soft fonts or performing printer related functions. PSX.CFG information consists of the following: 1. Your Output Option (LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, or File). 2. The Drive/Directory where your Type 1 soft fonts are located (if any). 3. The Drive/Directory where your Type 3 soft fonts are located (if any). 4. The Drive/Directory where your Bitstream QEM soft fonts are located (if any). 5. The Delay time (optional) you wish to establish for batch downloads. When you first run PSX it creates PSX.CFG for you using the following defaults: Output = LPT1 Type 1 drive/directory = Current Drive/Directory Type 3 drive/directory = Current Drive/Directory Bitstream QEM drive/directory = Current Drive/Directory Delay = NONE (0 seconds) Of course you can change any of these at any point (you'll read later how) and also save a different configuration than the default. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Starting PSX To start using PSX in DOS, change to the subdirectory containing PSX.EXE and at the DOS prompt type: PSX Hit enter to begin using PSX. To force monochrome display start PSX with the optional parameter "/B". At the DOS prompt type: PSX /B and hit enter. To start using PSX in Windows, change to the program group containing PSX.EXE and double click on the PSX icon. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Using PSX When you start PSX it takes you to the Main Screen which displays PSX's Main Menu and PSX's information box. The Information Box: The information box, located at the lower 1/4 of your screen, shows your configuration information on the left and PSX's key assignments on the right. Let's assume that you installed PSX in "C:\PSUTIL\". When you first start the program the configuration information will read: Output to LPT1 Type 1 Dir = C:\PSUTIL\ Type 3 Dir = C:\PSUTIL\ Bits Q Dir = C:\PSUTIL\ These assignments will change as you configure PSX to your environment. The right part of the information box shows you PSX's key assignments: F1 - Help F5 - Font Name F10 - Abort/Quit ESC - Back up/Cancel The F1 key displays a short Help Screen (press any key to exit the Help Screen). The F5 key is used to find out a Type 1's or Bitstream's Font's Name when you are in a download submenu. F10 ends PSX and returns you to DOS (or Windows). Pressing F10 while downloading a soft font allows you to Abort the download. The Escape key (ESC) is used to Cancel an action or command or to Back up from submenus to the Main Menu. PSX Main Menu: The Main Menu gives you six options: Select Output Options Download Type 1 Fonts Download Type 3 Fonts Download Bitstream QEM fonts Printer Control & Utilities Exit PSX To select an option, use the Up or Down arrow keys to move the light bar, press enter to select. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Selecting Output Options To select output options move the light bar to the first choice of the Main Menu and press enter. PSX takes you to the Output Options submenu: LPT1: LPT2: LPT3: File: Move the light bar to the Output option of your choice and press enter to select it. For example, if your printer is connected to LPT2, move the light bar to LPT2 and press enter to select it. If you choose "File:" PSX prompts you for a filename. To make things easy on you PSX displays the current drive and directory but you may change this as you wish. Type the filename you want to print to e.g. "D:\PRJOBS\FILE1.PRN" and press enter. Please note that when you print to a file PSX does not append jobs but it overwrites the file with each new job. You must come back to this menu and change the output filename if you don't want PSX to overwrite the file. Note that as you change Output Options the Information Box is updated to reflect them. Press ESC to go back to the Main Menu. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Downloading Type 1 PostScript Soft Fonts To download Type 1 soft fonts, move the light bar to the second choice of the Main Menu and press enter. You are presented with the "Download Type 1 Fonts" submenu: Select Font & Download Change Drive & Directory Check the Information Box and see if the "Type 1 Dir" entry is correct. If not, select "Change Drive & Directory". PSX will prompt you for a drive and directory. If your Type 1 fonts are located in drive "F:" in the subdirectory "\PSFONTS\" type: F:\PSFONTS\ You can use the backspace, delete, insert, left and right arrow keys to edit your selection. Press enter when satisfied or ESC to go back to the Type 1 submenu. PSX will update the Information Box with your current choice. To download a soft font move the light bar to "Select Font & Download" and press enter. PSX presents you with a listing of your soft fonts. For Type 1 soft fonts, PSX uses the filespec: "*.PFB". It assumes the extension PFB since most Type 1 soft fonts use this extension. To find the fonts you want to download, use the Up/Down arrow, Page Up/Page Down, Home, or End keys to travel through the directory listing. Optionally, you may press the first letter of the font's filename and PSX will search for the font on the list (e.g. to locate GLR_____.PFB just press "G", pressing "G" again will take you to the next file starting with "G"). To check the Font's PostScript Name press F5 while the light bar is on a font file and PSX will display the font's PostScript invocation name. If you get the message "No Font Name Available" don't become alarmed all it means is that PSX could not locate the Font Name. Mark the soft fonts you wish to download by pressing the "Space Bar", PSX will put a check mark next to the selected file. To unmark a selection press the "Space Bar" again. Once you are satisfied with your selections, press enter to download. PSX will download the soft fonts and return you to the menu. If you'd rather not download any fonts press ESC and PSX will take you back to the Type 1 submenu and pressing ESC again will return you to the Main Menu. For your protection, PSX verifies soft fonts before downloading them to the printer. If you get the error message: "Font Failed Verification - Font Download Aborted" it means that PSX could not verify the file as a Type 1 binary soft font and thus aborted the download. If at any point you need to Abort a soft font download press "F10". PSX will ask you to confirm the Abort request, and take you back to the submenu. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Downloading Type 3 PostScript Soft Fonts To download Type 3 soft fonts, move the light bar to the third choice of the Main Menu and press enter. You are presented with the "Download Type 3 Fonts" submenu: Select Font & Download Change Drive & Directory Check the Information Box and see if the "Type 3 Dir" entry is correct. If not, select "Change Drive & Directory". PSX will prompt you for a drive and directory. If your Type 3 fonts are located in drive "E:" in the subdirectory "\FONTS\TYPE3\" type: E:\FONTS\TYPE3\ You can use the backspace, delete, insert, left and right arrow keys to edit your selection. Press enter when satisfied or ESC to go back to the Type 3 submenu. PSX will update the Information Box with your current choice. To download a soft font move the light bar to "Select Font & Download" and press enter. PSX presents you with a listing containing your soft fonts. For Type 3 soft fonts, PSX uses the filespec: "*.P*". To find the fonts you want to download, use the Up/Down arrow, Page Up/Page Down, Home, or End keys to travel through the directory listing. Optionally, you may press the first letter of the font's filename and PSX will search for the font on the list (e.g. to locate MARYDALE.PFA just press "M", pressing "M" again will take you to the next file starting with "M"). The Font Name function (F5) is not available for Type 3 fonts because of the variety of Type 3 file formats. On the other hand, PSX will try to find the Font Name for you when you download the font. Mark the soft fonts you wish to download by pressing the "Space Bar", PSX will put a check mark next to the selected file. To unmark a selection press the "Space Bar" again. Once you are satisfied with your selections, press enter to download. PSX will download the soft fonts and return you to the menu. If you'd rather not download any fonts press ESC and PSX will take you back to the Type 3 submenu and pressing ESC again will return you to the Main Menu. For your protection, PSX verifies soft fonts before downloading them to the printer. If you get the error message: "Font Failed Verification - Font Download Aborted" it means that PSX could not verify the file as a Type 3 soft font and thus aborted the download. If at any point you need to Abort a soft font download press "F10". PSX will ask you to confirm the Abort request, and take you back to the submenu. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Downloading Bitstream QEM PostScript Soft Fonts To download Bitstream QEM PostScript Soft fonts, move the light bar to the fourth choice of the Main Menu and press enter. You are presented with the "Download Bitstream QEM Fonts" submenu: Select Font & Download Change Drive & Directory Check the Information Box and see if the "Bits Q Dir" entry is correct. If not, select "Change Drive & Directory". PSX will prompt you for a drive and directory. If your Bitstream QEM fonts are located in drive "C:" in the subdirectory "\BITS\FNT\" type: C:\BITS\FNT\ You can use the backspace, delete, insert, left and right arrow keys to edit your selection. Press enter when satisfied or ESC to go back to the Bitstream QEM submenu. PSX will update the Information Box with your current choice. To download a soft font move the light bar to "Select Font & Download" and press enter. PSX presents you with a listing of your soft fonts. For Bitstream QEM soft fonts, PSX uses the filespec: "*.PSF". It assumes the extension PSF since Fontware produced Bitstream QEM soft fonts use this extension. To find the soft fonts you want to download, use the Up/Down arrow, Page Up/Page Down, Home, or End keys to travel through the directory listing. Optionally, you may press the first letter of the font's filename and PSX will search for the font on the list (e.g. to locate DKCFO.PSF just press "D", pressing "D" again will take you to the next file starting with "D"). To check the Font's PostScript Name press F5 while the light bar is on a font file and PSX will display the font's PostScript invocation name. If you get the message "No Font Name Available" don't become alarmed all it means is that PSX could not locate the Font Name. Mark the soft fonts you wish to download by pressing the "Space Bar", PSX will put a check mark next to the selected file. To unmark a selection press the "Space Bar" again. Once you are satisfied with your selections, press enter to download. PSX will download the soft fonts and return you to the menu. If you'd rather not download any fonts press ESC and PSX will take you back to the Bitstream submenu, pressing ESC again will return you to the Main Menu. For your protection, PSX verifies soft fonts before downloading them to the printer. If you get the error message: "Font Failed Verification - Font Download Aborted" it means that PSX could not verify the file as a Bitstream QEM soft font and thus aborted the download. Note: Bitstream QEM PostScript soft fonts are intended for PostScript printers equipped with the Bitstream Quality Enhancement Module, they have the file extension "PSF". These fonts should not be confused with Bitstream's PostScript Type 3 soft fonts that have the file extension "PSO". If at any point you need to Abort a soft font download press "F10". PSX will ask you to confirm the Abort request, and take you back to the submenu. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Printer Control & Utilities Selecting this option from the Main Menu, presents you with the following submenu: Print Font Sample Page Print Device Info Page Initialize Printer Change Delay Print Font Sample Page: PSX can print a font sample page using one of the soft fonts you downloaded. When you select this option, PSX presents you with a list of the soft fonts you downloaded (the list uses the actual PostScript Font Names instead of the filenames). Move the light bar to the font you want to print a sample of and press enter to select. PSX will ask you if you want to print a Full Sample or a Quick Sample. Press "F" for the Full Sample or "Q" for the Quick Sample. The Full Sample prints a quote from Aristotle's Ethics once in 12pt type and once in 15pt type, a font scaling sample, and a character set. The character set sample assumes that no characters are mapped between ASCII 0 and ASCII 32, but this seems to be the norm with most PostScript fonts (with the possible exception of some symbol fonts). If this is a new soft font and if you work a lot with type then you'll find the Full Sample more complete. The full sample takes 1 to 3 minutes to print, depending on the speed of your printer. The Quick Sample only prints a quote from Aristotle's Ethics once in 12pt type and once in 15pt type. It should take 30 sec. to 2 minutes to complete, depending on the speed of your printer. Print Device Info Page: Choose this option if you want to find out information about your printer, e.g. name, version, default character set encodings, total memory, available memory, available fonts (including soft fonts), e.t.c. The Device Info Page takes 20 to 30 seconds to print. A question that I'm frequently asked is: My printer has 3,500K, yet the Device Info Page Total Memory shows only 1,280K. How come? The answer is that a good portion of your 3,500K is taken up by the PostScript Interpreter loaded into memory. Since this memory will never be available to you there is no reason to account for it. The Total Memory reported is the memory beyond that used by the PS interpreter. Initialize Printer: Choose this option if you want to reset the printer to the power on state. It will delete, from the printer's memory, all permanently downloaded soft fonts, headers and error handlers. Change Delay: You'll probably never have to adjust this but I thought I should make this feature available, just in case. Because PSX now supports batch downloads I added a feature that allows you to specify a delay of a few seconds between each download. You only need to adjust this if your printer seems uncomfortable during batch downloading. You may try different values of 2 seconds up to 10 seconds (which I'm sure you'll never need). When you specify a delay, PSX will display: "Waiting... ", for the selected amount of delay. To check your current delay setting, go to the Change Delay submenu. The delay you specified will be highlighted. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Quitting PSX This submenu gives you two choices: Save Configuration & Exit Exit Now Save Configuration & Exit saves the current user configuration in PSX.CFG. I encourage you to use this option since it will save you time and energy from configuring PSX every time you run it. Selecting this option will save the current configuration and return you to DOS (or Windows). Exit Now is the same as pressing F10. It returns you to DOS (or Windows). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Using PSX as a Command Line Downloader New in this version of PSX, is the ability to use it as a command line downloader. This feature is useful if you only have a couple of fonts to download and you'd like to bypass the PSX Menu interface. The syntax is very simple, at the DOS prompt type: PSX FONTFILE.EXT OUTPUT FONTFILE.EXT is the font's filename which should include the drive and directory if different from the drive and directory PSX was started from. OUTPUT can be LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 or any legal filename. Do not include a colon ":" after LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3 because PSX will reject your Output selection. When downloading to a file you may also specify a drive and directory. You don't need to specify the type of font you wish to download. PSX will figure it out for you. Example: To download GLBI___.PFB to LPT1, issue the command: PSX GLBI___.PFB LPT1 To download CQCFO.PSF to a a file called FONT1.PRN, issue the command: PSX CQCFO.PSF FONT1.PRN The optional /B switch is not supported, nor is it needed for command line downloads. If you use it, PSX will start in regular mode. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Product Support If you have any questions or comments you may reach me through CompuServe Mail at 73667,1755. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography PostScript Language Reference Manual Second Edition, Adobe Systems Inc., Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc. Adobe Type 1 Font Format Version 1.1, Adobe Systems Inc., Addison Wesley Publishing Company Inc. Understanding PostScript Programming Second Edition, David A. Holzgang, Sybex Inc. Learning PostScript - A Visual Approach, Ross Smith, Peachpit Press. Running PostScript from MS-DOS, Gary Glover, Windcrest Books. Legal Stuff: This program is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind either express or implied. The entire risk related to the installation, performance and quality of the program is yours. In the event there is any defect the cost of all repairs, servicing or correction is up to you. In no event will I be liable for any damages caused from the use of this program or its documentation. PSX is free but it is Copyrighted. You have my permission to distribute it if you want but only in the original LHA archive containing PSX.EXE, PSX.TXT, and PSX.NEW. You may not alter PSX.EXE, PSX.TXT, PSX.NEW or the archive in any way and you should not charge anything for it's distribution unless it's a modest fee covering duplication, shipping or transmission costs. BBS Sysops are granted permission to add their own BBS Telop. I hope you find PSX useful and enjoyable. Costas Kitsos April 18, 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------- PostScript and Adobe are trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. Bitstream and Fontware are trademarks of Bitstream, Inc. PSX - Copyright 1991, Costas Kitsos All Rights Reserved -----------------------------------------------------------------