***************************************************************** -> This file contains detailed instruction for using PICprint to print PERS-PLAN's graphs. -> The file has been supplied as an integral part of PERS-PLAN. This personal financial planning software package developed as a shareware package for use on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis by Invest-Tech Limited. For contact details, see end of this file. -> To print this file, type "PRINT PICPRT.TXT" ***************************************************************** PRINTING GRAPHS WITH PICprint ============================= PERS-PLAN (r3.3) is an easy-to-use personal cashflow and house- hold budgeting package. It is available as shareware within an archived file called PERSPLAN.ZIP. The PICprint program is accessed from PERS-PLAN's PICprint sub-menu and is used to print graphs (which have been saved previously as .PIC files using the PICs option within this sub-menu) on a printer or plotter. PICprint includes a number of different options that let the user control the way in which it prints individual graphs. For example, PICprint lets a user specify whether a graph will use colours; what character styles will be used; how the output will be positioned on the page; and what type of printer (or plotter) is being used. As explained in Section 6.3 of the text file MANUAL.TXT, DOS's GRAPHICS program can also be used to quickly print less elaborate graphs from within PERS-PLAN. This text file introduces PICprint in Section 1, immediately below. It then explains how to configure and use PICprint in Sections 2 and 3 respectively. PICprint requires about 160kB of free memory to operate. Full-page graphs that are printed at high resolution may require even more memory. This memory is automatically provided by PERS-PLAN when PICprint is invoked using the PICprint sub-menu. It is achieved by temporarily moving some of PERS-PLAN's files out of memory onto the hard disk into a file called SLASHS.TMP. For this reason, there should be approximately 300k free on the hard disk to accommodate this file before using PICprint. This is additional to any disk space required to accommodate the six PIC files for PERS-PLAN's graphs (about 50k). On this basis, there should be about 350k free on the hard disk before loading PERS-PLAN, creating PIC files and using PICprint. **************************************************************** 1. INTRODUCING PICprint ======================= To use PICprint, each graph to be printed must have been previously saved in a special format using the P (for PICs) option in PERS-PLAN's PICprint sub-menu. After pressing O (for Output) within the sub-menu, PICprint's Main Menu will appear after a few moments delay. It contains the following options: Select Use to select the graph or graphs (*.PIC files) to be printed or to preview on the screen what the print out of a graph will look like. Options Facilitates selection of options such as colour, font and picture size. Go Starts printing selected graphs at the specified graphics device. Configure Used to configure PICprint -See Section 2 below. Align Sets the current paper position in the printer as the top of the page. Page Advances the paper in the printer to the top of the next page. Quit Returns to PERS-PLAN's Main Menu. Beneath the menu options, the screen lists the following configuration items in uppercase and their settings either in a different intensity from the rest of the text on the screen or a different colour (depending on the type of monitor being used): SELECTED GRAPHS MODES COLOURS PICTURE DIRECTORY FONTS GRAPHICS DEVICE SIZE VIDEO DEVICE PAGE If this is the first time using the PICprint program, the supplied default settings are as follows: * There are no graph files SELECTED for printing. * Because the default COLOUR option is not on, the grid will be printed in black, and each of the data ranges will be black. * If a graph has a title, the default FONTS for the first line are Font 1 (Roman Bold) and any other text in the graph, such as the second line of the title, legends and axes titles will be printed in Font 2 (Roman Medium). * The SIZE settings are measured in inches from the edge of the paper being used. For example, the left margin is .75 inches from the left edge of the paper. The default SIZE is half page. * The default MODES settings (eject and pause) are both "No". In other words, PICprint will not pause and will not eject a blank page of paper between each selected graph print job. * The default PICTURE DIRECTORY is set to C:\PERS. This is where PICprint will look for its *.PIC files. * The default GRAPHICS DEVICE is an Epson FX High Resolution parallel printer. * The default VIDEO DEVICE (the type of monitor being used) is an IBM VGA/EGA (Colour Graphics Adapter). * The default PAGE is 8.0 by 10.5 inches. **************************************************************** 2. CHANGING CONFIGURATION SETTINGS ================================== Before printing a graph, check that all the PICprint configuration settings are correct. To change PICprint's default configuration settings, choose Configure and select from the following menu options: Files Device Page Interface Video Save Reset Quit. These are fully explained below: Configure Files --------------- The Configure Files command indicates the drive and directory that PICprint should search for graph (.PIC) files. When Configure Files is selected, the following prompt will appear: Enter where to search for picture files. On the line beneath the prompt, the cursor will blink and the default drive and directory (i.e. C:\PERS>), or the last drive specified, will be displayed. To change the drive and/or directory, type the appropriate path, then press RETURN. Upon return to the Configure menu, PICprint displays the current directory. Notes: 1. When a new picture directory is entered, it will be active only for the current PICprint session. To get PICprint to use the new picture directory as the default, issue the Configure Save command. 2. The default drive may be altered as explained above. However, if the default directory is changed, it will not be possible to access the .PIC files created by PERS-PLAN unless these are moved from the PERS sub-directory to the new default directory. Configure Device ---------------- The Configure Device command facilitates selection of different graphics devices (graphics printers and plotters). To select a device, highlight the required graphics device and then press the space bar to mark it. The keys used to make a selection are listed to the right of the Configure Device screen. Select a graphics device from the given list. If the desired device is not listed, experiment with the nearest equivalent. (Press the HOME key to get to the first option in the list and END to see the last option in the list.) Press the up- or down-arrow keys to move the highlighted menu pointer to the desired graphics device, then press the space bar at the chosen device which will then be marked by a # (hash sign). Press RETURN to get back to the Configure menu. To change the current selection, move the menu pointer to another device option, and press the space bar. Only one graphics device can be selected at a time. NOTE: When a new graphics device has been marked, it will be active only for the current PICprint session. To keep the new graphics device selection as the default, issue the Configure Save command. Configure Page -------------- The Configure Page command is used to change the length and width of the paper to be used. The page length and width is measured in inches; the default length is 11 inches and the default width is 8.5 inches. When the Configure Page command has been selected, the following options are available: Length Width Quit. To change the page length, select Configure Page Length and respond to the following prompt: Enter page length in inches. Beneath the prompt, the blinking cursor will follow the decimal value of the default page length setting. Type the desired value and press RETURN. The new page length will be active for the current PICprint session. Select Configure Save to update the PICprint configuration file. To change the page width, select Configure Page Width and respond to the following prompt: Enter page width in inches. Beneath the prompt, the blinking cursor will follow the decimal value of the default page width setting. Type the desired value and press Enter. The new page width will be active for the current PICprint session. Select Configure Save to update the PICprint configuration file. Configure Interface ------------------- The Configure Interface option tells PICprint where to send the .PIC file; the following choices are available: 1 - The first parallel port (LPT1) 2 - The first serial port (COM1) 3 - The second parallel port (LPT2) 4 - The second serial port (COM2) 5 - A disk file (SPOOL.FIL). If a parallel printer is attached to the first parallel device port (LPT1), choose option 1. If a serial printer is attached to the first serial port (COM1), choose option 2. If a parallel printer is attached to the second parallel device port (LPT2), choose option 3. If a serial printer is attached to the second serial port (COM2), choose option 4. Choose option 5 to use PICprint to create a disk file, called SPOOL.FIL, to be used with a print spooler. NOTE: Use DOS Copy /B (binary) command when ready to print SPOOL.FIL. If either of the serial port options (2 or 4) are chosen, select one of the following baud rates. A baud rate is the speed (measured in characters per second) at which the serial device will transmit characters. The following choices are available: 1 - 110 baud 2 - 150 baud 3 - 300 baud 4 - 600 baud 5 - 1200 baud 6 - 2300 baud 7 - 4800 baud 8 - 9600 baud 9 - 19200 baud. If unsure of the optimum baud rate for a printer (or plotter), refer to the printer (or plotter) manual. Configure Video --------------- The Configure Video device refers to the type of monitor being used. PICprint needs to know the type of video device in order to display (or preview) on the screen what the printout of a graph will look like. To preview a graph, choose Select from PICprint's Main Menu, highlight a graph, and then press the F-10 key. A picture of the chosen graph, with the fonts (and colours, if the monitor allows them) selected with the Options command will be displayed. Press ESC to return to the Select menu. Note: The preview of a graph will not look exactly like the printout because the screen image and the printed image have different proportions. However the graphic images will be printed correctly. The Configure Video command offers a choice of four video display adapter options: Monochrome CGA VGA/EGA Hercules. If the type of monitor adapter being used is not known, check the computer's hardware manual. Select Monochrome if the computer has no graphic display capability. Select CGA if the computer has an IBM Colour Graphics Adapter (or compatible). Select VGA/EGA if the computer has an IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter or an IBM Video Graphics Array adapter (or compatible). Select Hercules if the computer has a Hercules monochrome adapter card. Configure Save -------------- When Configure Save is selected, PICprint stores all the current settings on disk. The next time that it starts, these are used as the default configuration settings. If desired, change the default drive but not the default directory i.e. PERS. Configure Reset --------------- The Configure Reset command restores all the settings changed in the current PICprint session back to the most-recently saved settings. When Reset has been selected, PICprint gives the opportunity to cancel the command if desired. Select Yes to reset the current values back to the last-saved configuration settings; select No to cancel the command and return to the Configure menu. Configure Quit -------------- Choose the Configure Quit option to return to PICprint's Main Menu. **************************************************************** 3. PRINTING GRAPHS ================== All PICprint's main menu options, excluding Configure, deal with printing graphs. This process involves the selection of the graph(s) to be printed; the choice of new options (if any) to be used during printing, including colours, fonts and size; and the positioning of the graph. Select ------ Choose the Select option to mark which graph (.PIC) files in the current picture directory are to be printed. One or more .PIC files can be selected. When the Select option is being used, a menu which lists all the .PIC files in the current picture directory will be displayed. If no files are listed, check that the correct directory and drive (default is C:\PERS>) have been specified with the Configure Files command. Alternatively, no graphs (.PIC files) may have been saved using the PICprint sub-menu in PERS-PLAN. The Select command allows the choice of graphs from a menu which lists all the *.PIC files in the current default directory. The keys to be used to make a selection are listed at the right of the Select screen. To select a file, highlight the chosen file, then mark it and press RETURN. To print more than one graph during a PICprint session, mark the graphs in the order in which they should be printed, then press RETURN. Upon return to PICprint's Main Menu, each graph will be shown in the order that they were marked. In greater detail, press the arrow keys to move the highlighted menu pointer to a chosen .PIC file, then press the space bar to mark the choice. A # (hash sign) will appear to the left of the marked choice. To de-select a file selection, move the menu pointer to that file name and press the space bar so that the # (hash sign) disappears. Press RETURN when all the graphs to be printed have been marked and PICprint will return to its Main Menu. The selected file names will be listed in the PICprint display in the order that they were marked. A graph can be previewed on the screen to see how it will look when printed. To preview a graph, press the F10 key when the menu pointer is highlighting a graph in the Select menu. It is not necessary to mark a graph to preview it. Options ------- The Options command facilitates selection of the characteristics of a graph to be printed with PICprint. The following Options are available: Colour Font Size Pause Eject Quit. Options Colour -------------- When Options Colour is selected, colours are assigned to the different elements in a graph. Colours can be used only if the graphics device selected with the Configure Device command supports multiple colours. Colours can be assigned to the following ranges: Grid - The grid is the horizontal and/or vertical lines assigned to the graph. Also included in the Grid setting are both the graph's and the axes' titles. A - The worksheet data defined for the A data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. B - The worksheet data defined for the B data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. C - The worksheet data defined for the C data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. D - The worksheet data defined for the D data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. E - The worksheet data defined for the E data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. F - The worksheet data defined for the F data-range of the graph and its corresponding legend. After selecting the data ranges to be printed in colour, the PICprint display is updated to reflect the changes. Options Font ------------ Options Font facilitates the selection of the primary (1) and secondary (2) fonts to be used for the text portions of a graph. The first line of the graph's title will be printed in the primary font, and any other text (such as legends, axes titles, and so on) will be printed in the secondary font. The following fonts are available for the primary and secondary fonts: Roman Medium (Small) Gothic Roman Medium Medieval Bold Script Roman Bold Medieval Teutonic Bold Italic Medium (Small) Sans Serif Light Italic Medium Sans Serif Medium Italic Bold Script Light Select a font in the same manner as a file (Select File) or a device (Configure Device) was selected. Press the highlighted menu pointer to select the desired font and press the space bar to mark the choice. A # (hash sign) will appear to the left of the marked choice. To de-select a font selection, move the menu pointer to that file name and press the space bar so that the # (hash sign) disappears. Press RETURN after making a choice and PICprint returns to the Options menu. Once RETURN is pressed, the selected fonts are listed in the PICprint display. Options Size ------------ Options Size is used to specify how a graph will be positioned on the paper. When Size is selected, the following menu options appear: Full Half Manual Quit. Selecting the Full option prints the graph full size, taking up an entire 8.5 x 11 inch page. PICprint automatically rotates the graph 90 degrees so that it fills the page and is not distorted. When the Half option is selected, the printed graph occupies only one half of the 8.5 x 11 inch page. When Manual is selected, the following menu choices are available: Left Top Width Height Rotation Quit. The Left setting specifies the size of the left margin in inches. The Top setting specifies the number of inches for the top margin. The Width option indicates how wide the printed graph will be and Height indicates how many inches the vertical length of the graph will be. Change the Width and Height settings to be bigger than the width and height of the page for multiple-page graphs. Rotation adjusts the rotation of the graph on the page in a counter-clockwise direction. For example, if Rotation is set to .000, a graph will be printed with its x-axis parallel to the width of the page. If Rotation of 90 degrees is used, the x-axis will run along the height of the paper (where the y-axis usually is), perpendicular to the page width. Options Pause ------------- Selecting Options Pause tells the printer to pause after printing each graph, or each page of a multiple-page print job. Options Eject ------------- When Options Eject has been selected, PICprint tells the printer to eject a blank page after printing each individual graph, or between printing each page of a multiple-page graph. Note: If printing to a high resolution printer (like a laser printer set to 300 dpi), PICprint may not be able to complete the rendering of the graph in one pass. When this happens, PICprint will print parts of a graph across several pages. To print a high resolution graph on a single page, set Eject to No. Options Quit ------------ When Options Quit has been selected, PICprint returns to its Main Menu. Go -- Select Go when all the configuration settings are correct, and graph (*.PIC) files have been selected to print in the current PICprint session. Depending on the computer and the type of printer being used, graphs should start printing in just a few seconds. As PICprint generates a graph and sends it to the printer or plotter, it will display a message similar to the following: Generating Picture C:\PERS\FIG1.PIC When all the graphs have been printed, PICprint returns to its Main Menu. Align ----- Align allows the graphics device to set the top of the page (sometimes called the top of the form). When Align is selected, PICprint tells the printer that it is currently at the top of the page. Page ---- Page tells the printer to advance the paper to the top of the next page (which can be defined with the Align option). Quit ---- Select Quit when ready to end the current PICprint session. When Quit is selected, PICprint lets the user choose No and return to the PICprint's Main Menu, or Yes to exit from PICprint and return to PERS-PLAN's own menus. ***************************************************************** PERS-PLAN (c) Copyright Invest-Tech Limited 1992-95 All Rights Reserved Invest-Tech Limited 27 Ardmeen Park, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland Irish Tel: 01-283 4083 UK Tel: 01232-315454 (Call 9 to 9 weekdays and 10 to 6 weekends - GMT/BST) Fax: 278 2391 Fax codes: Irish:01- UK:00-353-1- Inter'l:+353-1- CompuServe: 100606,2665 Internet: brianf@iol.ie WWW Site URL: http://www.planware.ie/resource/planware ***************************************************************** To print this file, type "PRINT PICPRT.TXT" *** End of PICPRT.TXT file ***