Before you can run PEP, you need to answer four questions about your hardware configuration: 1. What kind of graphics display do you have? 2. What kind of printer do you have? 3. How does your computer send data to the printer? 4. Do you have a mouse? To supply this information to PEP, run the installation utility, INSTALL.EXE. INSTALL is a simple, menu-driven program, and you should have no difficulty in using it. If you have a hard disk, begin by making a directory for PEP and copying the contents of your PEP disk (or disks) into that directory. Then run INSTALL. If you do not have a hard disk, you can run INSTALL on a diskette drive. Start by making backup copies of PEP. Then insert your PEP program disk into your diskette drive and run INSTALL. When you start up INSTALL, you are presented with a short series of menus. Each menu item begins with a digit. Type the digit of the item you want to select, and the next menu appears. At any point, you can use the escape key to cancel the last choice and return to a prior menu. When you have finished specifying your hardware configuration, INSTALL displays the choices that you have made and gives you the option of installing those choices or restarting from the beginning. Later, if you change your hardware configuration, you can just run INSTALL again. Then you will be able to use PEP with the new configuration. After installing PEP, you will probably want to add the PEP directory to your DOS path. (Running INSTALL does not change your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files). Putting PEP in your DOS path makes it more convenient to keep picture files in directories other than the PEP home directory.

To run PEP you must have a graphics display. Four types of display are supported: those compatible with the IBM Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), those compatible with the IBM Extended Graphics Adapter (EGA), those compatible with the IBM Video Graphics Array (VGA), and those compatible with the Hercules monochrome card If you specify CGA, you have an additional choice. The CGA card has multiple display modes; PEP supports two. You can display in black and white and have 640 pixels horizontally and 200 vertically, or you can display in four colors (black, white, red and blue) and have only half as many pixels (320 X 200). If you have a color monitor and a CGA card, you can choose either option. If you have a monochrome monitor, you should choose black and white. If you have an EGA or VGA display, you can choose either a light or a dark display background. If you choose a light background, PEP will display text and graphics in black (and other colors) on white background, and so will mimic normal printed output. If you choose a dark background, PEP will display white (and color) foreground on a black background.

PEP supports seven kinds of printer: the HP DeskJet, the HP LaserJet, the Canon Bubble Jet, the Postscript printers (such as the Apple LaserWriter), the Epson printers (FX80 or later), the IBM graphics printer, the IBM color printer, and any printer compatible with one of these. If you specify an Epson printer, you have an additional choice. There are two types of Epson printer: 9 pin and 24 pin. The 24 pin printers offer higher resolution and faster printing speed. If you choose the 24 pin option, PEP will print at 180 dots per inch. If you choose the 9 pin option, PEP will print at 144 by 120 dots per inch (and at several other lower resolutions). If you have a 24 pin printer, you should select the 24 pin installation option. (However, you may select the 9 pin option if you wish to use one of the lower resolutions.) If you have a 9 pin printer, you must choose the 9 pin option. The registered version of PEP offers enhanced printing for the LaserJet III and IV. If you specify a LaserJet printer, you will be asked whether you have an earlier version (LaserJet I or II), or a more recent version (LaserJet III or IV). The latter printers use compression techniques that speed the transfer graphic data from the computer. The driver for these printers also includes an extra resolution option that enables 600 dot per inch output for the LaserJet IV. These LaserJet enhancements are available in the registered version only. If you specify a Postscript printer, you also have an additional choice. PEP can output to a Postscript printer in either of two ways: by translating a picture into Postscript, or by rasterizing the picture, making a bitmap image, and sending the bitmap to the printer. If you have a Postscript printer, you can choose either option. Normally, translating into Postscript will be faster. Bitmap output has the advantage of being completely WYSIWYG: what you see on your computer's display screen can be reproduced pixel for pixel on your printer.

If your printer is connected directly to your computer by either a parallel or a serial port, specify which port is used. PEP will send printer data directly to that port, bypassing DOS for maximum printer speed. Alternatively, you can choose to output via DOS to the printer device, PRN. You can also choose to capture printer data to a file. If you choose this option, each time you print from PEP (via the PRINT/GO command <[6.1]>), the print data will be turned into a file named PRINTER.OUT. You can later copy this file to your printer. If you specify direct connection by a parallel port, you have an additional choice. You can choose to output using the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) software that is part of your computer, or you can output directly to the parallel port hardware. This second option is available only if your parallel port is hardware compatible with the original IBM-XT. If it is, then choosing this option will give you the best possible performance, especially if you are printing in the background while editing in PEP. If your parallel port is not hardware compatible with the XT, or if you are not sure, then you should choose the BIOS option.

You can use PEP with or without a mouse. If you have a mouse, it must be Microsoft compatible. Almost every kind of mouse available for the PC comes with a driver that makes it Microsoft compatible. To use the mouse with PEP you must be sure to have the mouse driver installed in your system. Installing the mouse driver involves running a utility supplied with the mouse. Normally this utility is called MOUSE.COM. Either add the command MOUSE to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or run MOUSE before you start PEP.