PC-NFS Print Server and MS Word PostScript Problem
Stefano Piccardi
stefano at trzdor1.ico.olivetti.com
Fri Jan 20 00:21:32 AEST 1989
John Williams <...!{uunet,bridge2}!auspex!jfw> writes:
>Our PC users would like to print MS Draw and Write files to this network
>printer but even though these packages support PostSript devices, we
>cannot seem to make this configuration work. They can however print their
>text files without any problems.
I had the same problem. The MS-WINDOWS PostScript device driver sends a
control-D character between print jobs, and PC-NFS seems unable to cope
with that. This results in incomplete PostScript files being queued to
the lpr spooler, and almost surely in aborts from your PostScript printer.
Before I tell you my solution, though, let me explain its pros and cons:
Pros:
1) It does allow you to utilize your Transcript-driven PostScript printer
from your PCs.
Cons:
1) The printing process is not fully automated.
2) Sometimes it does not work, although I strongly suspect the PC-NFS
spooling software is faulty.
In order to fix the problem you will have to:
1) Patch the MS-DOS PostScript device driver.
2) Modify, re-compile and re-install a Transcript module.
3) Reconfigure your MS-WINDOWS printer device.
4) Train users to use the correct printing procedure.
1) Using PCTOOLS with file PSCRIPT.DRV in your WINDOWS directory search
for "%%". Right before it you will find the string "%c". Change it into
"%d". Consequently, spooled files will start with "4%" instead of "^D%".
Save your changes and re-install this modified driver into all PCs.
2) Edit pscomm.c in your Transcript distribution. Right before the
comment
/* here is where you might test for other file type
* e.g., PRESS, imPRESS, DVI, Mac-generated, etc.
*/
add
else if (strncmp(magic,"4%",2) == 0) { /* from PC-NFS spooler */
canReverse = FALSE;
goto go_ahead;
}
Then re-compile and re-install pscomm.
3) On all PCs, using the MS-WINDOWS control panel select the PostScript
printer to print to a disk file, for instance SPOOL.PRN. You might have
to modify WIN.INI in order to do that.
4) The correct printing procedure is 1) print a file (output is spooled to
SPOOL.PRN), 2) enter DOS and execute the PC-NFS print command "NET PRINT".
Text files were correctly printed because PSCRIPT.DRV is not used to print
them.
Stefano Piccardi, Direzione Olivetti Ricerca
More information about the Comp.sys.sun
mailing list