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PrinterPS Preferences Editor:
Application screenshot available [.gif format]
The PrinterPS Preferences editor allows you to control text and graphics printing on PostScript printers.
Use this editor only if you have a PostScript printer and if you choose PostScript in the Printer preferences editor.
The PrinterPS Preferences editor has an additional item in the Settings menu: Measuring System.
Its submenu lets you select Centimetres, Inches, or Points. The selected units are used to display values of your width, height, and margin settings.
The default setting is Inches.
The PrinterPS Preferences editor contains the following gadgets:
- Driver Mode:
Driver Mode lets you select either PostScript or Pass Through. In PostScript mode the driver converts any text output it receives to PostScript and sends the results to the printer.
The Pass Through option bypasses the PostScript driver and sends data directly to the printer.
The Pass Through option lets programs that output PostScript send their PostScript code directly to the printer.
- Copies
This specifies the number of copies of each page to print, from 1 to 99.
- Paper Format
Paper Format lets you define the size of the paper to be used: U.S. Letter, U.S. Legal, DIN A4, and Custom. Clicking on this gadget sets the values in the Paper Width and Paper Height cycle gadget to match the proper format.
- Paper Width and Paper Height
The Paper Width and Paper Height gadgets let you specify the exact paper dimensions for custom page sizes. These two gadgets are ghosted unless Custom is selected in the Paper Format gadget.
- Horizontal DPI and Vertical DPI
The Horizontal and Vertical DPI gadgets allow you to specify the dots per inch to use in the printout. The driver uses this resolution for all its dithering and other processing. Using different DPI settings from those of your PostScript printer can result in printouts with a distorted aspect ratio.
Panel Cycle Gadget:
The Panel cycle gadget lets you select from four additional option panels: Text Options, Text Dimensions, Graphics Options, and Graphics Scaling. The panel selected determines the set of gadgets displayed.
Text Options:
- Fonts
Select the font to use in your printout. These are built-in printer fonts and are used whenever text is sent to the printer.
- Pitch
Select either Normal, Compressed, or Expanded print faces.
- Orientation
Select between Portrait or Landscaping printing. Use Landscape printing for envelopes.
- Tab
Specify how to handle tabs in the printed file. The available selections are 4 characters, 8 characters, 1/2 Inch, 1/4 Inch, and 1 Inch. Use inch settings with proportional fonts.
Text Dimensions:
- Margin Gadgets
Specify all four margins for text printing. The values entered are relative to the respective edges of the paper, given the paper's width and height values specified previously.
- Font Point Size
Specify the size of the font to use whenever text is sent to the printer.
- Line Leading
Specify the amount of leading between lines of text. This is the distance from the bottom of one line to the top of the following line.
- Lines Per Inch
Displays the approximate number of lines per inch, based on the values of the Font Point Size and Line Leading options.
- Lines Per Page
This text display area shows the number of lines per inch, based on the values of the Font Point Size, Line Leading, Paper Height, Top Margin, and Bottom Margin.
Graphics Options:
- Edge/Dimension Gadgets
Similar to the four Margin gadgets, but specifying the print region used for graphics printing.
- Image
Positive/Negative.
- Shading
Select between Black & White, Grey Scale, and Colour.
- Dithering
Select Default, Dotty, Vertical, or Horizontal dithering when Grey Scale shading is selected.
Default is standard halftone shading. Dotty is similar to halftone shading, but with very large dots for a special effect.
Vertical and Horizontal represent grey shades with closely-spaced vertical and horizontal lines of varying thickness.
- Transparent
Select which colour in the image, if any, is not printed:
Colour 0, None, or White. Colour 0 is the first colour in the image colour palette (in a screen dump of the Workbench screen this is the background grey areas). White is a colour with its red, green, and blue components all at their maximum value.
Choosing None ensures that even the lightest colour in the image receives some shading to contrast with the white paper. The Transparent option is not available with Black & White shading.
Graphics Scaling:
Controls the size, orientation, and aspect ratio of the printed graphic image. The effects of the different options available under Graphics Scaling are shown by the four Sample Scalings images at the bottom right of the window.
The shaded areas represent print regions of varying sizes and shapes. As you change the settings of the cycle gadgets, the rendering of the source picture changes accordingly.
- Aspect
Specify Normal or Sideways for printing graphics. This operation is performed before any other graphic operations, including scaling.
- Scaling Type
Select one of seven scaling types. All scaling types control how the picture is printed within the print region specified by the Edge/Dimension gadgets. The Aspect scaling types preserve the image's aspect ratio; the Fits types do not.
The types are:
- None. Prints the picture with no scaling. The picture may be clipped on the right or bottom edges to fit within the region specified.
- Aspect; Width. Makes the horizontal dimension as wide as the print region and scales the vertical dimension to preserve the aspect ratio. The vertical dimension is clipped to the print region if it gets too tall.
- Aspect; Height. Makes the vertical dimension as tall as the print region and scales the horizontal dimension to preserve the aspect ratio. The horizontal dimension is clipped to the print region if it gets too wide.
- Aspect; Both. Makes the picture as big as possible while ensuring it fits in the print region and preserves its aspect ratio.
- Fits; Wide. Makes the horizontal dimension as wide as the print region and scales the vertical dimension to preserve the aspect ratio or until the vertical dimension gets as tall as the print region. The difference between this type and type 2 is that the vertical dimension always fits within the print region instead of being clipped.
- Fits; Tall. Makes the vertical dimension as tall as the print region and scales the horizontal dimension to preserve the aspect ratio or until the horizontal dimension gets as wide as the print region. The difference between this type and type 3 is that the horizontal dimension always fits within the print region instead of being clipped.
- Fits; Both. This makes the picture take up an entire print region in both dimensions, distorting the aspect ratio, as needed.
- Scaling Math
Determines whether Integer or Fractional math is to be used during scaling operations. The effect of this option is not indicated in the Sample Scalings images.
- Centering
Specify None, Horizontal centering, Vertical centering, or both. Centering is the last operation performed in the printing process, after scaling.
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