Old Dos Program

[lh]

Hi,

I am not a technical person and do not have any programming knowledge at all. I am here to see whether I can get any assistance.
I have a old dos program in diskette  and I was able to run and install it using vdos and the program actually works and was able to 
print as well.  The only issue I have that the print out the font size and font type is different. 

I was reading the forum and some article but have totally no ideas what is it all about. Any assistance is much appreciated.

Thanks
LH

[Jos]

By default vDos converts printer output to GDI pages and sends those to the printer.
This way any Windows printer (driver) can be used, even those not supporting DOS text input.
If you want another font size and type, you have to add a line to config.txt, like:

LPT1 = horz:20,90 font:"Courier New"

If your printer supports DOS text input, and you’ll only use that:

LPT1 = RAW

The print options are documented in the vDos Printing.pdf document.

Jos

[lh]

Hi Jos,

Thanks for the reply. 

How do I start to edit the config,txt in vdos. 
By the way I saw a file in my program name print.cfg (see attached),
does it got to do with the printing issue?

Sorry, I read the printing.pdf but really do not understand.

Regards
LHPrint.cfg.TXT (391 B)

[Jos]

Double click config.txt in Windows Explorer, it will open in Notepad. Modify, save it and start vDos again to use the new config.txt.

print.cfg defines how your program addresses the printer. It uses PCL codes to control the printer.
The (HP) fonts are defined in the firmware of the printer. Without Windows equivalents (except mostly Courier New), there won’t be an exact match using Windows printing (no RAW option).

Use the RAW option, or take your time and reread Printing.pdf…

Jos

[lh]

Thanks Jos, will test it out

[lh]

Hi Jos,

Not sure what I did was correct (see attached)Font.pdf (27.99 KB)

Regards
LH

[Jos]

Lines starting with "rem" (or "REM") are ignored.

So you have to remove the "rem" before one "LPT1 = …". Not both because only one "LPT1 = …" is accepted.

Jos

[lh]

Hi Jos,

I remove one LPT1 and its worked. The Font seems to be different as well.
But I tried to change Font size for printer output , it cannot work. The print out still show the same font size.
Will you be able to guide me on this and how to add command in config file?

Regards
LH

[Jos]

If you use LPT1 = horz:20,90 font:"Courier New", you can change the second parameter of horz: 20,90 (horizontal scale factor in %).
Eventually also the font specified by font:"Courier New".

With LPT1 = RAW, you have to modify the printer settings in your program.

Jos

[lh]

Hi Jos,

I tried changing the parameter but it did not works,

I used LPT1 = horz:20,200 font:"Courier New" the font size increased but the right margin cut-off (the max I can go is 200?)
then I used LPT1 = horz:2,200 font:"Courier New" still cut-off . Also tried 0 still cut-off. I realised every time I print there are 2 file generated in vdos (see attached) LPT1.asc (359 B)LPT1.txt (688 B). Not sure how to read it.

I did tried using vdosplus but just cannot change the font size but the usage and processing is much better.
The command is so many total lost?

Anyway you can advised ND HELP?

Thanks
LH

[Jos]

The practical maximum of horizontal scaling is 200%. A larger (wider) font occupies more space.
So if this number is too high, you’ll loose text at the right side where the paper ends.
The starting (left) position of the text in each line is set by your program.
Therefor you can set the scaling at most to about 140% and print landscape.

If you don’t want the two #LPT1 files, add PRIVATE as the first parameter. So LPT1 = PRIVATE …

vDosPlus is mostly an old (2015) vDos version, I’m unaware of "the usage and processing is much better". And don’t understand "The command is so many total lost?".

Jos

Attachments:

default.pdf (6.35 KB)

horz200.pdf (6.41 KB)

land140.pdf (6.34 KB)

[jamesb52]

Nov 29, 2023 7:03:11 GMT 1 lh said:

I have a old dos program

Tell us what program you're using! There's many differences. Some DOS programs have print options! Some automatically save print output to a file if there's no printer. And some offer the option to redirect to a file. Your DOS program might offer this feature! 

[lh]

Hi James52,

Sorry, just saw your email and thank for the reply.

The program is actually a installation disk for printing personalized children book.
I have managed to use vdos to install the program and run it. It does works and the it can prints out as well.

The only problem I have  is that the print output have a different type of font and size. I tried to figure out
reading the document in vdos but I am totally lost.

Any assitance is much appreciated.

Regards
LH