Re: Printing from WindowXP version of emacs

[Lennart Borgman <lennart.borgman.073@student.lu.se>]

Eli Zaretskii wrote:

>The text translated to printer commands (i.e. RAW) comes back to the
>spooler, so I think the spooler must know how to handle it.
>  
>
After som new tests I believe your assumption is right. Data from "copy" 
etc probably always goes into the first step in the spoolers handling of 
the data. See further below for more.

>  
>
>>We are talking about two problems. I wanted it to be very clear that 
>>there are only two options that we are aware of now to get color printing:
>>
>>    1) Using the externa program Ghostscript
>>    2) Using the elisp file htmlize-view.el (or something similar)
>>    
>>
>
>      3) Use a PostScript printer.
>  
>
I think we agree more and more (or at least are more and more clear). I 
do not know if this is a good advice or not, I seldom buy a printer. In 
many environments it is of course like "choose your parents", but I am 
sure you know that  ;-)

>  
>
>>I would like to solve that too if we can. At the moment I am out of 
>>ideas. Not totally of course (see above), but I do not know what to test 
>>further.
>>    
>>
>
>Can you try ``connecting'' that printer to LPT1 or a similar port?
>Click Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes, then right-click on the
>printer's name, select Properties, and click on the Ports tab.  Find a
>free printer port and click on its checkbox.  Then see if COPY and/or
>Emacs can print to that port as if it were a file (in Emacs, set
>printer-name to that port).
>
Is this different from "net use" in some respect? I have used that in 
the command file below. The command file does two things:

  1) copy file.txt \\host\queue
  2) net use lpt1: \\host\queue
      copy file.txt lpt1:

I have done this for one printer using different queue names. The result 
is that it works for one name, but not for the other. I also used a 
third name, but I am not quite clear if this is a queue name. It appears 
however in the printer queue window header. (I did not have time to 
check this - perhaps I will do that later.) When it worked it worked in 
both case 1 and 2 above.

To make this more understandable I give the command file and the output 
results below.

I could check this more in details than I have. I do not know however if 
there is more to gain from that. Perhaps it is better that other people 
try to test this too. In my case I believe this means that I can print 
from Emacs simple black and white. I takes some time to test which queue 
to use, but the command file below could make that job easier of course. 
I however still suggest avoiding that job, printing through the web 
browser instead.

I also do not know if there is any reason to believe that one queue 
alwasy work on any printer (if there are several queues).

Here is the command file *print-copy-test.cmd*:
 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
@setlocal
        @if not "" == "%1" goto print
        @echo.
        @echo Usage: prtest \\host\queu
        @echo.
        @goto end
:print
        @echo.
        @echo.
        @echo *Print tests of %1 ...
        @echo ============================
        net use lpt1: /d
        @rem net use lpt1:
        @rem dir %1
        @rem @echo %errorlevel%
        @rem goto end

        @echo.
        @echo.
        @echo **** Print test 1 of %1
        @echo @rem Print test 1 of %1 >  temp1.cmd
        @echo copy temp1.cmd %1       >> temp1.cmd
        @rem @type temp1.cmd
        @call temp1.cmd
       
        @echo.
        @echo.
        @echo **** Print test 2 of %1
        @echo @rem Print test 2 of %1    > temp2.cmd
        @echo net use lpt1: %1           >> temp2.cmd
        @echo if errorlevel 1 goto end   >> temp2.cmd
        @echo copy temp2.cmd lpt1        >> temp2.cmd
        @echo net use lpt1: /d           >> temp2.cmd
        @echo :end                       >> temp2.cmd
        @rem @type temp2.cmd
        @call temp2.cmd

        @echo.
        @echo.
        @rem net use lpt1:

:end
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And here are the outputs of my tests using the command file above (I 
removed the output from the first net use /d):

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
C:\test>print-copy-test.cmd \\host\printer-name


*Print tests of \\host\printer-name ...
============================

**** Print test 1 of \\host\printer-name

C:\test>copy temp1.cmd \\host\printer-name
The network path was not found.
        0 file(s) copied.


**** Print test 2 of \\host\printer-name

C:\test>net use lpt1: \\host\printer-name
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.


C:\test>if errorlevel 1 goto end


C:\test>

****************************************

C:\test>print-copy-test.cmd \\host\printer-nameduplex


*Print tests of \\host\printer-nameduplex ...
============================

**** Print test 1 of \\host\printer-nameduplex

C:\test>copy temp1.cmd \\host\printer-nameduplex
        1 file(s) copied.


**** Print test 2 of \\host\printer-nameduplex

C:\test>net use lpt1: \\host\printer-nameduplex
The command completed successfully.


C:\test>if errorlevel 1 goto end

C:\test>copy temp2.cmd lpt1
        1 file(s) copied.

C:\test>net use lpt1: /d
lpt1 was deleted successfully.



C:\test>

****************************************

C:\test>print-copy-test.cmd \\host\printer-namepcl


*Print tests of \\host\printer-namepcl ...
============================

**** Print test 1 of \\host\printer-namepcl

C:\test>copy temp1.cmd \\host\printer-namepcl
        1 file(s) copied.


**** Print test 2 of \\host\printer-namepcl

C:\test>net use lpt1: \\host\printer-namepcl
The command completed successfully.


C:\test>if errorlevel 1 goto end

C:\test>copy temp2.cmd lpt1
        1 file(s) copied.

C:\test>net use lpt1: /d
lpt1 was deleted successfully.
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