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P/+Form1
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
| Tape/disk: | Home » Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Electron_User_Group » EUG_30.ADF |
| Filename: | P/+Form1 |
| Read OK: | ✔ |
| File size: | 09C9 bytes |
| Load address: | 2B206576 |
| Exec address: | 6D726F46 |
File contents
Controlling a printer from BASIC In my job one of the things I have to do is to test installations and make out a form to a prescribed format with all of the details. The sample layout in the IEE manual has a number of lines in condensed print as well as a lot of spacing and symbols incorporating subscript and super script. I initially designed a form with spaces so that I could fill in the details later. I then designed some simple INPUT routines so that the computer would fill in the details for me. If you LOAD and LIST the program you can see how I controlled the printer. Most printer manuals have details of how to achieve the various effects but these consist of expressions such as < ESC > and "l" for example. The format in BBC BASIC that each command is preceded by VDU. < ESC > represents 27 and any other character enclosed by < > should be interpreted literally in this way. So < BEL > is VDU 7. A full list of all the VDU codes with their names which will be used is in your computer manual. Characters enclosed by " " should have their ASCII value used so "l" will equal 49. The quickest way to find an ASCII value is to type in ASC"l" <ret> this will print 49 on the screen. One more point which is very important. Every character sent to the printer should be preceded by a 1. So if the printer for example says that to select slash zero the command is: < ESC > " ~ " < 1 > you will need to enter VDU 1,27,1,126,1,1 The idea of using BASIC to design and print a form seems quite a good one. If anyone would like to improve this one I would be grateful. Some of the improvements I have in mind include: being able to alter an input after pressing return being able to use a comma in a text INPUT routine. When entering addresses no commas can be used. having the format of the printed layout controlled so that I can for example avoid words split at the end of a line and have a word starting on a new line. For example: 25 Bertie Road South sea Hampshire PO4 8J X If you are looking at this text in 40 column mode the above problem may not look as bad as it is intended. being able to SAVE the DATA which has been input so that copies can be reprinted later without having to laboriously reenter all the details. This page is actually only about 1/6 of the total form and the number of details which need to be entered total over a hundred each time. I haven't had a chance to try the INPUT routines which are included in this EUG but these may be useful.
00000000 43 6f 6e 74 72 6f 6c 6c 69 6e 67 20 61 20 70 72 |Controlling a pr| 00000010 69 6e 74 65 72 20 66 72 6f 6d 20 42 41 53 49 43 |inter from BASIC| 00000020 0d 0d 49 6e 20 6d 79 20 6a 6f 62 20 6f 6e 65 20 |..In my job one | 00000030 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 74 68 69 6e 67 73 20 49 20 |of the things I | 00000040 68 61 76 65 20 74 6f 20 64 6f 20 69 73 20 74 6f |have to do is to| 00000050 20 74 65 73 74 20 69 6e 73 74 61 6c 6c 61 74 69 | test installati| 00000060 6f 6e 73 20 61 6e 64 20 6d 61 6b 65 0d 6f 75 74 |ons and make.out| 00000070 20 61 20 66 6f 72 6d 20 74 6f 20 61 20 70 72 65 | a form to a pre| 00000080 73 63 72 69 62 65 64 20 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 20 77 |scribed format w| 00000090 69 74 68 20 61 6c 6c 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 64 |ith all of the d| 000000a0 65 74 61 69 6c 73 2e 0d 0d 54 68 65 20 73 61 6d |etails...The sam| 000000b0 70 6c 65 20 6c 61 79 6f 75 74 20 69 6e 20 74 68 |ple layout in th| 000000c0 65 20 49 45 45 20 6d 61 6e 75 61 6c 20 68 61 73 |e IEE manual has| 000000d0 20 61 20 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 6f 66 20 6c 69 6e | a number of lin| 000000e0 65 73 20 69 6e 20 63 6f 6e 64 65 6e 73 65 64 0d |es in condensed.| 000000f0 70 72 69 6e 74 20 61 73 20 77 65 6c 6c 20 61 73 |print as well as| 00000100 20 61 20 6c 6f 74 20 6f 66 20 73 70 61 63 69 6e | a lot of spacin| 00000110 67 20 61 6e 64 20 73 79 6d 62 6f 6c 73 20 69 6e |g and symbols in| 00000120 63 6f 72 70 6f 72 61 74 69 6e 67 20 73 75 62 73 |corporating subs| 00000130 63 72 69 70 74 20 61 6e 64 0d 73 75 70 65 72 20 |cript and.super | 00000140 73 63 72 69 70 74 2e 20 0d 0d 49 20 69 6e 69 74 |script. ..I init| 00000150 69 61 6c 6c 79 20 64 65 73 69 67 6e 65 64 20 61 |ially designed a| 00000160 20 66 6f 72 6d 20 77 69 74 68 20 73 70 61 63 65 | form with space| 00000170 73 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 74 20 49 20 63 6f 75 6c |s so that I coul| 00000180 64 20 66 69 6c 6c 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 0d 64 65 |d fill in the.de| 00000190 74 61 69 6c 73 20 6c 61 74 65 72 2e 20 49 20 74 |tails later. I t| 000001a0 68 65 6e 20 64 65 73 69 67 6e 65 64 20 73 6f 6d |hen designed som| 000001b0 65 20 73 69 6d 70 6c 65 20 49 4e 50 55 54 20 72 |e simple INPUT r| 000001c0 6f 75 74 69 6e 65 73 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 74 20 |outines so that | 000001d0 74 68 65 0d 63 6f 6d 70 75 74 65 72 20 77 6f 75 |the.computer wou| 000001e0 6c 64 20 66 69 6c 6c 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 64 |ld fill in the d| 000001f0 65 74 61 69 6c 73 20 66 6f 72 20 6d 65 2e 0d 0d |etails for me...| 00000200 49 66 20 79 6f 75 20 4c 4f 41 44 20 61 6e 64 20 |If you LOAD and | 00000210 4c 49 53 54 20 74 68 65 20 70 72 6f 67 72 61 6d |LIST the program| 00000220 20 79 6f 75 20 63 61 6e 20 73 65 65 20 68 6f 77 | you can see how| 00000230 20 49 20 63 6f 6e 74 72 6f 6c 6c 65 64 20 74 68 | I controlled th| 00000240 65 20 70 72 69 6e 74 65 72 2e 0d 4d 6f 73 74 20 |e printer..Most | 00000250 70 72 69 6e 74 65 72 20 6d 61 6e 75 61 6c 73 20 |printer manuals | 00000260 68 61 76 65 20 64 65 74 61 69 6c 73 20 6f 66 20 |have details of | 00000270 68 6f 77 20 74 6f 20 61 63 68 69 65 76 65 20 74 |how to achieve t| 00000280 68 65 20 76 61 72 69 6f 75 73 20 65 66 66 65 63 |he various effec| 00000290 74 73 0d 62 75 74 20 74 68 65 73 65 20 63 6f 6e |ts.but these con| 000002a0 73 69 73 74 20 6f 66 20 65 78 70 72 65 73 73 69 |sist of expressi| 000002b0 6f 6e 73 20 73 75 63 68 20 61 73 20 3c 20 45 53 |ons such as < ES| 000002c0 43 20 3e 20 61 6e 64 20 22 6c 22 20 66 6f 72 20 |C > and "l" for | 000002d0 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 2e 20 54 68 65 0d 66 6f 72 |example. The.for| 000002e0 6d 61 74 20 69 6e 20 42 42 43 20 42 41 53 49 43 |mat in BBC BASIC| 000002f0 20 74 68 61 74 20 65 61 63 68 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 | that each comma| 00000300 6e 64 20 69 73 20 70 72 65 63 65 64 65 64 20 62 |nd is preceded b| 00000310 79 20 56 44 55 2e 20 3c 20 45 53 43 20 3e 0d 72 |y VDU. < ESC >.r| 00000320 65 70 72 65 73 65 6e 74 73 20 32 37 20 61 6e 64 |epresents 27 and| 00000330 20 61 6e 79 20 6f 74 68 65 72 20 63 68 61 72 61 | any other chara| 00000340 63 74 65 72 20 65 6e 63 6c 6f 73 65 64 20 62 79 |cter enclosed by| 00000350 20 3c 20 3e 20 73 68 6f 75 6c 64 20 62 65 0d 69 | < > should be.i| 00000360 6e 74 65 72 70 72 65 74 65 64 20 6c 69 74 65 72 |nterpreted liter| 00000370 61 6c 6c 79 20 69 6e 20 74 68 69 73 20 77 61 79 |ally in this way| 00000380 2e 20 53 6f 20 3c 20 42 45 4c 20 3e 20 69 73 20 |. So < BEL > is | 00000390 56 44 55 20 37 2e 20 41 20 66 75 6c 6c 20 6c 69 |VDU 7. A full li| 000003a0 73 74 20 6f 66 20 61 6c 6c 0d 74 68 65 20 56 44 |st of all.the VD| 000003b0 55 20 63 6f 64 65 73 20 77 69 74 68 20 74 68 65 |U codes with the| 000003c0 69 72 20 6e 61 6d 65 73 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 77 |ir names which w| 000003d0 69 6c 6c 20 62 65 20 75 73 65 64 20 69 73 20 69 |ill be used is i| 000003e0 6e 20 79 6f 75 72 20 63 6f 6d 70 75 74 65 72 0d |n your computer.| 000003f0 6d 61 6e 75 61 6c 2e 20 43 68 61 72 61 63 74 65 |manual. Characte| 00000400 72 73 20 65 6e 63 6c 6f 73 65 64 20 62 79 20 22 |rs enclosed by "| 00000410 20 22 20 73 68 6f 75 6c 64 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 | " should have t| 00000420 68 65 69 72 20 41 53 43 49 49 20 76 61 6c 75 65 |heir ASCII value| 00000430 20 75 73 65 64 20 73 6f 0d 22 6c 22 20 77 69 6c | used so."l" wil| 00000440 6c 20 65 71 75 61 6c 20 34 39 2e 20 54 68 65 20 |l equal 49. The | 00000450 71 75 69 63 6b 65 73 74 20 77 61 79 20 74 6f 20 |quickest way to | 00000460 66 69 6e 64 20 61 6e 20 41 53 43 49 49 20 76 61 |find an ASCII va| 00000470 6c 75 65 20 69 73 20 74 6f 20 74 79 70 65 20 69 |lue is to type i| 00000480 6e 0d 41 53 43 22 6c 22 20 3c 72 65 74 3e 20 74 |n.ASC"l" <ret> t| 00000490 68 69 73 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 70 72 69 6e 74 20 34 |his will print 4| 000004a0 39 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 2e |9 on the screen.| 000004b0 0d 0d 4f 6e 65 20 6d 6f 72 65 20 70 6f 69 6e 74 |..One more point| 000004c0 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 69 73 20 76 65 72 79 20 69 | which is very i| 000004d0 6d 70 6f 72 74 61 6e 74 2e 20 45 76 65 72 79 20 |mportant. Every | 000004e0 63 68 61 72 61 63 74 65 72 20 73 65 6e 74 20 74 |character sent t| 000004f0 6f 20 74 68 65 0d 70 72 69 6e 74 65 72 20 73 68 |o the.printer sh| 00000500 6f 75 6c 64 20 62 65 20 70 72 65 63 65 64 65 64 |ould be preceded| 00000510 20 62 79 20 61 20 31 2e 20 53 6f 20 69 66 20 74 | by a 1. So if t| 00000520 68 65 20 70 72 69 6e 74 65 72 20 66 6f 72 20 65 |he printer for e| 00000530 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 20 73 61 79 73 0d 74 68 61 74 |xample says.that| 00000540 20 74 6f 20 73 65 6c 65 63 74 20 73 6c 61 73 68 | to select slash| 00000550 20 7a 65 72 6f 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 6e | zero the comman| 00000560 64 20 69 73 3a 0d 0d 3c 20 45 53 43 20 3e 20 20 |d is:..< ESC > | 00000570 22 20 7e 20 22 20 20 3c 20 31 20 3e 20 0d 0d 79 |" ~ " < 1 > ..y| 00000580 6f 75 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 6e 65 65 64 20 74 6f 20 |ou will need to | 00000590 65 6e 74 65 72 20 0d 0d 56 44 55 20 31 2c 32 37 |enter ..VDU 1,27| 000005a0 2c 31 2c 31 32 36 2c 31 2c 31 0d 0d 54 68 65 20 |,1,126,1,1..The | 000005b0 69 64 65 61 20 6f 66 20 75 73 69 6e 67 20 42 41 |idea of using BA| 000005c0 53 49 43 20 74 6f 20 64 65 73 69 67 6e 20 61 6e |SIC to design an| 000005d0 64 20 70 72 69 6e 74 20 61 20 66 6f 72 6d 20 73 |d print a form s| 000005e0 65 65 6d 73 20 71 75 69 74 65 20 61 20 67 6f 6f |eems quite a goo| 000005f0 64 20 6f 6e 65 2e 0d 49 66 20 61 6e 79 6f 6e 65 |d one..If anyone| 00000600 20 77 6f 75 6c 64 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 74 6f 20 69 | would like to i| 00000610 6d 70 72 6f 76 65 20 74 68 69 73 20 6f 6e 65 20 |mprove this one | 00000620 49 20 77 6f 75 6c 64 20 62 65 20 67 72 61 74 65 |I would be grate| 00000630 66 75 6c 2e 0d 0d 53 6f 6d 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 |ful...Some of th| 00000640 65 20 69 6d 70 72 6f 76 65 6d 65 6e 74 73 20 49 |e improvements I| 00000650 20 68 61 76 65 20 69 6e 20 6d 69 6e 64 20 69 6e | have in mind in| 00000660 63 6c 75 64 65 3a 0d 0d 62 65 69 6e 67 20 61 62 |clude:..being ab| 00000670 6c 65 20 74 6f 20 61 6c 74 65 72 20 61 6e 20 69 |le to alter an i| 00000680 6e 70 75 74 20 61 66 74 65 72 20 70 72 65 73 73 |nput after press| 00000690 69 6e 67 20 72 65 74 75 72 6e 0d 0d 62 65 69 6e |ing return..bein| 000006a0 67 20 61 62 6c 65 20 74 6f 20 75 73 65 20 61 20 |g able to use a | 000006b0 63 6f 6d 6d 61 20 69 6e 20 61 20 74 65 78 74 20 |comma in a text | 000006c0 49 4e 50 55 54 20 72 6f 75 74 69 6e 65 2e 20 57 |INPUT routine. W| 000006d0 68 65 6e 20 65 6e 74 65 72 69 6e 67 20 61 64 64 |hen entering add| 000006e0 72 65 73 73 65 73 0d 6e 6f 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 73 |resses.no commas| 000006f0 20 63 61 6e 20 62 65 20 75 73 65 64 2e 0d 0d 68 | can be used...h| 00000700 61 76 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 |aving the format| 00000710 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 70 72 69 6e 74 65 64 20 | of the printed | 00000720 6c 61 79 6f 75 74 20 63 6f 6e 74 72 6f 6c 6c 65 |layout controlle| 00000730 64 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 74 20 49 20 63 61 6e 20 |d so that I can | 00000740 66 6f 72 0d 65 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 20 61 76 6f 69 |for.example avoi| 00000750 64 20 77 6f 72 64 73 20 73 70 6c 69 74 20 61 74 |d words split at| 00000760 20 74 68 65 20 65 6e 64 20 6f 66 20 61 20 6c 69 | the end of a li| 00000770 6e 65 20 61 6e 64 20 68 61 76 65 20 61 20 77 6f |ne and have a wo| 00000780 72 64 20 73 74 61 72 74 69 6e 67 20 6f 6e 0d 61 |rd starting on.a| 00000790 20 6e 65 77 20 6c 69 6e 65 2e 20 46 6f 72 20 65 | new line. For e| 000007a0 78 61 6d 70 6c 65 3a 0d 0d 32 35 20 42 65 72 74 |xample:..25 Bert| 000007b0 69 65 20 52 6f 61 64 20 53 6f 75 74 68 20 0d 73 |ie Road South .s| 000007c0 65 61 20 48 61 6d 70 73 68 69 72 65 20 50 4f 34 |ea Hampshire PO4| 000007d0 20 38 4a 0d 58 0d 0d 49 66 1a 20 79 6f 75 1a 20 | 8J.X..If. you. | 000007e0 61 72 65 1a 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 69 6e 67 20 61 74 20 |are. looking at | 000007f0 74 68 69 73 20 74 65 78 74 20 69 6e 20 34 30 20 |this text in 40 | 00000800 63 6f 6c 75 6d 6e 20 6d 6f 64 65 20 74 68 65 20 |column mode the | 00000810 61 62 6f 76 65 20 70 72 6f 62 6c 65 6d 20 6d 61 |above problem ma| 00000820 79 0d 6e 6f 74 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 20 61 73 20 62 61 |y.not look as ba| 00000830 64 20 61 73 20 69 74 20 69 73 20 69 6e 74 65 6e |d as it is inten| 00000840 64 65 64 2e 0d 0d 62 65 69 6e 67 20 61 62 6c 65 |ded...being able| 00000850 20 74 6f 20 53 41 56 45 20 74 68 65 20 44 41 54 | to SAVE the DAT| 00000860 41 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 68 61 73 20 62 65 65 6e |A which has been| 00000870 20 69 6e 70 75 74 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 74 20 63 | input so that c| 00000880 6f 70 69 65 73 20 63 61 6e 20 62 65 0d 72 65 70 |opies can be.rep| 00000890 72 69 6e 74 65 64 20 6c 61 74 65 72 20 77 69 74 |rinted later wit| 000008a0 68 6f 75 74 20 68 61 76 69 6e 67 20 74 6f 20 6c |hout having to l| 000008b0 61 62 6f 72 69 6f 75 73 6c 79 20 72 65 65 6e 74 |aboriously reent| 000008c0 65 72 20 61 6c 6c 20 74 68 65 20 64 65 74 61 69 |er all the detai| 000008d0 6c 73 2e 0d 54 68 69 73 20 70 61 67 65 20 69 73 |ls..This page is| 000008e0 20 61 63 74 75 61 6c 6c 79 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 61 | actually only a| 000008f0 62 6f 75 74 20 31 2f 36 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 |bout 1/6 of the | 00000900 74 6f 74 61 6c 20 66 6f 72 6d 20 61 6e 64 20 74 |total form and t| 00000910 68 65 20 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 6f 66 0d 64 65 74 |he number of.det| 00000920 61 69 6c 73 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 6e 65 65 64 20 |ails which need | 00000930 74 6f 20 62 65 20 65 6e 74 65 72 65 64 20 74 6f |to be entered to| 00000940 74 61 6c 20 6f 76 65 72 20 61 20 68 75 6e 64 72 |tal over a hundr| 00000950 65 64 20 65 61 63 68 20 74 69 6d 65 2e 0d 0d 49 |ed each time...I| 00000960 20 68 61 76 65 6e 27 74 20 68 61 64 20 61 20 63 | haven't had a c| 00000970 68 61 6e 63 65 20 74 6f 20 74 72 79 20 74 68 65 |hance to try the| 00000980 20 49 4e 50 55 54 20 72 6f 75 74 69 6e 65 73 20 | INPUT routines | 00000990 77 68 69 63 68 20 61 72 65 20 69 6e 63 6c 75 64 |which are includ| 000009a0 65 64 20 69 6e 0d 74 68 69 73 20 45 55 47 20 62 |ed in.this EUG b| 000009b0 75 74 20 74 68 65 73 65 20 6d 61 79 20 62 65 20 |ut these may be | 000009c0 75 73 65 66 75 6c 2e 0d 0d |useful...| 000009c9
P/+Form1.m0
P/+Form1.m1
P/+Form1.m2
P/+Form1.m4
P/+Form1.m5
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