RE: [Groff] Printing from groff in cygwin

[Ted Harding]

On 29-Jul-01 Clarke Echols wrote:
> 
> Does anybody out there know what I need to do to get it to talk to my
> printer?  Does the LJ 3100 talk LP4 language?  When I open output_file
> using Notepad and print from Notepad's File menu, all I get is ASCII
> text containing a mix of control strings intermingled with the text of
> my source_file that would look like gibberish to the uninitiated.  It
> surely would be nice if there were an equivalent to the "lp" utility in
> the cygwin environment, but I'm certain that such conveniences have
> been carefully prohibited by the illustrious Mr. Gates' minions.

I'm only guessing, but I think you may have hit the nail on the head here.

Assuming that the output_file from groff contains what would produce the
desired result on the LJ 3100, if injected straight into the printer,
I know of no way in which, from Windows itself, you can do that: you
have to pass though some printer driver or other which, typically,
will NOT recognise that your file is already in printer-native format.

I have a PostScript printer, and have exactly the same issue with
PostScript files (on those rare occasions that circumstances force
me into using Windows). The only way I know is to open a DOS-prompt,
change to the appropriate directory, and then 

  copy output_file LTP1:

(or whatever your printer is attached to).

Otherwise, the printer driver assumes that the PostScript code is a
text file and therefore causes the PostScript code to be printed out
verbatim. It is almost certainly the same for an LJ file.

(HINT [OT]: While I know this, and many of you out there also know it,
there is a multitude of Windows Users who don't. They will resent you
if you send them PostScript files, for that same reason. For one thing,
their paper consumption increases dramatically; and in any case they
take you for a fool for sending them gibberish. So do them a favour by
converting PS files to PDF: Acrobat Reader has a sufficiently high
profile amongst Windows Users for it to be arguable (even to WUs)
that it's their fault if they then can't cope. [/OT]).

Anyway, try the DOS-prompt method above for your LJ files and see if
it works. If not, then sorry but I'm stuck for further ideas.

[Regarding the prohibition by minions: for some reason, you can't access
the DOS "copy" command from within Windows, so you can't set up an icon
on which you could drop your file and then have it injected straight
into the printer. I guess it's because "copy" is built into command.com
or whatever, and you have to be running in a DOS shell to access it.]

Best wishes, good luck, and all the sympathy that a reluctant Windows
user deserves!

Ted.

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E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <address@hidden>
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Date: 29-Jul-01                                       Time: 10:17:39
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