RS232 devices; suppresses a line feed during printing; cancels & if previously given; stays in effect until changed or program reloaded.
RS232 devices; Sends a line feed during printing; cancels - if previously given; stays in effect until changed or
The print command turns a VisiCalc sheet into a report that can be sent to your printer, to your diskette, or to any other addressable device. This discussion will cover the commands for the ATARI 820 and 825 Printers as well as the ATARI 850 Interface Module and the ATARI 810 Disk Drive. Note: you must have the 850 interface to use the 825 printer or any serial printer. You can use the print command to communicate with other ASCII devices, such as those often con-nected to telephone modems.
However, the exact commands needed for these devices depend on variables, the discussion of which goes beyond the scope of this manual. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the principles of the /P command as given here, then consult the reference manuals for your particular equipment or see your dealer for assistance.
Let's begin with the ATARI 820. Since the column width of your VisiCalc sheet is often greater than the 820's paper can handle, VisiCalc permits you to copy your sheet in strips. If your printout will be more than 40 characters wide, read
"Printing in Sections" below, before attempting to print your file on the 820.
All formats (explicit and global) are taken from the window in which the cursor rests. Window divisions (see the WINDOW Command) as well as row and column borders are ignored during printing.
The PRINT Command Command Reference
The Print Command for Printers
1. Position the cursor over the entry position that you wish to be printed first (in the upper left-hand position on the printout). The cursor's posi-tion determines the top row and leftmost column that will be printed.
Titles that were fixed (see the TITLE Command) will be ignored, so you must insert extra rows or columns for title areas and replicate the titles (see the INSERT Command and the REPLICATE Command) if you want the titles to appear on the printout.
2. Assuming you have adequate paper in your printer, turn the printer power switch ON.
3. Type /P The prompt line will display:
PRINT: PRINTER, FILE
4. To print out on an ATARI820 Printer, type P The prompt line will display:
PRINT: LOWER RIGHT, "SETUP, +, - , &
If you have an ATARI 820 Printer, LOWER RIGHT is the only command of immediate interest.
5. Enter the lower right coordinate requested by the prompt line either by pointing the cursor to the desired coordinate or by typing it in.
6. Press ®
Let's examine the other options that appeared on the prompt line.
1. The SETUP option allows you to type characters directly to an output device. These characters are the "setup string" needed by some printers. To do this, type" and then the appropriate character string, ending with a ® (which is not transmitted). - stay in effect until you reload VisiCalc or cancel one with the other.
Printing Formulas
The
IP
command will print out the data on your electronic sheet. But what about the formulas and formats? A good hard copy backup of your work should include the formulas too. You can print them out by typing ISS P: (See the STORAGE Command for discussion of ISS.) The current sheet's formulas and formats will be printed out in a column.Printing in Sections
If you attempted to print more than 40 characters on a line, you will see that the 820 placed the 41st character on the next line, beginning at the left margin.
If the area you defined on the screen was greater than 40 characters, this
"wraparound effect" will ruin your printout format.
The way to beat this problem is to print out your file in sections. Once the sections are printed, they can be pasted together to simulate a wide printout.
Note: this technique can be useful on printers with greater width, when an exceptionaly wide document must be generated.
VisiCalc
The PRINT Command The ATARI VisiCalc window is 36 characters wide (not counting the border, which is never printed). This means that you can print four unseen characters of width. Most people find it easiest to simply print one window or less at a time, simply because they can see exactly what they're doing.To print in sections, begin as normal with step 1. However, when you arrive at step 5, choose a right coordinate within the window you are viewing (+4 more characters, if you wish). The vertical portion of the coordinate (the numeral) can be whatever depth you like, because the 820 paper supply is not a sheet, but a roll.
As an example, let's say you wanted a printout that extends from column A to column M and is five rows deep. You would begin by placing the cursor at A1 (the upper leftmost position) and conclude by entering D5 as your lower right-most coordinate. Print it out. You should also advance the paper in your printer a few lines before the next printout to separate each successive section. The extra space makes cutting the sections apart less risky.
Scroll the cursor until E column is at the left side of the screen and H column is at the right to line up the next four columns. Print this group in the same way as before.
Continue by moving one whole window to the right until you have printed all the individual sections for columns A through M. Once you have printed out all the sections, paste them down side-by-side on a piece of paper.
You can use a similar technique with the ATARI825. The 825 can easily han-dle two complete screens (72 characters width) at once. Or you can use the ATARI's condensed print mode, which prints 16.5 characters per inch. To do this, you must use a "setup string". Choose the SETUP option by typing"
Press the Escape key (marked ESC) then hold down the Control key (CTRL) while pressing T. To return to the standard 10 character per inch mode, type ESC CTRL S when you finish your printout.
Creating a Print Format File
The purpose of the /PF command is to allow you to prepare a sheet for print-out on serial printers or printers with codes other than those immediately avail-able on the ATARI. Essentially, the /PF command turns the data on your sheet into ASCII strings and saves them in a text file. By using a special program, written in BASIC or other computer language, your sheet can be incorporated into word processing or simply printed out.
To copy your sheet into a "print format" file on a diskette so that another pro-gram can read it, start with the cursor positioned on the first entry that you
appears. The rules for file names apply here. See the File Name section of the STORAGE Command for details.
3. Press ® and when the prompt line LOWER RIGHT, "SETUP, +, - , & appears, enter the coordinate of the lower right hand corner you wish to print. You may do this placing the cursor over the desired coordinate or by typing it in. Then press ®.
The PRINT Command Command Reference The file will be written onto diskette in print file format. Note that Visi-Calc cannot read or reload files in this format. Use jPF only when you intend to write your own BASIC or other language programs for use with VisiCalc.
Use the jPF command as well to print the sheet on a serial printer (connected to the ATARI 850 Interface Module). Begin by positioning the cursor on the upper leftmost coordinate. Type /P. Respond to the prompt by typing F Instead of entering the sheet's file name, however, enter R: and press ®. At this point VisiCalc will ask for your lower right coordinate. Enter it and press ® and your printout will begin. Note: some printers may need the setup string. Consult your printer's manual if the approach illustrated here does not work.
The REPLICATE Command
Accepts beginning coordinate of source range.
Enter ending coordinate from same column.
@or:
Enters highlighted position as single source range.
Replicate: Target range
The replicate command allows you to copy the contents of any entry position, including labels, values (numbers, expressions, and formulas), formats (the FORMAT Command), and blank entries (the BLANK Command). You may copy a single entry from one place to another, copy a single entry pOSition into a row or a column, or you may reproduce a single row or column as many times as you like.
However, the replicate command does not permit you to copy a row into a column, or to copy a matrix (severil rows or columns at once). Complex copy-ing operations must be done with a series of replications or with the /S # S ENTRY Command) to the new position
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