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AST RESEARCH TECHNICAL BULLETIN TB-0049A 4-1-85
SLOW PRINTING WITH SUPERSPOOL
AND CERTAIN SOFTWARE APPLICATION
Certain software application, like Lotus 1-2-3, sends control
characters to LPT1 upon initialization. These control characters
interfere with the automatic timing calibration of SuperSpool.
This could result in slow character printing and or a delay at
the end of each printed line.
This condition can be remedied by sending a burst of twenty-five
characters (blank spaces, in this instance, may be the best
characters to use) to LPT1 after invoking SuperSpool but prior to
initializing the software application.
The following procedure outlines the steps in creating a data
file named DUMMY.DAT and installing it in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
This should eliminate the slow character printing and/or
hesitation after each printed line.
Step #1: First we need to create a data file named DUMMY.DAT
consisting of 25 blank spaces.
COPY CON:DUMMY.DAT <CR>
Press space bar 25 times <CR>
Press F6
(Response) ^ Z
(Response) 1 File(s) copied
1 File(s) copied means you have successfully created
DUMMY.DAT.
Step #2: Now that DUMMY.DAT has been created, the next step
is to assign it to LPT1. This sends a burst of 25
characters to LPT1.
COPY DUMMY.DAT LPT1: <CR>
Step #3: Once Step #2 has been executed, the command "COPY
DUMMY.DAT LPT1:" can be installed in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This command should be installed
after SuperSpool but prior to initializing the
software application.
The example below is the simplest form of the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
BEFORE AFTER
1st Line --> ASTCLOCK 1st Line ASTCLOCK
2nd Line --> SUPERSPOOL LPT1: 2nd Line SUPERSPOOL LPT1:
3rd Line --> Software Application 3rd Line COPY DUMMY.DAT LPT1:
4th Line Software Application
Step #4: Now all that is required is to reboot the system and
you are ready to go.