Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!vice!bobb
From: bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: Turbo Pascal and HP fonts
Message-ID: <5800@vice.ICO.TEK.COM>
Date: 12 Sep 90 00:54:23 GMT
References: <33771@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: bobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 23

In article <33771@cup.portal.com> Mike_W_Ryan@cup.portal.com writes:
>Does anyone know of a way to load font files to a HP Laserjet using
>the standard printer unit in TP5.5 ? I have managed to do it by
>doing blockreads on the font file, then sending it char by char to
>the printer via interrupt $17. Using the standard printer unit and the LST
>designator doesnt seem to work. Some of the font gets loaded ... some doesn't,
>and I get gibberish on the printed page. I assume that the text file driver us
>is filtereing or interpreting the chars. Is there a "transparent" mode I
>need to know about ?

 The fact that you found a solution using interrupt 17h shows that you've got
 a good handle on the problem.  It's not Turbo Pascal that's interpreting the
 characters, it's DOS.  Whenever a text device is used with DOS, the file is
 constantly monitored for character 26h, the end of file marker.  If encoun-
 tered, the file is closed by DOS, whether or not you have transmitted all of
 the information you wished to send.  

 DOS allows you to open a file in binary mode, but I have read (personally
 unverified) statements that even this does not cure the problem.  The 
 solution you have found is the one usually suggested; hey, if it ain't
 broke...

 Bob Beauchaine