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From: eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: troff (Typesetter busy)
Summary: This should be in NextAnswers if it isn't already
Message-ID: <1000@toaster.SFSU.EDU>
Date: 5 Nov 90 01:08:00 GMT
References: <john.657673092@csrnxt1.ae.utexas.edu>
Reply-To: eps@cs.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott)
Organization: San Francisco State University
Lines: 20

In article <john.657673092@csrnxt1.ae.utexas.edu>
	john@csrnxt1.ae.utexas.edu (John R. Schutz) writes:
>whenever I try to use troff, it always reports 'typesetter busy'.  There
>is no one else on the system.  Any ideas?

troff on the NeXT is the "old" C/A/T troff (as opposed to DWB or
ditroff).  troff with no options looks for /dev/cat, which, of
course, it doesn't find.  Hence, troff is only useful with either
the -t (C/A/T codes to stdout) or -a (ASCII trace) options.  The
error message, while confusing, is one of the few remaining
vestiges of "traditional" UNIX, and worthy of historical
preservation.

More likely, what you really wanted was ptroff, which is part of
the bundled Adobe TRANSCRIPT package.  ptroff with no options
outputs to the NeXT laser printer.  With the -t option, it
outputs PostScript to stdout, which you can redirect to a disk
file and examine with the Preview application.

					-=EPS=-