Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!dftsrv!mimsy!mojo!burgoyne From: burgoyne@eng.umd.edu (John R. Burgoyne) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Word Perfect -> Word for Windows Message-ID: <1991Feb18.021112.778@eng.umd.edu> Date: 18 Feb 91 02:11:12 GMT References: <1991Feb15.173709.6780@eng.umd.edu> <1991Feb17.182435.14497@watserv1.waterloo.edu> Sender: news@eng.umd.edu (C-News) Organization: College of Engineering, Maryversity of Uniland, College Park Lines: 32 >No, they are *NOT* outside the scope of the program. Any application can >call ExtDeviceMode() or use printer escape codes (such as GETSETORIENT) to >manipulate the printer. It is only required to conform to the Windows >device-independence guidelines and not muck with the device directly. > >That Word for Windows does not support such features reflects only on that >product, not on Windows itself. OK, OK, I just haven't seen it in any products yet, but I now hear Excel 3.0 does this. > >> Besides, this doesn't solve the problem of having a document >> associated with a printer and a unique printer port. > >Personally, I dislike *this* approach. To me, a document is just that, and >it should print on any printer to the best of that device's capabilities... >I believe WP's document device-dependency stems from its inability to use >device-independent fonts and attributes... WP does print any document to the best of the available printer's abilities. It can graphically generate characters which the printer does not have in its repertoire. As for a document should print on any printer, what about the example of continuous form labels for a dot matrix printer? We have some page setups that take mailing lists and print them on dot matrix printers. Why would I want a word processor to try and approximate this for my laser printer, just because this is the currently active printer? There is also the example of wide carriage pages. Robert