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From: richard@pegasus.com (Richard Foulk)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: How can I tell if a file is "postscript" (PS-410 auto-switching)
Message-ID: <1991Mar14.155308.23016@pegasus.com>
Date: 14 Mar 91 15:53:08 GMT
References: <1894@chinacat.Unicom.COM> <448@heaven.woodside.ca.us> <23507@well.sf.ca.us>
Organization: Pegasus,  Honolulu
Lines: 17

>
>The QMS PS-410 automatically senses if the print job is PostScript, HP PCL,
>or HP-GL.  One of the ways (but not the only way) that it senses a PostScript
>print job is if the print job begins with a %!.  As this auto-sensing
>ability will become more common in the future we should all now begin our
>PostScript files with %!, even if it isn't an EPS file.
>

Is the algorithm that the PS-410 uses to select between the various
formats documented?  (I think it also switches to Diablo emulation when
presented with ASCII text.)

Sounds like a bit of a job to do it reliably.


-- 
Richard Foulk		richard@pegasus.com