Re: PostGhost PRN Files (and how to alter point size in Xy3+)

["M.C." fenda@xxxxxxxx]

Robert,
I have been testing PostGhost and, for the moment, I haven't detected
any problem with character mapping, justification, etc. The only
disappointing choice (for me) is the one referred to the Euro.
I agree with Carl in that it's a big improvement. I see it as the
substitute for the not so wonderful XyWrite graphic mode (in fact, I
have assigned PostGhost to the keys combination previously used for that
graphic mode in my standard XyWrite configuration), not to mention its
character of universal printing solution for now and future printers.
The printout is very quick, a lot more than the old XyWrite image-mode
printing and even slightly quicker than standard printout using a
Postscript driver (and the resident fonts in the printer, of course).
The set of Ghostscript fonts is enough for most purposes (39 fonts
versus 34 provided by the typical Postscript PRN file) and if you could
include the Utopia font I have mentioned in a previous message, it would
be perfect. The design employed in the majority of Ghostscript fonts is
a bit more classical than the ones used for the Postscript equivalent
(Courier, Helvetica, etc.) in the HP4 but truer to the original Zapf's
design in the case of Palatino, for example.
You know: I am an ansified XyWrite user and this tool is not useful for
me, unless I convert my file to standard XyWrite and so on. But I can
live very very happily with the ansified HP4 Postscript driver you
adapted for me in the past. So, I feel that to build a 1252 version
should not be a priority for a man as busy as you are.
By the way: in my testing process I came up against an old problem.
Here, en Europe, the standard page size is A4, not Letter. Maybe from
the first version of XyWrite4 (or one of the first revisions) I needed
to put a PB82 (a command to instruct XyWrite to process the 82 printer
code, thus restoring the A4 size) at the beginning of every file if I
didn't want to suffer a vertical displacement of the text on the page
(an extra blank space at the top of the page). It's common practice for
me and it doesn't bother me. I submitted this problem to TTG many year
ago without any solution. But, testing PostGhost, the problem gets
worse. The PB82 was not effective beyond the first page of the output
file I previewed in GhostView. Then I started a lot of tests with
amazing results. I can't discover where the problem lies, even after
reviewing all my default settings. The only solution was to:
1. Of course, a PB82 code is mandatory at the beginning of every file.
2. It's necessary to reload SETTINGS.DFL inside XyWrite. I added to the
SETTINGS.DFL a last line like this: DF JB=82 (not necessary to solve the
problem in my usual configuration).
Obviously, the SETTINGS.DFL is already read at the starting of XyWrite
but I can't say how the DF JB=82 is overwritten once the program starts.
Don't waste your time thinking about this matter (my usual tool is
ansified XyWrite) but if you (or anyone on the list) has a suggestion, I
will test it.
Best regards,
Manuel Castelao