Re: Printing Accented Characters

[Robert Holmgren]

Jim, you don't understand how the LaserJet works. (It's no shame, the LJ is
very complicated.) But you also didn't really read, or didn't understand, my
msg 9223, because therein I _told_ you that  was the only solution (so you
needn't announce  back to me as if it was some big discovery). Plus, you
employ  the wrong way: negative cursor movement is necessarily tied to
particular font sizes (you can't specify a negative movement value unless you
know the precise size of the character); whereas the proper command is
, as stated in msg 9223; that works with *any* font size. You
say, "the ASCII-8 (backspace) cannot by effected on a laser printer simply
because the printer cannot *backup*... ". This is true only in column 0,
where, yes, it is impossible for the LaserJet to print outside of its physical
page, i.e. to print in column -1 (or to print on your shoes, same problem).
Otherwise, it's utter baloney; I backspace all the time. Quote HP (Tech Ref
Manual p.6-7): "[Control Code Backspace] moves the current active position
left a distance equal to the width of the last printed symbol or space. If the
active position is already at the left margin, no action is taken... When
using proportionally-spaced fonts, a single backspace moves back in such a way
as to center the overstriking character with the character being overstruck.
After printing the overstrike character the cursor position is at the same
position as before the backspace." The *difficulty* with this solution, as I
pointed out, is that the second (overstruck) character runs through your WiDth
tables and thereby shortens the line length, which in turn screws up
justification.

Look, I'm taking out my anger on you. It's unfair, I know; but David Erickson
hasn't the nerve to log on. I CAN'T PRINT!! You don't *look* at your msgs on
this BBS except on Monday and Thursday -- outrageous! Nicole says she'll get
back to me "before noon"; that was Tuesday AM, now its Thursday night, and NOT
ONE WORD do I hear! You've disconnected the phones in Billerica, so I can't
even call you (you who already know the issues). Baltimore (which knows
nothing) says primly, "we're not allowed to give out that [phone #]
information". Bullbleep corporation-itis! Then Baltimore tells me to open my
PRN file and go to the end, enter eXPanded mode, and remove the "LPT" from my
SETP statements. Come on! It's just a joke. The same old tired formulae; I'm
treated like a child. Next thing they'll tell me to set NE=1 -- mark my words!
The default assumption, in other words, is that its MY FAULT; that I haven't
used every available XyWrite tool. Whereas in fact, if I wasn't dead certain
it was "your fault", I wouldn't raise the issue.

Next thing, they'll probably move the BBS to Baltimore too; then we'll really
be face-to-face with the experts! (At least *they* have 9600 baud...)