Re: Reverse-Order Printing

[pienciak@xxxxxxxx (Pienciak)]

OK, so I'm stubborn. I think I have solved my reverse-order
printing problem within XyWrite 3+. I tried Harry's XPL
program--sorry I couldn't get it to work. I printed exactly
as he instructed but I kept getting ``invalid formatting.''
So I then went back to the BACKPRN.PGM on the TTG BBS.
Here's what I figured out: why not merge chapter after
chapter after chapter into a new file, run the one jumbo
file through the backwards printing XPL, then kill the jumbo
file after the printing is done. The original files are
untouched. It's sort of like chain printing, only with a bit
more work. I have to remember to insert PG page breaks at
the end of each chapter within the one large file.

Robert Holmgren is exactomundo about the XPL program taking
a long time, but it works. I combined 16 chapters of a
current project--320K, 255 pages of text--it took 27 minutes
to run through BACKPRN.PGM. And I knew exactly how many
pages the job was by simply looking at Page length, unlike
chain printing. The actual print job took 41 minutes but
started on page 255 and ended on page 1--6.2 pages per
minute to print. I could do other things in OS2 during the
first 27 minutes, when BACKPRN was running, but things were
sluggish.

I then tested with a 20 page file and it took less than 30
seconds to fly through BACKPRN.PGM. I am assuming that the
larger the file is, the longer it will take for each of the
loops. The trick will be to find the happy medium--perhaps
100 pages or so--something that takes only several minutes.
I will experiment with the exponential. On the plus side,
since I can easily and accurately tell the page length of
the single file I don't have to wait to set Set Page (SP)
for the next batch.

I'll probably have to print in smaller chunks but I have
solved my problem. And I couldn't have done it without all
of your advice, prodding, suggestions, comments, etc. Thanks
to one and all........and as soon as I am done with current
projects I promise to finally take a new hard look at XY4DOS