Copyright (C) 1993 QMS, Inc., Mobile, AL
Executive Print Screen
Overview
This file is divided into three main sections:
- Introduction to the Executive Print Screen utility
- Installing and using Executive Print Screen
- Application Notes
Introduction
On a PostScript printer, you cannot use the Shift-Print Screen key
combination to print a screen without a program such as Executive Print
Screen. Executive Print Screen is a separate, RAM-resident program for
PCs. Once loaded and configured, this utility prints almost any screen
to a printer in ESP or PostScript mode. This TSR (Terminate/Stay
Resident) utility permits you to stay in a application while printing
the screens.
System Requirements
You must use DOS 3.0 or higher to fully use this program. You also
need a Hercules, EGA, or CGA card installed. The program does not
fully support VGA modes. The printer must be set for DTR/DSR (the
printer default when communicating serially), be in ESP or PostScript
mode, and have enough memory to store the font used to print the DOS
character set. Unless you changed memory allocations by loading many
additional fonts, the printer has enough memory.
Program Configuration
If you loaded the Executive Print Screen when you installed the
utilities, the files PRTSC.EXE and DOSFONT.PRT are in the
directory you specified for the utilities program. If you did not
load Executive Print Screen during installation, you need to
reinstall the utilities, being sure to include the print screen
program.
About DOS
If you have DOS 5.0, Executive Print Screen does not function
properly if DOS 5.0 is loaded into high memory with the dos=high
command. It does work correctly with DOS loaded in conventional
(base) memory.
NOTE: If you have any version of DOS below 3.0, you can still use
the Executive Print Screen. However, you have to print to a file
and then send the file to the printer. You must also issue a DOS mode
command (or have one in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file) that contains the
final p parameter for infinite retry. You may check by looking for
the following commands in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
mode com1:9600,n,8,1,p (serial users)
mode lpt1:,,p (parallel users)
NOTE: A DOS write-fault error (Abort, Retry, Fail, Ignore) could be
the result of a MODE command without the final p parameter.
Installing Executive Print Screen
You can load the Executive Print Screen utility automatically (from
within an AUTOEXEC.BAT file) or manually by typing
prtsc
at the DOS prompt and pressing the Enter key. A configuration screen
appears line by line, pausing to let you enter your answer to each
question.
The default values in the brackets can be chosen by pressing Enter.
If you do not know answers to all the questions, try answering the
first three according to your system setup; then choose the defaults
for the rest. Or, go to the "Options for Installation" section later
in this file. Instructions for loading from the DOS prompt without
answering the configuration screen questions are included there.
Answer the questions according to your system needs and your preferences.
Answers may be in your computer documentation or available from your
computer and/or monitor vendor. See the "Display Adapters" section later
in this chapter for more information on configuration options.
Default Settings
You need to specify the printer port and subdirectory location of
the DOSFONT.PRT file. If you specify a port (COM1), the output
goes directly to that port, and no copy of the file is left on
the disk. If you specify a filename, output is saved in that name
(if the filename does not exist, it is created). The file
extension is either PS (PostScript format) or EPS (Encapsulated
PostScript format), according to how you configure the program.
All other default settings are as follows:
- EGA/CGA/MDA
- Positive image
- Landscape orientation
- Standard PostScript code file format
- Drop-shadow box behind image
- Show current date and time
The complete configuration options set is listed in the "Options
for Installation" section later in this chapter. You may want to print
a sample of the default output to check quality and appearance.
Once you decide on format, you may want to place the loading
command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file for automatic loading.
Users of Hercules Graphics cards and Microsoft Windows need to
change some of the defaults. See "Software Notes" later in this
file for details.
Changing Setup
To check your current configuration options, go to the
subdirectory where the program is located and type
prtsc ?
and press Enter.
You may change your installation at any time by typing
prtsc
at the DOS prompt and pressing Enter, and then answering n (for no)
to un-install. You then see the configuration screen again and may
change options as needed.
Un-Install
You can remove Executive Print Screen from memory only when it
has been the last RAM-resident program loaded. You cannot
un-install it if you loaded another RAM-resident program
afterward. To un-install, type
prtsc - u
at the DOS prompt and press Enter.
Printing a Screen
After configuring the program, you can print a screen at any time
by simultaneously pressing the Shift-Print Screen key combination.
Executive Print Screen works like the DOS print screen on
non-PostScript printers. The Print Screen program briefly "ties
up" your keyboard while it scans the screen. You know the program
is finished when:
1. You can press a key or move your mouse, and you get a response.
2. In text-only mode, the cursor shows you what screen part is
actually being read. When it returns to its original position,
Print Screen is finished.
3. In CGA mode, the first pixel column on the screen changes color
in sync with the reading process. When color returns to normal,
Print Screen is finished.
When printing screens, be aware that some may take a few minutes
to print (EGA 16-color pictures can be up to 112 KB in size).
Options for Installation
You can load Executive Print Screen according to your needs by
using command-line options. The syntax used by all command-line
options is
prtsc -option1-option2...
NOTE: If you want to use more than one option, include a space between
the prtsc command and the first option only. Options are separated only
by a hyphen (no spaces are allowed within the parameter string).
The following configuration options are available:
-d Draws a drop-shadow around printed screen (default).
-e Generates Encapsulated PostScript (contains a PostScript section
and a TIFF binary screen representation section) that is sent
to a file named PRTSCx.EPS. See "About EPS Files" later in this
file for more information.
-fpath Specifies the subdirectory of the DOSFONT.PRT file; replace
path with the full path name.
-h# Used with either a 0 or 1 if you have a Hercules Graphics Card
and you want to print graphics screens. See "Display Adapters"
later in this file for more information.
-l Prints landscape orientation. This is the default orientation
for PS (PostScript) file-format option. Landscape orientation
is a closer approximation of the size of most screens.
-m Used when printing screens from Microsoft Windows using an EGA
card. If you do not use this option, screens print too dark.
-n Prints negative image: all color values are reversed. This option
is available only with graphics screens; it cannot be used while
in text mode.
-oport Specifies the destination port or filename of the screen.
Replace port with the port name. For example, -olpt1: indicates
the first parallel port as the destination of the file.
-p Prints positive image (default).
-r Prints portrait orientation. This is the default orientation for
EPS file format. (See "About EPS Files" at the end of this
file for more information.)
-s Generates standard PostScript code (default) that is sent to the
printer.
-t Prints the time and date below the print screen (default).
-u Un-installs the program; it is removed from memory.
-w Leaves only plain white background behind printed screen (no
shadow or date/time).
You can use these options to start the program without having to
answer the installation questions. For example, you could enter
this command:
prtsc -fc:\psexec-ocom1:
In this example, the DOSFONT.PRT file is in a subdirectory named
PSEXEC on the C: disk and the printer is connected to COM1:. The
other options are set to their default values.
Display Adapters
The following table lists display adapters (monitor cards) and their
respective video modes that are supported by Executive Print
Screen when used with IBM or 100%-compatible hardware. Executive
Print Screen is not fully compatible with VGA and Super VGA
monitors.
Mode #ofCharacters Video Adapter # of Colors
Hex Dec on Screen and Graphics Resolution
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0, 0, 40x25, CGA/EGA 320x200 EGA 320x350, 16
01, 1, 40x25, CGA/EGA 320x200 EGA 320x350, 16
02, 2, 80x25, CGA/EGA 640x200 EGA 640x200 EGA 640x200, 16
03, 3, 80x25, CGA/EGA 640x200 EGA 640x200 EGA 640x200, 16
04, 5, 40x25, CGA/EGA 320x200, 4
05, 5, 40x25, CGA/EGA 320x200, 4
06, 6, 80x25, CGA/EGA 640x200, 2
07, 7, 80x25, MDA 720x350 EGA 720x350, mono
0F, 15, 80x25, EGA 640x350, mono
10, 16, 80x25, EGA 640x350, 16
Hercules Display Adapters
Executive Print Screen supports the Hercules Monochrome Graphics
Card. If you select this, you must specify the video page with
the -h as follows:
-h0 Page 0 (720x348 2-color graphics)
-h1 Page 1 (720x348 2-color graphics)
Software Notes
Here are some helpful hints for using Executive Print Screen with
some applications.
GEM on an EGA card
GEM apparently changes the color palette of the EGA, so that what
looks like white on the screen looks like black to Executive
Print Screen. The Negative Image option (-n) is useful for fixing
this.
Lotus 1-2-3 Graphics
Lotus 1-2-3 has the same problem as GEM; use the Negative Image
option (-n).
PC PaintBrush
The Frieze program which accompanies PC Paintbrush conflicts with
Executive Print Screen over the use of PC interrupt 5 (INT 05h).
Remove the line in the PAINT.BAT file which invokes Frieze, and
always answer y (for yes) to the question "Frieze not loaded,
continue anyway?"
The Shift Key and Windows
Because Executive Print Screen takes over when you use the
activating key combination, other programs that monitor the
keyboard directly may not sense that you released the Shift key.
Microsoft Windows is one such program. To reset the keyboard,
press and release the Shift key again.
About EPS Files
If the -e option (Encapsulated PostScript) is used when loading
Executive Print Screen, the program generates encapsulated
PostScript in accordance with Adobe's V1.2 EPSF (Encapsulated
PostScript Format) specification. DOS print screen EPS files
cannot be directly printed. They must be imported into an
application which supports EPS mode and TIFF (Tag Image File
Format) encoded files. For more information, see your application
documentation.
An EPS file is made up of two sections, a PostScript section and
a screen representation section. For screen representation,
Executive Print Screen uses the TIFF scheme. This is a
device-independent method of storing image data, allowing the
same picture to be displayed on either a Macintosh or an IBM PC.
Part of the TIFF specification requires that you provide all the
information you can about the image and hope that the reader
(typically a page layout program) understands those fields
(tags). However, currently available applications that read TIFF
files are unable to handle aspects of some modes. An example is
color: current applications cannot correctly display color image
data.
In particular, the following modes cause trouble for the PC version
of Aldus PageMaker:
- Mode 10 (EGA 640x350, 16-color)
PageMaker 1.0a crashes.
- Mode 4 (CGA 320x200, 4-color)
Both PageMaker displays a white image on the screen, but it
prints fine.
Xerox Ventura Publisher 1.1 does not even try to display the screen
representation of an EPS file. It just draws a box to define the
extent of the image.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.