Commands That Control The Printer

The following commands relate to the control of the printer. They perform their functions by inserting various printer control strings into the Compare table file:

\landscape

Issue this command if you want your table to print in landscape mode on a laser printer. You can return to portrait mode in the same table file by giving the command “\landscape off”. Note that you might want to increase the pagewidth with the “\pagewidth” command. For example:

\pw 170      # set up for wide printing
\landscape

You also might want to set the page length to a shorter page. Landscape printing makes it possible to print up to 15 or 16 columns on the same page.

\portrait

Issue this command if you already are in landscape mode and want the rest of the pages of the table to be in portrait mode.

\lm <columns>

This command is used to prevent the left margin of tables from being too close to the side of the page. The number that you supply as <columns> will be the number of columns on the left margin. This makes it easier to put the tables into books. Note that spaces are not inserted into the table, but rather a printer code is added at the top of each page that specifies how many columns to skip before printing. This left margin can be changed dynamically within the document.

\lpp <lines>

This command allows you to specify the number of printer lines per page. This command causes an HP LaserJet printer code to be printed at the top of each page of the table to control the number of vertical lines per inch. Standard settings would be “\lpp 72” or “\lpp 77”.

\pc <control string or name>

\pcontrol <control string or name>

This command allows you to send a printer control string directly to the Compare table. Printer control strings are used in the Hewlett Packard printer control language (PCL5) to control the formatting and appearance of printouts. Many of the printer functions that can be accessed from the buttons on the printer can also be used by sending printer control strings. In fact, the Compare commands “\landscape”, “\lpp”, “\lm” work by sending a printer control string in the header line of each page. Printer control strings appear somewhat strange to the unititiated. They always begin with the {ESC} character (ASCII 27). For example, the string for setting the printer to portrait mode is {ESC}&l1O (That’s “el” “one” “capital O”). To type an {ESC} in the SEE editor, while in Edit mode type “\”, then “27”. You can refer to the Laser Jet manual for other printer control strings. Since these strings are not easy to remember, we also have created names for commonly used features.

These are listed below. More information may be found at http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpl02705. Note that many of these routines have not been tested; please report trouble.

Command	Description
\pc normal	Reset Primary Style to Upright (Solid)

Job control commands

	Reset
\pc unitofmeasure	Unit of Measure: # = Number of units per inch

	Simplex/Duplex operation
	NOTE: This is only applicable to duplex capable printers.
\pc duplex or \pc duplexlong	Duplex Print: Long-Edge Binding:
\pc duplexshort	Duplex Print: Short-Edge Binding
\pc duplexlongoffset #	Long-Edge (left) Offset Registration: # of Decipoints (1/720”)
\pc duplexshortoffset #	Short-Edge (Top) Offset Registration: # of Decipoints (1/720”)
\pc pagesidenext	Page Side Selection: Next Side
\pc pagesidefront	Page Side Selection: Front Side
\pc pagesideback	Page Side Selection: Back Side

Page control commands

	Paper destination
\pc destinationauto	Auto Select
\pc destinationtop	Top Output Bin
\pc destinationleft	Left Output Bin

	Optional multi-bin mailbox (HP LaserJet 5Si, 5Si MX, and 5Si NX)
\pc destinationleftup	Left Bin Face Up
\pc destination1down	Bin 1 Face Down
\pc destination2down	Bin 2 Face Down
\pc destination3down	Bin 3 Face Down
\pc destination4down	Bin 4 Face Down
\pc destination5down	Bin 5 Face Down
\pc destination6down	Bin 6 Face Down
\pc destination7down	Bin 7 Face Down
\pc destination8down	Bin 8 Face Down

	Paper source, length, and size
	CAUTION: Some products require different Paper Source and Page Size commands than those that are contained in this document. This information may be found in documentation specific to those products.
\pc ejectpage	Paper Source: Eject Page
\pc sourcepapercassette	Paper Source: Paper Cassette
\pc sourcepapercassette2	Paper Source: Paper Cassette / tray 2
\pc sourcemanualfeedpaper	Paper Source: Manual Feed Paper
\pc sourcemanualfeedenvelope	Paper Source: Manual Feed Envelope
\pc source1	Paper Source: Tray 1
\pc sourcelowercassette	Paper Source: Optional 500/ 2000 Sheet Lower Cassette
\pc source3	Paper Source: MP Tray/ Tray 3
\pc sourceenvelopefeeder	Paper Source: Envelope Feeder
\pc pagesizeexecutive	Page Size: Executive
\pc pagesizejisexec	Page Size: JISEXEC (8.5 X 13 )
\pc pagesizeletter	Page Size: Letter
\pc pagesizelegal	Page Size: Legal
\pc pagesizetabloid	Page Size: Tabloid (11 X 17)
\pc pagesizea4	Page Size: A4
\pc pagesizea3	Page Size: A3
\pc pagesizea5	Page Size: A5
\pc pagesizejisb5	Page Size: JIS B5
\pc pagesizejisb4	Page Size: JIS B4
\pc pagesizejpost	Page Size: JPOST
\pc pagesizejpostd	Page Size: JPOSTD
\pc pagesizemonarch	Page Size: Monarch
\pc pagesizecom10	Page Size: COM 10
\pc pagesizeb5	Page Size: B5
\pc pagesizemaximum	Page Size: Custom/ Maximum
\pc pagesizedl	Page Size: DL
\pc pagesizec5	Page Size: C5
\pc pagelength #	Page Length: # if Lines (5-128)

	Orientation
\pc portrait	Orientation: Portrait
\pc landscape	Orientation: Landscape
\pc reverseportrait	Orientation: Reverse Portrait
\pc reverselandscape	Orientation: Reverse Landscape
\pc printdirection	Print Direction: Number of Degrees of Rotation counter- clockwise (90 degree increments only)

	Margins and text length
\pc topmargin	Top Margin: Number of Lines
\pc textlength	Text Length: Number of Lines
\pc leftmargin	Left Margin: Number of Columns
\pc rightmargin	Right Margin: Number of Columns
\pc clearhorizontalmargins	Clear Horizontal Margins

	Perforation skip mode
\pc perforationskipdisable	Perforation Skip: Disable
\pc perforationskipenable	Perforation Skip: Enable

	Horizontal column spacing
	The Horizontal Motion Index (HMI) command designates the distance between columns in .0083-inch increments. When fixed pitch fonts are selected, all printable characters, including the space and backspace characters, are affected by HMI. When proportional fonts are selected, the HMI affects only the control code space character. The default HMI is equal to the pitch value in the font header. The printer escape sequence to be sent is as follows: Ec&k#H # is equal to a variable that is derived from the following formula: Horizontal Printable Area X 120 = # Desired characters per line. If the desired pitch or number of characters per horizontal inch is known, use the following formula: 120/Desired characters per inch = #
\pc hmi #	Horizontal Motion Index (HMI): Number of .0083-inch Increments

	Vertical line spacing
	The Vertical Motion Index (VMI) command designates the distance between rows in .0208-inch increments (the vertical distance that the cursor will move for a line feed operation). This command affects the line feed and half-line feed spacing. The factory default VMI is eight, which corresponds to six lines per inch. VMI can be selected from the printer control panel or by sending a printer escape sequence: Ec&#C . # is equal to a variable that is derived from the following formula: Vertical Printable Area X 48 = # Desired Lines Per Page Note: Use either VMI (most precise method of line spacing) or Lines per inch, as only the last command will execute.
\pc vmi #	Vertical Motion Index (VMI): # of .0208-inch Increments

	Line Spacing (Lines per inch)
\pci 1	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 1 line/inch
\pci 2	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 2 lines/inch
\pci 3	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 3 lines/inch
\pci 4	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 4 lines/inch
\pci 6	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 6 lines/inch
\pci 8	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 8 lines/inch
\pci 12	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 12 lines/inch
\pci 16	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 16 lines/inch
\pci 24	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 24 lines/inch
\pci 48	Line Spacing (Lines per inch): 48 lines/inch

	Vertical and horizontal
\pc vposition	Vertical Position: # of Rows
\pc superscript	Superscript: Up ¼ Row
\pc subscript	Subscript: Down ¼ Row
\pc vpositiondots	……..: # of Dots
\pc vpositiondecipoints	………: # of Decipoints
\pc hposition	Horizontal Position: # of Columns
\pc vpositiondots	……..: # of Dots
\pc vpositiondecipoints	………: # of Decipoints
\pc halflinefeed	Half Line Feed: N/A

	End-of-line termination
\pc linetermination1	Line Termination: CR=CR;LF=LF; FF=FF
\pc linetermination2	Line Termination: CR=CR+LF;LF=LF FF=FF
\pc linetermination3	Line Termination: CR=CR; LF=CR+LF; FF=CR+FF
\pc linetermination4	Line Termination: CR=CR+LF; LF=CR+LF; FF=CR+FF

	Symbol set selection
	Refer to the PCL-5 Comparison Guide for additional supported symbol sets.
\pc symbolnorwegian	Primary Symbol Set: ISO Norwegian
\pc symboluk	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 4: United Kingdom
\pc symbolwindowslatin2	Primary Symbol Set: Windows 3.1 Latin 2
\pc symbolfrench	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 69: French
\pc symbolgerman	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 21: German
\pc symbolitalian	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 15: Italian
\pc symbolmicrosoft	Primary Symbol Set: Microsoft (R) Publishing
\pc symboldeskp or sym_desktop	Primary Symbol Set: DeskTop
\pc symbolpstext	Primary Symbol Set: PS Text
\pc symbolmctext	Primary Symbol Set: MC Text
\pc symbolventurainternational	Primary Symbol Set: Ventura International
\pc symbolventuraus	Primary Symbol Set: Ventura US
\pc symbolwingdings	Primary Symbol Set: Wingdings
\pc symbolpsmath	Primary Symbol Set: PS Math
\pc symbolventuramath	Primary Symbol Set: Ventura Math
\pc symbolmath8	Primary Symbol Set: Math-8
\pc symbolsymbol	Primary Symbol Set: Symbol
\pc symbollatin1	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 8859-1 (ECMA-94) Latin 1
\pc symbollatin2	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 8859-2: Latin 2
\pc symbollatin5	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 8859-9: Latin 5
\pc symbolswedish	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 11: Swedish
\pc symbolspanish	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 17: Spanish
\pc symbolwindowslatin5	Primary Symbol Set: Windows 3.1 Latin 5
\pc symbolturkish	Primary Symbol Set: PC Turkish
\pc symbolascii	Primary Symbol Set: ISO 6: ASCII
\pc symbollegal	Primary Symbol Set: Legal
\pc symbolrom8 or sym_roman8	Primary Symbol Set: Roman-8
\pc symbolwindowslatin1	Primary Symbol Set: Windows 3.0 Latin 1
\pc symbol8 or sym_437	Primary Symbol Set: PC-8
\pc symbolpcn or sym_437n	Primary Symbol Set: PC-8 D/N
\pc symbolpc850	Primary Symbol Set: PC 850
\pc symbolpi	Primary Symbol Set: Pi Font
\pc symbolpc852	Primary Symbol Set: PC-852
\pc symbolwindowslat1 or \pc sym_winlatin1	Primary Symbol Set: Windows 3.1 Latin 1 (ANSI)

	Spacing
\pc fixed	Primary Spacing: Fixed
\pc proportional	Primary Spacing: Proportional

	Pitch
\pc pitch #	Primary Pitch: Number Characters per inch
\pc pitch10 or \pc large	Set Pitch Mode: 10.0
\pc pitchcompressed or \pc small	Set Pitch Mode: Compressed (16.5-16.7)
\pc pitchelite or \pc med	Set Pitch Mode: Elite (12.0)

	Point size
\pc point #	Primary Height: # Points

	Style
	Additional style values may be obtained from the related documentation provided with HP’s font products. PCL 5 HP LaserJet printers allow complex structures (contours, outlines, shading, etc.) and widths, as well as posture to be specified. Refer to the HP PCL 5 Printer Language Technical Reference Manual.
\pc upright	Primary Style: Upright (Solid)
\pc italic	Primary Style: Italic
\pc condensed	Primary Style: Condensed
\pc compresseditalic	Primary Style: Condensed Italic
\pc compressed	Primary Style: Compressed (Extra Condensed)
\pc expanded	Primary Style: Expanded
\pc outline	Primary Style: Outline
\pc inline	Primary Style: Inline
\pc shadowed	Primary Style: Shadowed
\pc outlineshadowed	Primary Style: Outline Shadowed

	Stroke weight
\pc ultrathin	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Ultra Thin
\pc extrathin	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Extra Thin
\pc thin	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Thin
\pc extralight	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Extra Light
\pc light	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Light
\pc demilight	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Demi Light
\pc semilight	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Semi Light
\pc medium	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Medium (book or text)
\pc semibold	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Semi Bold
\pc demibold	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Demi Bold
\pc bold	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Bold
\pc extrabold	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Extra Bold
\pc black	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Black
\pc extrablack	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Extra Black
\pc ultrablack	Primary Font Stroke Weight: Ultra Black

	Primary typeface family
\pc lineprinter	Typeface Family: Lineprinter
\pc albertus	Typeface Family: Albertus
\pc antiqueolive	Typeface Family: Antique Olive
\pc clarendon	Typeface Family: Clarendon
\pc coronet	Typeface Family: Coronet
\pc courier	Typeface Family: Courier
\pc garamondantiqua	Typeface Family: Garamond Antiqua
\pc lettergothic	Typeface Family: Letter Gothic
\pc marigold	Typeface Family: Marigold
\pc cgomega	Typeface Family: CG Omega
\pc cgtimes	Typeface Family: CG Times
\pc univers	Typeface Family: Univers
\pc arial	Typeface Family: Arial (R)
\pc timesnewroman	Typeface Family: Times New Roman
\pc symbol	Typeface Family: Symbol
\pc wingdings	Typeface Family: Wingdings
\pc times
\pc timesbold
\pc timesitalic
\pc timesbolditalic
\pc courier
\pc courierbold
\pc courieritalic
\pc courierbolditalic
\pc arialbold
\pc arialitalic
\pc arialbolditalic
\pc garamond

	Underline
\pc underlinefixed	Underline: Enable Fixed
\pc underlinefloating	Underline: Enable Floating
\pc underlinedisable	Underline: Disable

Note that any printer control string that works on your printer can be inserted into the file with this command.

\noformat

Compare achieves features such as “\lpp” (lines per page), “\landscape” (landscape mode), and “\lm” (left margin) by insertting HP LaserJet printer codes in the top of the table file. Sometimes, such as when printing to a 9-pin printer, you want to force these codes off. Use the “\noformat” command to do this.

\nocomment

Issue this command when using the \gdata command to inhibit printing of comment lines in a file.