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Conference 7.286::atarist

Title:Atari ST, TT, & Falcon
Notice:Please read note 1.0 and its replies before posting!
Moderator:FUNYET::ANDERSON
Created:Mon Apr 04 1988
Last Modified:Tue May 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1433
Total number of notes:10312

880.0. "Easydraw, (GEM) to HPGL driver?" by UKCSSE::KEANE () Wed May 30 1990 07:08

    
    Hi,
    
    If you look at the "OUTPRINT" proram for Easydraw, you can see that DR
    originally intended that GEM (GDOS) Outprint should be capable of output
    to printers, cameras and plotters.
    
    Does anyone know if Migraph ever have or ever intend to produce a
    plotter driver for Esydraw?. 
     
    Has anyone ever produced such a thing?
    
    The reason I ask, is that I now am the owner of a HPGL plotter, (I gave
    the old RICOH the boot). I have spent many hours, trying to understand
    the format of a GEM METAfile, so I could run it through a convertor,
    and get HPGL out for the plotter. It is not a trivial task! With help
    from several sources, (thanks Brian), learned texts, magazine articles
    etc, I can now decode the Metafile header, and most of the opcodes,
    verts, sub opcodes, escape codes etc.
    However I am still vague about inint and psint structures. There is a
    big chunk of code between the end of the header and the start of a GDP,
    what is it for? It seems to be definitions of everything todo with GEm,
    although not specifically related to any one drawn object.
    (It took several hours before I realised that METAfiles are written in 
    I*M  format, lo byte first!). So based on my present rate of progress I
    should see my first plot about the time the next ice age occurs, unless
    I can get a ready built plotter driver.
    
    Regards
    
    Pat K.
    
    p.s. Whatdo you think the plotter drivers ASSIGN.sys number should be?
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880.1Yes there is one!UKCSSE::KEANEMon Jun 18 1990 13:1919
    hi,
    
    due to the underwhelmong number of replies to my base note, I had to
    dig around myself.
    
    I found that there is a HPGL driver written for Easydraw.
    
    Unfortunately, the outfit marketing it in the UK wnt to charge as muh
    for the driver as for Easydraw 11 itself!!. 
    
    Has anyone got a current list from Brown's?  Is there any outlet in the
    US that takes platic that sell's this driver at a fair price? The
    laborer is worthy of his hire and all that jazz, but I refuse to be
    ripped of by Elctric Distribution in the UK.!
    
    Regards
    
    Pat K.