Troubleshooting Graphics Problems

Problem

Strange dot patterns appear in graphics printouts

Printer freezes when printing graphics

Text appears as random graphics characters

Recommendation

Many computers have problems sending one or more of the codes between 0 and 13. Try to avoid these characters.

Be sure that no other commands or carriage returns come between the graphics command and its data.

If the printer freezes in graphics mode, you have probably not sent enough data.

If you interrupt the computer while it is printing in graphics mode, for example during a screen dump, it may not reset the printer to text mode. If not, the next text printed will be interpreted by the printer as graphics data. Turn off the printer and turn it back on again to reset.

Data Dump Mode

The FX has a special feature that makes it easy for experienced printer users to find the causes of problems. The hexadecimal (hex) or data dump mode gives a printout of exactly what codes reach the printer.

Enter this mode by turning on the printer while holding down the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons at the same time. Then, when you run a program, either an application program or one you have written in any programming language, the FX prints all the codes being sent to the printer in hexadecimal format.

If the characters are printable, they appear in the column on the right as their true ASCII characters, as shown below. Non-printable codes, such as control codes, are shown in this column as a dot. The far left column of the table contains four-digit line numbers.

Problem Solving and Maintenance

C - 3