chapter 6 c
MS-DOS AND YOUR PRINTER
When using your printer with an IBM PC, PC-XT, or PC-AT or compatible,
you will probably be using PC-DOS or MS-DOS as an operating system. A
number of software tricks may be useful here. This chapter is not, however,
a substitute for the operating system manuals supplied with your computer.
To learn how to print fdes, etc. it is best to mad the relevant parts of these
manuals.
INSTALLING APPLICATION SOFTWARE WITH
YOUR PRINTER
When installing application software, you may find that your printer is not
specifically mentioned in the lists of printers given for installation. How-
ever, this should pose no problem. Read this section, and guidelines
provided with your software on printer installation.
If you have your printer set up in standard mode, then choose an Epson FX-
850 or EX-800 Color as your printer to be selected.
If neither of these are mentioned, choose one of the following (in order of
preference): Star NX-1000 Color/LC-10 Color, Star ND-10/U, Epson LX-
sso/Lx-8 10.
If you have your printer set up with the EDS switches to emulate an IBM
Proprinter III, simply choose this from the list of printers available in the
application software list.
If the IBM Proprinter III is not mentioned, select Proprinter II or Proprinter.
If your software package does not mention printers by name, but asks instead
what features your printer is capable of, the most common questions are:
“Can your printer perform a backspace?” and “Can it do a hardware form
feed?“. You should answer “Yes” to both these questions.
Other software packages may well allow you to install specific features.
Spreadsheet programs will often ask for the maximum number of columns
to be printed. This is given below.