BI-DIRECTIONAL STATUS REPORTING
508
Bi-directional status reporting For bi-directional communications, the parallel port supports two modes:
Compatibility Mode and Nibble Mode. The interpretation of interface signals
depends on the current mode. Compatibility Mode provides host-to-printer
communication in a manner compatible with a uni-directional interface. Nibble
Mode provides printer-to-host communication and may be combined with
Compatibility Mode to provide bi-directional communication.
NOTE
For more information, refer to the IEEE P1284 document for parallel interfaces.
The bi-directional utility files are provided for support of operating systems and
applications, such as Windows 95, that are capable of bi-directional status reporting
with a printer connected to the parallel port.
You do not need a special cable; refer to Ordering Interface cables and adapters
for
information on ordering the standard parallel cable available from Tektronix.
NOTE
Windows 3.0 and 3.1 do not support bi-directional status reporting.