O M N I P R N
=============

OmniPrn is a DOS program (sorry) that allows you to print from your COM 
port connected OmniGo directly to whatever printer you have hooked up to 
the host machine. You have now saved $ in converter plugs, and no longer 
need to switch cables all over the place.

The program takes a few paramters (optional)

C:\> omniprn [comport,speed] [con]

NOTE: there are no spaces around the comma between comport & speed

- 'comport' is 1 for COM1:, 2 for COM2:, the port connecting your computer 
  to your OG
- 'speed' is 2400, 9600, or 19200 and must match the speed of your OG 
  serial port
- comport & speed are not necessary if you use the environment variable 
  OCTTY, used by our favorite program "omnicom"
- The last parameter, 'con', which is optional, will send the OmniGo's 
  output to the video screen instead of the printer. You can redirect 
  this to a file, 

  omniprn con > omnigo.out

  and later send it to a printer with:

  copy /b omnigo.out prn

Operation:

Once you run it, it will print out the settings it's using and tell you 
it's ready (and that F10 will end the program). While it's working, you 
will notice some characters printed in the DOS window. You'll see a 'R' 
when it's taking info from the OG, a 'W' when it's sending to the printer, 
and a '-' when it's idle. You'll know it's safe to exit the program (F10) 
when you see a '-' for longer than 5 seconds.

Known Problems/Concerns:

It's DOS 
--------
Yeh, well, it was easier -- if I make a Win version, I'll have to charge 
for it. Windows likes to have total control over everything, and to blindly 
send stuff to the printer appears difficult. If anyone out there knows the 
best way to output raw data to the printer, bypassing Print Manager, etc. 
please write me (see below).

Printer may not begin printing unless you exit
----------------------------------------------
Not quite sure why since I flush the buffer when it's inactive -- 
maybe Windows caches the printer output... If nothing is printing, and the 
program shows the '-' for more than 5 seconds, it's probably done, so you can 
hit F10 and it should start printing.

It's slow
---------
That's just the OG. 19200 is about 2K/second and the output for an 
HPLJ is around 30-60K.

It only supports the default printer (LPT1:)
--------------------------------------------
Now THAT I can fix... just wanted to get this guy out in the field ASAP.


Hope you like it.  Keep watching the boards for any updates.

jv
