[duxhelp] Re: Global and Document Embosser and Printer Setup
- From: "George Bell" <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <duxhelp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 12:49:22 +0100
Hi Jack,
You ask if all this really works? That is
precisely why I am asking everyone here to try it.
The embossing and printing module needs hammering,
(Sorry - "testing") plus I'd like to try and get
some idea of what aspects of it may need special
attention in terms of documentation.
You are right in a sense that the Generic
embossers are more customizable, but only in so
much as the two Generics are theoretically not
constrained by a specific manufacturer's
specification. So in theory, if you wanted to,
you could set up at 50 character line length and
50 line page, whereas this would be way in excess
of the capability of most embossers.
I should stress that it would be most unwise to
alter any specific embosser's settings such that
they went outside those recommended by the
manufacturer.
Templates are another issue altogether, although
they do make their contribution to "Sticky
Document Information". It is not so much the
"Template Name" which sticks, as the Template's
parameters.
Uninstallation is yet another topic, but I'd be
straying to far from my current project or topic
to go into that right now.
George Bell.
-----Original Message-----
From: duxhelp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:duxhelp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Jack Maartman
Sent: 11 July 2004 03:15
To: duxhelp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [duxhelp] Re: Global and Document
Embosser and Printer Setup
Hi George:
As a rank uninitiate, does all this really work.
As I use no embosser, or want to emulate one, I
have a tendancy to select generic or no embosser,
under either local or global embosser settings.
Iiii am entertaining the perhaps naieve
assumption, that generic embosser is more
customizable.
Perhaps a side issue here, I have set up a custom
template, which never gets uninstalled regardless
what build or beta I am running, yet I didn't
think templates were part of sticky document
information. I am a bit converse in wanting to
re-create something, that cost me some
customization, but if whatever flavour of DBT gets
installed with a custom template installed as the
default, then DBT isn't really ever being fully
uninstalled, and edditing the registry doesn't
help.
I'd guess in the final analysis, a small problem
amnd one not losing sleep over.
Ceers
Jack
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Bell" <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <duxhelp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2004 6:32 PM
Subject: [duxhelp] Global and Document Embosser
and Printer Setup
Sorry this is going to be a long one, but it is an
important Subject which I am sure may be the cause
of much technical support and discussion after
release.
I know there has been a lot of off-list discussion
on this topic on a per incident basis, but as I am
about to launch into writing Help, I'd appreciate
some feedback and comment generally, since there
has not been a great deal of open list discussion.
So please allow me to try and explain what it's
all about. Even if you only have one embosser,
you might want to read on.
Hopefully David and Peter will correct any errors
I make, and fill in some of the gaps.
Initially it is vital to appreciate that DBT 10.5
now contains Embosser and Printer Setup options in
the Document menu, AS WELL AS the Global menu. To
all intents and purposes, they essentially LOOK
the same, and operationally they work the same.
DBT 10.5's own individual files now hold much more
of what in "Microsoft Speak" is known as, "Sticky
Document Information". This will become more
apparent as we proceed here.
Let's first deal with the Global: Embosser Setup.
First, the biggest single difference in the
Embosser Setup of 10.5 is that you can now set up
a whole variety of "Braille Device"
configurations. If you are lucky enough to have
access to more than one embosser, you will
doubtless really appreciate this change. Even if
you only have one embosser, but perhaps change
paper sizes from time to time, you may also
benefit.
Second, you can now set up a new embosser with
more or less any name you choose. For example,
"Main Production Machine", "Proof Reading
Embosser", "Fred", "Mary" or whatever you like to
call it. This is the name you will see when you
later make a selection of embosser. They can all
be for the same make and model of embosser, or
different ones.
Third, when you choose an actual embosser make and
model from the very extensive list, DBT now has
details about the various embossers, such as
maximum characters per line, maximum lines per
page, etc., and therefore will not let you exceed
the manufacturer's specification when setting
things up. (Do try this out!)
Fourth, and for the technically inclined, these
embosser parameters are stored in a text based
file called "emb.elt". By all means look at this
file in a text editor such as Notepad, but DO NOT
open or edit this file in DBT. This file is at
the heart of controlling embossers, and so finally
we will begin to see the dog wagging the tail - er
sorry - DBT controlling the embosser, instead of
the other way round. Make a copy of emb.elt
before you make any changes!! Screw this file up,
and you'll very likely end up at the funny farm.
[J.R. - I owe you a message on this!]
Fifth, you will find that the various dialogs may
or may not display certain set-up items depending
on whether or not your embosser supports those
features. For example, a Braille Blazer will not
allow you to access, "Emboss in Interpoint" or
"Interline". If you are barred from a feature you
believe should be there, or have access to one
which should not, please yell loudly.
Sixth, when you add a new configuration, or edit
an existing configuration, you will find THREE
Tabs. General, Device Settings and Advanced. In
the main, we expect that 95% of users will only
need to deal with the General tab. However,
please familiarise yourself with the contents of
the other two.
Seventh, on the main Embosser Setup screen, you
have a drop down Form selection list. Hopefully
this covers the popular sizes of paper used.
However. although I won't cover this here, it is
possible to add custom forms, as well as delete
sizes never used in the emb.elt file.
Finally, for now anyway, please remember that
whatever "Brailler Device" you highlight in the
list, will become your DEFAULT for all new
documents. (But read on)
The bottom line is to use GLOBAL: Embosser Setup
to define embossers and configurations which you
use on a regular day to day basis.
The same applies to Global: Printer Setup, but
here you may only set up one default ink printer.
That said, you can change this globally at any
time. The choice is not set in stone.
Let's now move to the Document: Embosser Setup.
The principal and absolute golden rule here is to
remember that the Setup here applies to your
CURRENT in-focus document.
When you open a new document, the default embosser
configuration will be the one you highlighted in
the Global: Embosser Setup. If you only have one
embosser configuration, you will not need to
worry.
However, if you have two or more configurations,
you should ideally make sure via DOCUMENT:
Embosser Setup that the embosser configuration is
the right one.
Now if you suddenly decide that you want to change
say characters per line for this document, you
MUST change it through the Document menu, or Ctrl
+ F11. Doing it in the Global menu will have
absolutely no effect on the current document,
other than for any new documents created. I dare
say this will confuse hardened DBT users, but I'm
afraid that's progress. Many, many users wanted
multiple embosser setups.
Finally, when you save your document, it will
retain whatever you have set up for THAT document,
including what embosser was used. Consequently,
if you re-open a document days, weeks, or months
later, you only have to look at DOCUMENT: Embosser
Setup to see what its settings are. Which
hopefully explains what we mean by "Sticky
Document Information".
Ink Printer-wise, the same applies, but you can
change the ink printer used for that document.
It goes without saying that the embossing module
is about THE most important part of DBT after the
translation engine. This is a broad overview, but
I will appreciate hearing about points that you
don't quite understand. If you guys don't
understand it, sure as eggs are eggs, regular
users won't either, and so I will have to find
better ways of explaining things.
Many thanks,
George Bell.
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