MAIL3 MANUAL v.3.01 - 28-07-94 ***************** ***************** Using Mail3 you can print Series3(a) Databases onto labels or as a table. The programme supports both parallel and serial printers. INSTALL the programme as follows: copy the "APP" and "3ML" folders into the internal memory of the Series3(a) using the "Serial Link", or place them on an SSD. Make sure you also copy the "MAIL3" folder, which is found in the "APP" folder. DATABASE MENU ************* *** OPEN .dbf *** Before a database can be printed out onto labels, it must be opened in Mail3. Do this using the "OPEN.dbf" menu function. If the DataBase is already being used by another application, Mail3 will give the error message "ALREADY IN USE". *** CLOSE.dbf *** If you wish to close the DataBase you have been using without actually leaving the Mail3 programme, select CLOSE.dbf. *** RECORD SELECTION *** It is possible to print only those records which contain a certain search key. Choose "RECORD SELECTION" and set the "Print" option to "Selection". You will now be asked to enter a search key and to state the field of your DataBase in which it has to be present. The highest field number which can be selected is 12. The default setting for the "In Field" is "any field ...". This means that the record will be printed as long as the search string is in one of the first 12 fields. LABEL MENU ********** *** PAGE LAYOUT *** Here you can enter the measurements of the paper and the labels. It is helpful to state the width, height and margins of the paper first of all. If you then enter the number of rows and columns, Mail3 will automatically calculate the width and height of one label. The maximum paper height and width is 299mm. You can create a maximum of 20 vertical columns and 60 horizontal rows. Return to the main menu by pressing the "esc" key. The "Unit of measurement" option in the main menu allows you to choose whether you want to use inches or millimetres. *** DEFINE FIELDS *** It is possible to adjust the order in which the DataBase fields will appear on a label. Select "Field Definition". Use the arrow keys (up/down) to move to the line to be redefined, and press the "Enter" key. Enter the number of the desired DataBase field for the selected line. If you set the "Print Line" to "Blank line", this line will remain blank on all labels. The next record or the previous record can be loaded in from the database using the arrow keys (left/right). In this way it is possible to get an idea of how these will appear on the labels. You can return to the main menu by pressing "esc". *** FIELD TEXTSTYLE *** This is used to determine whether or not a certain line is to be underlined or printed in bold or italics. Use the arrow keys to move to the line to be altered, press "Enter" and choose the desired Text Style. You can return to the main menu by pressing the "esc" key. It may be that your printer uses different control characters to define the text style than the Mail3 programme. In that case you will notice that the printer prints unnecessary control characters. You can remedy this problem by setting your printer to the correct emulation, or by choosing "Printer settings" from the Main Menu and setting the "Text Style" option to "off". *** EXTRA PRINT SETUP *** Here you can choose the kind of linefeed to be used while printing out a DataBase onto labels. * If you have set the option "type of linefeed" to "normal", the character used to jump to a new line has the ASCII value '10'. Most printers will recognise this character. This is the fastest and easiest way of printing onto labels. Only disadvantage is that using this standard linefeed-character doesn't allow a very precise positioning of the printer head. If Mail3 doesn't appear to respect the chosen paperheigth, it will be due to having used the normal (standard) type of linefeed. * Setting the option "type of linefeed" to "graphical", the printer does respect the chosen paperheigth. Most printers can move the printer head over the page vertically to an accuracy of 1/216th inch. The printer is requested to do this by sending a "graphical linefeed escape code". Consult your printer manual to find out which character should be used to send a "single Line Feed of n/216 inch". In many cases this will be a "3" or a "T". It may be that your printer does not understand any "escape code" for a "Line Feed" of n/216 inch. This is why the option " ... for n/... inch LF" has been provided. If you change the value 216 to 72, for example, then Mail3 will use the "escape code" for n/72 inch. The most commonly used values are 72, 144, 180, 216 and 360. In a few cases the printer will still print at the wrong height, despite precisely determining the page height and using the correct "escape code". This can also be remedied. By raising or lowering the value of "... for n/... inch LF" you will notice that the vertical scale of the printout becomes smaller or larger accordingly. Some printers are not capable of printing right up to the bottom of a page without giving an "OUT OF PAPER" error message. The result of this is that the text which should be printed at the bottom of the previous page is left out or printed at the top of the following page. By setting the "When printing" option to "Skip Bottom Labelrow", you can circumvent this problem. Mail3 will then leave the bottom row of labels blank on every page, without losing any records from the DataBase. If the printer prints out with double spacing or no line spacing at all, then you must adjust the "New line character" option. "LF" stands for a "Line Feed" and "CR" for a "Carriage Return". *** PRINT LABELS *** After you have chosen the correct "Print Setup" you can use "Print Labels" to print out the DataBase which you have opened. If your printer was already switched on, you should first switch it off and back on again. This is so that the printer will be in standard configuration. If the message "File not open" appears after choosing "Print Labels", this means that no DataBase has been opened yet. Mail3 will now ask which pages to print - from the first to the last. Press "Enter". If the "Continuous paper" option is set to "Yes" in "Printer Settings", Mail3 will begin to print all the pages one after another without interruption. If this option is set to "No", the programme will ask you in between printing each page to put paper in the printer and switch it "ONLINE". Printing can be interrupted by pressing "TAB". If the error message "Check your Printer" (-41) appears, check whether the correct port was selected in "Print Setup" (parallel or serial). Also check whether the correct interface is connected to your Series3 (Parallel Link or Serial Link). The message "Port already in use" means that there is another Series3 application already using the port (e.g. 3Link). LISTING MENU ************ Setup and printing of a database in tableview. *** PAGE SIZE *** Set the desired values for pageheigth, pagewidth and margins. *** FIELD DEFINITION *** Indicate which fields of the opened database have to appear in which column. *** COLUMN WIDTH The number of columns is limited to 7. Here you can enter the width of each of them. If you wish to use less then 7 columns, than set the width of the remaining columns to zero. If the total width of all columns exceeds the paperwidth, the width of each column will automatically be recalculated. *** COLUMN TEXTSTYLE *** This is used to determine whether or not a certain column is to be underlined or printed in bold or italics. It may be that your printer uses different control characters to define the text style than the Mail3 programme. In that case you will notice that the printer prints unnecessary control characters. You can remedy this problem by setting your printer to the correct emulation, or by choosing "Print setup" from the Main Menu and setting the "Text Style" option to "off". *** PRINT LISTING *** Prints a database in tableview. See "print labels" (LABEL MENU). SPECIAL MENU ************ *** LOAD SETUP *** A Page Layout and Printer Settings which have been saved previously can be recovered and the correct DataBase can be reopened. The file which is opened must have the .3ML extension. In the 3ML folder on the Mail3 disk there are already a number of .3ML files. The Page Layout is identical for each of these, but there are differences between the printer settings. The name of each .3ML file refers to the printer for which the parameters have been selected. If, after loading, Mail3 gives the error message "DataBase not opened", this means that the desired Database was not found. You can still find the DataBase or open a different DataBase by choosing the option "Open.dbf" from the main menu. *** SAVE SETUP *** The name and location of the DataBase which has been opened, the Page Layout and the Printer settings can be saved in this way. The name of the file will be given the extension .3ML. *** NEW *** Resets all the standard parameters. If the present layout has not been saved, it will be lost. *** PRINT SETUP *** If problems occur while printing, these can very probably be remedied by changing the "Print Setup". * You can choose the type of printer port using the "Printerport" option. If it is a serial port, you will be asked to set the correct communications parameters for the printer in use. Consult your printer manual about this. * If the printer prints out with double spacing or no line spacing at all, then you must adjust the "New line character" option. "LF" stands for a "Line Feed" and "CR" for a "Carriage Return". * If "Continuous Paper" is set to "Yes", Mail3 will print out all pages without interruption. If it is set to "No", the programme will ask you to put paper in the printer and set it to "ONLINE" between printing each page. * Text Style determines whether or not Mail3 will use the setting from "Field Textstyle". Your printer may use different control characters than the Mail3 programme for defining the Print Style. In this case you will notice that the printer uses or adds unwanted control characters. By setting "Use Fonfstyles" to "Disable", no control characters are sent to the printer at all. All text is then printed out in the printer's standard type font. Most printers have a number of "DIP Switches". By changing the settings of these you can, for example, change the printer's "emulation mode". Make sure that the printer is in the "EPSON FX" or "IBM Proprinter" emulation. If accented characters are not printed by the printer, you must set the printer to the correct "character set". You can also do this using the "DIP switches" on your printer. Consult the printer manual first. *** UNIT OF MEASUREMENT *** This is used to select the units in which measurements will be stated. *** END *** Exit and close down the programme. **************************************