File Name:  PLCQPQ.EXP
Title:  Protected-Mode Plotter driver for the Compaq PageMarq 15 and
Compaq PageMarq 20 printers, Autodesk Device Interface (ADI) version 4.2
Driver Version:  1.05
Instructions Version:  09/01/94

CATEGORY:  Driver

EFFECTIVITY DATE:  05/12/94

PRODUCTS AFFECTED:  PageMarq 15 and PageMarq 20 printers

OPERATING SYSTEM:  MS-DOS

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION:  AutoCAD for DOS Releases 10/386, 11 and 12

SUPERCEDES:  SP0642

DESCRIPTION:

This document explains the installation and use of PLCQPQ.EXP, a
protected mode Autodesk Device Interface (ADI) plotter driver designed
to run the COMPAQ PAGEMARQ 15 AND PAGEMARQ 20 printers with AutoCAD 386.
Along with these instructions, please read the AutoCAD 386 Installation
and Performance Guide concerning plotting with protected mode ADI
devices, the AutoCAD 386 Users Guide section on plotting, and your
printer users manual.

The driver supports variable line widths and grayscales.  The driver
supports various paper size features that are available on the
printers.  The driver uses PostScript level 2 page-description language
to communicate vector graphics commands to the printer.  This driver is
a product of and is supported by COMPAQ Computer Corporation, not by
Autodesk.


ADI DRIVERS

This driver is a "protected-mode" ADI plotter driver.  ADI is an acronym
for the Autodesk Device Interface specification that was used to create
this driver.  You can use this driver (PLCQPQ.EXP) with version 10/386 
or higher of AutoCAD 386 that supports P386 ADI plotter drivers.  This
driver was tested using AutoCAD Releases 10/386, 11 and 12.  Some Autodesk
products also support "real-mode" ADI drivers.  The protected-mode
driver provides the following advantages:

      * simpler installation and configuration
      * automatic adjustment of maximum plot size
        to specified paper size
      * faster operation
      * support for AutoCAD's autospool facility


HOW TO USE:

COPYING THE DRIVER SOFTWARE

Copy the driver software onto your hard disk.  The example assumes that
an AutoCAD directory named \ACAD is on drive C and that the distribution
disk for the driver is in drive A.  First change to the directory where
you store AutoCAD.  Type:
                        C:> CD ACAD [Return]

Next, insert the diskette with the driver in drive A.  Copy the driver
file to your hard disk.  Type:

                        C:> COPY A:plcqpq.exp  C:  [Return]


CONFIGURING AUTOCAD 386 FOR THE PLOTTER DRIVER

AutoCAD 386 Releases 10/386 and 11

Protected-mode ADI drivers are configured through the use of environment
variables and/or the use of magic file names.  The configuration menu for
the plotter devices will display "P386 ADI" driver as a choice.  If you
pick this, AutoCAD will search first for an environment variable which
names the driver (with either a fully qualified path name or just a
file name), and failing that search, it looks for a magic file name.

Both searches start in the current default directory.  If the driver is
not found there, AutoCAD then searches the following directories:
ACADCFG configuration, ACAD execution and AutoCAD command line execution
prefix.  If still the driver is not found, AutoCAD resorts to asking you
which disk drive and directory it should search to find the driver.

The two means for AutoCAD to use this ADI driver are:

1)      Use the SET command with the environment variable PLPADI and a
        complete path name, for example if plcqpq.exp is in the
        d:\acad\device directory you would type:

                set plpadi=d:\acad\device\plcqpq.exp

        So that you don't have to do this manually every time you start
        your system, add a similar line to your autoexec.bat file or
        to the batch file that you use to invoke AutoCAD.
or,

2)      Copy plcqpq.exp to the file name adiplot.exp.  This file name is
        unique and will be used when ACAD is loaded if you have selected a
        P386 ADI driver during configuration:

                copy plcqpq.exp adiplot.exp

Both of these methods require the .exp file to be located in a directory
accessible to ACAD.  Please see the first paragraph of this section.


Next start AutoCAD to configure it for a protected mode ADI driver.  You
will need to do this before you use the ADI driver for the first time.
AutoCAD will save these settings until you change them.  Refer to your
AutoCAD Installation and Performance Guide for a more in-depth
explanation of the steps below.

To configure AutoCAD for an P386 ADI plotter driver, select "Configure
AutoCAD" from the AutoCAD Main Menu.  Your current configuration will be
displayed.  Press RETURN.  Then select "Configure Plotter" from the
Configuration Menu.  Select ADI P386 plotter from the list of displayed
plotters.  Continue below under All Releases.


AutoCAD 386 Release 12 for DOS

Release 12 has a different procedure.  Use the DOS set command to set
the environment variable ACADDRV to include the directory where the file
plcqpq.exp resides.  For example if plcqpq.exp is in the d:\ACAD\DRV
directory you would type:

                set ACADDRV=d:\ACAD\DRV

So that you don't have to do this manually every time you start your
system, add a similar line to your autoexec.bat file or to the batch
file that you use to invoke AutoCAD.

Next start AutoCAD.  When you choose Configure under the FILE menu,
AutoCAD configuration menu will appear.  Choose configure plotter.
AutoCAD will search for all plotter drivers in the path specified by the
ACADDRV environment variable.  The Compaq printers should appear as one
of the plotter choices.  Choose:

COMPAQ PAGEMARQ - ADI 4.2 by COMPAQ (1.05)


All Releases

Next, choose the appropriate printer model.  You will need to answer
some questions to configure settings for the printer.  The first
question is:

        Printer resolution
Choice     dots per inch
------  ------------------
  1.    800 x 400
  2.    400 x 400 
  3.    300 x 300 
Select printer resolution, 1 to 3 ? <1>

Select number 1 for best resolution.

Next, for AutoCAD Releases 10/386 and 11, you will select the units for
setting line widths.  Line widths will be specified as integer values
multiplied by the units that you selected.  Choices are 1 mm, 0.1 mm,
.01 inch, .001 inch and dots at the resolution that you picked above.
In Release 12, the line widths are set directly in dimensioned units.
The next question is:

        Select printer's paper size (? for list): <default>

Entering ? will display a list similar to the table below.


        PRINTER PAPER AND MAXIMUM PLOT DIMENSIONS

PAPER   PAPER         PHYSICAL SIZE      MAXIMUM PLOT SIZE
NUMBER  NAME          WIDTH  X  HEIGHT   WIDTH  X  HEIGHT

  1.    Executive     7.25 x 10.5 in        6.8 x 10.1 in
  2.    Letter        8.5  x 11.0 in        8.0 x 10.5 in  
  3.    Legal         8.5  x 14.0 in        7.9 x 13.6 in  
  4.    Ledger       17.0  x 11.0 in       10.5 x 16.6 in 
  5.    A5             148 x 210 mm         136 x 198 mm
  6.    B5             182 x 257 mm         171 x 249 mm 
  7.    A4             210 x 297 mm         197 x 284 mm  
  8.    Folio          210 x 330 mm         197 x 321 mm
  9.    B4             257 x 364 mm         246 x 355 mm
 10.    A3             297 x 420 mm         284 x 411 mm

Paper and plot dimensions are specified in portrait orientation, width
less than height.  Maximum plot size dimensions are approximately 0.50
inches or 10 to 13 mm less than the paper's physical dimensions.

Choose the paper size that you will use by entering the paper name
(significant letters will suffice, e.g. LET for letter) or number.  Hit
RETURN or the space bar to accept the displayed defaults for this and
the following questions.  The next question is:

        Would you like to change the paper size before each plot? <Y>

If you answer Yes, you will be able to choose the size before each plot,
or accept the default that you chose above.  Otherwise, your choice
above will be used for every plot.

        Does the printer have a multipurpose feeder? <N>

Answer Y or N.

Next, select the paper source.  Selecting a paper tray will establish
the preferred paper source if more than one tray has the same size
paper.  Selecting manual feed or multipurpose feeder will set those as
the only source for the paper size that you select.

        Would you like to change the paper tray or select
        manual feed before each plot? <Y>

Answer Y or N.

        Would you like to select 1 or more copies at plot time? <Y>

Answer Y or N.  If no, then only one sheet is printed for each plot.

If this is a first time configuration of the driver, you will be asked
to select the default grayscales or shadings for each drawing color.
There is additional information on this below.  The normal choice is to
set the printer pen numbers so that all colors print as black.  If
instead you choose Yes, the default pens will be set to grays that
approximate the intensity of the AutoCAD drawing colors.  In either
case, you will be able to adjust the pen settings before each plot.

        Is your printer connected to a <S>erial or <P>arallel port ? <P>

Parallel operation is faster than serial operation.  If you choose a
serial port, additional questions will request the baud rate, number of
data and stop bits, parity and the handshake protocol.  For example
choose: 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity, and DTR hardware
protocol.  Refer to the printer user manual sections and appendices on
interfacing to help select the appropriate settings for your system.
The settings input at the printer control panel must match your choices
here.  Use the highest baud rate that your printer and serial port can
handle.

Next AutoCAD will ask you to identify the specific port.


After the printer questions, you will then go through additional
standard AutoCAD plotter configuration questions.  During this dialogue,
AutoCAD will ask whether to plot to a file.  If you answer yes, then
AutoCAD will send the printer commands to a file which can be copied to
the printer port to generate a plot at a later time.  If you answer no,
the plot will go directly to the printer though the port that you have
specified to the questions above.  In either case, you will be able to
change your choice at plot time.

Also during the dialogue, you will be asked to specify the default plot
size.  The MAX option is based on the paper size that you chose above. 
You will be able to change the plot size before each plot.  And, if you
have enabled paper size changes before each plot, the MAX option will
change accordingly whenever you change the paper size.

If you have any questions see the Configuration section of the
Installation & Performance Guide to AutoCAD.  Also see the AutoCAD
Reference Manual for AutoCAD details, and your plotter User's guide for
plotter details.  AutoCAD will now be configured to plot using the COMPAQ
PAGEMARQ ADI driver.


LINE WIDTHS and SHADING or GRAYSCALES

To each color in your drawing, AutoCAD will assign a plotter pen and a
plotter linetype.  You can adjust these assignments at each plot time. 
The driver and printer will use the linetype value (0 to 255) to set the
width of the plotted lines.  You are asked, during initial
configuration, to select the units used to set the line widths.  Line
type 0 is always the minimum that the printer can produce.  Choices for
units include printer dots at the resolution that you have chosen.  For
example, at 400 dpi, each dot is 0.0025 inch wide, so linetype 8 is 8 x
0.0025 = 8/400 = 0.02 inches wide.  Other choices for units are 1 mm,
0.1 mm, .01 inch, and .001 inch.

With AutoCAD releases 10/386 and 11, be careful with filled solids and wide
polylines.  AutoCAD expects a specific pen width (usually 0.01 inches)
for drawing filled entities with multiple line passes.  If you plot
filled entities, change AutoCAD's pen width setting to be the same as
your linetype choice for these entities.  AutoCAD asks for a default pen
width during the configuration dialogue, and AutoCAD's pen width setting
can be reset before each plot.

The driver and printer will use the pen number (0 through 100) to set
the shading pattern for each color. 0 gives solid black, and 100 gives
pure white.  Pen numbers in between produce grays.


PLOTTING

Either issue the Plot command from the drawing editor or select the plot
file option, item 3 from AutoCAD's main menu.  Make sure your printer is
connected, is turned on, and is on-line.  After you have selected what
you are going to plot, the current printer settings and the AutoCAD plot
settings will be displayed.

With Release 12, a dialog box will appear to allow you to check and
change the plot settings. Use the device selection button to select the
plotter configuration that you have set up for the COMPAQ PageMarq
printer.  Adjust the plot settings and select OK to begin plotting.

With Releases 10/386 and 11, the settings and questions will appear on 
the text screen and you will be asked:

        Do you want to change anything? <N>   

Answer yes if you want to change anything.  Otherwise, plotting will
proceed with the displayed settings.  Note that you must also answer yes
to get to the display of current color, pen and linetype settings in
order to change pens and linetypes.

After answering yes, if you have enabled plot-time paper size changes,
you will be asked for your selection.  Hit RETURN or the space bar to
accept the defaults.

You will be shown a table of entity colors and the associated pen
numbers and line types or widths.  If you answer yes to the query, you
can reassign pen numbers (grayscale or shading) and linetypes (line
widths) to each entity color.  Please review the suggestions above on
linewidth choices.  The default linetype for each color after initial
configuration is set to 0.01 inches.  Change these pen and linetype
assignments now if you desire.  AutoCAD will remember your changes
between plots.

Next, you will be able to change or confirm AutoCAD's plot settings. If
you have enabled plot to file rather than to a port, AutoCAD will ask
for the name of the file.  Note that you can specify a port name here in
the place of a file name to redirect the plot directly to the printer
without generating a file.

Finally, if you have enabled the plot-time copies change, you will be
asked to confirm or change the number of copies for the plot.  If
necessary, abort the plot setup by entering Control-C or CANCEL.


STOPPING THE PLOT

If you wish to stop the plot while AutoCAD is sending vectors to the printer,
abort it in the normal manner (Control-C).


SPOOLING

If you wish to stop the plot while AutoCAD is sending vectors to the
printer, abort it in the normal manner (Control-C).


SPOOLING

The driver uses AutoCAD dispatcher functions for all communication with
the printer.  As a result, the driver supports the use of an optional
separate spooler (such as the DOS print routine).  The use and
configuration of a spooler is described in your AutoCAD Installation and
Performance Guide.


PLOT TO FILE TO AVOID STOP FOR HARDWARE SETUP

After you have requested a plot from AutoCAD, AutoCAD will normally
pause for hardware set up.  To resume, you must hit ENTER at your
keyboard.  To avoid this stop every time you request a plot do the
following.  At the AutoCAD configuration menu, select Configure
operating parameters.  Select default plot file name.  Then for the plot
file, enter the name of the port to which the printer is connected.  For
example, if connected to parallel port 1, enter LPT1 for the file name. 
Thereafter, when plotting, AutoCAD will think it is plotting to a file,
and so will not stop for a hardware setup.


CONFIGURING AUTOCAD FOR NETWORK PRINTING

The Compaq ADI plotter driver can be configured to send plot data to any
of the computer's parallel and serial ports.  The drivers use AutoCAD
dispatcher functions for direct IO to the ports.  This enables AutoCAD
to redirect data for AutoCAD's spooling and plot-to-file features.
However, because the dispatcher uses low level calls to the port
controllers, network software may not be able to capture plot data
directed to a port.  Also, before sending data, AutoCAD queries the
port.  In a network setup, the port may appear "not ready" to AutoCAD
and the plot will never get going.

The solution for network installation is to route the plot data through
AutoCAD's "plot-to-file" feature.  Name the file to be the port name.
Then AutoCAD will use higher-level operating system calls to send data
to the port, and the network will be able to capture the data.  Here is
how to do the configuration.

A.  Configure default plot file name

First, either from AutoCAD's main menu, or in Release 12 under the Files
pull-down menu, choose Configure.  Next, choose Configure operating
parameters.  Next, choose Default plot file name.

Now, for the file name, enter the name of the port from which the
network will be expecting to capture plot data.  Examples are: LPT1 or
LPT2 or COM1.  Enter just the four characters of the port name, no
period nor extension.  If your network requires plot to an actual file,
enter that directory and file name instead.

B.      Configure plotter

Next, continue through the configuration menu.  If you have not yet
configured the plotter driver, choose Configure plotter at the
configuration menu.  Follow the instructions above for configuration,
with the following changes.  Since we will be plotting to a file, don't
worry about the questions asking you to select the port.  Just choose
anything.  However when you get to the question that asks "Do you want
to plot to a file" enter Yes.

C.      Plot time

Set up the plot as described in your driver and AutoCAD documentation.
In AutoCAD 10/386 and 11, check the list of plot settings that AutoCAD
will display.  Included is a line: Plot will (not) be written to a
selected file.  If not written to a file, then enter yes to change the
settings.  Then answer yes to the question "Write plot to file?" when
you get to it.

In Release 12's Plot Configuration dialogue box, set the "plot to file"
box if it doesn't have an X.  You shouldn't have to, but if you do
select the "File Name" button, enter the networks expected port name as
described above in A.  After entering the port name (no period nor
extension) you may get a message "The specified file already exists.  Do
you want to replace it?".  No problem, because it's a port and will
always already exist.  Answer yes.

Finish up the plot configuration to start the plot.  Your network should
now be able to capture the plot data and send it to the printer.


NOTES ON OPERATION

Here are some tips for using the P386 ADI plotter driver with AutoCAD:


1.  The printer must be connected, turned on, and on line before you
plot using the COMPAQ PAGEMARQ ADI driver.  Save your work before
plotting.

2.  Do not turn the printer on and off in the middle of a plotting
session.  An error message will be displayed if you try to use the ADI
driver to plot directly to the printer while the printer is turned off.

3.   To send a plot file to the plotter, type the following at the DOS
command line:

       copy  filename  lpt(n)     OR    copy  filename  com(n)  

where filename is the name of the file you wish to plot and lpt(n) or
com(n) represents the port you have connected to your plotter.  Remember
that if using the serial (com) port, you will first have to issue a MODE
statement to match the serial configuration of your plotter.

4.  Disk Space Considerations:  If you wish to plot to file, please
insure that you have sufficient disk space to do so.  File sizes are not
dependent on the size of AutoCAD's DWG file, rather they depend on the
contents of that file.  This is due to the amount of fill the plotter
must do to plot this file.  Be careful with solid filled objects.  With
AutoCAD release 10/386 and 11, AutoCAD and the driver must send line draw
information sufficient to fill the objects with thin lines.  Release 12
avoids this by sending filled polygon information for solid entities.


AutoCAD and ADI are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.