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Paper Out and I/O Error When Parallel Printin
DocumentID: 650443
Revision Date: 29-Feb-96 8:28:59 PM

The information in this document applies to:
WordPerfect® 5.1 for DOS

Problem

Solutions: In WordPerfect's code, three signals are tested on the parallel cable to help determine whether or not characters should be sent to the printer. One of these is the printer ready signal which basically tells WordPerfect whether or not the printer is ready for another character. This test must be done and is the only test done by DOS when it prints. The other two tests WordPerfect does because they offer important side-benefits.

The two extra signals that are monitored on the parallel interface are the I/O Error and the Paper Out signals. If WordPerfect finds either of these conditions, the job will not be printed. By checking these signals WP can detect that the printer is not ready when it is turned off or when the cable is not attached to the computer or the printer. Before WP started testing these two signals, there used to be problems when the printer was not turned on, etc. WP tested the printer ready status, and it indicated to go ahead and print. Then WP sent the character to the BIOS to be printed, but the BIOS was not actually able to send it because the printer was turned off.

When this occurred, the computer sat for over 30 seconds while the BIOS tried to send the character, then it would give up and indicate that it was unable to send it. During this time, the customer was not able to edit, get the status of the printer, or anything. They had to wait while the BIOS tried to send the character to the printer. After getting control back, WordPerfect processed the keys that had been pressed while waiting and then tried to send the character again. This caused another 30 second delay if the problem had not been corrected. Needless to say, this was very annoying and caused much grief to many customers. Since the code to check the two additional signals was added, users have not experienced this problem.

A side-effect of checking these two signals is that there are times when WordPerfect will not print because of a Paper Out or I/O Error condition, but DOS will print just fine. One example of this problem is with the Epson FX printer which will still send the Paper Out signal on the parallel cable even if the paper out detector is disabled with a DIP switch setting. WordPerfect will see the signal and will not print, even though at this point DOS will. Often, there is a problem where DOS will print but WordPerfect will not. Usually the problem is that WP is detecting one of these signals, and so will not print. The only solution to this is to get rid of these signals using DIP switch settings or by changing the wiring of the cable.

Answer:

Details:


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