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Home > Help Files > Unix > Text Formatting > PhotoTypesetter
Typeset
HOW TO REQUEST TYPESETTER OUTPUT
On Computer Center UNIX machines, you can place a job in the photo-
typesetter queue by using the -Q option of troff. Troff is executed in
the current directory, and its output sent to the typesetter machine
(UNIX A), to be placed in the queue. Operators initiate the actual
typesetting when your turn comes. Before submitting a typesetting job,
you should familiarize yourself with the procedures described below,
including the methods of previewing and debugging your troff output.
(For information on printing a job on the Versatec V80 with the -V op-
tion of troff, read "help versatec".)
TROFF'S COMMAND-LINE SYNTAX
Troff's command-line options can appear in any order, as long as they
all appear before the first filename. For example,
% troff -ms -Q -n22 filename
formats the file using the -ms macros, assigns the first page generated
by this file page number 22, and queues the resulting output for
typesetting.
You can also pipe tbl or eqn output to troff. The following command
processes a file with tables and equations, formats with the -ms mac-
ros, and queues it for the typesetter:
% tbl filename | eqn | troff -ms -Q
ALTERNATE FORMS OF TROFF OUTPUT
You must use ONE of the following options whenever you execute troff,
to specify the type of output you want: -a, -t, -z, -V, or -Q. The -a
option requests preview output readable on an ordinary terminal. This
kind of output is also appropriate for printing on the system's line
printer. It is useful as a preview in certain limited respects. It
shows where text lines and pages will break in the final typeset out-
put, thus letting you know whether hyphenation has been done correctly;
whether a section begins at the bottom of a page without any text fol-
lowing on the same page; whether your entire input file has been pro-
cessed; how many pages of phototypesetter output will be produced; and
so forth. Troff -a output does not resemble typesetter output very
closely, however, since it is produced on devices with characters of
constant height and width. It is not very helpful for previewing
tables or mathematics. Its advantages are that it is relatively fast
and inexpensive, and good for a preliminary look at ordinary text out-
put.
The -t option is used ordinarily for previewing troff output on a Tek-
tronix 4015 graphics terminal. To obtain this type of output, you must
log in to UNIX via a Tektronix 4015 terminal such as those located in
260G Evans Hall. You should follow these procedures when using the
Tektronix for troff output:
1) On the terminal keyboard, find the rocker switch labeled APL-
ASCII. Set this switch in the intermediate position.
2) When you log in and the system prompts you for your TERM type,
respond with the code "tek4015".
3) Before executing troff, type this command to insure that the
terminal is set correctly:
% stty tek
Now you are ready to preview your troff job. A typical command to do
this would be the following:
% troff -ms -t filename | tc
You could also use eqn or tbl, as follows:
% tbl filename | eqn | troff -ms -t | tc
In any event, the last command in the pipeline, "tc", is necessary to
interpret the troff output for the Tektronix terminal. Tc formats one
page at a time for the terminal screen. When you're finished looking
at a page, press RETURN to make tc proceed to the next.
The -z option requests that troff print error and diagnostic messages
without producing formatted text output. This is sometimes useful to
check a file which has been generating error messages and which you're
trying to fix.
Finally, the -V option formats your text for the Versatec, and places
your job in a queue (on UNIX G) to be printed later. Troff -V is use-
ful for previewing files that will later be phototypeset with the -Q
option. Pagination and lineation are identical to those of output pro-
duced on the phototypesetter. Equations and tables will also come out
decently. Read "help versatec" for more information on the Versatec
V80 electrostatic printer/plotter.
The UNIX Programmer's Manual writeup troff(1), available online with
the "man" command, explains the troff options. Type "man troff".
Troff's -f and -w options are not available for general use.
SIZE LIMITS FOR TYPESETTER JOBS
There are two size limitations relevant to typesetter jobs: an absolute
limit of 35 feet of paper to a single job, and a limit of 14 feet on
the amount of output that can be held at one time in the typesetter's
output canister. Jobs longer than 35 standard (11-inch) pages must be
divided into shorter segments by putting different parts of the paper,
such as chapters, into separate files, and "troffing" them separately.
You can use troff's -n option, shown in one of the examples above, to
inform troff that the file starts with a page number other than 1.
The output canister has a capacity of about 14 feet, including leader
and trailer. For jobs requiring more than this length of paper (about
13 standard-size pages), you must use troff's -sN option. This tells
troff to interrupt processing after every N pages to allow the operator
to change the output canister. Here is an example:
% troff -ms -Q -s12 textfile
PROBLEMS WITH FINISHED OUTPUT
You will receive UNIX mail when your typeset output is ready. You can
then pick it up at the input/output counter, room B6 Evans. On occa-
sion, a problem with the typesetter or developer may arise which will
require that a job be retypeset. You may receive notification more
than once that the job was typeset. If this happens, the operator will
attach a refund form to the job for which the output was ruined. Sim-
ply complete this form and turn it in at the Customer Service Window,
room B4 Evans, between 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday.
Other requests for refunds due to hardware or operator errors (for ex-
ample, light leaks and exposure problems in your output) should also be
presented at the Customer Service Window. The UNIX consultants can ac-
cept requests for refunds for documentation or system software errors.
If you're not sure which kind of error it is, come to the Consulting
Office, 262 Evans Hall. You can pick up Request for Refund forms at
either the Consulting Office or the Customer Service Window.
It is very difficult to predict exactly when the typesetter will need a
new roll of photographic paper. Occasionally it will run out of paper
in the middle of a long job. In this case, one or two pages in the
middle of the job will be missing. You will receive a note asking you
to request a refund for just the missing page(s) and to submit a new
job to typeset them. In the interest of not overloading the system, we
encourage users whenever possible to place the text for the missing
pages temporarily in a separate file and troff that file, rather than
using the -o option to troff. (See a UNIX consultant if you'd like ad-
vice about this.) If a short job is running when the typesetter runs
out of paper, it will be restarted.
SOME OTHER NOTES
To list the typesetter queue, use the command "trq". The command
"trrm" removes an item from the queue. See the manual writeups trq(1)
and trrm(1) for further explanation. From remote machines, trq and
trrm are automatically sent to the typesetter machine via the network.
You will receive a new prompt as soon as the trq or trrm request enters
the network queue, but output will be delayed by transmittal to the
typesetter machine and back.
Certain troff errors, but not all errors, will prevent a job from being
queued. You should preview a job with "troff -a", or with "tc" on the
Tektronix terminal, before entering it into the typesetter queue.
FURTHER INFORMATION FOR USERS ON REMOTE MACHINES
The network has a limit of 500,000 characters per transmission, and
jobs longer than 200,000 characters are held until after midnight.
This limitation applies to troff output, which is generally longer than
the source files. This network limit should not present a serious
problem, however, in view of the 35-page limit on typesetter jobs dis-
cussed above.
When the job has been transmitted across the network to UNIX A and
placed in the typesetter queue there, a confirmation is sent back
across the network by UNIX mail to the user. This report contains the
temporary file name of the job and its length in feet of typesetter pa-
per. If an error prevented the job from entering the queue on the
typesetter machine, mail to that effect will be returned.
Use the command "trrm" to remove a job from the typesetter queue. Trrm
looks at the machine of origin as well as the login name in determining
ownership. You must execute trrm on the same machine from which you
submitted the job.
SEE ALSO:
"Document Formatting on UNIX Using the -ms Macros"; "A Troff Tutorial";
troff(1), tc(1), trq(1), trrm(1), net(1), and netq(1) in the UNIX
Programmer's Manual, and "help versatec".
-jkk,wst
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