47
MODULAR SMART SWITCH
<PM CONNECT port SOFTWARE:DISABLE>
9.2.6 R
EMOVING
L
INE
F
EEDS AT
E
ND OF
S
OFTWARE
C
OMMANDS
When programming applications such as DBASE to automatically send data to
a specific printer, you might want to remove linefeed and carriage-return
characters that are automatically inserted by the application at the end of the
software command. To do this, add an “ignore” instruction to the software
command as follows:
<PM CONNECT port IGNORE>
When the Modular Smart Switch receives such an instruction, it will delete
the line feed (CR or LF or both) following the software command.
9.3 Clear Command
The clear command allows a computer to delete any data that has been sent
into the Modular Smart Switch that has not yet been printed. As with all
software commands, this only affects the data from the computer that sends
the command. The format is:
<PM CLEAR>
9.4 End-of-File Command
Sending the end-of-file command terminates the present input file. It is used
when the timeout option has been set “off,” since it will allow other
computers access to the printer. If multiple copies are required, the end-of-
file command indicates the end of the document. A new command will also
automatically terminate the present input file. The format used for the end-
of-file command is as follows:
<PM EOF>
9.5 Creating Batch Files to Send Commands (IBM Compatible PCs)
On IBM compatible PCs, batch files are a convenient way to send commonly
used software commands. To create batch files, proceed as follows:
At the DOS prompt, type:
COPY CON: {name}.TXT [enter]
<PM CONNECT {channel number} >[function key 6]
46
MODULAR SMART SWITCH
9.2.4 V
ARYING THE
T
IMEOUT
P
ERIOD
The timeout sets the length of time that the output port remains dedicated
to the input port once the incoming data has ceased. It can be set to any
number of seconds between 1 and 255, or it can be switched off. With the
timeout off, the output channel remains constantly dedicated to the input
channel until an end of file command (see
Section 9.4
), or a new connect
command is sent. The timeout remains as set until it is changed again,
or the Modular Smart Switch is powered off.
To change the timeout, a connect command is sent with the timeout
option specified after the required destination port, as follows:
<PM CONNECT port TIMEOUT:value>
The timeout value is either a number 1 to 255 or the word OFF.
For example, if a computer requires uninterrupted use of the printer
connected to port 1 until further notice, the command below would be sent:
<PM CONNECT 1 TIMEOUT:OFF>
9.2.5 D
ISABLING
S
OFTWARE
C
OMMANDS
When communicating with another computer using a file-transfer protocol
such as that used by Laplink or Xmodem, you can temporarily turn off the
command interpretation while files are being transferred. This is because
some of these protocols expect a checksum character to be sent back as an
acknowledgement after a block of data has been sent. If this character
happens to be the start character (<) of a software command, a delay can
occur that may cause the transfer software to time out. To make sure that
this does not happen, you can set the Modular Smart Switch to ignore
software commands during file transfer. To do this, use the “software sleep”
command. Once a “software sleep” command has been sent, the Modular
Smart Switch will not interpret new commands until the data transfer has
timed out. This will occur after no data has been sent for the timeout period.
To set “software sleep” mode, send the following command:
<PM CONNECT port SOFTWARE:SLEEP>
To restore normal software command interpretation, send the following
command when the data has timed out.
<PM CONNECT port SOFTWARE:ENABLE>
Software command interpretation can also be permanently disabled using
the following command. Once this command has been issued, no software
commands will be interpreted until the Modular Smart Switch has been reset
(by switching the power off).