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View Full Version : Transfer commands to plotter(LPT)



JSoftware
29-01-2005, 05:46 PM
I've just gotten a plotter which was about to get scrapped. it came with a old(!) computer which contained autocad 3.1 which was used to draw and plot the drawing to the plotter.

Now i've found out that this plotter uses hpgl to plot and i read up on it. now i think i could write a delphi application that would be a little easier to use than this old pile of **** that the plotter came with. i can generate the code in a propper way that the plotter understands but then:

How do i send all this information to the plotter?
it's just plain text that i generate.. do anybody know anything on this "Language" hpgl?

regards Jeppe
ps. i don't know if my explaination was proper but i didn't have much time to write this..

JSoftware
30-01-2005, 12:41 PM
is figured out! :D

{MSX}
30-01-2005, 01:10 PM
is figured out! :D

How did you do that ?

WILL
30-01-2005, 01:10 PM
Nice Job! ;)

Maybe you could tell us the results? Someone else down the road might benifit from it... maybe...?

JSoftware
30-01-2005, 01:32 PM
i forgot an old friend of mine who was in the possion of the answer... (*cough*google*cough*) :oops:


var f: textfile;
begin
assignprn(f);
rewrite(f);
writeln(f,'IN;PD;PA10,10;PU;');
closefile(f);
end;


now i just need to find out why it doesn't work.. it transfers the commands properly but the plotter won't understand it.. atleast i think so. do you know if i could need some sort of string terminator?

Regards
Jeppe

TheLion
30-01-2005, 10:27 PM
does that still work in Windows 2000/XP ?

The reason I ask is that Win2000/XP is very grumpy when it comes to ports! ;)

WILL
31-01-2005, 12:36 AM
The reason I ask is that Win2000/XP is very grumpy when it comes to ports! ;)
Oh a nice little library called 'ZLPortIO' can help with that. ;) Not sure about the website... jsut google for it.

JSoftware
31-01-2005, 05:52 AM
does that still work in Windows 2000/XP ?

The reason I ask is that Win2000/XP is very grumpy when it comes to ports! ;)

if you add Printers to your uses clause then it's possible :wink:

Regards
Jeppe

Lightning
02-02-2005, 10:22 AM
Nice, i also used ZLPortIO for hardware access, it's an excellent fast and easy-to-use library that uses an extremly small .sys file for NT+ systems, you can access any hardware resource with it.