vtprint.man





VTPRINT(1)		  User Commands		       VTPRINT(1)



NAME
     vtprint - print files from	UNIX host to printer attached  to
     local terminal

SYNOPSIS
     vtprint [ -bBcCdDeEfFhlnNqQtvw ] [	 -L  vtprintcap	 ]  [  -T
     termtype ]	[ -V device ] [	filename...  ]

DESCRIPTION
     vtprint is	a simple filter	 that  prints  ASCII  text  to	a
     printer  connected	 to  a terminal	or terminal emulator.  It
     uses terminal escape sequences to print, and can  substitute
     for  lpr(1)  in  circumstances where the printer is not con-
     nected directly to	the host or available via TCP/IP.

OPTIONS
     -b	  Causes vtprint to open  the  output  stream  in  binary
	  modes,  overriding any automatic postprocessing done by
	  the host (e.g. CR/LF translations).  This has	no effect
	  if the output	stream is not a	tty device.

     -B	  Undoes the effect of the -b  option.	 Note  that  this
	  does	not  open  the	output	stream in text mode if it
	  would	not normally be	opened in that mode.

     -c	  Causes vtprint to append any linefeeds (ASCII	0xA) with
	  carriage  returns  (ASCII  0xD).   This  is  useful for
	  printing data	from a UNIX or similiar	host to	an MS-DOS
	  system's printer that	expects	CR/LF line termination.

     -C	  Causes  vtprint  to  pass  all  carriage  returns   and
	  linefeeds unmodified.

     -d	  Use the tty device file instead of stdout  for  output.
	  This	is  defined  as	/dev/tty on this system. (This is
	  operating system specific and	may vary from  system  to
	  system.)  This  is  useful  for using	vtprint	as a pipe
	  called by programs that suppress or redirect the stdout
	  stream of the	pipe or	printing process.

     -D	  Use the stdout stream	for output,  rather  than  a  tty
	  device file.

     -e	  Forces vtprint to ignore the TERM environment	 variable
	  and use the builtin control codes instead.

     -E	  Undoes the  effect  of  the  -e  option,  which  allows
	  vtprint    to	   attempt    to   find	  an   entry   in
	  /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap for	 the  TERM  value
	  and use the corresponding control codes.

     -f	  Requests vtprint to  suppress	 inclusion  of	formfeeds



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VTPRINT(1)		  User Commands		       VTPRINT(1)



	  (ASCII 0xC) between multiple files.  Note that this has
	  no affect on any formfeeds that may be present  in  the
	  input	files already.

     -F	  Requests vtprint to include formfeeds	between	 multiple
	  files	 specified  on the command-line	and at the end of
	  the last file	printed.

     -h	  Print	out a simple usage message.

     -l	  Print	out the	vtprint	license	agreement.

     -L	vtprintcap
	  Specifies  an	 alternate  file  to   use   instead   of
	  /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap.

     -n	  Causes  vtprint  to  strip  the  CR  from   any   CR/LF
	  sequences.   This  will  not affect handling of any CRs
	  present elsewhere in the file.

     -N	  Causes  vtprint  to  pass  all  carriage  returns   and
	  linefeeds unmodified.

     -q	  Quiet	mode.	Suppress  various  status  messages  from
	  being	 displayed, useful in situations where vtprint is
	  used as part of a shell script, for example.

     -Q	  Cancels the effect of	the -q	option,	 allowing  normal
	  progress reporting to	occur.

     -t	  Force	the use	of the TERM variable to	perform	a look up
	  of	the    control	  sequences   to   be	used   in
	  /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap.  If an entry in that
	  file can't be	found, vtprint will abort with an error.

     -T	termtype
	  Use the value	of termtype instead of the value  of  the
	  TERM	environment  variable  when performing lookups in
	  /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap.

     -v	  Display version information.

     -V	device
	  Specifies an alternate device	file instead of	 /dev/tty
	  to use.

     -w	  Display important warranty waiver information.  NO WAR-
	  RANTY!

     --	  This option changes no special  operational  parameters
	  of  vtprint.	But  it	does indicate to the program that
	  all of the command-line arguments which follow  are  to



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VTPRINT(1)		  User Commands		       VTPRINT(1)



	  be parsed as filenames, even if they begin with a dash.
	  Hence	to process a single file with the name "file" you
	  would	call vtprint as	" vtprint  --  -file".

ENVIRONMENT
     TERM the type of the terminal vtprint will	assume	is  being
	  used.

     VTPRINT
	  string of options to be used by vtprint.

AUTHOR
     vtprint was written by Garrett D'Amore, on	December 27, 1993
     and  last	modified  on  October  25,  1994.   It is heavily
     derived from a similar program, called lprint, by	the  same
     author.	He   can   be  reached	via  Internet  e-mail  at
     garrett@sciences.sdsu.edu.

DISTRIBUTION
     The latest	version	of vtprint can be obtained  by	anonymous
     ftp  at  ftp.sdsu.edu in the /pub/vtprint directory.  Please
     read the INDEX and	README files before downloading.

     If	you do not have	ftp availability, then you can request	a
     uuencoded copy of vtprint be sent to you via e-mail from the
     author.  The author is also willing to make  other	 arrange-
     ments as needed, within certain limitations.

MAILING	LIST
     A mailing list for	the discussion of topics related  to  and
     about  vtprint  exists.   To subscribe to this mailing list,
     send a message to "vtprint-request@sdsu.edu" with	the  word
     "subscribe"  as  the  body.   An  automated list server will
     reply with	information about the mailing list.

COPYRIGHT
     vtprint is	copyrighted 1994, by Garrett D'Amore.  It may  be
     freely  redistributed  or	modified, so long as this and any
     other copyright notices are included in their original  form
     with the program.	The user is granted the	right to use this
     program without limitation.

DISCLAIMER
     vtprint is	provided WITHOUT WARRANTY.  The	 user  agrees  to
     indemnify the author from any claims of damage or loss aris-
     ing from the use of or inability to use  this  program.   In
     other words, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

CAVEATS
     vtprint cannot  be	 used  to  print  files	 containing  non-
     printable	characters, as these may cause conflicts with the
     terminal or emulator used.



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VTPRINT(1)		  User Commands		       VTPRINT(1)



     When used over a serial (modem) connection, vtprint may  not
     work  properly  unless  hardware  (CTS/RTS)  flow control is
     used.  This is due	to the fact that most printers are slower
     than serial connections in	common use.

     vtprint uses terminal escape sequences to print, and not all
     terminal  emulators  support  these  sequences, and of those
     that do, some support it differently.  You	can find a  list-
     ing  of  some  of the programs known to work and not to work
     with vtprint in the file COMPAT. The best thing to	do is try
     your  particular  emulator,  and  find out	if it works.  The
     author would appreciate any reports of success  or	 failure,
     or	strange	behavior.  You can send	those to him via Internet
     e-mail.  (See the AUTHOR chapter for how to reach him.)

     The /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap file	is still  largely
     incomplete.   The	author	would  very much appreciate it if
     individuals with more information different terminals  would
     get  in  contact  with  him so that support can be	added for
     these terminals in	the master archive.

     Do	not background this program, as	it has no way of  knowing
     when  it  is  in  the background and when it is in	the fore-
     ground.  This will	result in your foreground process' output
     being printed as well as the output from vtprint.

FILES
     /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap

TODOS
     Fix any bugs present, clean-up the	 documentation,	 continue
     to	   build    upon    entries    in    the    COMPAT    and
     /usr/local/lib/vtprint/vtprintcap files, and  finally,  fin-
     ish getting a college education!

BUGS
     vtprint doesn't handle some signals properly, especially the
     SIGKILL  and  SIGSTOP signals, which can't	be caught anyway.
     Also it doesn't check to see if you  have	backgrounded  the
     process.	The  resulting	condition  may	leave  all output
     directed to the printer instead of	the screen.  The fix  for
     this  condition is	to run the provided vtprtoff program with
     no	arguments, which will restore normal screen output.  (You
     probably  won't  be able to see what you're typing	while you
     start vtprtoff from the shell.)

SEE ALSO
     lpr(1), vtprintcap(5), vtprtoff(1)







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