Q. What is the purpose of Virtual Port
Monitor?
A. It produces raw printer output so that developers and end users
can operate on the single feature most programs
have;
the ability to print. By capturing the printer
output, several
possibilities exist:
1) Database applications.
2) Automatic imposition for printing plates.
3) Print previewing.
4) Printer control and management.
5) Delivery to a service bureau or quick
printer.
6) Data logging.
7) Printer driver testing.
8) Email automation.
9) Forwarding to a distilling or ripping
application.
The list goes on...
Q. I ran the installer. Now what?
A. First you must activate Virtual Port Monitor using the setup
application found in Start Menu | Programs | Alphatronics
|
Virtual Port Setup. Click the activate button. Click
Exit.
Now go to My Computer | Printers. Select menu Printer
| Properties.
Go to the details tab and click add port. Select Other,
then
select Alphatronics Virtual Port and click OK. A dialog
is
displayed allowing you to enter the port name. Enter
a port
name such as DISK:. Select the folder you would like
the resulting
printer output files saved. Additionally, you may
select a
post-print application. The application you select
will be executed
after processing is complete, appending the output
filename
to the command line and causes most applications to
perform the
"open" function on the file. This feature allows program
authors
to create programs that operate on printer files.
Click OK, then
OK in the Printer Properties. Now when you print to
that printer,
files will go to disk, being named automatically.
Q. Are there any features missing in the unregistered
version?
A. No. The only difference is the dialog after each print.
Q. If I purchase a registration number does
the nag screen go away?
A. Yes. You must enter your serial number, including dashes, during
setup.
Q. I tried to import the printer output into
a word processor and got
garbage. Am I doing something
wrong?
A. Most printer output is understood by printers only. The exception
to
this rule is if the printer driver is designed to
produce image data
or text. Standard Windows drivers do not produce image
data,
but the "Generic/Text Only" driver will produce text.
Also, graphic
design programs allow placement of EPS files. This
requires a
Postscript printer driver with the Postscript Output
Format
set to Encapsulated Postscript (EPS). This format
does not
produce a preview of the file and may not work as
expected.
Q. I don't want multiple files. I want my
printer output appended
to a single file to create a
multiple page file or log.
How can I accomplish this?
A. Available in our FTP area, is a free utility called CopyLog.exe.
Download it to your hard drive and configure your
Virtual Port
to use it as the post-print application. Running the
application
without parameters shows a help screen. In Virtual
Port Monitor,
the appendfile parameter is not required because it
is
automatically appended to the command line. An example
of the
post-print edit box is: C:\Windows\CopyLog.exe
/d C:\Output.ps
Q. My software is "hard wired" to print to
LPT1. Can I capture printer
output from LPT1..LPT4?
A. Yes, but if the physical port actually exists, the Windows port
monitor gets control of it before Virtual Port Monitor
can.
Simply disable the printer port in BIOS setup and
create a
Virtual Port called LPT1:.
Q. Does Virtual Port Monitor alter the data
emitted by the driver?
A. No. The resulting file is a binary copy of all data sent from
the
driver. Some drivers change their output based on
data collected
from the printer (i.e.: choose not to download fonts
installed in the
printer). Since a Virtual Port is not bi-directional,
this query
cannot be performed, so there may be a difference
in the data
output from the driver because of this.
Q. If I install Virtual Port Monitor on a
central server and share
printers using Virtual Ports,
do I have to purchase more
licenses?
A. No. The software is installed on one computer.
Q. Can the source code be purchased?
A. We are evaluating our market position on the matter.
We will consider reasonable offers. Please email us
with the details of your intentions.
Additional questions will be addressed via email at alphatronics@sprintmail.com
Back to the Virtual Port Monitor Page
This page updated 3/31/2000