30-Dec-2009

This distribution corrects an error with the previous upload where NPAR:
doesn't work unless it contains the line "EHandler = L:port-handler
instead of "Handler = L:port-handler". It needs the EHandler line if for use
with port-handler 41.6 by Stephan Rupprecht. "Handler = L:port-handler"
might work with OS3.9's port-handler 44.1, but I haven't tested that.



NPAR: summary:
-------------

Greetings,

I created this little dosdriver to solve the problem of how to use Guido
Mersman's netprinter.device for printing to a networked printer with IP
address when printing from Pagestream's own printer drivers.

Requires:
* netprinter.device ver. 1.14 by Guido Mersman, found at
  http://aminet.net/comm/tcp/NetPrinter.lha
* A real Amiga with ethernet hardware, or emulator such as EUAE.
* A TCP/IP stack, such as Genesis.
* Recommended: port-handler 41.6 (13/09/2000)
  © 1998-2000 by Stephan Rupprecht

- Tested with StarTech.com ethernet-to-parallel port print server.
- Tested with port-handler 41.6 (13/09/2000) © 1998-2000 by Stephan Rupprecht.
  Note that I have NOT (yet) tested this with the OS3.9 distribution/update of 
  Port-Handler 44.1 (29/08/1999).
- Tested with EUAE (intel version) running OS 3.9 on an iMac with Mac OS
  10.6.2 (Snow Leopard).
- Tested with a classic Amiga 3000/'030 with xSurf-3cc
  networking card, and OS3.9 with Genesis.


NPAR: is especially useful to enable printing with PageStream4 (ver.
4.1.5.6 30/01/2003) running in EUAE on the mac; Mac EUAE doesn't otherwise 
have any printer connectivity except through a networked printer with IP
address. Believe me that printing is fast when printing to a StarTech.com
ethernet/parallel port print server!

But it is also useful to accomplish the same thing on a real Amiga. The 
classic Amiga requires Genesis or some other TCP/IP client to be running 
in order to find bsdsocket.library, and the TCP/IP client must online in 
order to find network print server.

Simply mount NPAR: (simplest method is to copy it to your DEVS:DosDrivers
directory so it is mounted at startup), then in Pagestream printer setup
select "Send to Device" and enter the text "NPAR:" (without the quotes).

To use netprinter.device to print using Pagestream's own printer drivers,
go to the menu item "File/Print Setup..." and in the requester panel that
appears select "Send to" and set to "Device", then enter "NPAR:" in the
text gadget.

NPAR: is also useful for other uses where one one would normally use the
Amiga PAR: device. For example the shell command "copy printer.data to
PAR:" can be changed to "copy printer.data to NPAR:". Yet another example
of usage is to send ghostscript printer output to the printer via NPAR:
instead of PAR: (although I would recommend first directing ghostscript
output to a file, and then copying that printer data to NPAR: using the
shell command described).

A ready-made dosdriver for NPAR: is found in the dosdrivers drawer in this
archive, but here is the dosdriver content:

***START DOSDRIVER***

/* mountfile for printer direct data throughput to netprinter.device  */
/* instead of parallel port. Useful in Pagestream for "Send to NPAR:" */
/* $VER: NPAR: 1.1 (12.30.2009) by Ernest Unrau, Dec. 20, 2009.       */
/* Designed for use with port-handler 41.6 by Stephan Rupprecht       */

EHandler     = L:port-handler
Stacksize    = 10240
Priority     = 5
Device       = netprinter.device
Unit         = 0
Baud         = 0 /* set this to ZERO for parallel.devices */

#


***END DOSDRIVER***

Additional Notes:
----------------

Please take note of the dosdriver line, "EHandler = L:port-handler".
That difference has something to do with Stephan Rupprecht's port-handler
replacement for the OS3.9 version 44.1 of port-handler.
 
With Rupprecht's port-handler it must be "EHandler..." and not just 
"Handler = L:port-handler", although the latter may work with the OS3.9
and prior distributions of port-handler. Stephan describes but does not
explain this in his documentation: 

    When port-handler connects to a non-serial device (ie parallel or
    printer), the mountlist entry must look like this:
       
        PAR1:   EHandler  = L:Port-Handler
            Priority  = 5
            StackSize = 1024
            GlobVec   = 1
            Device    = <insert device name here>
            Unit      = <insert unit number here>
            Flags     = 0               
            Baud      = 0 ; IMPORTANT: Must be zero!
        #
 

Also from Stephan's port-handler documentation:

"KNOWN PROBLEMS
Don't try to mount an EHandler twice, this will crash Mount (it's not
a bug of port-handler)."



Direct comments or suggestions to:

Ernest Unrau
Morden, Manitoba
CANADA
email: ejunrau@mts.net


*********


History:
-------

30-Dec-2009: Version 1.1. Modified dosdriver handler line to be 
"EHandler = L:port-handler" instead of "Handler = L:port-handler".
Discovered that for some reason the latter configuration doesn't work.

09-Dec-2009: Version 1.0 uploaded to aminet.

 PERMSSN    UID  GID    PACKED    SIZE  RATIO METHOD CRC     STAMP          NAME
---------- ----------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- ------------ -------------
[generic]                  476     868  54.8% -lh5- 8b5c Dec 12 14:50 NetPrinter_NPAR.info
[generic]                  474     868  54.6% -lh5- 2b7a Dec  9 01:54 NetPrinter_NPAR/DosDrivers.info
[generic]                 1484    2278  65.1% -lh5- 1670 Dec  9 01:21 NetPrinter_NPAR/DosDrivers/NPAR.info
[generic]                 1834    2773  66.1% -lh5- 0de3 Dec  9 01:55 NetPrinter_NPAR/NPAR.readme.info
[generic]                  256     394  65.0% -lh5- 97ce Dec 30 01:56 NetPrinter_NPAR/DosDrivers/NPAR
[generic]                 2295    5340  43.0% -lh5- 8ed1 Dec 30 10:14 NetPrinter_NPAR/NPAR.readme
---------- ----------- ------- ------- ------ ---------- ------------ -------------
 Total         6 files    6819   12521  54.5%            Dec 31 22:03