J.E.Lawrie HINTS-14. v.2 Printer Check in Basic. Any Basic program which involves printing a Pipedream file e.g printing multiple copies, requires a check in the listing to ensure that the printer is `live'. This can take the form :- xxx PROCcheck . xxx DEF PROCcheck xxx IF GET(&E5) AND 1 THEN ENDPROC xxx CLS:P.TAB(nn,n)"PRINTER NOT READY - press any key when ready ":G=GET xxx CLS: ENDPROC Replicating in Pipedream If we wish to increase the number of empty columns or rows on first going into Pipedream it cannot be done immediately because the slot to be copied is empty. Yes, read that again! Well, try it. Take a NEW Pipedream page. You have columns A to F but you want one more. The cursor is in A1. Press <>BRE. On the top line put A1 and ENTER. Put B1G1 and ENTER and what have you got? Exactly what you had before! - no column G. Now, do it again, but press the spacebar first, i.e you have put a space in slot A1. O.K - NOW you have columns A to G. Similarly, if with a new Pipedream you wish to open up 100 rows you would replicate A1 with A2A100. You won't do if there is not even a "space" in A1. Just press the spacebar once and then it can be done. I have not seen this covered in any manual or book on the Z88. CLIs in Basic Programs Hints-3 referred to a CLI in a Basic program, using OSCLI. This very useful device is either ignored or badly/wrongly explained in the popular Z88 books AND the manual. Try this short program in Basic, even if you "don't like Basic`. Have your printer connected to the computer. 10 CLS | clears the screen 20 OSCLI("CLI #+P"):d=INKEY(0) | sends to the printer 30 PRINT "YOUR NAME" | prints on screen and paper 40 OSCLI("CLI #-P"):d=INKEY(0) | closes the printer link. If you put lines 20 and 40 in a Basic program, before and after any printing on screen, it will print out on paper You can do any relevant CLI operation in Basic but remember - always use d=INKEY(0) after an OSCLI statement. Also remember that everything between the brackets MUST be a string If, when you subsequently List the program it won't stop scrolling or there are other "funnies", check the right-hand side of the screen. If you see CLI there then press <> and ESC to clear it I must say that even the extremely good BBC BASIC (Z88) Reference Manual is not helpful on this subject. END Back to HINTS-INDEX