Inside Macintosh: Imaging With QuickDraw /

Appendix B - Using Picture Comments for Printing

This appendix describes the picture comments predefined by Apple Computer, Inc., for its PostScript printers and several of its QuickDraw printers (including the LaserWriter SC, ImageWriter LQ, and StyleWriter printers). This appendix introduces you to the use of picture comments for printing with features that are unavailable with QuickDraw alone.

For most applications, sending QuickDraw's picture-drawing routines to the printer driver is sufficient: the driver either uses QuickDraw or converts QuickDraw routines to PostScript code. See the chapter "Printing Manager" in this book for information about QuickDraw-based printing. For some applications, such as page-layout programs, QuickDraw-based printing may not be sufficient; such applications may rely on printer drivers--such as PostScript printer drivers--to provide features that are not available, or are difficult to achieve, using QuickDraw.

For PostScript printers, one solution is for your application to send PostScript code directly to the printer driver, but this approach requires you to know the PostScript language as well as QuickDraw. If your application requires features (such as rotated text and dashed lines) that are unavailable with QuickDraw, you may instead want to use picture comments to take advantage of these features on capable printers. Created with the QuickDraw procedure PicComment, picture comments are data or commands for special processing by output devices such as printer drivers. The PicComment procedure is introduced in the chapter "Pictures" in this book and is expanded upon in this appendix.

IMPORTANT

The picture comments supported by Apple printer drivers are described on page B-9. However, it is impossible to determine which picture comments are supported by the current printer driver.

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Appendix Contents

About Picture Comments

Maintaining Device Independence

Synchronizing QuickDraw and PostScript Printer Drivers

Using Text Picture Comments

Disabling and Reenabling Line Layout

Delimiting Strings

Rotating Text

Using Graphics Picture Comments

Drawing Polygons

Rotating Graphics

Using Line-Drawing Picture Comments

Drawing Dashed Lines

Using Fractional Line Widths

Using PostScript Picture Comments

Calling PostScript Routines Directly

Optimizing PostScript Printing

Picture Comments to Avoid

Including Constants and Data Types for Picture Comments