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Printing from SheepShaver and BasiliskII

(Last updated March 17, 2015)

These instructions are based on the forum discussion here and are derived from the work by our forum member “emendelson”.

He posted the original instructions for printing to a shared printer here and the folder action script that prints a PostScript file here. The script that opens a PostScript file in Preview is a modification of that script.

 

About Desktop Printer Utility

The print setups described here (with the exception of PrintToPDF) require the Desktop Printer Utility, part of LaserWriter 8 software version 8.5.1 or later.

This software is installed by default with MacOS 8.1 or later. The Desktop Printer Utility is installed in the folder 'Apple LaserWriter Software' inside the folder 'Apple Extras'.

If your MacOS installation does not include the Desktop Printer Utility, you can download the LaserWriter 8 software installers here:

http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/laserwriter-driverssofts

Note 1: The Desktop Printer Utility must not be confused with the Apple Printer Utility that is also part of some editions of the LaserWriter software. You need to use the Desktop Printer Utility.

Note 2: Desktop printers may not work properly in MacOS 8.0. If you have 8.0 installed, update to 8.1.
(Download your Mac OS 8.1 updater from this Apple Support page. Scroll down on that page to find the appropriate language version.)

 
 
→ For printing in Windows hosts, proceed here. ←

Printing in OSX hosts (SheepShaver and BasiliskII)

Which setup to choose?

Setup 1 and 2 are easiest to set up, with setup 2 being the preferred better solution.

Setups 3, 4, and 5 are extensions of setup 2, each providing a different additional feature.

Setups 6 and 7 provide one-step printing but are more complex to set up.
Setup 6 is the one that is discussed most in the forum discussions.
Setup 7 should be best with older PostScript printers for which classic MacOS PPD files are available.

Note the pros and cons with each setup to help you choose the solution that suits you best.

Short description:
You install the PrintToPDF printer and select it as your printer in the Chooser. The printer prints to a PDF file that can be opened and printed on the OSX side.

Pros: Easy setup. All features of your printer can be used.
Cons: Only a limited number of fonts available.

Preparations:
Make sure the shared folder/Unix disk feature is set up correctly and the “Unix” disk appears on the MacOS desktop.

Create a folder in the shared folder where you will save the PDF file (e.g., a folder “PDF prints”).

Download the PrintToPDF extension here.

Setup:
After unstuffing the downloaded .sit archive, drop the PrintToPDF extension in MacOS onto the closed System Folder and click OK. The extension will be installed into the Extensions folder.

Open the Chooser, select PrintToPDF, close the Chooser window and confirm that you chose a new printer.

In the PrintToPDF page setup and print dialogs you can access preferences for the way fonts and images are handled, for maximum color depth and maximum resolution, and for a default output location. Set high maximum resolution and color depth values for best results. Choose for output location the folder (PDF prints) on the Unix disk that you created for this purpose in your shared folder.

When you 'print', you will in fact save a PDF file to the chosen output location. On the OSX side you can open this PDF and print it.

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that prints to a PostScript file that can be opened and printed on the OSX side as PDF.

Pros: Easy setup. Excellent print quality. All features of your printer can be used.
Cons:

Preparations:
Make sure the shared folder/Unix disk feature is set up correctly and the “Unix” disk appears on the MacOS desktop.

Create a folder in the shared folder where you will save the PostScript file (e.g., a folder “PS prints”).

Setup: (Note that the Chooser is not involved.)
Launch Desktop Printer Utility in Apple Extras:Apple LaserWriter Software.
(If Desktop Printer Utility is not in that folder, read “About Desktop Printer Utility” at the top of this page).

In the “New Desktop Printer” dialog, the drop-down menu at the top should show LaserWriter 8.
In the list of desktop printers, select “Translator (PostScript)” (in some versions “Converter (PostScript)”) and click OK.

In the next “Untitled 1” dialog you will see two “Change…” buttons and in later versions also one “Create…” button. Do not use the upper “Change” button. You can use the second “Change” button to set a default output location. Choose for output location the folder (PS prints) on the Unix disk that you created for this purpose in your shared folder.

After setting the default output location, click the “Create” button or, if no “Create” button is present, choose Save from the File menu. In the Save dialog the default location will be the desktop. Choose a name for your desktop printer, for instance “PrintToPS”, and click Save (“OK” in some versions). The printer will appear on the desktop.

To make sure that the printer is your default printer, select its icon. A “Printing” menu will appear in the menu bar. Choose “Set Default Printer” from that menu. A fat black lining around the desktop printer icon will indicate that it is your default printer.

The first time you print with this desktop printer, you need to set and save some specific settings for PostScript files. In the print dialog you will see a drop-down menu that starts with “General”. Choose from that menu “Save as File”. The settings should be, from top to bottom:

Format: PostScript Job
PostScript Level: Level 2 and 3
Data Format: ASCII
Font Inclusion: All

Click “Save Settings” in the bottom left corner of the dialog and click OK.

Print to PostScript file:
Now you can start printing by saving the PS file. Click the Save button in the print dialog. In the following Save dialog the default location will be the “PS prints” folder that you chose as output location while setting up the desktop printer. Make sure you preserve the .ps extension if you change the file name. Save the file.

On the OSX side you can open this PS file in Preview. Preview will convert and open it as PDF. You can print this PDF and you can save the PDF if you want to keep it.

(If no other software is installed that claims PS files, simple double clicking the PS file will open it in Preview.)

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that can print to a PostScript file as in setup 2. In the shared folder you create a 'Preview' folder with a folder action script attached to it that will automatically open a PS file that is saved to that folder as PDF in OSX Preview. The original PS file will be deleted.

Pros: Automated preview. Excellent print quality. All features of your printer can be used.
Cons: (Preview will not be visible while the emulator is running in full-screen mode.)

Preparations:
Make sure the shared folder/Unix disk feature is set up correctly and the “Unix” disk appears on the MacOS desktop.

Create a folder in the shared folder (e.g., a folder “Preview”) where you will save the PostScript file and that you will attach the folder action script to.

Setup in MacOS:
Set up a desktop printer as described above in 2: Printing to a PostScript file. Only this time choose the newly created Preview folder on the Unix disk for default output location. When you have completed that setup, including setting and saving the settings for PostScript files in the print dialog, you can proceed with the setup in OSX below.

Setup in OSX:
Install folder action scripts:
- Download the folder action print scripts here and unzip the file.
- In OSX Tiger (10.4) or Leopard (10.5): Move the two script files into the folder /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/
- In OSX Snow Leopard (10.6) or later: Move the two script files into the folder ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/

~/Library is the Library folder in your Home folder.
In Lion and later the ~/Library folder may be hidden. You can access the ~/Library folder in the Finder through the Go menu while holding the Option key.
An OSX upgrade to Lion or later will move user installed scripts from /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/ to ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/, thus breaking the links between folders and scripts. The scripts will need to be attached again to the folders.

Attach folder action in Tiger (10.4):
- Right-click (or Control-click) on the Preview folder in the shared folder
- From the contextual menu choose Enable Folder Actions
- Again right-click (or Control-click) on the Print folder
- From the contextual menu choose Attach a Folder Action… (not Configure Folder Actions…)
- A Open dialog will appear that defaults to the Folder Action Scripts folder
- Select the file “Preview PostScript file.scpt” and click “Choose”

You can change, edit, disable, remove, etc. folder actions in Folder Action Setup. Open its window by choosing Configure Folder Actions… from the contextual menu on a folder in the Finder.

Attach folder action in Leopard (10.5):
- Right-click (or Control-click) on the Preview folder in the shared folder
- From the contextual menu choose More > Enable Folder Actions
- Again right-click (or Control-click) on the Print folder
- From the contextual menu choose More > Attach a Folder Action… (not Configure Folder Actions…)
- A Open dialog will appear that defaults to the Folder Action Scripts folder
- Select the file “Preview PostScript file.scpt” and click “Choose”

You can change, edit, disable, remove, etc. folder actions in Folder Action Setup. Open its window by choosing More > Configure Folder Actions… from the contextual menu on a folder in the Finder.

Attach folder action in Snow Leopard (10.6) or later:
- Right-click (or Control-click) on the Preview folder in the shared folder
- From the contextual menu choose Services > Folder Actions Setup… (If Folder Actions Setup… does not appear in the Services menu, see instructions below.)
- The Folder Actions Setup window will open with a dropped down list of installed folder action scripts to choose from. Select “Preview PostScript file.scpt” and click “Attach”
- Make sure that in the upper left corner of the Folder Actions Setup window the box “Enable Folder Actions” is checked.
- Close the Folder Actions Setup window

You can change, edit, disable, remove, etc. folder actions in Folder Action Setup. Open its window without attaching another script by choosing Services > Folder Actions Setup… from the contextual menu on a folder in the Finder and clicking Cancel in the dropped down list of scripts.

If Folder Actions Setup… does not appear in the Services menu, first follow these steps to enable this service:
- In the Finder choose from the Finder menu Services > Services Preferences… (it will be at the bottom of the sub-menu)
- System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts will open with Services selected at the left
- At the right, find “Files and Folders” and somewhere below it “Folder Actions Setup…”. Check the box next to “Folder Actions Setup…”.
- Close the System Preferences window.

Print to Preview folder:
With the print to PostScript desktop printer set up and with the Preview PostScript file script attached to the Preview folder, you can now print in MacOS to the Preview folder. Click the Save button in the print dialog. In the following Save dialog the default location will be the Preview folder that you chose as output location while setting up the desktop printer. Make sure you preserve the .ps extension if you change the file name. Save the file.

After a while, Preview on the OSX side will automatically convert and open the PS file as PDF. You can print this PDF and you can save the PDF if you want to keep it. The original PS file will be deleted.

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that can print to a PostScript file as in setup 2. In the shared folder you create a 'Print' folder with a folder action script attached to it that will automatically print a PS file that is saved to that folder. The PS file itself will be deleted.

Pros: Automated printing of the PS file.
Cons: Though deviations may be small, size of margins and page content will not be printed exactly as intended.

Preparations:
Make sure the shared folder/Unix disk feature is set up correctly and the “Unix” disk appears on the MacOS desktop.

Create a folder in the shared folder (e.g., a folder “Print”) where you will save the PostScript file and that you will attach the folder action script to.

Setup in MacOS:
Set up a desktop printer as described above in 2: Printing to a PostScript file. Only this time choose the newly created Print folder on the Unix disk for default output location. When you have completed that setup, including setting and saving the settings for PostScript files in the print dialog, you can proceed with the setup in OSX below.

Setup in OSX:
Install folder action scripts:
Follow the instructions in setup 3.
No need to install the scripts again if you already did.

Attach folder action:
Follow the instructions in setup 3.
Only now start with the “Print” folder and attach folder action script “Print PostScript file.scpt”.

Print to Print folder:
With the print to PostScript desktop printer set up and with the Print PostScript file script attached to the Print folder, you can now print in MacOS to the Print folder. Click the Save button in the print dialog. In the following Save dialog the default location will be the Print folder that you chose as output location while setting up the desktop printer. Make sure you preserve the .ps extension if you change the file name. Save the file.

After a while, your default printer on the OSX side will start printing. The PS file itself will be deleted.

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that can print to a PostScript file as in setup 2. In the shared folder you create a 'Convert' folder with a folder action script attached to it that will automatically convert a PS file that is saved to that folder to PDF and will save both the original PS and the PDF file.

Pros: PDF is saved automatically for later viewing, printing, and sharing. Excellent print quality. All features of your printer can be used.
Cons:

Preparations:
Make sure the shared folder/Unix disk feature is set up correctly and the “Unix” disk appears on the MacOS desktop.

Create a folder in the shared folder (e.g., a folder “Convert”) where you will save the PostScript file and that you will attach the folder action script to.

Setup in MacOS:
Set up a desktop printer as described above in 2: Printing to a PostScript file. Only this time choose the newly created Convert folder on the Unix disk for default output location. When you have completed that setup, including setting and saving the settings for PostScript files in the print dialog, you can proceed with the setup in OSX below.

Setup in OSX:
Folder action script:
No folder action script needs to be installed. Apple provides the script “convert - PostScript to PDF.scpt” with the OSX installation.

Attach folder action:
Follow the instructions in setup 3.
Only now start with the Convert folder and attach folder action script “convert - PostScript to PDF.scpt”.

Print to Convert folder:
With the print to PostScript desktop printer set up and with the convert - PostScript to PDF script attached to the Convert folder, you can now print in MacOS to the Convert folder. Click the Save button in the print dialog. In the following Save dialog the default location will be the Convert folder that you chose as output location while setting up the desktop printer. Make sure you preserve the .ps extension if you change the file name. Save the file.

On the OSX side the PS file will be converted to PDF and both PS and PDF files will be saved. You will find the files in your Convert folder in your shared folder, respectively in a folder “Original Files” and a folder “PDF Files”.

Tip: Combine the above desktop printer setups

Create a desktop printer as in setup 2, that saves by default to a “PS print” folder in the shared folder.

Create 'Preview', 'Print', and 'Convert' folders inside the “PS print” folder and attach the corresponding folder action scripts to those folders as described in setups 3, 4, and 5.

You can now use all possibilities of setups 3, 4, and 5 with one single desktop printer. When you print, the Save dialog will open by default in the “PS print” folder, where you can choose either one of the three folders to save the PS file:

- Save to the 'Print' folder for quick printing.
- Save to the 'Preview' folder for a preview, for best print quality, and for access to all your printer's features.
- Save to the 'Convert' folder for later viewing and printing, for best print quality, and for access to all your printer's features.

For SheepShaver on Intel only!
This setup will only work with SheepShaver (not with BasiliskII) and only in Leopard (10.5) and later on Intel Mac.

This setup may also not work in some OSX configurations (reported specifically in a fresh OSX 10.8 installation), while in MacOS the LPR printer setup verification will fail.

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that will print to the IP Address of the host and on the host you will setup a printer to be shared. You will be able to print directly to the shared printer.
(For simplicity, we will use the IP Address of the slirp router, which also refers to the host.)

Pros: One-step printing.
Cons: Though deviations may be small, size of margins and page content will not be printed exactly as intended.

Setup:
This is a description of the setup for OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and later. Setup for Leopard (10.5) will be similar.

Preparations:
1. Make sure that SheepShaver can use networking: Ethernet Interface set to “slirp” in SheepShaver preferences and MacOS TCP/IP control panel set to Ethernet and DHCP.

2. OSX Firewall Stealth Mode needs to be disabled during setup. It is disabled by default, but you may have enabled it. Stealth Mode blocks setup but does not interfere with printing. If you wish, you can again enable it after setup.
In Snow Leopard (10.6): System Preferences > Security > Firewall > Advanced
In Lion (10.7) and later: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options
(Note that this setting is only accessible with the Firewall turned on.)

3. You need to share the printer you want to use.
- Open OSX System Preferences > Sharing
- Check the box next to Printer Sharing
- With Printer Sharing selected, check the box next to the printer you want to use

4. The LPD protocol needs to be enabled in CUPS server. It is usually not enabled by default.
- Direct your web-browser in OSX to the CUPS Administration page: http://localhost:631/admin/
(If cups web interface happens to be not enabled, you will be instructed to do cupsctl WebInterface=yes in Terminal first)
- Below the header “Server”, click on the button “Edit configuration file”
- Find the line that starts with: “BrowseLocalProtocols” and note the protocols in that line
- With printer sharing enabled, at least protocol “dnssd” will be enabled
- If “lpd” is missing, add it to the line. The line may then read:

BrowseLocalProtocols cups dnssd lpd

- Click the button “Save changes” and enter your administrator user name and password
- The CUPS server restarts and you will be back at the Administration page

5. You will need the print queue name during setup in MacOS.
- Direct your web-browser in OSX to the CUPS Printers page: http://localhost:631/printers/
- You will see a list of your printers, sorted by queue name
(The queue name is usually the printer's name or description with spaces replaced by underscores.)
- Copy the queue name of the printer you want to use (including possible leading or trailing underscores)
- Also write the queue name down on paper to make sure you have it available if pasting fails

Printer setup in MacOS: (Note that the Chooser is not involved.)
Launch Desktop Printer Utility in Apple Extras:Apple LaserWriter Software.
(If Desktop Printer Utility is not in that folder, read “About Desktop Printer Utility” at the top of this page).

In the “New Desktop Printer” dialog, the drop-down menu at the top should show LaserWriter 8.
In the list of desktop printers, select “Printer (LPR)” (in some versions “Internet Printer” or “TCP/IP Printer”) and click OK.

In the next “Untitled 1” dialog you will see two “Change…” buttons and in later versions also one “Create…” button. Click the second “Change…” button.

In the Internet Printer dialog enter for Printer Address: 10.0.2.2, then click in the second (Queue) box and paste (or type manually) the print queue name you copied earlier.

Now click the Verify button. If the printer is found at the address 10.0.2.2, click OK.
(If the printer cannot be verified, you cannot proceed. Try and start again, making sure you got all steps right.)

If a “Create” button is present, click that button. If no “Create” button is present, choose Save from the File menu.

In the Save dialog the default location will be the desktop and the default name for the printer will be “10.0.2.2” (you can choose a different name if you wish).

Click Save (“OK” in some versions). The printer will appear on the desktop.

To make sure that the printer is your default printer, select its icon. A “Printing” menu will appear in the menu bar. Choose “Set Default Printer” from that menu. A fat black lining around the desktop printer icon will indicate that it is your default printer.

Print to the shared printer:
Now you should be able to print directly to the shared printer. Expect a (much) longer delay than you are used to before the printer reacts, especially with large files.

Short description:
You set up a desktop printer that will print directly from MacOS to the IP Address of your PostScript printer, bypassing OSX.

Pros: One-step printing. Best quality and all features of the printer available if used with an older PS printer for which a MacOS compatible Printer Description (PPD) file can be installed.
Cons: (Will work only with PostScript printers.)

Setup:

Preparations:
1. Older PostScript printers can be configured as either AppleTalk printer or IP printer. For this setup your printer needs to be configured as IP printer. (See your printer's manual.)

2. The printer should be on and connected to your network with a static IP Address.

3. Note the printer's IP Address and the printer's print queue name. You will need to enter those during printer setup in MacOS.

4. Make sure that SheepShaver/BasiliskII can use networking: Ethernet Interface set to “slirp” in SheepShaver preferences or BasiliskIIGUI and MacOS TCP/IP control panel set to Ethernet and DHCP.

5. Any PostScript printer can be used with the “Generic” printer (see below), but if you can install a PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file for your printer that is compatible with LaserWriter 8 and the MacOS version in SheepShaver/BasiliskII, you will have access to all features of your printer. For older PostScript printers such PPD files are usually available, for even older printers the PPD files may already be installed with the MacOS. PPD files are installed in System Folder:Extensions:Printer Descriptions.

Printer setup in MacOS: (Note that the Chooser is not involved.)
Launch Desktop Printer Utility in Apple Extras:Apple LaserWriter Software.
(If Desktop Printer Utility is not in that folder, read “About Desktop Printer Utility” at the top of this page).

In the “New Desktop Printer” dialog, the drop-down menu at the top should show LaserWriter 8.
In the list of desktop printers, select “Printer (LPR)” (in some versions “Internet Printer” or “TCP/IP printer”) and click OK.

In the next “Untitled 1” dialog you will see two boxes, each with a “Change…” button next to it. In later versions there will also be a “Create…” button.

Click “Change…” next to the “PostScript Printer Description (PPD) File” box, select your printer in the file dialog and click Select. Your printer will appear in the first box. If the PPD file for your printer is not in the list in the file dialog, click Cancel or Generic.

Click “Change…” next to the second box. In the Internet Printer dialog enter for Printer Address the IP Address of your printer and enter for Queue the print queue name of your printer.

Now click the Verify button. If the printer is found at the entered address, click OK.
(If the printer cannot be verified, you cannot proceed. Try and start again, making sure you got all steps right.)

Click the “Create” button or, if no “Create” button is present, choose Save from the File menu. In the Save dialog the default location will be the desktop and the default name for the printer will be the printer's IP Address (you can choose a different name if you wish). Click Save (“OK” in some versions). The printer will appear on the desktop.

To make sure that the printer is your default printer, select its icon. A “Printing” menu will appear in the menu bar. Choose “Set Default Printer” from that menu. A fat black lining around the desktop printer icon will indicate that it is your default printer.

If your printer has installable options (and its PPD file is present), you can also configure those options in the Printing menu.

Print to the PostScript network printer:
Now you should be able to print directly to your printer.

 

Printing in Windows hosts (SheepShaver and BasiliskII)

Short description:
You install the PrintToPDF printer and select it as your printer in the Chooser. The printer prints to a PDF file that can be opened and printed on the Windows side.

Pros: Easy setup.
Cons: Only a limited number of fonts available.

Preparations:
Make sure the “My Computer” icon on your Mac desktop is enabled (setting in SheepShaverGUI or BasiliskIIGUI).

Setup:
Find the PrintToPDF extension for download here

After unstuffing the .sit archive in MacOS, drop the PrintToPDF extension onto the closed System Folder and click OK. The extension will be installed into the Extensions folder.

Open the Chooser, select PrintToPDF, close the Chooser window and confirm that you chose a new printer.

In the PrintToPDF page setup and print dialogs you can access preferences for the way fonts and images are handled, for maximum color depth and maximum resolution, and for a default output location. Set high maximum resolution and color depth values for best results. Choose for output location a folder on “My Computer” that you created for this purpose in Windows.

When you 'print', you will in fact save a PDF file to the chosen output location. On the Windows side you can open this PDF with, e.g., Adobe Reader and print it.

Short description:
In MacOS you set up a desktop printer that prints to a PostScript file that can be opened for preview and then printed in Windows.

Pros: All normal printer properties available.
Cons: GSview registration “nag” screen.

Preparations:
Install Ghostscript and GSview in Windows:
Get Ghostscript from here: http://www.ghostscript.com/download/gsdnld.html
Get GSview from here: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/gsview/get50.htm

First install Ghostscript and then GSview, retaining the default installation paths. The Ghostscript installation will be used by GSview to convert PostScript files to a Windows-printable format. This happens in the background, you won't notice it happening.

Create a folder in Windows where you will save the PostScript print file (e.g., C:\SheepShaver\Prints).

Make sure the “My Computer” icon on your Mac desktop is enabled (setting in SheepShaverGUI or BasiliskIIGUI).

Setup in MacOS: (Note that the Chooser is not involved.)
Launch Desktop Printer Utility in Apple Extras:Apple LaserWriter Software.
(If Desktop Printer Utility is not in that folder, read “About Desktop Printer Utility” at the top of this page).

In the “New Desktop Printer” dialog, the drop-down menu at the top should show LaserWriter 8.
In the list of desktop printers, select “Translator (PostScript)” (in some versions “Converter (PostScript)”) and click OK.

In the next “Untitled 1” dialog you will see two “Change…” buttons and in later versions also one “Create…” button. Do not use the upper “Change” button. You can use the second “Change” button to set a default output location. Choose for output location on My Computer the folder (C:\SheepShaver\Prints) that you created for this purpose in Windows.

After setting the default output location, click the “Create” button or, if no “Create” button is present, choose Save from the File menu. In the Save dialog the default location will be the desktop. Choose a name for your desktop printer, for instance “PrintToPS”, and click Save (“OK” in some versions). The printer will appear on the desktop.

To make sure that the printer is your default printer, select its icon. A “Printing” menu will appear in the menu bar. Choose “Set Default Printer” from that menu. A fat black lining around the desktop printer icon will indicate that it is your default printer.

The first time you print with this desktop printer, you need to set and save some specific settings for PostScript files. In the print dialog you will see a drop-down menu that starts with “General”. Choose from that menu “Save as File”. The settings should be, from top to bottom:

Format: PostScript Job
PostScript Level: Level 2 and 3
Data Format: ASCII
Font Inclusion: All

Click “Save Settings” in the bottom left corner of the dialog and click OK.

Print to PostScript file:
Now you can start printing by saving the PS file. Click the Save button in the print dialog. In the following Save dialog the default location will be the folder that you chose as output location while setting up the desktop printer. You can choose a different location to save the file. Make sure you preserve the .ps extension if you change the file name. Save the file.

In Windows, double click the *.ps file. GSview will start and open a preview of the file you just saved. Click OK on the “nag” screen reminding you to register (registration is not required for the program to function normally). Then choose Print from the File menu to print the file to your standard printer. In the Print dialog, make sure “Windows GDI printer” is selected. You can set your normal printer properties by clicking Properties. When you are satisfied with the settings, click “OK” and the file will print.

Switching between these two printing systems

When a desktop printer is present, choosing PrintToPDF in the Chooser will add PrintToPDF as another desktop printer. You can choose the desktop printer you want to use by selecting its icon on the desktop and choosing “Set Default Printer” from the Printing menu (or hitting command-L).

3. Automating the Windows printing systems

Short description
In both Windows-based “printing” methods above, a file is saved to a location on your Windows host. You then need to open that file to be able to print it. This procedure can be automated by using a utility that monitors changes in folder content and then issues a command to start a program, open a file and print it. In this example we are using Directory Monitor 1.1.1.0.

Pros: The printing process can be “fully” automated, except for a confirmation action on GSview.
Cons: You loose control over printer settings and preview possibilities during the print process. Furthermore, even though the GSview tool is free to use it displays a “nag” screen every time it is invoked on which you have to click “OK”. Directory Monitor is not free and looses some functionality when you do not register.

Set up Directory Monitor:
Download from here: http://www.brutaldev.com/page/Directory-Monitor.aspx
When you download the portable version, you can try out the tool without installing it. (Recommended.)

Start Directory Monitor and click Add.
In the “Add new directory” dialog:
- At the “Directory” setting navigate to the folder where you save the .ps or .pdf files from Mac OS.
- At “Events”, select only “New files”.
- At “Execute” navigate to your installation of GSview (the default location is C:\Program Files\Ghostgum\gsview\gsview32.exe).
- To automatically start GSview with the file you saved from Mac OS, at “Parameters” enter only “%file%” (without the quotes).
- To automatically start GSview and print the file you saved from Mac OS, at “Parameters” enter “-p %file%” (without the quotes).

The parameters you can use to steer the behaviour of GSview can be found in the GSview help file, under Contents\Command Line Options.

It should work theoretically, but only few seem to have been able to make it work reliably in Windows.

The setup is identical to the one in OSX as described here.

We have a guide detailing the creation of serial cable connection with the help of a serial adapter here:

imagewriter_serial_cable_printing

sheepshaver_basilisk_printing.1522224446.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/03/28 01:07