Unix text files are different than DOS text files. To begin a new line of text, Unix uses a line feed (LF) where DOS uses a LF plus a carriage return (CR).
Your Unix text stairsteps itself right off the page. A LaserJet printer with standard settings would print the file this way also, so we consider this behavior to be “correct”.
The easiest way to fix this when viewing is to right click on the SwiftView toolbar, choose “Printer Emulation Settings”,and select “Append Return to Linefeed”. This gives the equivalent of changing the front panel on your printer to treat these files properly.
If you view only UNIX and DOS files you may wish to use the ICS command set hpfiletype unixtext, however that command will cause some HPGL and PCL files to view incorrectly. If this is a problem, you can use the set hpfiletype unixtext command in a button that will alllow you to send the command and reload the file that views incorrectly. The other option is to fix the Unix files using a binary editor.
There are several ways to do this in a binary editor (bypassing the need for SwiftView ICS commands):
- Manually change all the LF into CR/LF one at a time.
- Write a simple application that does this. We may be able to do this for you upon request.
- Cause printers and SwiftView to interpret your LF as CR/LF by adding a PCL Line Termination Command to your file. The command to use is: &k2G