AST RESEARCH TECHNICAL BULLETIN TB-0049A 4-1-85 SLOW PRINTING WITH SUPERSPOOL AND CERTAIN SOFTWARE APPLICATION Certain software application, like Lotus 1-2-3, sends control characters to LPT1 upon initialization. These control characters interfere with the automatic timing calibration of SuperSpool. This could result in slow character printing and or a delay at the end of each printed line. This condition can be remedied by sending a burst of twenty-five characters (blank spaces, in this instance, may be the best characters to use) to LPT1 after invoking SuperSpool but prior to initializing the software application. The following procedure outlines the steps in creating a data file named DUMMY.DAT and installing it in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This should eliminate the slow character printing and/or hesitation after each printed line. Step #1: First we need to create a data file named DUMMY.DAT consisting of 25 blank spaces. COPY CON:DUMMY.DAT Press space bar 25 times Press F6 (Response) ^ Z (Response) 1 File(s) copied 1 File(s) copied means you have successfully created DUMMY.DAT. Step #2: Now that DUMMY.DAT has been created, the next step is to assign it to LPT1. This sends a burst of 25 characters to LPT1. COPY DUMMY.DAT LPT1: Step #3: Once Step #2 has been executed, the command "COPY DUMMY.DAT LPT1:" can be installed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This command should be installed after SuperSpool but prior to initializing the software application. The example below is the simplest form of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file: BEFORE AFTER 1st Line --> ASTCLOCK 1st Line ASTCLOCK 2nd Line --> SUPERSPOOL LPT1: 2nd Line SUPERSPOOL LPT1: 3rd Line --> Software Application 3rd Line COPY DUMMY.DAT LPT1: 4th Line Software Application Step #4: Now all that is required is to reboot the system and you are ready to go.