HP-UX Reference (11i v3 07/02) - 4 File Formats (vol 8)

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terminfo(4) terminfo(4)
(ENHANCED CURSES)
size given by the smallest horizontal and vertical step sizes dictated by the resolution. (The cell size can be
changed as will be seen later.)
Many printers are capable of "proportional printing", where the horizontal spacing depends on the size of
the character last printed. terminfo does not make use of this capability, although it does provide
enough capability definitions to allow an application to simulate proportional printing.
A printer must not only be able to print characters as close together as the horizontal and vertical resolu-
tions suggest, but also of "moving" to a position an integral multiple of the smallest distance away from a
previous position. Thus printed characters can be spaced apart a distance that is an integral multiple of the
smallest distance, up to the length or width of a single page.
Some printers can have different resolutions depending on different "modes". In "normal mode", the exist-
ing terminfo capabilities are assumed to work on columns and lines, just like a video terminal. Thus the
old lines capability would give the length of a page in lines, and the cols capability would give the width
of a page in columns. In "micro mode," many terminfo capabilities work on increments of lines and
columns. With some printers the micro mode may be concomitant with normal mode, so that all the capa-
bilities work at the same time.
Specifying Printer Resolution
The printing resolution of a printer is given in several ways. Each specifies the resolution as the number of
smallest steps per distance:
Characteristic Number of Smallest Steps
orhi Steps per inch horizontally
orvi Steps per inch vertically
orc Steps per column
orl Steps per line
When printing in normal mode, each character printed causes movement to the next column, except in spe-
cial cases described later; the distance moved is the same as the per-column resolution. Some printers
cause an automatic movement to the next line when a character is printed in the rightmost position; the
distance moved vertically is the same as the per-line resolution. When printing in micro mode, these dis-
tances can be different, and may be zero for some printers.
Automatic Motion after Printing
Normal Mode:
orc Steps moved horizontally
orl Steps moved vertically
Micro Mode:
mcs Steps moved horizontally
mls Steps moved vertically
Some printers are capable of printing wide characters. The distance moved when a wide character is
printed in normal mode may be different from when a regular width character is printed. The distance
moved when a wide character is printed in micro mode may also be different from when a regular character
is printed in micro mode, but the differences are assumed to be related: If the distance moved for a regular
character is the same whether in normal mode or micro mode (mcs=orc), then the distance moved for a
wide character is also the same whether in normal mode or micro mode. This doesn’t mean the normal
character distance is necessarily the same as the wide character distance, just that the distances don’t
change with a change in normal to micro mode. However, if the distance moved for a regular character is
different in micro mode from the distance moved in normal mode (mcs<orc), the micro mode distance is
assumed to be the same for a wide character printed in micro mode, as the table below shows.
Automatic Motion after Printing Wide Character
Normal Mode or Micro Mode (mcs = orc):
widcs Steps moved horizontally
Micro Mode (mcs < orc):
mcs Steps moved horizontally
There may be control sequences to change the number of columns per inch (the character pitch) and to
change the number of lines per inch (the line pitch). If these are used, the resolution of the printer
changes, but the type of change depends on the printer:
HP-UX 11i Version 3: February 2007 − 27 − Hewlett-Packard Company 511