Star Micronics Radix User Manual page 90

76
Radix User's Manual
putting a semicolon
1;)
at the end of a
BASIC
line will not end the
line of printing. So somehow, the computer is telling the printer
when to end one line and start another.
There are two codes that are used to end one line and start
another. They are carriage return
(CHR$(13))
and line febd
(CHR!$(lO)). Like the escape code, they have been given abbrevia-
tions which you'll find in many texts (including this one): (CR)
and ( LF) . The codes are simple, but their action is a little confus-
ing (especially with BASIC). Carriage return is the easiest. Each
time that the printer receives a
CHR$(13)
it returns the print head
to the left margin. It does not advance the paper (if
DIP
switch C-4
is off; see below).
Line feed is more complicated. Each time the printer receives
a
CHR$(lO)
it both advances the paper one line and returns the
print head to the left margin, ready to start a new line.
Now to add a little confusion-most (but not all) versions of
BASIC add a line feed
(CHR$(lO))
to every carriage return
(CHR$(13)) that they send. If your version of BASIC doesn't do
this, then you should turn DIP switch C-4 on so that Radix will add
the line feed for you. When you have DIP switch C-4 on the printer
will do the same thing when it receives a carriage return as it does
when it receives a line feed.
If you find that your printer double spaces when it should
single space, then you probably need to turn DIP switch C-4 off.
Reverse line feeds
Your Radix printer has a unique capability: it can move the
paper up or down! Its unique tractor design allows the paper to be
fed in either direction without jamming. This allows you to move
around the page at will. You can use this feature to print several
columns of text side by side, or print a graph and then move back
up and insert descriptive legends. As you experiment you're
bound to come up with more uses!
The simplest form of reverse paper feeding is a reverse line
feed. The code is ( ESC) ( LF), which causes the paper to move
down (in effect, moving the printing up) one line. A "line" used in
a reverse line feed is the same size as a line in a regular line feed
(this is normally l/S inch). When you change the line spacing
(which you'll read about next), you change it for both forward and
reverse line feeds.
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