SET PRINTER
 Toggle echo of console output to the printer or set the destination of
 printed output

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Syntax

     SET PRINTER on | OFF | <xlToggle>
     SET PRINTER TO [<xcDevice> | <xcFile> [ADDITIVE]]

 Arguments

     ON echoes console output to the printer.

     OFF suppresses the printing of console output.

     <xlToggle> is a logical expression that must be enclosed in
     parentheses.  A value of true (.T.) is the same as ON, and a value of
     false (.F.) is the same as OFF.

     TO <xcDevice> identifies the name of the device where all subsequent
     printed output will be sent.  You can specify a device name as a literal
     character string or a character expression enclosed in parentheses.
     Additionally, a device can be either local or network.  SETting PRINTER
     TO a nonexistent device creates a file with the name of the device.
     When specifying device names, do not use a trailing colon.

     TO <xcFile> identifies the name of the output file.  You can specify
     the file name as a literal string or as a character expression enclosed
     in parentheses.  If a file extension is not specified, .prn is assumed.

     ADDITIVE causes the specified output file to be appended to instead
     of overwritten.  If ADDITIVE is not specified, an existing output file
     is truncated before new information is written to it.  The ADDITIVE
     clause is only meaningful when SETting PRINTER TO an output file.

     If SET PRINTER TO is specified with no arguments, the currently
     specified device or file is closed and the default destination is then
     reselected.

 Description

     SET PRINTER, like many other SET commands, has two basic forms with each
     having its own functionality.  The on|OFF form of SET PRINTER controls
     whether the output of console commands is echoed to the printer.
     Console commands generally do not specify row and column coordinates.
     All of these commands, except ?|??, have a TO PRINTER clause that also
     directs output to the printer.  Output from console commands is
     displayed to the screen unless CONSOLE is OFF.  Be aware that @...SAYs
     are not affected by SET PRINTER ON.  To send them to the printer, use
     SET DEVICE TO PRINTER instead.

     SET PRINTER TO determines the destination of output from all commands
     and functions that send output to the printer.  This includes @...SAYs
     if DEVICE is SET TO PRINTER.  Output can be sent to a device or to a
     file.  If the destination is a device, the following names are valid:
     LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 (all parallel ports), COM1, and COM2 (serial ports),
     CON and PRN.  The default device is PRN.

     If the destination is a file, it is created in the current DEFAULT
     directory.  If a file with the same name exists in the same location, it
     is overwritten by the new file without warning.  All subsequent output
     to the printer is then written to this file until the file is closed
     using SET PRINTER TO with no argument.

     Use SET PRINTER TO for:

     .  Managing multiple printers by swapping ports

     .  Directing output to a file for printing later or for
        transferring to a remote computer via telecommunications

     .  Emptying the printer spooler and resetting the default device

 Notes

     .  Compatibility: Clipper does not support the syntax SET
        PRINTER TO \\SPOOLER or \\CAPTURE.  Specifying SET PRINTER with
        either of these options creates the files Spooler.prn or Capture.prn.
        The symbols \\ are ignored.

     .  End of file marks: When printer output is redirected to a
        file, an end of file mark (CHR(26)) is not written when the file is
        closed.  To terminate a file with an end of file mark, issue a ??
        CHR(26) just before the SET PRINTER command that closes the file.

     .  Networking: For some networks, the workstation's printer
        should first be redirected to the file server (usually by running the
        network spooler program).

 Examples

     .  This example echoes the output of the ? command to printer,
        suppressing the console screen display by SETting CONSOLE OFF:

        USE Customer NEW
        SET PRINTER ON
        SET CONSOLE OFF
        DO WHILE !EOF()
           ? Customer->Name, Customer->Phone
           SKIP
        ENDDO
        EJECT
        SET PRINTER OFF
        SET CONSOLE ON
        CLOSE
        RETURN

     .  This example directs printer output to LPT1 and empties the
        print spooler upon completion:

        SET PRINTER TO LPT1
        <Printing statements>...
        SET PRINTER TO            // Empty the print spooler

     .  This example sends printer output to a text file, overwriting
        an existing file with the same name:

        SET PRINTER TO Prnfile.txt
        SET DEVICE TO PRINTER
        SET PRINTER ON
        //
        @ 0, 0 SAY "This goes to Prnfile.txt"
        ? "So will this!"
        //
        SET DEVICE TO SCREEN
        SET PRINTER OFF
        SET PRINTER TO            // Close the print file

 Files   Library is CLIPPER.LIB.

See Also: @…SAY EJECT  SET CONSOLE SET DEVICE SETPRC()