There is also a direct mode for sending commands or text to the printer. To use this mode, type the following without a line number before it: OPENl,4: CMDl After you type this and press RETIJRN, everything that would nor- mally be sent to the screen is sent to the printer instead. To see how this mode works, type the following and press RETURN: PRINT "DIRECT MODE" The words DIRECT MODE will be printed on paper instead of appearing on the screen. When you are through with the direct mode, cancel it with the fol- lowing: PRINT#l: CLOSEI In the samples above, 1 is the file number and 4 is the device num- ber.
You can use any number between 1 and 255 as the file number, but be sure to use the same number in each statement. One of the main uses for the direct mode is printing program list- ings. There are four steps to have your MPS 1000 print a listing of a program. 1. LOAD or enter the program. 2. Type OPENI,4: CMDI and press RETIJRN. 3. Type LIST and press RETIJRN. The printer will now list your pro- gram. 4. Type PRINT#l: CLOSEI and press RETIJRN. Step 4 cancels the direct mode so that you will not accidentally send information to the printer when you want it to appear on the screen.
Control Codes for Text As you know, the Commodore computer can display graphic charac- ters as well as letters of the alphabet. Given the right instructions, the MPS 1000 can print anything the computer can display on the screen, and it can also add several printing effects. These effects are described in the rest of this chapter. 37