OSBYTE &05
OSBYTE &05 (5) - Select the printer type.
On entry: A=&05
X=new printer output
On exit: X=previous print output
Controls which printer output device will be used when output is sent to the printer.
This does not activate and
send data to the printer. VDU 2 must be used to start output going to the selected
printer channel, and VDU 3
to end the output.
When selecting a printer, the MOS waits for the printer buffer to empty and the current printer to become idle.
The value in X indicates the following printer drivers:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Printer sink - all characters are lost, preventing the system 'hanging' with a full printer buffer. |
| 1 | Parallel printer output (built into MOS). |
| 2 | Serial output (built into MOS). |
| 3 | User printer driver. |
| 4 | Econet printer driver (built into NFS). |
| The following are conventional values used by user printer drivers | |
| 5 | Output to a file, eg *PRINTTO <filename> |
| 6 | Output to NFS (Ethernet) printer. |
| 13 | Output to USB printer, eg *USBPRINT ON. |
Selecting a printer 3 or higher causes all printer output to be vectored via NETV and then UPTV. Note that only
printer values 0-7 can be stored in configuration settings.
See also
- Printing
- OSBYTE &F5 current selected printer
