3.6 Creating PCM Files

The PCL driver uses Printer Cartridge Metric (PCM) files to define cartridges other than built-in Hewlett-Packard cartridges. PCM files are essentially a collection of PFM files (one for each font in the cartridge).

To make a PCM file, you must first create the individual PFM files for each of the cartridge fonts. You can create PFM files easily with the Printer Font Installer. Simply add the font, which must be in the Hewlett-Packard PCL format. The Printer Font Installer will automatically scan the PCL font and create the PFM file. Use the PFM Editor to edit the file. Verify all the boxes and values. Also, notice that the Printer Font Installer does not enter the font escape string. You must do this with the PFM Editor.

After you have created all the PFM files and saved them in one directory, from
the File menu, choose the Create PCM File command to display a dialog box
and prompt you for a PCM filename. Put this file in the same directory as its
constituent PFM files.

After you type a filename and choose the OK button, a second dialog box appears with the PCM filename in a static control at the top. The first edit control in the dialog box enables you to enter the cartridge title, which must be a nonempty title (that is, you must fill in the edit control). This title is the string placed in the cartridge selection list box in the driver's Printer Setup (device-mode) dialog box. Verify that the correct font escape string is defined for each PFM file.

The PFM Editor places a list of PFM files, that are in the same directory as the
target PCM file, in a list box on the left side of the dialog box. You can select
one or more of these files and move them to the right-hand “selected” list box
by choosing the Select button (or double-clicking a filename). You can remove selected PFM files, or place them back in the left-hand “available” list box by selecting filenames in the same manner in the right-hand “selected” list box.

When you choose the OK button, the PFM files that appear in the right-hand list box are placed in the PCM file. To create the PCM file, you must select at least one PFM file and have a nonempty title string.

When the editor creates the PCM file, it also creates a text file in the same directory with the same name and the .INI extension. On the first line of this initialization file is the title of the cartridge; the list of PFM files follows on subsequent

lines, one filename per line. Whenever the PCM dialog box is chosen, the PFM Editor looks for the .INI file and uses the stored data to initialize the title string and the list of selected PFM files.

Note:

Editing a PFM file will not cause the PCM file to be updated. The PFM Editor cannot directly edit PCM files. Therefore, if you make a change in a PFM file, you must rebuild the PCM file.