Base DriverOnce you have installed the files, you can start UniTool and begin creating a minidriver. To start UniTool:
1.From the Program Manager File menu, choose the Run command.
2.Type unitool in the Command Line text box.
3.Choose the OK button.
Once you have started UniTool, from the File menu, choose the New command.
After you choose the New command, the Type of New File dialog box appears in the main window:
Choose the MiniDriver button. UniTool displays a second dialog box that prompts you for the name of your minidriver, the name of the directory in which it will be stored, and the name of the source minidriver. The Source Minidriver list box contains the names of six types of minidrivers:
Base Driver
Epson 9-Pin Driver
Epson 24-Pin Driver
IBM 24-Pin Driver
HP Driver for HP printers that use Printer Control Language (PCL)
HP PaintJet Driver
The selection you make depends on the type of printer for which you are developing a minidriver. If the printer's resolution and command set are compatible with that of a 9- or 24-pin Epson or IBM printer, choose the corresponding entry from the list box. Similarly, if the printer supports Hewlett Packard printers that use PCL, choose “HPPCL Driver.” However, if the printer's resolution or command set is unique and differs significantly from the available choices, choose “Base Driver.”
The following illustration shows the dialog box after it was initialized for the Kodak Diconix 150 Plus minidriver:
The new minidriver will be named DICONIX.DRV, its source files will be stored in the C:\DRIVER\MINIDRIV\DICONIX directory, and these files will actually be modifications of the files for the 9-pin Epson minidriver. (The Diconix printer emulates both Epson and IBM printers; however, the default emulation and the factory switch settings are Epson compatible. Therefore, the Epson 9-Pin Driver was chosen as the minidriver source. However, unlike most 9-pin printers that are Epson compatible, the horizontal and vertical resolutions supported by the Diconix differ from the horizontal and vertical resolutions supported by the Epson printer. This means that it will be necessary to specify new master units for the Diconix minidriver.)
Once you've created your new minidriver directory and installed the appropriate files, you can begin initializing your minidriver's data table. If you've selected the Base Driver as your starting point, or if your printer does not support the same resolutions as one of the compatible minidrivers, it will be necessary to specify master units. See Chapter 3, “Specifying Master Units and Minidriver Data,” in order to accomplish this task. If, on the other hand, your printer uses the same resolutions as one of the source minidrivers, you can immediately begin specifying control information. See Chapter 4, “Specifying Control Information,” in order to accomplish this task.