*** TOPIK Note : A few examples and CASLABEL itself are in the usual place,
this directory of course.


Instructions for "caslabel"
--------------------------

     Before reading this document, please note that the double quote
marks are used for clarity and are not to be typed with the keywords when
used in this document.

     "Caslabel" is a program I wrote to create nice uniform looking labels
on my cassette tape boxes.  Some of the requirements while writing the
program were:

   1) Make the labels look nice.
   2) Take advantage of many text sizes available on my Epson printer.
   3) Maximize the amount of songs that I could put on a cassette label.

     The result is "caslabel".  It is not the friendliest program
(it only runs from CLI), or the fanciest program (there are no display
graphics), but it is fast and creates nice looking labels on Epson
compatible printers.  This version of the program currrently only supports
the Epson compatible printer mainly because I only own an Epson printer,
and I am not very familier with the Amiga interface (I do most of my
programming on a Unix based system).

     To run caslabel you must first create a data file that contains the
information needed to create a cassette label (titles and songs).  Any text
type editor can be used so long as it can write ASCII text files.  The
following are notes on the format of the data file:

   1) Comments are enclosed between non-nested /* */.
   2) The title for Side A must be put on the first two lines.
   3) The title will be centered automatically.
   4) After the title, the songs for Side A of the tape can be put on
      the following lines.
   5) There is a limit of 18 song titles on each side, and each
      song title must appear on a separate line and can take no more
      than 37 characters each.
   6) After all songs on side A have been entered, the word ".NEXT" must
      appear on a separate line.
   7) Side B is entered the same as Side A.
   8) After all songs on side B have been entered, the word ".END" must
      appear on a separate line.

The last line will contain a label that you want printed on the bottom of
the cassette box.  I used this for organization purposes such as
"Music Tape #12".  Or if you would like titles to appear on the cassette
bottom then type ".TITLE" on the line following ".END".
On the two lines following ".TITLE", type the Album names for Side A and
Side B, respectively.

     Here is the template.dat file with an organization label:

/* Title  <= 18 */
/* Two Lines For Title */
/* Songs cannot be > 37 characters */
/* 18 Lines For Songs */
.NEXT
/* Title  <= 18 */
/* Two Lines For Title */
/* Songs cannot be > 37 characters */
/* 18 Lines For Songs */
.END
/* Omit .TITLE for entering organization label */
/* Use .TITLE for entering titles for side A and B */
Music Tape #12

                              OR

     Here is the template.dat file with a title label:

/* Title  <= 18 */
/* Two Lines For Title */
/* Songs cannot be > 37 characters */
/* 18 Lines For Songs */
.NEXT
/* Title  <= 18 */
/* Two Lines For Title */
/* Songs cannot be > 37 characters */
/* 18 Lines For Songs */
.END
/* Omit .TITLE for entering organization label */
/* Use .TITLE for entering titles for side A and B */
.TITLE
Title for Side A
Title for Side B

Note:  The comments that specify character length are exactly that number
       of characters in length.  Also to save time entering ".dat" files
       try coping the template.dat file to the destination ".dat" file you
       want to create.  Then edit the template.dat file.  It will contain
       all spacing comments along with other information to create a valid
       ".dat" file.

     The best way to understand how to use the program is to run it with
some examples.   This ARC file contains a few sample cassette data files.
They are labeled "<filename>.dat".  The caslabel program must be used to
create the "<filename>.prn" files.  The ".prn" files are the ones that are
sent to the printer to create the label.
The program will default to the extention .prn if a second argument is
not given.  The format is:

caslabel <input filename> <output filename>

Typing caslabel without any arguments will display the format of the
arguments along with the version number.
To create and print the .prn files, turn on your printer and type
the following after the CLI prompt:

1> caslabel <filename>.dat
1> type <filename>.prn to PAR:

    Make sure you type to "PAR:" and not "PRT:".  "PRT:" will intercept the
codes from the ".prn" file and print garbage on your paper.  After it is
finished printing, cut the label out with sissors or an Xacto knife.
Fold the label on the appropriate lines and insert into the cassette box.

    If you have any questions or comments please leave me mail on either
Ami's Place BBS (419-691-0279), People Link (ID# OFR045), or CompuServe
(ID# 72155,1022).

                                Tom Drobnak