block-print command

The block-print command produces a banner by converting characters to a large block format, made up of rows and columns of the character itself.

A character definition must consist of exactly nine attributes. For example:

ID   H
001  7        ;*   # horizontal cells:     1234567
002  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 1:          HH   HH
003  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 2:          HH   HH
004  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 3:          HH   HH
005  C7       ;*   raster line 4:          HHHHHHH
006  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 5:          HH   HH
007  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 6:          HH   HH
008  C2,3,2   ;*   raster line 7:          HH   HH
009  B7       ;*   raster line 8:

where the raster is either:

cnn{,nn{,nn...}}

or

bnn{,nn{,nn...}}

such that:

cnn Indicates the ID character to be printed nn times.
bnn Indicates a space to be printed nn times.
, Indicates a switch from character to a space, or vice-versa.

New items can be edited into the block-convert file to create new languages, or even typefaces (such as script or italics). However, the height must remain at nine characters (attributes).

Each word or passage is centered on the output line according to the width of the device to which it is being output. The device width is determined by the most recently executed term command.

Syntax

block-print text{(options}

Parameter(s)

text Text entered. If the text contains too many characters, the text string is wrapped at a word boundary, if possible; otherwise, the text is wrapped after nine characters.

Text enclosed within quotation marks attempts to print on the same line without breaking on the spaces between the words. The characters in the text string are defined in the dm,block-convert, file.

options n No pause (nopage) option suppresses pause at end of page on terminal display.
p Directs output to system printer via the spooler.
u Uppercase option. If the banner character is lowercase, the block character is made up of the equivalent uppercase character.

Example(s)

block-print "Eat At Joe’s" Bar & Grill (p
Note: Without the double quotation marks around the first part of the banner, this command would fail with an uneven number of delimiters messages. Also, the quotation marks around "Eat At Joe’s" passage forces the passage to display on the same output line, side-by-side. Without the quotation marks around a passage, each word displays by itself on the line.
block-print Hi
HH   HH      ii
HH   HH
HH   HH      iii
HHHHHHH      ii
HH   HH      ii
HH   HH      ii
HH   HH      iiii