Commands Reference, Volume 4

plotgbe Command

Purpose

Plots HP-GL files to a plotter device.

Syntax

/usr/lpd/plotgbe [ -fr=X ] [ -noin ] File

Description

The plotgbe command is a backend program which plots HP-GL files to a plotter device. The plotter device must be attached to a 5085/5086 workstation via the 5080 Attachment Adapter. To use the plotgbe command, you must define a print queue for the plotgbe backend program. See "How to Add Plotter Support with 5080" to learn how to use SMIT commands to add a plotter queue which specifies the plotbge backend.

The plotgbe command is called by the qdaemon process. It should not be entered on the command line. Any options needed for a specific print request to a plotter should be passed to the plotgbe command with the command used to request a print job. In the case of the enq command, use the -o flag to pass options to the plotgbe backend for processing.

The plotgbe backend command also generates the appropriate HP-GL commands for plotter initialization and plot scaling. This data is sent to the plotter before the user-specified HP-GL file is sent. Thus, any scaling or initialization commands included in the HP-GL file override those generated by the plotgbe backend command.

Note: The user must have read access to the file sent to the plotgbe command with the print request command.

Flags

-fr=X	Provides for plotting multi-frame drawings. This option causes X number of frames to be plotted, where X is a number in the range 1 through 9. For example, plotting a 20' drawing on E-size role media may require 5 frames. Thus, the option `fr=5` would be passed to the plotgbe backend.
-noin	Allows plotter front panel settings to remain in effect for the current plot without being reset to default values. Normally, the P1 and P2 positions which define the plot page on the plotter are set by the plotgbe command to their default location. Use the -noin no-initialization option to override the default locations.

Examples

To send the file longaxis.gl to the plt plotter queue and specify to the backend that the file requires five frames to print, enter:
```
enq -Pplt -o -fr=5 longaxis.gl
```
To send the file plotdata.gl to the plt plotter queue, specifying that the plot page positions are not to be reset to default for this file, enter:
```
enq -Pplt -o -noin plotdata.gl
```
To send the file twoplot.gl to the plt plotter queue, specifying no plot page initialization and that the plotter print the drawing in two frames, enter:
```
enq -Pplt -o -noin -o fr=2 twoplot.gl
```

Files

/usr/lpd/plotgbe

Contains the plotgbe command.

Related Information

The enq command, plotlbe command, qdaemon command.

Printer Overview for System Management in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Guide to Printers and Printing .

Adding Plotter Support with 5080 in AIX 5L Version 5.2 Guide to Printers and Printing .