SimplyVPI Version 2.07 October 19, 2000
Ó Copyright 2000, 2002 Interface Consutants, Inc..

Welcome to SimplyVPI!

With SimplyVPI you will be able to print from standard Windows applications to a variety of Versatec Parallel Interface (VPI) printers, including:

Also known as the "Green-sheet" interface, VPI allows high-speed transfer of data between a host and an attached hardcopy output device. SimplyVPI supports VPI interface cards from IKON Corporation, and can be installed on either Windows 95 or Windows NT.

This manual provides installation information and SimplyVPI customer support information. Please review this document before installing SimplyVPI.
 
 

Recommended Minimum System Requirements:

SimplyVPI installs and runs on Windows systems equipped as follows:
 
 

Hardware

Operating System
 
 

Installation

This section outlines installation of the client and server components of SimplyVPI under Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. In this section, the server is defined as the Windows machine in which the IKON board is installed and the VPI printer is connected. The client is defined as any Windows machine running the application from which you will be printing. The software is licensed for installation on a single server, and any number of clients. You will install the software on the server using the installation floppy, but clients are installed from the server.

The following installations are outlined:

Windows NT Server Installation:

Before you begin installation, have the following available:

  1. Log on to Windows NT as a user with administrator privileges.
  2. Insert the SimplyVPI floppy.
  3. In the Start menu, choose Run and open A:setup.exe. The SimplyVPI setup program will come up and step you through the server installation process. Throughout the installation process, you may choose Next to continue installing or Cancel to stop the installation of SimplyVPI.
  4. Review the license agreement. When you have reviewed the agreement, choose Next to accept the agreement and continue installing. If you choose not to accept the terms of the agreement, choose Cancel to stop installing SimplyVPI. Return the floppy to IKON Corporation for a refund.
  5. Review the README.TXT file. When you have reviewed the file, choose Next to continue installing.
  6. When the setup program asks for an installation directory, type the directory in which you would like to install SimplyVPI. We suggest you accept the default directory. Make a note of the directory you use, because you will need to know it in a later step. Choose Next to install the server files.
  7. When the setup program finishes copying files and asks whether to reboot the computer, choose Reboot.
  8. When the computer shuts down and begins to reboot, turn the computer off.
  9. Make sure the strapping of your IKON board match the printer interface type. Most boards will need to be strapped for Differential VPI (not Centronics or TTL).
  10. Install the IKON board into your computer.
  11. Connect the printer to the IKON board.
  12. Start the computer.
  13. Choose Start ® Settings®Control Panel ®Devices to verify the hardware installation. The IKON hardware should be listed as "Started." If it is not, repeat steps 9 – 14.
  14. In the Start menu, choose Settings ®Printers®Add Printer.
  15. When the Add Printer Wizard asks for the manufacturer and model of your printer, choose Have Disk.
  16. Enter the Printer subdirectory of the installation directory noted in Step 6. For example:

    17.  

     
     
     
     
     

    C:\Program Files\SimplyVPI\NTClient

    Choose OK.

  17. Choose the appropriate printer from the list of supported models. Choose Next
  18. Choose the IKON Port, MOX#, and choose Configure to verify the Spool Folder and VPI Board selection. Do not change the MOX Port Parameters unless directed to do so by IKON Corporation Technical Support. Choose OK.
  19. Type in the name of the printer. (You may name the printer anything you like.)
  20. Select Shared or Not Shared. Name the printer if you choose to share it, but do not attempt to load alternate operating system drivers. Choose OK.
  21. Verify the printer settings in Print Setup.
  22. Print a test page to verify the installation.

    23.  

     
     
     
     
     

    NOTE: If prompted for the RASDD.DLL file, insert your Windows NT CDROM and enter the path to the CDROM drive.

  23. If you will be doing client installations, create a network share for the SimplyVPI install directory.
Server installation is now complete. You should be able to print, configure, set defaults, etc., as you would with any other printer. Also, you can check the status of the print job in the Print Manager window until the job is complete.
 
 

Windows 95/98 Server Installation:

Before you begin installation, have the following available:

  1. Insert the SimplyVPI floppy.
  2. In the Start menu, choose Run and open A:setup.exe. The SimplyVPI setup program will come up and step you through the server installation process. Throughout the installation process, you may choose Next to continue installing or Cancel to stop the installation of SimplyVPI.
  3. Review the license agreement. When you have reviewed the agreement, choose Next to accept the agreement and continue installing. If you choose not to accept the terms of the agreement, choose Cancel to stop installing SimplyVPI. Return the floppy to IKON Corporation for a refund.
  4. Review the README.TXT file. When you have reviewed the file, choose Next to continue installing.
  5. When the setup program asks for an installation directory, type the directory in which you would like to install SimplyVPI. We suggest you accept the default directory. Make a note of the directory you use, because you will need to know it in a later step. Choose Next to install the server files.
  6. When the setup program finishes copying files and asks whether to reboot the computer, choose Reboot.
  7. When the computer shuts down and begins to reboot, turn the computer off.
  8. Make sure the strapping of your IKON board match the printer interface type. Most boards will need to be strapped for Differential VPI (not Centronics or TTL).
  9. Install the IKON board into your computer.
  10. Connect the printer to the IKON board.
  11. Start the computer. The computer will detect the IKON board and install the IKON Driver as the computer boots. If the system requests the location of the IKONPCI.VXD file, enter the path to your Windows 95/98 system directory—for example, "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM".
  12. From the Desktop, right-click on My Computer and choose Properties®Device Manager®View Devices by Type to verify the hardware installation. The IKON hardware should be listed and it should not be tagged with any yellow exclamation marks or triangles, which indicate errors.
  13. In the Start menu, choose Settings ®Printers®Add Printer.
  14. When the Add Printer Wizard asks for the manufacturer and model of your printer, choose Have Disk.
  15. Enter the Printer subdirectory of the installation directory noted in Step 6. For example:

    16.  

     
     
     
     
     

    C:\Program Files\SimplyVPI\95Client

    Choose OK.

  16. Choose the appropriate printer from the list of supported models. Choose Next
  17. Choose the IKON Port, MOX#, and choose Configure Port to verify the Spool Folder and VPI Board selection. Do not change the MOX Port Parameters unless directed to do so by IKON Corporation Technical Support. Choose OK.
  18. Type in the name of the printer. (You may name the printer anything you like.)
  19. Print a test page to verify the installation.

    20.  

     
     
     
     
     

    NOTE: If prompted for the Windows 95 CD-ROM enter the path to the CDROM drive.

  20. If you will be doing client installations, create a network share for the SimplyVPI install directory.
Server installation is now complete. You should be able to print, configure, set defaults, etc., as you would with any other printer. Also, you can check the status of the print job in the Print Manager window until the job is complete.

Client Installation

Installing the client drivers requires that the installation subdirectory on the server be shared to the network. For a Windows NT client repeat Windows NT Server Installation steps 14 through 22, but use the network share path in step 16. For a Windows 95/98 client repeat Windows 95/95 Server Installation steps 13 through 19, but use the network share path in step 15.

Troubleshooting

Some commonly encountered problems are listed below. Windows 95/98 and Windows NT specific problems are listed under the Windows95/98 and Windows NT subheadings, respectively.

Lack of usable memory on the selected spooling disk drive.

You must have at least 250MB of memory available. More memory is required for larger jobs. A-size, low resolution initial plot. Specify the appropriate page size in Print Setup before printing. Application printer settings are not being maintained. If your application is dropping the printer settings between plots, re-set them in Print Setup prior to each plot. Special Paper Sizes The application from which you are printing should have a Printer Properties Sheet. In it, you are able to select the paper size. SimplyVPI allows you to choose "Long Plot" paper sizes. Long plots print without form feeds between pages. These sizes are useful for applications that print long plots such as banners or seismic log plots. Windows 95/98

Some commonly encountered Windows 95/98 problems are listed below.

Plotting is slow when submitting jobs as a Windows 95/98 client.

SimplyVPI does not use data compression when plotting from a Windows 95/98 client over the network. Windows NT

Some commonly encountered Windows NT problems are listed below.

Plotting is slow when submitting jobs under Windows NT.

The performance of your plotter depends on the type of IKON board you have installed. The IKON EISA 10111 and the IKON ISA 10097 print at a maximum speed of 1.5 inches per second. Hardware not found. Choose Start ®Programs®Administrative Tools (Common) ®Windows NT Diagnostics ®Resources. Verify that the hardware settings on the IKON board do not conflict with existing ISA/EISA boards. Also, choose Start ®Programs®Administrative Tools (Common) ®Event Viewer and make sure that the IKON hardware settings have not prevented other services from starting up when you rebooted your computer. Finally, to test the IKON board and the printer, use the test switch on the IKON board to produce text or black output. (Use the Reset switch to stop the test.) If nothing plots, either the IKON card or the printer has faulted. Refer to the IKON documentation for more information. Hardware Setup

ISA/EISA boards must have a key in the registry path to identify the board’s resources. The registry entry is as follows:

\Registry\Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IKONUni\Parameters\IKONUni0 Within this registry key there must be a Device Address value. A sample follows: Device Address = REG_DWORD 0x300 This would be the entry if your board was configured to use I/O port 0x300 and up. You can add or modify the Device Address using Start ®Run® REGEDIT.EXE. Change the value to the appropriate I/O port.
 
 
 
 

IKON Corporation Technical Support

If you have any questions, contact Technical Support at:

IKON Corporation

3827 Stone Way North

Seattle, WA 98103-8005

Phone: 206-728-6465

Fax: 206-728-1633

Include detailed information on your configuration and how to replicate the problem.

Evaluation of SimplyVPI

SimplyVPI is available in a 30-day trial format that allows you to evaluate the compatibility and effectiveness of the driver with your configuration of hardware and software. During the 30-day trial period, SimplyVPI prints an "X" over the face of the plot. This allows you to verify the size of the plot and to recognize the plot as a demonstration plot. (The "X" does not appear on plots generated from the retail version of SimplyVPI.). Also, during the trial period, the server will display a notice that must be dismissed before the plot can be generated. The notice reminds you that this is a trial version of SimplyVPI and can be purchased from IKON Corporation. Choose Try to continue printing, or choose Buy for information on purchasing the Simply VPI product. See Purchase of SimplyVPI below.

When the 30-day trial period is over, SimplyVPI will no longer generate plots. You should contact IKON Corporation to purchase the driver (see Purchase of SimplyVPI below); or, if you choose not to purchase the driver, simply uninstall it. If you need more time to evaluate the driver, contact IKON Corporation.
 
 

Purchase of SimplyVPI

When you are ready to purchase SimplyVPI, contact IKON Corporation at 206-728-6465. You will be instructed to generate a plot and choose Buy when the server message appears. Two numbers will be displayed. IKONCorporation will need these numbers to generate your computer-specific unlock code. Enter your unlock code to enable the retail version of SimplyVPI.