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You are familiar with the command format that uses the ESCape
code and a letter, but LX-86 graphics commands can also be in the
following format:
LPRINT CHR$(27)“*“CHR$(M)CHR$(N1)CHR$(N2);
with m being the mode number found in the left column of Table 9-1.
As usual, n
l
and n
2
reserve the number of columns for graphics. The
seven modes include six densities, with two speeds for double-
density.
Reassigning Code
The IX-86 has a graphics command that changes one graphics
mode to another. You can use it with many commercial graphics
software programs to change the density and shape of your printouts.
The code is ESCape
“?s” n, where s is one of the four alternate
graphics codes (K, L, Y, or Z) and n is the number of the new code
(O-6).
For example, if you send the following code before you run a
graphics program, it will change every instance of mode “Y” (high-
speed double-density) to mode 5 (one-to-one).
LPRINT CHR$ (27) “?Y” CHR$ (5) ;
As usual, this example is in MBASIC, but you can send the code in
any programming language.
Even if you don’t know which code your graphics program uses, a
little experimentation should tell you whether the reassigning code
can improve your graphics printouts.
Column Reservation Numbers
Now that we’ve introduced you to the rest of the 8-pin graphics
densities and the reassigning code, we’ll explain in more detail the part
of the graphics command that reserves the number of columns for
graphics (the numbers n
l
and n
2
in our examples).
If you need fewer than 255 columns of graphics, n
1
, is the number
of columns you want and n
2
is zero. As you can see in Table 9-1,
however, a single line will hold as many as 1920 columns in quadru-
ple-density. Specifying more than 255 is where the second number
slot (n
2
) fits in. The first number that you send (n
1
) indicates a num-
ber of columns, but the second does not represent a number of
columns; it is multiplied by 256 and added to n
l
. The command for
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