DOS File Printing Setup Guide for eCount ERP

This article explains how to configure DOS file printing in eCount ERP for fast bulk output.

📋 Overview

DOS printers are used because they print plain text much faster than laser printers. They only accept Notepad (.txt) files, not images or PDFs.

🔧 Steps / How-to

Basic rules for designing print files

1. Set page size with the code format ^27^^67^^24^. Example: ^27^^67^^24^ for an 8‑inch page.
2. Write a column name between @# and $#. Example: @#ColumnName$#.
3. Define column character width using {}n. Example: @#ColumnName{}06$#.
4. Insert leading spaces with N<- syntax. Example: @#23<-ColumnName{}16$# starts after 23 spaces.
5. Increase font size by wrapping the text with ^14^ … ^20^. Example: ^14^@#ColumnName{}06$#^20^.
6. Decrease font size with ^27^^77^ … ^27^^80^. Example: ^27^^77^@#ColumnName{}06$#^27^^80^.
7. Apply bold effect using ^27^^71^ … ^27^^72^. Example: ^27^^71^@#ColumnName{}06$#^27^^72^.
8. Bold and increase size together: start with ^14^ ^27^^71^ and end with ^27^^72^^20^. Example: ^14^^27^^71^@#ColumnName{}06$#^27^^72^^20^.
9. Further reduce size using ^15^ … ^18^. Example: ^15^@#ColumnName{}06$#^18^.
10. Print the current date using the ~date token. Example: @#ColumnName{}06~date$#.
11. Print numbers in decimal format with ~decimal. Example: @#ColumnName{}07~decimal$#.
12. Right‑align a column using ~right. Example: @#ColumnName{}07~right$#.
13. Skip a line when the value is zero with ~decimalnonzero. Example: @#ColumnName{}07~decimalnonzero$#.
14. Report a specific line using ~reportsetup. Example: @#2<-Line1~reportsetup$#.
15. Print data from a data‑grid column using ~dg and the column index (starting at 0). Example: @#ColumnName0{}25~dg$#.
16. Print a date in words with ~words. Example: @#FreightBy{}43~words$#.
17. Print the current time using ~time. Example: @#CurrentDate{}12~time$#.
18. Insert a page break with ^12^. Example: ^12^.
19. Show total page count with @#PageCount$#. Example: @#PageCount$#.

⚙️ Settings / configuration

All codes must be placed in a plain Notepad (.txt) file saved with ANSI encoding. DOS printers ignore any image or PDF files.

💡 Tip: Keep a master template file and duplicate it for each report to avoid missing codes.

⚠️ Common issues / warnings

• Incorrect code syntax causes the line to be ignored by the printer.
• Changing the computer name without updating the printer configuration can prevent the DOS printer from being recognized.

⚠️ Note: If you rename the PC, edit the DOS printer setup file or reinstall the printer driver so the new name is reflected.

✅ Summary

• Create a plain‑text file and follow the exact code syntax.
• Set page size, column names, character width, spacing, and formatting using the provided codes.
• Use special tokens (~date, ~time, ~right, etc.) for dynamic data.
• Save the file and send it to the DOS printer; no images or PDFs are supported.