[NTLK] Newton Printing to PDF? -> YES!

[tonykan at xtra.co.nz]

Kol hakavod!

-----Original Message-----
From: newtontalk-bounces at newtontalk.net <newtontalk-bounces at newtontalk.net> On Behalf Of Sylvain Pilet
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2019 1:00 PM
To: Newton Liste Newton Talk US <newtontalk at newtontalk.net>
Subject: [NTLK] Newton Printing to PDF? -> YES!

[snip]

Three days ago, I thought to myself, that we could use a Raspberry Pi, it costs almost nothing, and we can certainly do it. As I already have Raspberry at home which is only used to make NPDS Tracker server, it can also make print server. :-)

And here we are three days later… the result:
I can print PDF documents from any Newton application, simply by using Newton's Print option. The only condition is that the Newton is connected to your network, by cable (because the modern Wifi Router are not AppleTalk compatible (except Apple Airport Base). The whole trick is in the Raspberry. 
But I still have a few more details to review before I present this solution to you. 
The advantage is that the document can be as many pages long as you want and can contain anything you want (not just text).
The second advantage over an external solution, is that the PDFs generated are identical to a print made directly with the Newton on a printer. And even more importantly, the text remains text in the PDF! I have at home, an HP LaserJet 4000 printer with a network card, which I have been using with my Newtons for years. And I checked, it's the same, unlike the online service, that gives random results when there is more than just text.

The other good news of this "NewtonToPDF" tip is that you can also use any current printer, to print for real, from the Newton (via the Raspberry.) Of course, if the printer can work natively with the Raspberry. I'm not going to write pilots anyway! :-)

[snip]