Clipper Processor hogging on Windows NT and 2000

: : :
: : : The most common printing problem in a network environment is that
: : : _nothing_ reaches the printer until the application is terminated or
: : : the spooler times out, whichever comes first. This problem is solved
: : : by opening the port before printing and closing it afterwards.

: : : set printer to lpt1: // or whatever port is used
: : : set device to printer
: : : DoThePrinting()
: : : eject
: : : set device to screen
: : : set printer to // this is where the port is closed

: : : The first line is as important as the last one, otherwise the Clipper
: : : runtine won't know which port to close at the end.

: : : Another speed related thing to consider is that Clipper hogs the
: : : processor up to almost 100% even when the application is idle, and
: : : that causes _other_ applications to slow down considerably. I mention
: : : this since it is something you don't notice if you are only running
: : : one application at a time and your problem description fits this
: : : condition too.

: : : One way to reduce the hogging is to use FT_IAmIdle() from the Nanforum
: : : Toolkit. Instructions, the latest patch for that function and download
: : : links for the whole lib are available here:
: : : http://home.swipnet.se/engw/clipper/nfpat1a.htm