Enscript

Enscript is a tool to convert plain text file to postscript file or send it directly to printer. Although printers accept plain text input, if will use a text mode that only prints 40-50 lines with a huge ugly font. Enscript can use better fonts and can print in several columns or even emphasize keywords according to the contend of the text file.

Enscript has many options and the best way to learn them is through examples. For example:

enscript -Ehtml -2 -r index.html

print index.html in two columns (-2), in landscape mode (-r), with proper keywords highlighted (-Ehtml, tell enscript to use html style). O'Reilly network has an excellent introductory article http://linux.oreillynet.com/lpt/a//linux/2000/04/04/living/text.html about enscript. A more straightforward way to find meanings of options is `man enscript'^3.2.

You can incorporate enscript to many of your favorite Unix applications. For example, you can set up mutt (a powerful mail client) to print with enscript by adding:

set print_command="enscript -Email -2 -r -G"

to your .muttrc file. This will print your emails in two columns, in landscape mode, with fancy header and highlighted email headers. Similarly, you can follow the following steps to use enscript in pine (a very popular text based mail client).

1. In the MAIN MENU choose SETUP then Printer.
2. Go to Personally selected print command and hit A.
3. At the question Enter printer name: answer, for example, dh2088.
4. At the question Enter command for printer : answer, for example, enscript -Email -G -2r.
5. Hit E to exit and y to confirm.