Some Useful Software for Engineering Students

I. Installing GSview/Ghostview on Windows

Ghostview (or GSview) is a useful GUI-based prgram for viewing and printing postscript files. Ghostscript is the program that does the work behind the scenes--i.e. the user runs gsview ( aka ghostview) which in turn uses ghostscript.

I recommend that you visit the Ghostview site at U Wisconsin to obtain the latest stable software and to get specific installation tips: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/. The advice below can become outdated quickly!

There are two files you'll need,the first being gs704w32.exe, (that's for ghostscript 7.04, the most recent stable version as of the date below). It's a self extracting setup for ghostscript. You can start with the original file in any convenient place-- the self extracting and setup will be done in, for example, C:\gstools. The second file is gsv43w32.exe, (that's for GSview 4.3, also the most recent stable version) also a self-extracting setup, but for GSview (the viewing program the user deals with directly).

One the setup is done, you need to configure gsview and ghostscript--it's pretty easy. Run gsview32.exe (probably as C:\gstools\gsview\gsview32.exe). Configuration of gsview should start automatically the first time you execute it. Use the defaults unless you're very knowledgeable.

Configure ghostscript (by now, you may have seen a complaint that it isn't configured). To do that, choose Options, then Configure Ghostscript from the menu bar. (By the way, the fist choice under Options is for configuring gsview.) Again, use the defaults.

Finally--you may want to print the document. This can be a little tricky becasue ghostscript needs to know something about your printer and your printer might not be a postscript printer or be on the list of supported non-postscript printers. Try the most likely approximation and hope!

NOTES:

1. Postscript files may be printed to non-postscript printers from Gsview, but the result isn't as good. The result should be readable, however.
2. To use Gsview as an application with your Web browser, identify the location of gsview32.exe as the place to go when viewing postscript!
3. A good test file for viewing is tiger.ps (one of several that comes with the package).
4. ai eps ps are the extensions associated with gsview32.exe The MIME type is application/postscript and, for netscape at least, the form used to run gsview and load the file is gsview32.exe %s
5. I'm not aware of a good file for testing printing--be prepared to stop the job! It's a good idea to test with minimal pages in the printer.