ACTIVANT D2K Unidata Spooler User's Guide Version 9 Release 3.0
This manual contains reference information about software products from Activant Solutions Inc. The software described in this manual and the manual itself are furnished under the terms and conditions of a license agreement. The software consists of software options that are separately licensed. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium, or to enable any software options, except as specifically permitted under the license agreement. In addition, no part of this manual may be copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Activant Solutions Inc. From time to time, Activant makes changes to its software products. Therefore, information in this manual is subject to change, and the illustrations and screens that appear in the manual may differ somewhat from the version of the software provided to you. Created by: Yardley Technical Communication 2006, Activant Solutions Inc. All rights reserved. Activant and the Activant logo are registered trademarks and Activant Prophet 21 is a trademark of Activant Solutions Inc. All other company or product names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Activant Solutions Inc. 7683 Southfront Road Livermore, CA 94551 Version 9 Publication Date: 3.21.2006
Table of Contents Introduction to Spooler...1 Viewing Spooler Assignments...3 Procedures for Setting up a Spooler Printer...5 SP.ASSIGN - Assign Printed Output to a Printer...6 SYS.SPOOLER Menu...8 SPJ...9 SP-STATUS...14 Changing Active Form Queues...16 UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid...18 i
Introduction to Spooler Spooler is a "phantom" process by which D2K controls the printing of reports. The following table describes the features and benefits of using spooler. Features Benefits Spooling Queueing Jobs Frees up screen When print jobs are "spooled", the spooler assigns an entry number to the job and then returns your CRT to a menu to continue processing. Reports may be generated even if all printers are currently in use; print jobs continue to "stack up" in a queue (waiting line) and the spooler controls the order of printing. Your terminal is free to continue processing, even while the job is printing. Learning about System Configuration prepares you to handle situations where new equipment is added, or printers are moved on the system. This section on Spooler does not deal with setup; it deals with information you need to know about manipulating spooled jobs and using the spooler software and commands. You can control some aspects of the spooler environment. The following table describes these aspects. Feature Number of Copies Printer Selection Description The default number of copies is "1", but you may increase this number if necessary. If you have more than one printer, you may direct print jobs. This is especially helpful in the event of printer failure, or when using special forms. You must define all printers and also "form queues". (For example, you may have one form queue set up for 11 x 14 paper and another for 8 x 11 paper.) While a printer can be defined only once, multiple form queues may be designated to use that printer. Unless specified otherwise, all print jobs will be routed to the default printer, form queue STANDARD. Types of Spooler Entries You may determine if you wish to retain a job that has been spooled. See the table on the next page. UniData Spooler 1
Introduction to Spooler, continued Types of Spooler Entries The following table describes the three types of spooled jobs: Option "null" H HS Description Print the job, then delete it from the system. This is the default Print the job, then Hold it on the system. The advantage to hold entries is the ability to restart a print job, to reprint a job, or to start printing at a later date. Hold the job on the system, and Suppress printing. Note: These options may be overridden, and jobs which are held in the spooler queue may be edited, killed, or deleted using Spooler Commands. 2 UniData Spooler
Viewing Spooler Assignments Spooler assignments are managed by port number or process ID; they may be different from one port/process to another. To verify spooler assignments, use the SP-LOOK option from the SPJ function to display the current spooler assignment for the port or process issuing the command. The following screen is a sample of the command SP-LOOK. Your current spooler assignment is: Unit 0 Width 140 Length 61 Top margin 0 Bot margin 0 Mode 1 Options are: Banner unique F0 Eject Nfmt Nhead Destination F0 Copies 1. Spooler & options: lpr -h -#1 -PF0 Press <CR> Unit Width Length Top Margin Bot Margin Mode A number assigned to a given printer. The default is zero. Number of characters per line. Number of lines per page. Number of lines to leave blank at the top of each page. Number of lines to leave blank at the bottom of each page. Current mode of operation. This is useful in determining whether your current setting is to spool, hold, or hold suppress jobs. Modes include: Mode Description 1 Spool 3 Hold Suppress 6 Hold continued on next page UniData Spooler 3
Viewing Spooler Assignments, continued Options are: Banner Eject Nfmt / Nofmt Nhead / Nohead Destination Copies The banner, if any, that will print as the first page. Displays the number of pages to eject at the end of the print job. Displays whether there will be system formatting. Displays whether a banner will be printed for the print job. Displays the form queue to be used for the print job. Displays the number of copies to print. 4 UniData Spooler
Procedures for Setting up a Spooler Printer Once a printer has been installed to the system, you will need to follow some steps within D2K in order for the system to recognize and spool to the printer. Note: For additional information on the functions described on this page, please refer to your System Administrator training materials, System Configuration section. The following table describes the procedure for setting up a spooler printer. Step Action 1 Determine how the printer will be used. For example, you should decide which types of reports and forms will print on each printer. Also, if you are setting up individual User IDs, you should decide which printers each logon will use for reports, forms, etc. It is common to have one or more printers dedicated for some type of forms (orders, invoices, checks) and other printers dedicated to print stock paper reports. 2 You must know the port to which the printer was installed. For example, if it is a serial printer, you will need to know the number of the serial port to which it was installed. 3 In PORT.MAINT, define the port to which the printer has been installed and alter/create the port record accordingly. 4 In DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE, create the record for the printer. Be sure to indicate both port information (as created in PORT.MAINT), and form information. Form information will be based on how you plan to use the printer as discussed in step 1. 5 If you want to route print jobs according to the logon ID and report/form being printed, access screen 3 of SYS.USERS for each logon and set up the form queues for each form name. For example, if you want sales orders to print to your Printer 2, which is the D2K400 designated for forms, set up the form name "SO.PRINT" to go to a form queue which has been linked to Printer 2 in the DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE function.. UniData Spooler 5
SP.ASSIGN - Assign Printed Output to a Printer The SP.ASSIGN command allows you to temporarily override spooler assignments for a specific port. Any changes made using this command apply to any print jobs run from the terminal on which SP.ASSIGN was used. It is a good idea to use the appropriate SP.ASSIGN command prior to printing each report which should print according to specific spooler assignments. SP.ASSIGN (options) Option n H HS form queue Description Print n copies (1-125): default is one Create hold file Create hold file and suppress line printer output Changes the form queue for jobs being spooled Note: The order in which options are specified is important! Commonly used Options n Option: Specifies the Number of Copies. Any number up to 100 may be used with the SP.ASSIGN command to indicate the number of copies to be produced. The default number of copies is always 1. Important: When used with multiple options, this must not be the first option in the string. Example: SP.ASSIGN 2 [Enter] H Option: The H option directs output to hold files, meaning that a semi-permanent entry is placed into the spooler to be held until it is manually removed. If the H option is used by itself, it will produce at least one copy on the printer and create a spooler entry with a H(old) status. Note that this does not suppress printing (see S option). Example: SP.ASSIGN H [Enter] continued on next page 6 UniData Spooler
SP.ASSIGN, continued S Option: The S option suppresses printing on a system printer. Its purpose is to prevent printing a report that is simultaneously directed to a hold file or to magnetic media. SP.ASSIGN HS [Enter] Form Queue Option: You may use any form queue set up on the system, preceded by the "equal" sign. Remember that the form queue has already been linked to a specific printer. The form queue option directs output to a specific form queue number and has the general form: SP.ASSIGN =INVOICE [Enter] Multiple Options: The following examples offer ways in which more than one option may be used simultaneously: Example: SP.ASSIGN =INVOICE 2 [Enter] Result: Request 2 copies to form queue INVOICE. Example: SP.ASSIGN =INVOICE HS 3 [Enter] Result: Request 3 copies to go to a hold file in form queue INVOICE with immediate printing suppressed. UniData Spooler 7
SYS.SPOOLER Menu icttrain 0000 15:02:10 28 JAN 19XX SPOOLER MENU NO...ITEM.NAME... TYPE...DESCRIPTION... 1 SPJ F Display Status of Print Jobs 2 SPS F Display Detail Status of Each Printer 3 SET.PRINT.SIZE F Set Size of Print for Character Printers 4 SP.ASSIGN F Assign Printed Output to a Printer 5 SP.CLOSE F Close a Print File Collection 6 SP.OPEN F Open a Print File Collection 7 SP.HS F Spooler Assign for Hold Print Files 8 SP.STD F Spooler Assign for General Use 9 SP.LABELS F Spooler Assign for Tape Labels Enter Your Selection... Previous Menu= SYS Current Menu = SYS.SPOOLER SPJ Allows you to access spooled jobs for display, printing, and deletion. You may also "kill" specific job(s) from printing. Various options are available. SPS Allows you to view the status of printers including form queue assignments, page skip, and status. SP.ASSIGN SP.STD N/A Returns the spooler assignment back to the User s defaults in SYS.USERS for STD form name. All other functions are not used by the System Administrator. 8 UniData Spooler
SPJ (SP-JOBS) 13:27:47 Sep 11 1997 SYSTEM PRINT JOBS PAGE 1 OF 2 PAGES Lin Job# Owner Size Date S # Q Name / Comments --- ---- ----- ---- ---- - - ------ 1 F0_2395 acmain 318 Sep 8 16:52 H 2 F0_2397 acmain 437 Sep 8 16:55 H 3 F0_2412 acmain 260296 Sep 9 09:21 H 4 F0_2467 acmain 1798 Sep 9 13:08 H 5 F0_2498 acmain 16639 Sep 9 15:31 H 6 F0_2515 acmain 11844 Sep 9 18:01 H 7 F0_2559 acmain 1603 Sep 10 10:01 H 8 F0_2560 acmain 1208 Sep 10 10:05 H 9 F0_2580 acmain 11907 Sep 10 11:13 H 10 F0_2581 acmain 1588 Sep 10 11:13 H 1. Move Form Queue 5. Delete Job 9. Suspend Print 13. Clear Queue 2. Move Print Job 6. Stop Printing 10. Top Priority 14. SP-LOOK 3. Change Options 7. Resume Printing 11. SP-STATUS 99. Exit 4. Change # Copies 8. Edit Print Job 12. Kill Printing Enter Action Code / Option (P#) The SPJ function allows you to manipulate spooled jobs. The "SPJ Sort" Option in SC.CONSTANTS allows you to specify whether Hold Jobs should display before or after Queued Jobs. Columns Lin Job Sequential number to be used for selection purposes. Note: The line number must be displayed on the current page. The number the spooler assigns to a print job. You use this number to reference print jobs when using the options to print, delete, display etc. The job number will displays differently based on the status of the job. IF the job is a queued job (Status = Q) hold job (Status = H) THEN the job number will be comprised of a sequentially assigned job number Example: 0004 the form queue number, an underscore, and a sequentially assigned job number Example: F3_2876 Owner Size Date This is the logon account of the terminal at the time the print job is created. This is number of frames of disk space that the print job is using. If you would like to delete hold jobs to gain back some system space, you may want to look first at the jobs showing the highest numbers in this column when deciding which ones to delete. The date and time that the print job is created. UniData Spooler 9
SPJ, continued S The status helps you determine what happened, or is currently happening, to your print job. The following table describes the options for the status column. Status Code Q Description Queued - A job which has been spooled and is either printing or waiting to print. H Note: The current print job will have a printer status displayed to the right of the line. Example: idle, accept, STANDARD is ready and printing Hold - A job which has been placed on hold or hold suppress. M Note: Once a hold job has been spooled, the spooled job will become a new job with a status of Q. The original job will remain on hold with the same job number. Manual - A job which must be manually spooled if desired. A Note: Jobs which have been killed will have a status code of manual. If you wish to spool an M type job, you would use Change Options and change the status to a Q. Abort - A job which has been stopped. # The number of copies for this print job. Queue Name/ The output queue the spooler assigns the job. The form queues are set up and Comments maintained in the function DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE. on identifying Note: A queue name will appear for queued jobs (status code Q) only. For hold jobs (status code H), this field will display the text that is found at the top of the first column the print job, which in most cases will be the function name. This is to assist in the content of hold jobs. continued on next page 10 UniData Spooler
SPJ, continued Action Codes The action prompt allows you to enter an action code or type P and a page number when there are multiple pages of jobs. If you press ENTER, the screen will re-display with any updates which have occurred since the last display. Note: Some actions will be available to the User ID s with System Administrator rights only. Learning Advice: Refer to the UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid located at the end of this document for detailed procedures on the most commonly used actions. The table below describes each of the action codes. The first column specifies whether the action is available for Q(ueued), H(old), M(anual), or A(bort) jobs. Q / H/ M/A Q Q Action Code MOVE FORM QUEUE MOVE PRINT JOB Description This selection allows you to move all the jobs for a specified form queue to another form queue. After selecting this option, enter the "from" form queue, a space, and the "to" form queue. Example: F3 STANDARD This selection allows to move individual jobs to a different form queue. After selecting this option, enter the "to" form queue, a space, and the line number(s) of the jobs to be moved. You may enter multiple line numbers separated by spaces. Q, M CHANGE OPTIONS Q CHANGE # COPIES Example: STANDARD 10 15 This selection allows you to change a job's print option (ie; M, Q). You may enter a line number, a space, and a number of copies to be printed. The maximum number of copies you may enter is 100. Example: 10 3 H,Q DELETE JOB You may delete an individual line (job), or enter selected line numbers separated by a comma. Q Q STOP PRINTING RESUME PRINTING Caution: When a job is deleted, all subsequent jobs will be moved up in the queue and the line numbers will be renumbered. If a job is queued to print (status column shows "Q"), you may issue this command. Jobs which have been stopped via the "Stop Printing" selection may be restarted with this selection continued on next page UniData Spooler 11
SPJ, continued Q / H/ Action Code Description M/A H EDIT PRINT JOB Use this selection to view or print spooled jobs. Note: Jobs may be edited by the Owner or System Administrator only. You may edit multiple jobs simply by spacing between the line numbers. EDIT PRINT JOB options: (t)erminal, (f)ind, (s)pool, (d)elete (Q)uit The table below describes the options available when (t)erminal is chosen. Option Description h help q or Q quit <blank> or \n next page l next line d or ^D display half a page more. or ^L redisplay current page f skip the next page forward n next file p previous file $ last page w or z set window size and display next page s savefile save current file in savefile /pattern/ search forward for pattern?pattern? or search backward for pattern ^pattern^!command execute command Note: Most commands can be preceeded by a number. Example: +1\n (next page); -1\n (previous page); 1\n (page 1). continued on next page 12 UniData Spooler
SPJ, continued Q / H/ M/A Action Code Description SUSPEND PRINT Not Available Q TOP PRIORITY Jobs which are queued for output (have a status of Queued), may be moved to the top priority print position. SP-STATUS Displays the status of all printers on file. Q KILL PRINTING Stop a job that is currently printing. Hold jobs are retained in the job queue, otherwise the job will be deleted. When you access this option, you are asked for a form queue. The job which is currently printing on the queue will be killed. If you wish to kill printing for other jobs in the same queue, you must continue to select KILL PRINTING, and enter the form queue. CLEAR QUEUE Delete all jobs for a specific queue which are eligible for deletion. This selection prompts for the queue name. SP-LOOK Displays a listing of current spooler assignments for the session issuing the command. EXIT Choosing this option, number 99, returns you to the menu of origin. UniData Spooler 13
SPS (SP-STATUS) The SP-STATUS option from the SPJ screen is useful in determining the current status of your printers. Columns Q Name LP Type Port Skip Queue Status The Form Queue Name The printer ID The printer type (SPCL or SYS) The port number to which the printer is attached The number of pages that eject between print jobs (Digital AlphaServer only) The status of the Form Queue Continued on next page 14 UniData Spooler
SP-STATUS, continued Action Codes The action prompt allows you to enter an action code or type P and a page number when there are multiple pages of jobs. If you press ENTER, the screen will redisplay with any updates which have occurred since the last display. The table below describes each of the action codes. Action Code Description 1. Reassign Queue Although multiple form queues may be specified for a printer in DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE, only one can be active. This selection allows you to change the "active" form queue for a printer. Refer to "Changing Active Form Queues" for an example of why you would use this option. 2. Start Printer Allows you to restart a form queue. This is useful as a troubleshooting step in the event that jobs are not printing properly. 3. Stop Printer Allows you to stop a form queue. 4. Change Page Skip (Digital AlphaServer only) Allows you to change the number of pages that eject between jobs for a specific printer. You need only enter the form queue name and the new number of skipped pages. UniData Spooler 15
Changing "Active" Form Queues As stated earlier, you may have multiple form queues assigned to a printer in DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE. However, in DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE, there is only one "Initial Form"; this is the form queue which is initially started and is the queue which is considered active by spooler unless you specify otherwise. For example, suppose you have one printer which you use for your forms. The initial form queue is for invoices, but you periodically print Accounts Payable checks on this printer. When you print checks, you want to make sure that once you have loaded checks into the printer, no invoices are sent to the printer, ruining your checks. In our situation, we have two form queues (as set up in DEFINE.PRINTER.TYPE) for Printer 1 called CHECKS and INVOICE. If I am ready to load checks in the printer, I would change the form queue for the printer to CHECKS. Once I have finished printing checks, I would change the form queue back to INVOICE, and all jobs which have been sent to the INVOICE queue will then print. 16 UniData Spooler
Notes UniData Spooler 17
UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid Purpose This job aid is to assist you in performing the most frequently used UNIDATA Spooler functions. Move a Print Job The following table displays the steps to move a print job from one form queue to another: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 2 (Move Print Job). 3 The form queue name you want to move the job(s) to, followed by a space, followed by the line number of the job(s) to move. Example: STANDARD 10 4 99 (to exit the function). Delete a Print Job The following table displays the steps to delete single, or multiple jobs from a queue: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 5 (Delete Job). 3 The line number of the job to delete, or multiple line numbers to delete separated by spaces. 4 99 (to exit the function). Edit and Print a Job The following table displays the steps to edit and print a job: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 8 (Edit Print Job). 3 The job number to edit. 4 t (Terminal) to view the job 5 q (Quit) to quit from the view mode 6 S (to spool the job to the printer). 7 q (to quit out of the job). 8 99 (to exit the function). Continued on next page 18 UniData Spooler
UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid, Continued Hold a Print Job The following table displays the steps to hold a print job prior to printing: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 3 (Change Options). 3 The line number to hold, followed by a space, then the new mode. Example: 1 M 4 99 (to exit the function). Kill a Print Job The following table displays the steps to kill a print job: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 12 (Kill Printing). 3 The form queue name that is printing the job. (Note: Hold jobs will be retained in the job queue, otherwise the job will be deleted) 4 99 (to exit the function). Clear a Form Queue The following table displays the steps to clear all jobs from a form queue: Step What to enter 1 SPJ (at a menu or TCL). 2 13 (Clear Queue). 3 The form queue name you want cleared. 4 99 (to exit the function). Restart a Form Queue The following table displays the steps to restart a form queue. Step What to enter 1 SPS (at a menu or TCL). 2 2 (Start Printer). 3 The form queue name you want started. 4 99 (to exit the function). Continued on next page UniData Spooler 19
UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid, Continued Change Active Form Queue for a Printer The following table displays the steps to change the "active" form queue for a printer. Step What to enter 1 SPS (at a menu or TCL). 2 1 (Reassign Queue). 3 The form queue name you want to make active. Example: CHECKS 4 Load correct paper/form into the printer. 5 Run the job. 6 Re-load original paper/form back into the printer 7 Repeat Steps 2 and 3, changing the form queue back to its original setting. Example: INVOICE 8 99 (to exit the function). Change # of Pages to Skip The following table displays the steps to change the number of pages to skip between print jobs for a form queue (valid for Digital AlphaServer only). Step What to enter 1 SPS (at a menu or TCL). 2 4 (Change Page Skip). 3 The form queue name. 4 The new number of pages to skip. 5 99 (to exit the function). Continued on next page 20 UniData Spooler
UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid, Continued Introduction This page represents an example of a spooler printer queue setup and is for illustration purposes only. Use the following page to document your company s specific spooler environment. Printers and Ports Examples The following table displays a list of printer numbers and port numbers associated with the printers on our system: Printer# Port# Location 0 12 Front office. 1 5 Mary s desk. 2 33 Sales Printer. etc. etc. etc. Queue Names Examples A queue on the system relates to a type of form. The following table displays a list of the Queues and Forms associated with them on our system: Queue Name STANDARD FORMS PO CHECKS STMTS Forms printed All reports, including IEP reports. Sales order, Invoices, Pick tickets. Purchase orders. Accounts Payable checks. Accounts Receivable statements. Overall Setup Example The following table maps out the overall setup of our spooler: Printer# Port# Form Name Queue Name 0 12 Reports, IEP reports STANDARD* 1 5 A/P Checks, Reports, IEP reports, A/R Statements. CHECKS* STANDARD, 2 33 Sales Orders, Invoices, Pick Tickets, Purchase Orders. etc. etc. etc. etc. STMTS FORMS*, PO Note: * denotes the default form queue name for that printer. Continued on next page UniData Spooler 21
UNIDATA Spooler Job Aid, Continued Printers and Ports The following table displays a list of printer numbers and port numbers associated with the printers on your system: Printer# Port# Location Queue Names A queue on the system relates to a type of form. The following table displays a list of the Queues and Forms associated with them on your system: Queue Name Forms printed Overall Setup The following table maps out the overall setup of your spooler: Printer# Port# Form Name Queue Name Note: * denotes the default form queue name for that printer. 22 UniData Spooler