SPOOLING

Overview

The Novell NetWare version of PRO/5 allows the user to direct output to any print queue on the network to which he or she has access. This is done by including the term NSPOOL in the printer or plotter alias line in the config.bbx file. Parameters included in the alias mode field or in the MODE= parameter of the OPEN statement further define the print job.

NSPOOL alias lines use either the bindery or Directory Services to locate a print queue. With Directory Services, print queues are not associated with a particular server, but with a "Tree". All print queues in the current "Preferred Tree" may be located directly by their name, and it is not necessary to specify the server that holds them or to provide a login or password to attach. Print queues outside the "Preferred Tree" may be accessed only by specifying the complete Directory Services name (for example, CN=HP_LASER.O=BASIS).

Parameters included in the MODE= field of the OPEN statement override the same parameters from the alias line. For example, the following overrides any copies or local parameter or the lack of a keep parameter on the alias line for P0:

OPEN (1,mode="copies=2,local=3,keep") "P0"

Direct Mode

If MODE=DIRECT is specified on an OPEN, or DIRECT is provided in the modes field of the alias line, any LOCAL= mode is ignored and no capture is performed. Instead, the open channel is associated directly with the print queue. The LPT ports remain unaffected.

This allows for more than three remote print queues to be opened at one time and it prevents PRO/5 from remapping the LPT ports. Under the Windows operating system this is especially important as other applications may require that the LPT ports remain as they were set in the Windows Control Panel.

The MODE=DIRECT feature is not enabled until the DIRECT mode is added to the alias lines. By default NSPOOL will perform a capture.

Capture Mode

If MODE=DIRECT is not selected, a local LPT port is captured. First, an endcap is issued for the specified local print channel to stop any capture of it that started outside PRO/5. Then a new Novell capture is started, redirecting local print channel LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3, as specified, to the designated print queue. Then all output for the channel is sent to that local print channel. When the channel is closed, an endcap is performed.

Parameters

The following paragraphs describe the parameters that may be included in the modes field of the nspool alias line or in the mode parameter of the OPEN.

copies=	Number of copies to print. Allowed values are 1 to 255. Default is 1.
form=	Identifies a form to use. Refer to the sections on the PCONSOLE utility and the PCS command in the Novell manuals for information about notifying the print server when a form has been mounted.
local=	Indicates the local LPT port for capture. Allowed values are 1, 2, or 3. Default is 1. It is mutually exclusive with the direct mode.
direct	Indicates that no capture is to be performed. It is mutually exclusive with the local= mode.
queue=	Name of the queue for spooling. This is a required parameter.
server=	Name of the file server on which the print queue is stored. (Not used if Directory Services is available.)
login= password=	These parameters must be provided if the workstation is not already logged into the server containing the print queue. (Not used if Directory Services is available.)
banner banner= name=	The default is to not print a banner page at the beginning of the print job. The word banner, as a mode flag, causes the default banner of LST: and the login name to be printed. banner= provides a name to be substituted for LST: and name= provides a name to be used instead of the current login. The banner and user name will be truncated to 12 characters. Any embedded spaces will be converted to underscores. The presence of either banner, banner=, or name= causes a banner page to be printed.
keep	Should the workstation hang with this print job active, the keep parameter will cause any data gathered up to that point to be printed. The default is to delete the queue file without printing it.
tabs=	By default, tab characters are sent to the printer without change. If a numeric value between 0 and 18 is specified, the Novell spooler will change tabs into spaces, with tab stops positioned at the requested interval. Because PRO/5 uses column positioning instead of tab characters, the tabs= parameter is rarely required. The main reason for including this capability is that some print server utilities, such as REWIND, require that the file be in text format instead of byte stream format. Including a tabs= parameter will force a text format file on the print queue.