These release notes describe restrictions, usage hints, and other useful information for DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS.
Revision/Update Information: These release notes supersede all other documentation.
Operating System & Versions:
OpenVMS Alpha Version 6.2 or higher
OpenVMS VAX Version 5.5-2 or higher
Software Version: DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS, Version 1.8
© 2000 Compaq Computer Corporation
COMPAQ and the Compaq logo Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. DECnet and OpenVMS are trademarks of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.
All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Confidential computer software. Valid license from Compaq required for possession, use, or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.
Compaq shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
This document was prepared using DECdocument V3.3.
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The primary source of information about DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS, Version 1.8 is the following set of software manuals:
These release notes provide detail on the following:
For information on licensing requirements and the features available with each license, see the DECprint Supervisor Software Product Description (SPD 44.15.xx).
This section describes changes included in DCPS V1.8. You can find more
information for several of these changes elsewhere in these release
notes.
1.1 DCPS Version 1.8 Changes
1.1.1 New Printer Support
DCPS V1.8 adds support for the following printers:
You can find more information in Chapter 5 of these release notes.
1.1.2 Some DCPS Stapling Restrictions Removed
DCPS supports the stapling option on the LN32, LNM40, mL320 and mL401 printers.
In DCPS V1.7-1, you could not automatically staple jobs containing more than one file. Starting with DCPS V1.8, jobs with multiple files will be automatically stapled if requested.
In DCPS V1.7-1, you could not automatically staple PCL jobs. Starting with DCPS V1.8, PCL files will be automatically stapled if requested. If stapling is requested, PCL files will be translated to PostScript using the DCPS PCL4 translator, rather than being interpreted by the printer's native PCL interpreter. If your PCL file contains any PCL escape sequences introduced after PCL4, the sequences will be ignored.
Refer to DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS User's Guide for information about using the stapling option
from DCPS.
1.2 DCPS Version 1.8 Fixes
The following problems are fixed in DCPS V1.8.
1.2.1 Symbiont Aborts When IP Names are Used
When using DCPS V1.7-1 or earlier with DIGITAL TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, V5.0, on Alpha systems, the DCPS print symbiont could abort when the TCP/IP host name for a printer was resolved to an address by a DNS server. This problem did not occur with TCP/IP Services V5.0 on VAX systems, or with TCP/IP Services V4.2 or earlier.
OPCOM messages similar to the following were displayed:
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-MAR-1999 15:38:25.08 %%%%%%%%%%%
Message from user SYSTEM on FUNYET
Process SYMBIONT_407: %SYSTEM-F-STKOVF, stack overflow, PC=00000000003237A4, PS=0000001B
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-MAR-1999 15:38:25.14 %%%%%%%%%%%
Message from user SYSTEM on FUNYET
%QMAN-E-SYMDEL, unexpected symbiont process termination
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-MAR-1999 15:38:25.17 %%%%%%%%%%%
Message from user SYSTEM on FUNYET
-SYSTEM-F-STKOVF, stack overflow, PC=0000000000000000, PS=00000000
%SYSTEM-F-STKOVF, stack overflow, PC=0000000000032F1C, PS=0000001B
Improperly handled condition, image exit forced.
Signal arguments: Number = 0000000000000003
Name = 0000000000000554
0000000000032F1C
100000000000001B
Register dump:
R0 = 0000000000000000 R1 = 0000000000000554 R2 = 0000000000010220
R3 = 0000000000020018 R4 = 0000000000000000 R5 = 0000000000011588
R6 = 0000000000000000 R7 = 000000000000000B R8 = 000000007AF2EFD8
R9 = 0000000000FB132C R10 = 000000007AF2F169 R11 = 000000007AF2F5E0
R12 = 00000000000230D8 R13 = 000000007B022330 R14 = FFFFFFFF8101A7C0
R15 = 0000000000000554 R16 = 0000000000000554 R17 = 0000000000000000
R18 = 000000000000000C R19 = 0000000000000001 R20 = FFFFFFFF83BB0000
R21 = FFFFFFFDFF7FE000 R22 = FFFFFFFF800D5160 R23 = 000000007FFA1FC0
R24 = 000000007AF2EFD8 R25 = 0000000000000001 R26 = 0000000000032F1C
R27 = 000000007B562E00 R28 = 100000000000001B R29 = 000000007AF2EFA0
SP = 000000007AF2EF90 PC = 0000000000032F1C PS = 100000000000001B
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With some printers, including the LN32, LNM40, mL320 and mL401, DCPS sometimes paused for five to ten seconds between jobs when using a raw TCP/IP connection. The following error message would often appear before the delay:
%DCPS-W-NOT_READY, Printer is not ready |
With some printers, including the LN20, LN40 and LNC02, DCPS would return the message:
%DCPS-W-OFFLINE, Print Engine has gone off line |
when starting a job if the printer was in Energy Saving mode.
1.2.3 ANSI GSS Sequence Could Cause Symbiont Crash
When using the ANSI GSS escape sequence with a parameter of zero, the ANSI translator would crash and cause the print queue to stop. For example, the sequence:
<CSI><SP>C
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would cause DCPS to crash with the following error messages:
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-DEC-1999 11:48:09.85 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user SYSTEM on RT495 Process SYMBIONT_49: %SYSTEM-F-INTDIV, arithmetic trap, integer divide by zero at PC=FFFFFFFF808A0AE8, PS=0000001B %%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-DEC-1999 11:48:09.89 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user QUEUE_MANAGE on RT495 %QMAN-E-SYMDEL, unexpected symbiont process termination %%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 3-DEC-1999 11:48:09.89 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user QUEUE_MANAGE on RT495 -SYSTEM-F-INTDIV, arithmetic trap, integer divide by zero at PC=0000000000000000, PS=00000000 |
When requesting a list of fonts from some printers, including the LN32
and LNM40, the list would either not print or fail with a PostScript
error. This would occur if a DCPS ANSI print job had been printed on
the printer since the last time it was powered on. ANSI fonts created
by DCPS have been fixed so that such font lists, including those
produced using the printer's console and user-written PostScript
programs that inquire about font information, now succeed.
1.2.5 Layup Usage and Printer Errors Can Cause Memory Leaks
DCPS symbiont processes would sometimes use increasing amounts of memory over time when you used layup files. This also occurred rarely for certain printer error messages.
Also see Chapter 4 for information about a memory leak in OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2.
This section describes changes included in DCPS V1.7-1. You can find
more information for several of these changes elsewhere in these
release notes.
2.1 DCPS Version 1.7-1 Changes
2.1.1 New Printer Support
DCPS V1.7-1 adds support for the following printers:
The Compaq Laser Printer LNC02 is equivalent to the DIGITAL Laser Printer LNC02. References in the DCPS documentation to the DIGITAL Laser Printer LNC02 also apply to the Compaq Laser Printer LNC02.
You can find more information in Chapter 5 of these release notes.
2.1.2 Support for Stapling on LN32 and LNM40
DCPS V1.7-1 adds support for the optional stapling feature of the
Compaq Laser Printer LN32 and LNM40. Refer to DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS User's Guide for
information about using the stapling option from DCPS.
2.1.3 Support for Process Software TCPware for OpenVMS Software
DCPS now supports your use of TCPware from Process Software in addition
to DIGITAL TCP/IP Services and Process Software MultiNet software to
provide IP connectivity. TCPware V5.3 or later is supported.
2.2 DCPS Version 1.7-1 Fixes
The following problems are fixed in DCPS V1.7-1.
2.2.1 Selecting LN32 Mailbox Causes Error
When the Compaq Laser Printer LN32 was set to jog (offset) output, selecting a mailbox as an output tray caused the print job to fail with the error:
%DCPS-E-OUTTRAYNOTAVL, No MAILBOX_n tray is installed on printer_name |
where n is the number of the mailbox tray selected and printer_name is the name of the printer.
DCPS jobs can now be sent to any mailbox regardless of the printer's
JOB OFFSET setting.
2.2.2 Selecting Paper Size FOLIO Causes Error
Starting with DCPS V1.6, selecting paper size FOLIO would result in the job failing with one of the following error messages:
%DCPS-E-PARSYNERR, Syntax error in the /PARAMETERS qualifier at or near PAGE_SIZE=FOLIO %DCPS-E-PARSYNERR, Syntax error in the /PARAMETERS qualifier at or near SHEET_SIZE=FOLIO |
The following sections identify the current restrictions that exist
with DECprint Supervisor. See DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide and User's Guide for
printer-specific restrictions.
3.1 Job Remains in Starting State for Raw TCP/IP Queue
If you set up a DCPS queue that uses a raw TCP/IP connection and specify an incorrect TCP port number for the printer, any print jobs that you submit to the queue will remain in a starting state. DCPS cannot determine that you have provided an incorrect port number, because the network failure that it receives is no different than if the printer had been busy or offline.
Note that a print job in a raw TCP/IP queue may remain in a starting state for other reasons as well.
Check the documentation for your printer, network interface card, print
server, or terminal server to determine the correct TCP port number to
use. The TCP port number may also be listed in Table A-1, or in the
DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide.
3.2 Connection Terminations for Raw TCP/IP Queue
You may get CONTERMINATED errors for long print jobs when using raw TCP/IP connections. For jobs that consist of a single file or only use the native PostScript capability of the printer (for example, they do not use native PCL), these errors are most likely to occur at the end of the job, with job trailer pages (if specified for the queue) and print job accounting (if enabled) being lost. For other jobs, these errors may occur in the middle of the job, with subsequent documents as well as the trailer pages and accounting information being lost. DCPS requeues the terminated jobs, placing them in a Holding state so that you can reprint them once you resolve the termination problem.
Some network devices, including the Hewlett-Packard JetDirect cards, drop a TCP/IP connection if they do not receive any input from the host system within a specified amount of time. This is a feature, meant to prevent host software from monopolizing the device. DCPS, however, waits for the printer to acknowledge that previous documents are printed before switching from PostScript to some other native printer language and also before printing a trailer page and gathering accounting information. Even though the printer may be busy, the NIC may not receive any more input from DCPS before the timeout is reached.
If your NIC allows you to alter the TCP/IP idle timeout value, you can work around this problem by disabling or increasing the timeout. Check your NIC documentation to determine if this is possible, and how to do it. Then release any requeued jobs for which desired output was lost, and delete the other requeued jobs.
Note that it is the length of a job in time (versus size) that is
important. For example, a very small PostScript program can take a very
long time to print. Hence, it is difficult to predict how large a
timeout is adequate.
3.3 NOT_READY Warnings for Unavailable Raw TCP/IP Printer
If a job is queued to a printer that uses a raw TCP/IP connection, and the printer is busy or offline, you will get NOT_READY warning messages for the printer.
If you believe or determine that the printer is busy, you can ignore
these messages. DCPS cannot, unfortunately, differentiate between the
printer being busy, offline, or otherwise unavailable.
3.4 Translators do not Generate Color PostScript
The translators provided with DCPS (for example, ReGIS) do not generate
color PostScript commands, even if your source file contains color
information. The colors are instead translated to various shades of
gray.
3.5 Job Trailer Page Jogs with PostScript Level 2 Printers
When job jogging is enabled on PostScript Level 2 printers to separate
jobs by offsetting them, jogging occurs between the body of a job and
its trailer page (if any).
3.6 Unable to Perform ANSI Tray Selection for Certain Printers
An attempt to print an ANSI file containing a tray selection escape sequence might fail, depending on which printer you are using. If so, the job might abort with a PostScript configuration error, with the offending command being "setpapertray".
Also, some printers, such as the Compaq Laser Printer LN16 and GENICOM microLaser 170, have input trays with PostScript tray numbers of 0. The ANSI escape sequence DECASFC is used to select trays, but a value of 0 means "no tray change" and selecting tray 0 is therefore not possible. For example, an ANSI escape sequence of
<CSI>0!v
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does not select tray 0, but rather indicates no change of tray.
A workaround to this problem is to create and subsequently invoke a setup module that redefines the settoptray, setbottomtray, setlcittray and setmanualfeedtray PostScript commands within the TRN$XLATE_DICT dictionary.
For example, for a Compaq Laser Printer LN16, DIGITAL Laser Printer LN15 or LN15+, or GENICOM microLaser 170, you should create a setup module that contains the following definitions for settoptray, setbottomtray and setmanualfeedtray:
TRN$XLATE_DICT begin
/settoptray { statusdict begin 0 setpapertray end } def
/setbottomtray { statusdict begin 1 setpapertray end } def
/setmanualfeedtray { statusdict begin 3 setpapertray end } def
end
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For an HP LaserJet 4M Plus, you should create a setup module that contains:
TRN$XLATE_DICT begin
/settoptray { statusdict begin 3 setpapertray end } def
/setbottomtray { statusdict begin 0 setpapertray end } def
/setlcittray { statusdict begin 1 setpapertray end } def
end
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PostScript tray numbers are documented in the User's GuideUser's Guide.
3.7 AppleTalk Queues Do Not Start or Jobs Remain in Starting State
The first print queue in the process to use AppleTalk fails with the following error and the queue does not start:
%DCPS-W-ATK_FOR_VMS, Error connecting to AppleTalk for VMS driver |
If other queues using the AppleTalk interconnect are started on that same process this error is not reported. These queues will start, but jobs on these queues remain in the "starting" state.
If a queue using the AppleTalk interconnect is started before the AppleTalk network software is running, then the queue might start but will not be functional. This occurs when DCPS is running as a multistreamed symbiont and another print queue is running in the same process.
To recover from such an error, stop all queues supported by any currently running symbiont processes that have detected that the AppleTalk network software is not running (one error message is generated per symbiont process). Restart the AppleTalk software and the queues.
To avoid this problem, run the AppleTalk network software before
starting any DCPS print queues.
3.8 Some Printers Do Not Send Status Messages to the Host
Some PostScript printers, because of their internal architecture, report status information only to the printer console and not to the host system with which they are communicating. As a result, DCPS is not aware of some status conditions (for example, paper out, paper jam, page too complex, cover open, etc.) and cannot report them to you. Instead, the DCPS queue will enter the Stalled state if DCPS subsequently attempts to communicate with the printer. This subsequent attempt may come during the same job that first experienced the problem or in a later one.
The following is a list of some of the printers which exhibit this behavior:
When multinational characters are used in the PostScript
"printername", the printer name printed on the bottom of
separation pages may be printed in the wrong character set.
3.10 DDIF Printing Requires DECwindows Software or DECimage Application Services
To print DDIF encoded bitonal images, DCPS requires that either
DECwindows software or Version 3.1 of DECimage Application Services
(DAS) be installed on your system. DAS is only available on OpenVMS VAX
systems.
3.11 Compatibility of NUMBER_UP and PostScript Drivers
PostScript files created with the LaserWriter 8.0 or 8.1.1 driver or the Adobe 2.1.1 Windows driver in conjunction with the application may produce PostScript files that do not print as expected with NUMBER_UP greater than 1.
Symptoms include pages being clipped, printed outside of the NUMBER_UP
page spots, or being improperly scaled.
3.12 LIST Translator Ignores PAGE_SIZE Parameter
The LIST translator ignores the PAGE_SIZE parameter when formatting pages. It creates pages with maximum content at a size adequate for both A (Letter) and A4 paper:
It is still possible to use PAGE_SIZE and SHEET_SIZE parameters
together (with the DCPS-PLUS license) to scale the logical page onto a
different size sheet.
3.13 Embedded PJL Commands Discarded; Avoid Binary Mode
Drivers that create files for PJL printers, such as those for the DEClaser 5100 and the HP LaserJet IV family, include printer control commands in Hewlett-Packard Printer Job Language (PJL). DCPS filters out and discards that data. Therefore, printer options selected by such drivers do not affect the print job.
When using these drivers, do NOT select binary mode. It will insert
additional commands into the file that can cause incorrect behavior
when printing via DCPS. The exact form of behavior depends on which
printer is actually connected to the queue and whether or not the job
passes through a DCPS translator.
3.14 Unreliable Communication after Errors on Some Printers
Unexpected errors can occur at the end of a print job when printing to some printers using the AppleTalk interconnect. The printers which can exhibit problems include the LaserWriter Pro 600, LaserWriter Pro 630, the LaserWriter IIg, and the LaserWriter IIf. Generally, the unexpected error occurs when an explainable error occurred during the print job; for example, a PostScript error which causes the PostScript interpreter to "Flush to the EOJ", or a timeout error while waiting for manual feed. The behavior a user may see includes one of more of the following:
The user's part of the print job prints as expected. The unexpected error occurs during the end of job processing (for example, getting the page count or the job trailer page printed) done by the DECprint Supervisor. Once the offending job is complete, subsequent jobs print as expected. No system operator intervention is needed.
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