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When you begin the installation of DCPS, the software scans for existing queues and notes which ones are "active". Active queues are ones that are not stopped (for example, idle, busy, etc.).
If any active queues are found, their names and status are displayed, and you are then asked to decide if the installation procedure should automatically stop and later restart them.
If you do not want the installation procedure to automatically stop them, you are given the options of aborting the installation or continuing with the queues active. Continuing is NOT recommended.
If you choose to allow the installation procedure to stop the active queues it listed, it does so after all other installation questions are asked.
If the installation is successful, the listed queues are restarted
after the IVP runs. If the installation aborts, is interrupted, etc.,
they are NOT restarted.
13.3.4 Support for Process Software MultiNet for OpenVMS Software
DCPS now supports your use of either DIGITAL TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS software or Process Software MultiNet for OpenVMS software to provide IP connectivity. In DCPS versions V1.3 and earlier, only the former was supported.
Refer to the DECprint Supervisor SPD for more information and specific version
requirements.
13.3.5 New Paper Sizes
DCPS supports several new paper sizes, as listed in the table below. You can specify these new sizes as the logical PAGE_SIZE value for any printer, and as the physical SHEET_SIZE value for the printers listed below.
| Size Name | Size (mm) | Size (inches) | Printers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9_ENVELOPE | 98.4 x 225.4 | 3.875 x 8.875 | Lexmark Optra Rt+ |
| DOUBLEPOSTCARD | 148 x 200 | 5.827 x 7.874 | HP4MV, HP5SiMX |
| SUPER_B | 297 x 432 | 11.7 x 17 | HP4MV, HP5SiMX |
The device control modules for all printers were changed, to reduce negative interactions with PC- and Macintosh-generated files. This was done primarily by changing the way in which DCPS uses PostScript dictionaries in the printer. However, if your applications place many definitions in PostScript's "userdict" dictionary, it is possible that these changes may have a negative impact on your print jobs.
The four device control modules for "unrecognized" printers
were also changed. If you made any changes to previous versions of
these Compaq-supplied modules, you may need to rework your changes. See
the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide and comments in the LPS$$UNRECOGNIZED_* modules for
more information.
13.3.7 Support for Indexed and Relative Files
DCPS now allows you to print files that utilize an indexed, relative, or sequential file organization. In DCPS versions V1.1 through V1.3, you received a BADFILEORG error if you attempted to print an indexed or relative file.
Indexed and relative files are accessed sequentially, by their primary index and relative record number respectively. This new capability is consistent with the TYPE command.
Indexed and relative files frequently contain binary data. Attempting to print files containing such unprintable binary data can give unpredictable and probably undesirable results. |
The ALL-IN-1 compatibility kit, and the option to install it, is no longer part of the DCPS kit for OpenVMS VAX systems. The ALL-IN-1 product now provides the printer support that was provided by the compatibility kit in earlier versions of DCPS.
The compatibility kit was never necessary for OpenVMS Alpha systems.
13.3.9 DCPS User Card Removed
The DCPS kit no longer includes a User Card, either in hardcopy format or online. If you installed a previous version of DCPS, the online version of this card (SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]DCPS-USER-CARD.PS) will exist in the DCPS examples directory. The information on the card is still correct, though no longer complete.
The following list provides a brief description of the significant changes included in DECprint Supervisor Version 1.3. You can find more information for several of these changes elsewhere in these release notes.
This section lists problems that have been corrected in DCPS V1.3.
14.2.1 Repeated Messages for Queue with Invalid LAT Device
A DCPS queue started with autostart would repeatedly display the following message when the associated LTA device was incorrectly defined:
%DCPS-F-LRJNAMEUNKNOWN, Port name is unknown |
DCPS was unable to communicate with the DEClaser 5100 via the NIC card,
and would instead consistently fail with CONTERMINATED errors.
14.2.3 Queue Stalls Indefinitely While Printing End of Document
A DCPS queue would sometimes go into a Stalled state while or just
before printing the last sheet of a document, and would never resume
printing.
14.2.4 DCPS Installation Repeatedly Gets %DCL-W-SYMOVF Errors
When the DCPS installation procedure scanned for existing DCPS print queues, it would repeatedly generate the error message shown below if your system contained a logical name (for example, SYS$PRINT) and a queue name that were identical. The installation would never complete, and you would have to abort it by typing Ctrl/Y.
%DCL-W-SYMOVF, no room for symbol definitions - delete some symbols |
If the job controller was started with all message fields disabled, the DCPS symbiont would terminate with a %STR-F-STRTOOLON message whenever it attempted to generate a -DCPS-I-JOB_ID message containing additional job identification information. A message similar to the following would be sent to OPCOM:
%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 21-MAR-1996 20:28:01.70 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user SYSTEM on DANTOO Process SYMBIONT_15: %F-STRTOOLON, string is too long (greater than 65535) |
Symbiont terminations caused by disabled message fields were
erroneously believed to have been completely fixed in DCPS V1.1, as
reported in Section 17.2.5.
14.2.6 Online Help Fixed and Expanded
Some minor errors in the PRINT_PARAMETERS online help were fixed. In
addition, online help about the LN17ps and Colorwriter LSR 2000
printers was added.
14.2.7 Gray Bars from the LIST Translator Are More Visible
Gray bars generated by the LIST translator to highlight alternate
groups of lines are now more visible for the DEClaser 5100 printer at
resolutions above 300x300 dpi and for the Apple LaserWriter IIg printer.
14.2.8 Automatic Scaling When Queue Has PAGE_SIZE and SHEET_SIZE Parameters
DCPS now assumes an implicit NUMBER_UP=1 when all of the following conditions exist:
NUMBER_UP=1 scales the logical page size to fit on the physical sheet size. This fix results in the same behavior as specifying different values for PAGE_SIZE and SHEET_SIZE on the command line without specifying NUMBER_UP or LAYUP_DEFINITION.
In previous versions of DCPS, the implicit scaling was assumed for
command line parameters but not for queue parameters. A workaround in
those versions was to include an explicit NUMBER_UP=1 with the queue
parameters.
14.2.9 Job Log and Job Trailer Pages Sent to Specified Output Tray
The job log and job trailer pages, if any, are now normally directed to the output tray you specified with the OUTPUT_TRAY parameter. However, if DCPS reports a NOOUTTRAY, OUTTRAYNOTAVL, or OUTTRAYMISMATCH error when initially attempting to select the specified output tray, the job log and trailer pages are instead directed to the printer's default output tray so that you get an indication of the problem.
In previous versions of DCPS, the job log and trailer pages were always
sent to the printer's default output tray for non-PrintServer printers.
For example, it was previously documented that use of
OUTPUT_TRAY=FACE_UP for the HP LaserJet 4SiMX printer would not direct
the trailer page to the face-up output tray. This restriction no longer
exists.
14.3 DCPS Version 1.3 Changes
14.3.1 New C6 Paper Size
DCPS now supports the C6 (326x460 mm) paper size. You can specify C6 as
the logical PAGE_SIZE value for any printer, and as the physical
SHEET_SIZE value for the LN17ps printer.
14.3.2 Device Control Modules Changed for UNRECOGNIZED Printer
The four device control modules for "unrecognized" printers, as well as those for other printers, were changed. If you made any changes to previous versions of these Compaq-supplied modules, you may need to rework your changes. See the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide and comments in the LPS$$UNRECOGNIZED_* modules for more information.
This chapter describes the changes that are in Version 1.2 of the
DECprint Supervisor.
15.1 DCPS Version 1.2 Highlights
The following list provides a brief description of the significant changes included in DECprint Supervisor Version 1.2. You can find more information for several of these changes elsewhere in these release notes.
This section describes problems that are fixed in DCPS Version 1.2.
15.2.1 Truncated Lines When A4 Page Is Printed Landscape
Beginning with Version V1.1A the ANSI translator used a modified
definition of the size of the printing area for an A4 page printed
landscape. However, this new definition sometimes caused lines to be
abnormally truncated. This problem has been fixed. See Section 16.1.2.
15.2.2 AppleTalk Printer Names with Multinational Characters
If an AppleTalk printer name includes multinational characters (for example, accented characters), DCPS did not properly handle these names and could not find the printer on the AppleTalk network. The characters supplied for the /ON qualifer use the DECMCS character set. These characters had to be converted to the Macintosh character set to be used on the AppleTalk network. With Version 1.2, this conversion now occurs.
When multinational characters are used, the printer name printed on the
bottom of separation pages may be printed in the wrong character set.
15.2.3 DELETE/ENTRY and "(DCc) Circuit connect failure"
At apparently random times, it was possible for a PrintServer printer
to display the a "(DCc) Circuit connect failure" error and
stop responding to print requests. This problem occured as a result of
a DELETE/ENTRY command if the job number on the PrintServer printer was
100 or greater. DCPS now correctly handles DELETE/ENTRY and no longer
causes this error.
15.2.4 Speed of Printing of Certain File Types
Changes have be made to improve how files with variable length records
are handled by the symbiont. These changes can improve the speed at
which these files print.
15.2.5 Handling of Communications Problems on Serial Interconnect
In previous releases, there could be a delay of up to 4 minutes to free
the system resources associated with a serial device. This could occur
when a STOP/QUEUE/RESET command was issued when a job was printing, but
a communication problem had occurred. When such a delay occurred, the
queue could not be restarted soon after it had been stopped. Now when a
communication problem is detected, the system resources are freed more
quickly, and a print queue can be restarted soon after it is stopped.
15.2.6 DCPS$queuename_PID Logical Name and Startup Errors
With V1.1A, if a queue failed to start, the logical name
DCPS$queuename_PID would be left in the system logical name
tables. This no longer occurs.
15.2.7 Looping When Handling Messages with ']' in Job: field
DCPS now properly handles PostScript printer messages with a ']'
character in the job name. Parsing such a message in previous versions
would result in an infinite loop. This was most likely to be noticed
when printing to a printer on an AppleTalk network.
15.2.8 Handling of Long Device Names in DCPS$STARTUP.COM
DCPS V1.1A did not properly account for the SCSNODE name when
determining the value for the /ON qualifier from the P2 value supplied
to DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM by DCPS$STARTUP.COM. If the node's SCSNODE
name was less then 6 characters, an error could occur when the queue
was started. This has been fixed.
15.2.9 Form Setup Modules and Multiple File Jobs
A setup module specified by the /SETUP qualifier of a form is sent to
the printer just once at the beginning of a print job if the setup
module is PostScript. If the job included multiple files or copies of a
file, the PostScript context established by this setup module could be
lost and the rest of the files would not print as expected. This
happened because, when needed, DCPS sends the PostScript 'newsheet'
operator between files to ensure new files start on new sheets. The
PostScript context is now saved before executing 'newsheet', and
restored after executing 'newsheet'.
15.2.10 Interrupting Busy Printers When a Job Starts
Previous versions of DCPS, when used with serially-connected printers, used an aggressive synchronization sequence to gain control of the printer's PostScript interpreter. This is no longer the case, as it occasionally caused problems when a printer was used in a shared multi-host environment.
However, if you rely on DCPS's previous ability to abort errant
PostScript jobs on one queue by starting a job on another queue, you
can define a DCPS logical name to restore the previous functionality,
as described in the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide.
15.2.11 Suppressing PostScript Synchronization When a Job Starts
Defining the logical name DCPS$queuename_NO_SYNC causes the
DCPS symbiont to avoid using its usual synchronization sequence on
printers other than PrintServer printers. This includes printers that
use LAT or raw TCP/IP connections on built-in Network Interface Cards
(NICs). It has no effect when using printers connected via other
interconnects. This logical name is supported by Versions 1.2 and later
of DCPS to help avoid problems that have been reported in past versions.
15.2.12 DDIF Files with Invalid Parameter Values
The DDIF translators have been modified to handle files with invalid
values for some parameters. Specifically, if the value for either the
"PixelPath" or "LineProgression" parameter is
invalid, then the default value for that parameter is assumed.
15.2.13 Insufficient Event Flags
Under some circumstances, DCPS V1.1 and V1.1A exits with the following message:
%DCPS-F-INSEF, insufficient event flags |
This problem might occur with LAT-connected printers when more than one
host attempts a connection to the printer at the same time. This
problem is corrected in Version 1.2.
15.2.14 PostScript Operator findfont Has Been Modified
The example file [SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]PS_SUPPLEMENT.PS has been
changed. The re-definition of the PostScript operator 'findfont' has
been modified to minimize naming conflicts with other definitions of
the keyword 'findfont'. Also, if PS_SUPPLEMENT.PS is loaded more than
once, the 'findfont' operator is not re-defined, and previous problems
due to recursion no longer occur. The redefinition of the PostScript
operator 'findfont' has been modified to minimize naming conflicts with
other definitions of the keyword 'findfont'. Also, if PS_SUPPLEMENT.PS
is loaded more than once, the 'findfont' operator is not redefined, and
previous problems due to recursion no longer occur.
15.2.15 OUTPUT_TRAY=LCOS Not Supported for PrintServer 17 Printers
You can now use the OUTPUT_TRAY=LCOS parameter to select the large
capacity output stacker on PrintServer 17 printers.
15.3 DCPS Version 1.2 Changes
This section describes changes in DCPS Version 1.2.
15.3.1 Running DECprint Supervisor as a Multistreamed Process
Beginning with Version 1.2, a DECprint Supervisor process is capable of
running as a multistreamed symbiont process.
15.3.2 AppleTalk Interconnect Supported on OpenVMS Alpha Systems
Printing to printers on an AppleTalk network from an OpenVMS Alpha
system is now supported. The AppleTalk for OpenVMS network software
from PATHWORKS for OpenVMS (Macintosh) V1.3 or later must be installed
and running.
15.3.3 DCPS Includes Files for the DEClaser 3500 FAX Option
DCPS includes example files for the the DEClaser 3500 printer's FAX
features.
15.3.4 The Network Printer Setup Utility Updated
The Network Printer Setup Utility has been updated. The kit can be
found in SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS.NETPRINT] in the file
NETPRX11.ZIP. The new version works with V5.0A and V5.1 of PATHWORKS
for OpenVMS (LAN Manager). This version of the Network Printer Setup
Utility is also supplied on the PATHWORKS Unsupported Utilities Kit.
15.3.5 Logical Name to Enable Device Control Library Caching
The system logical name DCPS$DEVCTL_CACHE (with no queue name
specified) can be defined to specify that device control library
caching is enabled for all DCPS print execution queues on that system.
Also see Section 17.1.4.
15.3.6 DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE Updated
The file SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE has been modified to provide
example definitions for both DCPS$MAX_STREAMS and DCPS$DEVCTL_CACHE.
15.3.7 Executable Components Check for Compatible Versions
Beginning with DCPS Version 1.2, the executable components attempt to
ensure they are a matched set. If a mis-match occurs, DCPS reports an
error when the queue starts.
15.3.8 Reducing the Amount of Memory and Idle Time CPU
DCPS V1.1 and V1.1A use considerably more memory than previous versions of DCPS. This use of memory can become a significant problem when many DCPS queues are started on a system. DCPS Version 1.2 and later address this problem by reducing the peak memory requirements of DCPS and by allowing DCPS to run multistreamed.
Also, beginning with DCPS V1.1, DECthreads is used to implement the numerous functions of DCPS. All processes that use DECthreads execute periodically to determine if any threads can run. Even when no jobs are printing, DECthreads causes a DCPS process to run to determine if any threads can run. If there are many DCPS queues started on a system, the scheduling and periodic execution of all these processes can use a significant amount of CPU time. This problem is resolved by running DCPS as a multistreamed process, thereby reducing the number of symbiont processes that must execute. Also, DCPS symbiont processes never get swapped out of memory because they periodically execute.
There are several factors to consider to determine an appropriate number of queues per DCPS symbiont process including:
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