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.

10.2.15 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.

10.3 DCPS Version 1.2 Changes

This section describes changes in DCPS Version 1.2.

10.3.1 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.

10.3.2 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.

10.3.3 DCPS Includes Files for the DEClaser 3500 FAX Option

DCPS includes example files for the the DEClaser 3500 printer's FAX features.

10.3.4 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.

10.3.5 Logical to Enable Device Control Library Caching

The system logical 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 12.1.4.

10.3.6 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.

10.3.7 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.

10.3.8 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:

• DCPS Version 1.2 must be configured to support at least four execution queues to reduce the memory requirements to that of DCPS V1.0C.
• You can reduce the number of process slots taken by DCPS by increasing the number of queues per process. This will free up process slots. By reducing the number of DCPS symbiont processes, you reduce the number of DECthread processes that must run periodically, which improves system performance.
• With Version 1.2 and later of DCPS, even though a DECprint Supervisor process can be configured to support more than one execution queue, DCPS can translate only one file at a time. To avoid contention for translators, when a stream (queue) in a process needs a translator that is already in use, the translator for that stream is started in a separate temporary process. This can impact performance if your site primarily uses one translator, and print queues are generally busy. To reduce the likelihood of a impact on performance, choose a smaller value for DCPS$MAX_STREAMS.
• The maximum number of queues per process is 32. This limit is imposed by the OpenVMS queue manager.
• If DCPS is configured to support only one print queue per process (the default), DCPS Version 1.2 uses less memory than V1.1 or V1.1A, but more memory than DCPS V1.0C.
• A DECprint Supervisor process running multiple print queues represents a potential single point of failure. If the supervisor process fails, or someone stops the process, then several queues are affected.

This chapter describes fixes and changes that are new to DCPS V1.1A.

11.1 DCPS Version 1.1A Fixes

This section describes problems that have been fixed in DCPS Version 1.1A.

11.1.1 Corrected Timeout Problem With LAT Protocol on Network Cards

A problem occurred on DCPS print queues connected to printers using the LAT protocol on a network card. If the printer was turned off for a long period of time, say for the night, and a job was submitted while the printer was off, the queue would stop with a fatal timeout message. This behavior has been corrected and printing will resume when the printer is turned on.

11.1.2 ANSI Translator Printing with A4 Landscape

All versions of the ANSI translator prior to DCPS V1.1A had a problem printing 66 lines of text in landscape mode on A4 paper. The translator has been fixed by altering the vertical spacing and printable area that it uses.

If you use preprinted forms that depend on the translator's old behavior, you can define a DCPS logical to retain that behavior. See the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide for more information.

11.1.3 PCL Translator Handles Duplexing on PostScript Level 2 Printers

The PCL translator now generates PostScript code that will print correctly on PostScript Level 2 printers when the file includes a duplex escape sequence.

11.1.4 Correction for ANSI Performance Problem on PrintServer Printers

There is a version skew problem in the PrinterServer ANSI prologue file in DCPS V1.1 and the version number stored in the resource file. The problem may cause the ANSI prologue to be downloaded for each ANSI print job. To correct the problem issue the following command:

@SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]UPDATE-ANSI-PROLOGUE

11.1.5 Remote Console Aborted Jobs on PrintServer Printers

If a print job was submitted to a PrintServer printer with DCPS V1.1, and aborted via the remote console, the job would be requeued. This problem is fixed in DCPS V1.1A so the print job is deleted from the queue.

11.1.6 New Format for the Log Files

There were several problems with the log file mechanism in DCPS V1.0, V1.0B, and V1.0C. These problems were fixed in DCPS V1.1, but not communicated to you.

The new log file mechanism clearly displays control characters and formats data in an easy-to-read format. However, programs that read the log file may not operate properly.

11.1.7 Device Control Module Cache Problem Corrected

In DCPS V1.1, if there was more than one device control library, and DCPS$DEVCTL.TLB was not the first library in the library search list, and caching was enabled, the symbiont issued an error message stating that the required device control modules could not be found and stopped the queue. This problem is fixed in DCPS V1.1A.

11.1.8 Problem with P2 in DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM Fixed

With DCPS V1.1, device names supplied in P2 for DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM were turned into logical names if their length exceeded 31 characters. In DCPS V1.1A, device names are not treated as logical names until 39 characters, the maximum size for the /ON qualifier.

11.2 DCPS Version 1.1A Changes

The logical name, DCPS$queuename_PID, is defined by the symbiont when it starts executing.

This chapter describes changes to DCPS Version 1.1.

12.1 DCPS Version 1.1 New Features

This section describes the new features in DCPS Version 1.1.

12.1.1 New Interconnects and New Device Specification Syntax

DCPS Version 1.1 adds support for printing to desktop printers via AppleTalk, and to DIGITAL PrintServer printers using TCP/IP. Refer to the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide for the details.

DCPS V1.1 can print PCL jobs, including those which specify PCL Level 5 commands, directly to certain printers without using PCL-to-PostScript translation. Version 1.1 uses the native PCL capability of those printers when a job requires no PostScript processing.

Not all printers that provide PCL emulation are supported by DCPS in this manner. Printers that are supported for native PCL printing are listed here:

• DEClaser 5100
• DIGITAL PrintServer 17, with PrintServer Supporting Host V5.0 software and at least 12MB memory
• DIGITAL PrintServer 17/600, with PrintServer Supporting Host V5.0 software and at least 12MB memory
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 3Si with PostScript option
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4M
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4ML
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4MP
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4SiMX

When DCPS is executing in a cluster environment where the UAF files are different between cluster members, an OPCOM message is displayed and the job prints normally:

%%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 1-JAN-1994 18:43:55.87 %%%%%%%%%%% Message from user SYSTEM on LITERA Queue SHARIE: %DCPS-W-USERNOTFOUND, user name FOO not found, no log files created -RMS-E-RNF, record not found

Because the username cannot be found, the symbiont cannot perform the MESSAGES=KEEP or MESSAGES=PRINT parameter request.

To keep this OPCOM message from being displayed for every job, define the logical DCPS$queuename_IGNORE_UNKNOWN_USER to be one (1).

12.1.4 Device Control Library Cache Feature

DCPS V1.1 has a new device control library caching feature that optimizes the retrieval of certain commonly-used PostScript device control modules. Refer to the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS System Manager's Guide for the details.

12.1.5 ANSI Prologue File

A new ANSI prologue is included as part of the new ANSI translator in DCPS V1.1 and is also available as a separate file. The file is located at SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]LPS_ANSI_PROLOGUE.PS. The prologue is incompatible with the previous ANSI translators.

A PostScript printer can hold only one version of an ANSI prologue. To minimize performance problems, after installing the DCPS V1.1 software, power-cycle non-PrintServer printers to force the DECprint Supervisor software to persistently load the new prologue.

To update the ANSI translator prologue on your PrintServer Supporting Host system, enter the following command:

@SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]UPDATE-ANSI-PROLOGUE.COM

Then reboot your PrintServer printer.

This .COM file assumes that the DECprint Supervisor software is installed on your supporting host system. In addition, all PrintServer printers are updated.

12.2 DCPS Version 1.1 Fixes

This section lists problems that have been corrected since DCPS V1.0 was released.

12.2.1 Separator Tray Logical Works on Generic and Execution Queues

Previously, the logical DCPS$queuename_SEPARATOR_TRAY worked only on generic queues. It now works on execution queues as well.

12.2.2 Suppressed Messages NOPAGEREGIONOP and NOSETPAGEDEVICE

These undocumented informational messages no longer occur.

12.2.3 Fixed Problems Printing VFC Files

Printing a VFC-formatted file with a print file carriage control code of hex 8C now works correctly.

DCPS does not support printing VFC-formatted and other files whose organization is RELATIVE or INDEXED. DCPS now detects this condition and returns a file error message.

12.2.4 Increased Range of PAGE_LIMIT to 999999

The prior limit for either starting or ending page was 9999. It is now 999999.

12.2.5 Fixed Abort when All Message Fields Disabled

DCPS will no longer terminate with the %STR-F-STRTOOLON message if job controller is started with all message content disabled using the following command:

$ SET MESSAGE/NOTEXT/NOFACILITY/NOIDENT/NOSEVERITY

12.2.6 Fixed ANSI Jobs with "Sinking Accented Capital Letters"

The error with the ANSI data type in which accented capital letters such as Á and É would print lower than surrounding characters on some types of printers has been fixed.

12.2.7 Library Search List Correctly Searched

With DCPS V1.0, if you defined the SYS$LIBRARY logical to be a search list, the DECprint Supervisor software failed to find site-specific device control libraries placed in site-specific library directories.

DCPS V1.1 corrects this problem. The supervisor correctly searches all directory elements of the SYS$LIBRARY logical name for specified device control libraries.

12.2.8 Empty Setup Module No Longer Hangs Supervisor

DCPS V1.0 queues would stall and the supervisor would hang in an infinite compute loop if it was instructed to load a setup module with no contents. The DCPS V1.1 supervisor does not exhibit this behavior.

12.2.9 Corrected PostScript Handling in Layup

DCPS now correctly handles idtransform and setpagedevice commands in the layup facility.

12.2.10 LCIT Keyword Now Recognized for PrintServer 17

You can now use the INPUT_TRAY=LCIT parameter to select the large capacity input tray on the PrintServer 17 printer.

12.2.11 Fixed OUTPUT_TRAY=SIDE for PrintServer 17

The parameter OUTPUT_TRAY=SIDE now selects the lower tray for all members of the PrintServer family.

12.2.12 Fixed Delay for Manual Feed with Apple and Hewlett-Packard Printers

New code activates a delay for insertion of paper into manual feed slot with Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III, IIID and IIISi and supported Apple LaserWriter printers.

12.3 DCPS Version 1.1 Changes

The DCPS Version 1.1 software adds support for additional non-DIGITAL printers if you install the DCPS-Open license.

The following printers are among those supported by DCPS Version 1.1:

• Hewlett-Packard printers
  • LaserJet 4M, 4ML, 4MP, 4SiMx
    Native PCL mode supported
  • LaserJet IIISi printer
    PostScript Level 2 option
  • PaintJet XL300
    Provides color printing
• Apple LaserWriter Printers
  • Pro 600, Pro 630

See the DECprint Supervisor SPD for a complete list of supported printers.

12.3.2 Enhancements to the PCL Translator

The PCL-to-PostScript translator has been modified to include the following features.

• The following escape sequence has been implemented:

  <ESC>&l9D

  
  This escape sequence sets the line spacing to 9 lines per inch.

• The following escape sequence has been implemented:

  <ESC>&l5H

  
  This escape sequence selects an input tray. The command will execute the intermediate PostScript operator 'setlcittray', which by default selects the PostScript tray corresponding to the number 3. See the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS User's Guide for more information about redefining PCL tray selection operators.

• The top and left offset commands are implemented.
• Executing the command to set both the left and right margin to 0 has changed to give the behavior observed on the LaserJet IID; specifically, the margins are set to give the maximum width for the selected page size.
• The LaserJet IID does not require that a raster begin with the begin raster command. The translator has been made compatible with the IID, although it is recommended that a raster begin with the begin raster command.
• The PCL translator issues a PostScript save operation before executing any PostScript and a PostScript restore operation when the translated file finishes printing. All virtual memory used by the translator is recovered.

The DCPS Version 1.1 software does not support the LN03 Image Printer (LN03Q). If you rely on this type of printer, it is recommended that you use the DECprint Printing Services (CPS) Version 4.1 product to drive the printers.

An alternative to the LN03 Image Printer is the PrintServer image printing technology. DCPS Version 1.1, when used with PrintServer Software Version 5.0 or later, takes advantage of any image-printing enhancements in your PrintServer printer.

Image printing requires the DCPS-Plus license.

12.3.4 The State of a Printer Is Not Known Until a Job Prints

Beginning with DCPS V1.1, the functions that are performed when a queue is started have become consistent. regardless of the interconnect. Specifically, when a queue is started there is no attempt to make a connection to the printer. This is to minimize the possibility that a queue will not start. This is particularly important because there should be no errors or delays when queues are started while a system is booting. This change primarily affects printers directly connected to a system (TTAn or TXAn device). Previous versions of DCPS attempted a connection to a directly connected printer when the queue was started and could detect if the printer was powered on. Now, the state of a printer and the interconnect are not known until a job is printed.

12.3.5 New Behavior for Serial Interconnect

When communications problems arise on the serial interconnect, the symbiont will keep listening for up to 4 minutes before disconnecting from the printer. Therefore, under some conditions, the serial device is not released immediately after a STOP/QUEUE/RESET command is issued.