Compaq DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS
System Manager's Guide


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D.6 Eliminating Generic Queues

DCPS software has the ability to automatically detect data types, so you may be able to reduce the number of generic queues or eliminate them altogether. Refer to Chapter 4 for more information on automatic data type detection.

D.7 Page Scaling

The DCPS product can scale the logical page image to fit the output sheet if the job provides the following parameters:


PAGE_SIZE=p,SHEET_SIZE=s

Note that p and s are different values.

The job assumes the parameter NUMBER_UP=1. With CPS, it was necessary to explicitly provide a NUMBER_UP parameter in order to trigger page scaling.

D.8 Layup for PS Level 2 Printers & Layup Fixes

The DCPS software layup facility supports PostScript Level 2 operators when connected to printers that implement PostScript Level 2. It also fixes or extends support for several Level 1 operators.

Level 1 PostScript programs produced by Macintosh and PC applications generally print better with the DCPS product than they did with the CPS product. Problems with CorelDraw and Macintosh programs have been fixed.

D.9 Layup Options on PRINT Command Line

With DCPS software, you can provide layup options directly with the LAYUP_DEFINITIONS parameter, or you can record those options in a .LUP file and provide that file name with the parameter. Providing the layup options on the PRINT command makes it possible to pass them with jobs to be printed on another system via the Distributed Queuing Services product. CPS V4.1 software offers only the .LUP file option.

See the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS User's Guide for information on expressing layup options in a layup definition file or as a PRINT parameter.

D.10 Page Sizes

In the CPS V4.1 product, the following page sizes did not exist or were not correctly interpreted. The DCPS product defines and interprets these correctly.

A6
C
D
7x9
7_envelope
10x14
11x14
PostCard

D.11 Selecting Separator Pages from Alternate Tray

To select job separator pages from an alternate tray using the DCPS software, define the following system logical:


$ DEFINE /EXECUTIVE_MODE /SYSTEM DCPS$queuename_SEPARATOR_TRAY number

Note that number is a valid tray number for the printer served by that queue, and is printer-specific. Refer to your printer documentation to obtain the correct value.

D.12 Stopping Unreachable PrintServer

If the operator issues STOP/QUEUE/RESET, and the queue is connected to a DIGITAL PrintServer printer that is unreachable, the queue stops properly. This was not always the case with the CPS V4.1 software.

D.13 Overwriting First Line

In the CPS V4.1 product, the top line was overwritten if the record started with a form feed. This works correctly in the DCPS software.

D.14 Stall Timeouts

The CPS V4.1 software did not start the stall timer for directly-connected serial printers. The DCPS software starts the timer.

In the CPS V4.1 product, the default timeout for a stall message was one minute. This frequently resulted in "queue stalled" messages when the printer was processing a compute-intensive page (and was not really stalled at all). In the DCPS product, the stall timeout is four minutes.

D.15 Requeuing a Job

When a network error occurred while connecting to a printer, the CPS V4.1 software would requeue the job with the /HOLD attribute. The DCPS software requeues it without the /HOLD attribute.

D.16 Reading Stream Files

If a PostScript file has a record attribute of STREAM, STREAM_LF, or STREAM_CR, it is read in head1 mode. This allows the DCPS software to print very long stream records that the CPS software cannot print. Files of this type are sometimes written by PC communications programs.

D.17 Copies Start on New Sheets

When /COPIES=n is requested, and n is more than one, each copy starts on a new sheet, even when printing with NUMBER_UP or SIDES=2. This was not the case with PostScript jobs in the CPS V4.1 product.

D.18 Generic Queues Restarted

On shutdown, OpenVMS stops execution queues but not generic queues. As a result, when the system starts up again, the generic queues begin running even though they may have the wrong characteristics. When you start up generic queues in the CPS V4.1 product, you get warning messages saying that the queues are already running (as of OpenVMS V5.5). When the DCPS software starts up generic queues, it stops and then restarts those that are already running.

D.19 Proprinter Translator

The DCPS software contains a new Proprinter-to-PostScript translator not available in the CPS product. For general information on using the PROPRINTER data type, see the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS User's Guide.

D.20 DCPS and PATHWORKS Libraries

PATHWORKS for OpenVMS (Macintosh) creates its own device control library, MSAP$DEVCTL.TLB, and also puts its modules into the CPS library if there is one. It does not put them in the DCPS library. To rectify this, define DCPS_LIB as a search list that points to both the DCPS and PATHWORKS libraries. An example in DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE shows how to do this.

D.21 Printing with Macintosh and PC Files

The DCPS software contains a new PostScript example file to improve printing of Macintosh and PC files on DIGITAL PrintServer printers.

D.22 Improved Color Function for Colormate PS

The color transfer function of the Colormate PS has been changed to avoid the problems of gray scale images that are muddy or brown, and natural images with poor flesh tones. The Colormate PS now runs prints with a new default color transfer function to provide better gray scale images and natural flesh tones. Consequently, you may notice the following changes when you print on the Colormate PS:

D.23 Printing Security Messages

The DCPS product provides a new example file:


SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]CONFIDENTIAL.PS 

This file shows how to redefine the showpage operator to write "Confidential" at the top and bottom of each page as an overlay (that is, after the contents of the page have been imaged).


Appendix E
Ordering Additional Documentation

This appendix lists Compaq software documents and documentation kits associated with PostScript printers, and their respective order numbers.

E.1 DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS

E.2 PostScript Programming

Note

* Third Edition available from Adobe Systems Incorporated

E.3 DIGITAL ANSI-Compliant Level 3 Printing Protocol

Documentation (order number: EK-PPLV3-DK)

E.4 PrintServer Software

Software Document Part Number
DIGITAL UNIX QA-0V9AJ-GZ
HP-UX QA-0V9AD-GZ
IBM-AIX QA-0V9AE-GZ
IRIX QA-0V9AQ-GZ
OpenVMS QA-0V9AA-GZ
Solaris QA-0V9AK-GZ
SunOS QA-0V9AC-GZ
ULTRIX QA-0V9AB-GZ
Windows QA-0V9AH-GZ


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