Managing spool printers

From the Spool Window, you control the spool printer state, send commands to the printer, and modify the printer attributes. Spool printers are used only for outbound spool data. They route files from the Barr spool queue to a physical destination, such as a laser printer, an RJE or NJE host, or other locations on the LAN. You can control spool printers from the Spool Window with the following procedures.

Printers must be in the Disabled state before printer attributes can be changed.

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Changing the spool printer state

Complete the following steps to change a spool printer’s state from the Spool Window.

  1. Right-click the printer.

  2. Select a value from the pop-up menu.

Starting individual spool printers

You can start individual spool printers or groups of spool printers from the Spool Window. Disabled spool printers are immediately set to the Ready state.

Use one of the following methods to start spool printers.

Starting all spool printers immediately

To restart printers that were stopped with the Stops All Printers toolbar button, click the Stops All Printers button again. Spool printers resume printing documents where they left off.

Restarting spool printers

Use one of the following methods to restart spool printers. This is typically used when the printer is in an error state.

Pausing individual spool printers

Use one of the following methods to pause spool printers.

Stopping individual spool printers

You can stop individual printers or groups of spool printers from the Spool Window. Idle spool printers are immediately set to Disabled. Active spool printers are set to Draining until their current document completes and then are set to Disabled.

Use one of the following methods to stop spool printers.

Stopping all spool printers immediately

Click the toolbar’s Stops All Printers button to immediately stop all spool printers without changing the printer state field. All outgoing documents stop, an image displays next to each printer, and the button remains pressed in on the toolbar. This option does not change the printer state field.

To restart all the spool printers, click the Stops All Printers button again. Printers restart and continue where they left off. Incoming documents will not be displayed until the Stops All Printers button is released.

Reprinting from the spool printers list

Setting the printer state to Reprint will send the printer's next job directly into the Viewer utility. From the Viewer, you can set the reprint range and choose whether to print all or part of the document. This is usually needed when a document prints incorrectly and you were not given the opportunity to recover from the printer error. For more information on printing from the Viewer utility, refer to the Using the Viewer topic.

Sending a form feed command to the printer

From the Spool Window, you can send a form feed command to the printer to advance the printer to the top of form. The printer must be disabled before you can send the command.

Complete the following steps to send a form feed.

  1. Right-click the printer you want to send a form feed, and select Disable.

  2. Right-click the printer again, and select Form Feed.

Modifying spool printer attributes

You can modify the values for all spool printer attributes Attributes that control which jobs a spool printer can process. When a file's attributes match a printer's attributes, the file can print. except for the columns that appear gray in color. Use the following methods to modify fields in the Spool Window.

You can modify multiple nonadjacent fields by selecting a single row, and then holding down the CTRL key while you click other rows. You can modify multiple adjacent fields by selecting a single row, and then holding down the SHIFT key while you click the last row.

Printing a list of spool printers

You can print a list of the printers that display in the Spool Window or write the list to a file. The name of the active spool configuration file and the column headings from the Spool Window are included at the top of the list.

Send the list to a printer

Before you print the spool listing, you can use the Spool menu’s Print Setup command to set up the printer and the Print Preview command to view how the listing will print.

  1. On the menu bar, select Spool | Print Spool Listing.

  2. Select Printer list, and then click OK.

  3. From the Name list, select a printer.

  4. Click Properties to view or change printer properties such as paper size, paper source, page orientation, and duplex printing.

  5. Specify the Print Range. You can print the entire list or a range of pages.

  6. Specify the number of Copies and whether to Collate them.

  7. Click OK to start printing.

Write the list to a file

  1. On the menu bar, select Spool | Print Spool Listing.

  2. Select Printer list, and then click OK.

  3. Select the Print to file check box.

  4. Click OK.

Recovering from printer errors

Jobs with recoverable errors sent using RJE readers, IP, or LPR will be automatically scheduled to reprint in five minutes. Recoverable errors may include TCP/IP communication problems, such as a missing IP address, a closed connection, an invalid queue, or a busy queue. If you are printing to a printer that has the Print directly to the printer option selected, you can recover the print job by following these steps.

  1. Once the printer enters the error state (intervention), a message displays asking if you would like to cancel or retry the print job. If you fix the printer error, the message will disappear and act as if you clicked the Retry button.

  1. If you select Cancel, make sure the reprint range is correct and reprint the document from the Viewer utility.