When a file is received to the PC, BARR/RJE processes any form or print attribute information included with the file and stores it in a record called a spool header at the beginning of the file.
BARR/RJE uses the information in the spool header when it prints files. How the information is used depends on the printer type. For ASCII line printers, BARR/RJE processes the information in the file’s spool header and sends header fields such as lines-per-form, lines-per-inch, and carriage control stops as printer commands.
Usually you do not need to know about the spool header format, but if files do not print in the expected format you can examine the information in the spool header to help you pinpoint the problem.
This appendix describes the information stored in the Barr spool header.
You can use any of these features to enable the spool header.
The spool header is automatically included in files from the host that are written to the SPOOL destination.
You can include the spool header in files from the host that are written to a (FILE) destination if you enable the Write spool header to file option on the Assign Devices Options screen.
You can include the spool header in LAN files that you submit to the spool with the Barr PRT utility.
The spool header consists of several lines of identifier text and data fields. Some fields from the spool header — such as form name, FCB name, and copies — display on the Print Spool screen. Others fields are maintained and used only internally by the software.
To view the entire header for a file, use the view header feature from the Print Spool screen.
This spool header example shows all possible fields:
The spool header begins with the word PRINTER and ends with the text END OF PRINTER FORM followed by a form feed (FF) character. Most field values are preceded by an identifier and an equal sign. For example, FORMNAME= is a field identifier and CHECKS is the field value.
Spool headers for some files might not contain all the fields shown in the example, because you might not be using features that cause the fields to be set. Values underlined in the example indicate fields that BARR/RJE maintains internally.
If you write programs to generate the Barr spool header, be
aware that the format of the header is subject to change without notice.
If you update your version of BARR/RJE and the spool header format has
changed, you will have to change your programs. To obtain the current
format of the spool header, assign PR1
(FILE), enable Write spool header to file on
the Assign Devices Options screen, and receive a test file.
The values for the spool header fields depend on features you enable in the Barr software. Usually, you must enable more than one feature to supply all of the fields. Blank fields indicate that information was not supplied.
File attributes can be set with these methods:
As a host file is received to the print spool
Before you copy a PC or LAN file to the print spool
From the File Attribute Table (FAT), as files arrive in the print spool
On the Print Spool screen, while the file is waiting to print
When the print spool receives a file from an IBM mainframe, it processes attribute information received with the file and stores it in the spool header. Usually, information from the host SETUPHDR (PDIR) record is combined with information from a form defined with the Barr Edit Forms feature, or information from the host FCB record and $HASP190 message is combined. See Appendix F, Form Information Sources, for more information about obtaining form information from the host.
If you use the BARR/PRINT for LAT, BARR/PRINT for TCP/IP, or PRINT/TWINAX options to receive files from DEC VAX, UNIX, or AS/400 hosts, you can extract attributes from the file’s data with software options like Spool header from data and OUTPUT statement used in file. See Chapter 10, Assign Devices, for more information about these options.
If you use the Barr PRT utility to copy LAN or PC files to the print spool, you can specify file attributes before you copy the file. See Chapter 25, Spool PRT Utility. If you use the DOS copy command to copy files, the files will not have a spool header, but BARR/RJE sets their class value to Z and preserves their original file names.
You can use the print spool’s File Attribute Table (FAT) to preset or automatically override file attributes. The values take effect as files are received from the host or copied to the print spool with the Barr PRT utility. See section 9.5 for more information about the FAT.
While a file is waiting to print, you can use commands on the Print Spool screen to change the attributes. See Chapter 24, Print Spool Operation.
Table E-1 lists spool header field values you can change and indicates which options you can use to set their values. See section E.4 for detailed descriptions of each field.
Table E-1. Methods for Setting File Attributes
1See section E.4 for more source information.
2File attributes you can use as spool criteria.
3Depends on whether form or FCB controls spool.
4Does not appear in spool header.
5Depends on table match criteria.
The following fields are included in the spool header. The field values are from the example in section E.2.
FORMNAME=CHECKS
The form name for the file (for example, CHECKS and INVOICES), usually indicating the type of form paper to use in the printer.
LPF=066
The number of lines-per-form, indicating the vertical page size.
PLPF=042
The number of print lines-per-form, indicating the print area of each page.
LPI=6
The number of lines-per-inch that will be printed on the page.
CONTROL=00
An optional printer control string selector (in hexadecimal). It is an index to the Barr Printer Control Data table for the destination device. (Each LPT, COM, or NET device has a separate table, as discussed in section 8.8.) The control string associated with this index code is sent with the file to the printer.
LOCNAME=
A field used internally by the Barr software for locating a form overlay file.
JOBNAME=jobname
The eight-character job name for the file.
COPIES=1
The number of copies to print. If a value is not specified, the number of copies is set to 1.
Y
ASCII ASA conversion flag. Indicates that BARR/RJE should convert ASA carriage control to machine carriage control for ASCII files so you can print them on S/370 channel printers. (Requires the PRINT370 option.) You can set this value with the options listed in Table E-1 or with the ASCII data with ASA carriage control option on the Assign Devices Options screen.
(FCBLOAD)
Indicates whether BARR/RJE received FCB information from the host. Used internally by the software.
PRIORITY=5
The file print priority. Valid values are 0 to 9, where 9 is the highest priority.
STATE=READY
Indicates the file’s spooling state. Valid states are Hold or Ready.
CLASS=1
The spooling class for grouping similar files. The class value can be a digit or letter. The RJE system does not supply the host class value to the remote, but you can set it with BARR/RJE options listed in Table E-1 or with the Class option on the Assign Devices Options screen.
FCBNAME=fcbname
The eight-character name of the Forms Control Buffer (FCB).
UCS=
The eight-character name of the UCS print train. The UCS name comes from the host SETUPHDR (PDIR) feature.
00000FB5
Spool file reprint offset used internally by the software. If printing halts (because you put the file on hold or because of a software error condition), the software records where it left off. The field remains blank until printing halts. It resets to blank when printing resumes. When you use the reprint feature to resume printing, the software uses this value to reposition the file at the correct starting point.
H
TCP banner indicator used internally by the software. BARR/RJE uses this field if you have the BARR/PRINT for TCP/IP option and you set up the software to process host banner page requests. The print spool automatically adds a beginning banner page when it receives an LPD file. But the banner does not print unless the print spool detects a banner page request in the LPD control file. When the host does not request a banner for a file, this value is set to H to tell the software to strip the banner.
D
One-character file disposition, indicating whether to retain or delete the file after it prints. The letter D indicates the delete disposition and blank indicates the retain disposition.
This field shows the default disposition (which is retain if you define a retain directory or delete if you do not define a retain directory), unless you specify a disposition on the Print Spool screen, in the File Attribute Table, or with the Barr PRT utility.
P
Page break indicator used internally by the software. P indicates that the file has page breaks. L indicates that the file does not have page breaks (or has fewer than three page breaks within the first 600 lines). This value affects how the software repositions the file for reprinting. P tells BARR/RJE to reposition the file to the top of the page where printing stopped. L tells the software to reposition the file to one line above the stopping point.
0
The PDIR identifier byte used internally by the software. The byte value indicates whether the file contains a PDIR job separator. BARR/RJE sets this value from information obtained from the host SETUPHDR (PDIR) feature.
0 – The file contains a standard job or system message.
1 – The file contains a job separator.
The PDIR identifier byte is used by special applications. When this byte is set to 1, BARR/RJE splits a single host job containing multiple outputs into separate files and assigns a group code in the next header field.
D6C101
A six-character group code the software generates to group separate spool files that originated from the same host file. (A host file containing multiple outputs can be split into several files at PDIR occurrences.)
The group code indicates that the software should send the individual files to the same printer and it indicates the correct print order. The first four characters form a unique file identifier assigned by the Barr software to indicate which spool files came from the same host file. The last two digits show the sequential order in which the spool files were created and, thus, the order in which they should print.
For example, in the group code D6C101, D6C1 is the host file identifier and 01 is the file number.
CARRIAGE CONTROL STOPS
Carriage control characters, or stops, are used to quickly advance the paper. Each print line can contain only one carriage control stop. Carriage control stops come from the host FCBLOAD feature or from the Barr Edit Forms feature. The stops shown in the header are for ASCII line printers. Files in S/370 format contain a separate FCB record.
00000FB5
Fast reprint file offset. Maintained internally by BARR/RJE if you enable the Save fast reprint repositioning information option on the Print Spool Description’s Advanced Spool Options screen. If printing halts, the software records where it left off. The field remains blank until printing halts. It resets to blank when printing resumes. When you use the reprint feature to resume printing, the software uses this value and the fast reprint page number stored in the next field to immediately reposition the file at the correct starting point.
0000004B
Fast reprint file page number. Maintained internally by BARR/RJE if you enable the Save fast reprint repositioning information option on the Print Spool Description’s Advanced Spool Options screen.