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Print control with PADM

Usually, print jobs are issued “without” print control, i.e. it is UTM that controls the output of messages to printers. Print output takes place in automatic mode in such cases. Automatic mode is set after the first time the application is started.

Print output “with” print control means that it is the user who has to control the output of messages. Print control can be performed in the following ways:

  • procedures with PADM calls which are started by a printer control LTERM

  • procedures with PADM calls which run under UTM administration privileges, e.g. the event service MSGTAC.

In UTM cluster applications, the change of mode (with/without print control) applies globally to the cluster.

openUTM provides a special confirmation procedure for print control. In order to use this procedure you must switch from automatic mode to confirmation mode. The following section describes the difference between automatic mode and confirmation mode.

Automatic mode - print output without print control

In automatic mode, openUTM controls the output from the printer. Output then proceeds as follows:

openUTM sends the first message in the queue to the printer and receives a positive or negative print confirmation from the printer.

If openUTM receives a positive print confirmation message, it deletes the message from the queue and sends the next message to the printer etc.

If openUTM receives a negative print confirmation message from the printer, it issues message K046. This message is not normally assigned to any specific UTM message destination. You can define a message destination for the message: the openUTM manual ”Messages, Debugging and Diagnostics” describes how to do this and indicates the destination to which you should assign the message.

The message destination for K046 can, for example, be the event service MSGTAC. Using the MSGTAC routine, which you have to create yourself (see the openUTM manual „Programming Applications with KDCS”), you can then respond to the error situation. The MSGTAC can, for example, switch on the confirmation mode. See also chapter "Administering message queues and controlling printers".

Confirmation mode - output with print control

In confirmation mode, print output must be controlled by program units using PADM calls. Print outputs in confirmation mode proceed as follows:

openUTM sends a message to the printer. Once the message has been completed with a positive print confirmation, openUTM waits for confirmation, after which it performs a message termination procedure. The user/client can enter confirmation on the printer control LTERM or, for example, using the MSGTAC routine. For the MSGTAC routine, openUTM generates message K045 in response to a positive print confirmation message.

To confirm printer output, a procedure must be initiated using a PADM call which informs openUTM whether the print job should be repeated or whether it can now move on to print the next message.

With PADM AI, you can call up information about print jobs which you have to confirm. Users/clients on the printer control LTERM can therefore inform themselves about these messages and can also obtain information using the MSGTAC routine.

In confirmation mode, openUTM issues message K045 in response to a positive print confirmation message. You can assign message destination MSGTAC to this message: in this case, openUTM passes the message to the MSGTAC routine. The MSGTAC routine can then inform the printer control LTERM about the requested confirmation message.

Errors during print output (negative print confirmation messages) are handled in automatic mode.

Print control functions

openUTM provides print control functions with the PADM call. The actual function performed by PADM depends on the operation modifier which you send to openUTM in the kcom field of the parameter area. The following operation modifiers are available:

  • PADM AC for switching on the confirmation mode

  • PADM AT for switching off the confirmation mode. Automatic mode is reset.

  • PADM PR for repeating a print output. The printer message is repeated on the same printer

  • PADM OK for confirming print outputs

  • PADM AI for calling up a list of print outputs to be confirmed with information