[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> We are trying to slave print to a PC with Reflection 5.2 using NS/VT
> connection to the 3000. The only way to flush the buffer is to hit the
> 'CLOSE PRINTER' button. Any ideas how to configure reflection to do
> this automatically? We cannot do anything programatically as it is a
> 3rd party package that writes reports to the printer.




No matter if you are using a third party package, if you are able to redirect
output to a slave printer on your PC through Reflections then you should be
able to echo or write the following Reflections command to the same place.
This command and any Reflections command must start with a ESC(%33) and end
with a CR(%15):

In COBOL I do this:  STRING %33 "&oFCLOSE PRINTER " %15

If you can setup a command file you can

Setvar ESC chr(%33)
Setvar CR chr(%15)
File x=<print device>

Echo !ESC&oFCLOSE PRINTER!CR > *x


However if you can't XEQ a command file after the report is finished you can
try:

<ALT-Y> SET PRINTER-CLOSE-MANUALLY NO

Not sure if that will help I always use the programmatic approch.

Another option is to disable print manager. This option maybe used only if
this is a standalone printer, not being shared out to a network. When print
manager is disabled it is very much like a HOT printer on MPE, no spooler
process, so the device is exclusively owned. The benefit is that when data is
sent to the printer, it prints immediately.

IMHO, Slave printing is very sloppy, and unpredictable sometimes. I am doing
allot of Slave printing. It seems to work best from any HP terminal, like the
HP700/XX terminals with a capable printer. However when you start Slave
printing through a terminal emulator on a PC, the variables that allow it to
work become very numerous! I have many applications that print laser (PCL)
forms to a slave printer, many more that use Epson commands, requiring an
Epson printer. Some of the PC's have one Epson dot matrix printer, some also
have a HP laser printer, others have Postscript lasers. Then to complicate
things a little more, Reflections will try to outsmart you when sending
binary printer commands, translating them to something else :-) I think
Windows puts his $0.02 in also. I guess what I am trying to say is, look for
another solution before you invest to much into Slave printing.

Cheers,
--
Michael Anderson
Systems Programmer
TIW Corporation.