Setting Up Auxiliary Printers for mvBase

To configure an auxiliary printer for mvBase, you must have a printer (local or network) that is properly installed. Two types of printers may function as auxiliary printers within mvBase:

Setting Up an Auxiliary Printer via mvTerm

This procedure sets up any Windows printer (serial or parallel) to function as an mvTerm auxiliary printer that operates independent of mvBase printer drivers (if installed). This procedure may be used with a printer connecting via a local or remote mvTerm session.

You may print directly to a Windows printer from an mvTerm session without having to shutdown the Workstation in order to add a printer definition. The auxiliary printer feature also permits the private use of a printer that has not been made available to all users via the Workstation.

Each mvTerm instance may contain five sessions, and each session may be connected to a different printer.

Perform these steps to set up the mvTerm Auxiliary Printer:

  1. From the mvBase Terminal Emulator Menu bar select Properties from the Session pull-down menu. The Terminal Properties property sheet displays.

  2. Select the Auxiliary Printer tab.

  3. Select the desired Windows printer from the Printer Name drop-down list box.

  4. Adjust the Printer Flush Delay value if necessary. This is the amount of time following the receipt of an AUX OFF character during which the Windows print job remains open. Once the printer flush delay expires without an AUX ON character being received, any subsequent data is printed in a new print job. The default setting is 0. This means that the print job will be closed immediately upon receipt of an AUX OFF character.

  5. Select OK. The mvTerm session functions as the auxiliary printer. You may configure another session as an auxiliary printer. Auxiliary printers disconnect at the time the respective sessions are terminated.

  6. Auxiliary printer output is spooled to the selected Windows printer upon the first page of output, and is released for printing when the flush delay expires.

Setting Up an Auxiliary Printer via the AUX-ON Command

mvBase supports auxiliary printers defined via the AUX-ON TCL command. Output that is directed to a system printer can be routed to the terminal’s AUX port. SPOOLER hold files can also be directed to the terminal’s AUX port instead of one of the system or network printers.

NOTE

The AUX-ON TCL command (with the intermediary hyphen) is distinct from the AUX ON mvBASIC statement (without the intermediary hyphen). See the mvBASIC User Reference Guide for additional information about the AUX ON mvBASIC statement.

The terminal must have a printer connected to its AUX port in such a manner that the printer can indicate to the terminal, and from there to the system, that its print buffer is full. This can be done by using X-ON/X-OFF or CTS/RTS handshaking, depending on the printer, terminal and cabling involved.

For additional information about defining handshaking methods, see Setting up mvBase Printers on COM Ports, which contains a procedure titled Physically Connecting A Serial Printer.

For an AUX port to work correctly, a correct terminal definition in the system cursor file must be set up for the control codes that switch the terminal’s AUX port on and off. (See the mvBase Guide to Files and Accounts or the latest mvBase Help System for additional information about the DEFINE-CURSOR command.)

The AUX-ON TCL command selects the auxiliary printer as the output device for all printer output until you issue the AUX-OFF command.

Output can also be directed to the auxiliary port of your terminal as one of the options of the SP-ASSIGN A command. SP-ASSIGN A directs the output to your AUX port, and is functionally equivalent to an AUX-ON command. See later topics in this section and to the mvBase Guide to Files and Accounts for additional information about the SP-ASSIGN command.)

In addition, Hold files can be directed to the auxiliary printer in either of two ways:

  1. Use the A option at the SP-EDIT SPOOL prompt.

  2. Issue the AUX-ON or SP-ASSIGN A command before issuing the SP-EDIT command.

See Also

Setting Up mvBase Printers

Identifying Your Printer Configuration

Setting Up Windows Printers for mvBase

Setting Up mvBase Printers on COM Ports

Setting Up mvBase Printers on TCP Ports