HP 3000 Manuals

Ch 4. Managing Printer Activity [ Performing System Operation Tasks ] MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation


Performing System Operation Tasks

Chapter 4  Managing Printer Activity 

Everyone using the computer usually shares printers.  Your computer may
have more than one printer, but it is unlikely users have their own.  It
is also true that users cannot truly share a printer without someone, or
something, managing it:  you would not want part of your report printed
on the same page with part of another person's report.  For this reason,
a printer spooler is used to manage the smooth flow of reports to and
from your printer.  It performs the following tasks:

   *   Acts on data written to a spooled printer by collecting all of the
       information needed to print a report and storing it in a special
       file called a spoolfile.

   *   Keeps reports separate and keeps track of when each was submitted
       for printing, who submitted the report, and other information.

   *   Supervises the orderly printing of all eligible reports and keeps
       track of the others.

The spooler does all of the above tasks on its own.  It even gives the
appearance that each user has exclusive use of the printer.  You are
aware of the spooler only when you want an overview of the printing
process, if you are interested in the status of a specific report, or
when you need to intervene and manage the printer yourself.

In this chapter, you will find the procedures to perform the following
tasks:

   *   Altering printer access.

   *   Altering printer files.

   *   Controlling printer activity.

   *   Starting and stopping spooled printing.



MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation