When a program creates a printer file, the system either routes the output directly to a printer or stores the output in a printer backup file for later printing. If the output is routed directly to a printer, the program editing the file either controls all aspects of printing or allows the Print System to control printing.
If the BDNAME task attribute has a non-null value, then the system always creates a backup file. Other effects of the BDNAME task attribute are discussed under Other Print-Related Task Attributes later in this section.
If the BDNAME task attribute is null (the default), then the PRINTDISPOSITION file attribute determines whether output is sent directly to a printer or to a printer backup file.
Output is sent directly to a printer and all aspects of printing are controlled by the program that created the file if the PRINTDISPOSITION file attribute is set to one of the following values:
| Note: | The DIRECTDLP value works only on systems with printers directly attached to them. |
Output is sent directly to a printer under the control of the Print System if the PRINTDISPOSITION file attribute is set to one of the following values:
| Note: | The NOW value provides additional functionality from the Print System. |
If the PRINTDISPOSITION value is FILEOPEN, FILECLOSE, EOT, EOJ, or DONTPRINT, then the system creates a backup file. FILEOPEN automatically creates a print request when the file is opened. For FILECLOSE, EOT, or EOJ, the system automatically creates a print request when the file is closed, at end of task, or at end of job, respectively. For DONTPRINT, the system creates a backup file but does not create a print request; you can print the backup file later with a WFL PRINT statement.
If the program does not assign a PRINTDISPOSITION value for the file, and no PRINTDISPOSITION is file-equated for the file when the program is initiated, then the default is inherited from the PRINTDEFAULTS task attribute. The PRINTDEFAULTS task attribute can itself inherit its value from any of several sources, as discussed in the Task Attributes Programming Reference Manual.
If the PRINTDEFAULTS task attribute does not specify a PRINTDISPOSITION value, then the following factors determine the PRINTDISPOSITION value:
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If either the LPBDONLY system option or the BACKUP option of the OPTION task attribute is enabled, then the PRINTDISPOSITION file attribute inherits the system default PRINTDISPOSITION. The LPBDONLY system option is set by the OP (Options) system command. The system default PRINTDISPOSITION is set by the PS DEFAULTS PRINTDISPOSITION system command. If the PS DEFAULTS PRINTDISPOSITION command is never used, the system default PRINTDISPOSITION is EOJ.
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If neither LPBDONLY nor BACKUP is enabled, then the PRINTDISPOSITION defaults to DIRECT. The PS DEFAULTS PRINTDISPOSITION value is ignored.
If the printer file is a backup file, the BACKUPKIND file attribute specifies the kind of medium on which the backup file is to be created. If the BACKUPKIND is DISK or DONTCARE, the backup file is created on the family named DISK. If the BACKUPKIND is PACK, the backup file is created on the family named PACK.
If the BACKUPKIND value is TAPE, then the process is suspended and displays an RSVP message asking the operator to mount a tape. When the tape is mounted, the backup file is created on the tape. The system does not print the backup file automatically. However, you can later use SYSTEM/BACKUP or a WFL PRINT command to cause the file to be printed.
The operator can use the SB (Substitute Backup) system command to specify a substitute backup medium for each possible BACKUPKIND value. The SB setting can convert any BACKUPKIND value to any other BACKUPKIND value. For example, SB can specify that all files with a BACKUPKIND of DISK be created on PACK instead.
The SB command can also convert any BACKUPKIND value to DLBACKUP. This value cannot be specified directly by the BACKUPKIND file attribute; only the SB setting can cause this value to be applied to a backup file. The DLBACKUP value causes the backup file to be created on the family specified by the FAMILYNAME file attribute. If the FAMILYNAME file attribute is null, the backup file is created on the family specified by the BACKUPFAMILY task attribute. If BACKUPFAMILY is also null, the backup file is created on the family specified by the DL BACKUP ON <family name> form of the DL (Disk Location) system command.
