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- Windows LPR Spooler Version 4.0b - UserÆs Guide
- Windows LPR Spooler Version 4.0b - UserÆs Guide
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- Windows LPR Spooler Version 4.0b
-
-
- A Network Printer Spooler
- for Microsoft Windows 3.1
-
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- UserÆs Guide
-
-
- September 29, 1994
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- This document was created with Microsoft Word for Windows
- 6.0
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- DISCLAIMER:
-
- THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS-IS. THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL
- WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
- LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS
- FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO LIABILITY IS ASSUMED FOR
- DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE
- USE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
-
- (C) Copyright 1992-94 by Thomas Heil.
-
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- All trademarks appearing in this document are the property
- of their respective owners.
-
-
- Table of Contents
-
- Table of Contents 3
- Introduction 5
- New Features 5
- Requirements 5
- Package Contents 6
- Installation 6
- If you upgrade ... 7
- How Does the Spooler Work? 8
- First Start 8
- Adding/Changing Network Printer Definitions 9
- Adjusting WLPRSPL Operating Parameters 10
- WLPRSPL Running ... 11
- WLPRSPL Menu Options 12
- Usage Notes 14
- Troubleshooting 14
- Change Log 14
- Licensing and Registration 16
- Registration Fee 16
- One Final Word ... 17
- Registration Form 19
-
-
- Introduction
-
- Windows LPR Spooler, in the following text abbreviated as
- WLPRSPL, is a program which allows transparent printing from
- Microsoft Windows 3.1 applications to network printers.
- WLPRSPL allows you to define a large number of remote printers
- which may be addressed through different Protocol DLLs.
-
- Included with the program is WLPR2.DLL which implements the
- Line Printer Daemon (LPD, RFC1179) protocol that is widely
- used on UNIX hosts. DLL's that support other network printing
- protocols will be developped over time. (For details on which
- Protocol DLLs currently exist, please contact the author.
- Note: Protocol DLLs other than those included in the shareware
- version will be available to registered users only.)
-
-
- New Features
-
- Version 4.0b offers the following new features:
-
- Support of the new WLPR2.DLL API which allows WLPRSPL to
- use different Protocol DLLs for different remote printer
- queues (like the included WLPR2.DLL that implements the
- LPR/LPD protocol).
- The spooler can run in a so-called "unattended mode". In
- this mode the spooler automatically retries failed print
- file transfers after a user-definable amount of time. The
- user is not interactively notified of such failures. Spool
- failures are displayed in the relevant queue line of the
- spooler window.
-
-
- Requirements
-
- The following components are required to run WLPRSPL:
-
- Microsoft Windows 3.1
- WLPR2.DLL or compatible Protocol DLL(s).
-
- If the spooler is used together with the included WLPR2.DLL,
- the following additional components are required:
-
- TCP/IP networking software for the PC that offers a WinSock
- 1.1 compliant WINSOCK.DLL.
- WSOCKAID.DLL Version 1.0 or later. Users that run a TCP/IP
- stack other than FTP Software's should note the comment in
- the "Installation" section below.
-
-
- Package Contents
-
- This package contains the spooler (WLPRSPL.EXE) and the
- supporting libraries WLPR2.DLL Version 2.0a, WSOCKAID.DLL
- Version 2.0, and CTL3D.DLL Version 2.05, as well as this
- documentation in form of a PostScript file and a plain ASCII
- version.
- The following files are included in the standard distribution:
-
- WLPRSPL.EXE The main program.
- WLPRSPL.PS/.ASC Program documentation.
- WLPR2.DLL The Protocol DLL which supports the LPR/LPD
- protocol.
- WLPR2.PS/.ASC The documentation for WLPR2.DLL.
- WSOCKAID.DLL A supporting DLL that contains functions
- missing in WINSOCK.DLL.
- WSOCKAID.PS/.ASC The documentation for WSOCKAID.DLL.
- WSAIDCNF.CPL A Control Panel extension that allows the
- setting of the username for WSOCKAID.DLL.
- CTL3D.DLL A DLL that allows dialog boxes to have a 3D
- look.
- CTRLD10B.ZIP An archive that contains a small utility
- with which one can enable/disable the
- generation of a leading Ctrld-D for any
- installed PostScript printer driver.
-
-
- Installation
-
- Choose a directory where you want to install WLPRSPL and
- create it. Move the archive WLPRSnnn.ZIP to this directory and
- unzip it with PKUNZIP 2.04g or a compatible uncompression
- program. Move all W*.DLL files to the Windows directory or to
- another directory that is in your PATH, or include the
- directory where you installed WLPRSPL into your PATH. Copy
- CTL3D.DLL to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory after checking that
- there is not already a newer version. Then either create a new
- Program Manager group or open an existing one, and install
- WLPRSPL.EXE there (please refer to your Windows documentation
- on how to do this). After that you can start the program for
- the first time. For your convenience you should install the
- spooler also in your AUTOSTART group so that it gets launched
- automatically when you start Windows.
-
- A note about WSOCKAID.DLL: This is a network software vendor
- specific DLL containing a few functions that WINSOCK.DLL does
- not offer. Currently you will not get this DLL from your
- vendor. The version in this pack was written by us explicitly
- for FTP Software's PC/TCP stack. The function that WLPRSPL (or
- better WLPR2.DLL) uses is retrieving the user's login name. If
- you have FTP Software's PC/TCP 2.1 or higher, this DLL will
- take the needed information from the PCTCP.INI file (or
- whatever your PCTCP environment variable is set to). If you
- use a different stack, you may copy WSAIDCNF.CPL to your
- WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory. This small applet then allows you to
- set the username in the Control Panel.
- Note that the username is the only thing which WLPR2.DLL
- retrieves from WSOCKAID.DLL. All other information that
- WSOCKAID.DLL can give (as described in WSOCKAID.ASC or .PS) is
- ignored. The local PC hostname for example is retrieved from
- the networking software directly (through WINSOCK.DLL), which
- means that you have to have a PC hostname configured in your
- networking software. Protocol DLLs other than WLPR2.DLL may
- behave differently. Refer to the corresponding DLL
- documentation.
-
- If you use a TCP/IP stack that offers a real Windows network
- driver, then WSOCKAID.DLL tries to inquire the username
- through this driver instead of returning the INI file entry.
- You can verify if your TCP/IP software uses such a driver by
- looking at SYSTEM.INI section [boot]. If a non-empty entry
- "network.drv=<drivername>" exists, then your networking
- software has such a driver.
-
- For further details concerning the included DLLs please take a
- look at the corresponding .ASC or .PS files.
-
-
- If you upgrade ...
-
- If you upgrade from Version 3.x to 4.0b, WLPRSPL will
- recognize this the first time you start the new version. You
- will be prompted if the settings of the old version shall be
- retained. If you accept this, you will further be prompted if
- the old Queue Definition File shall be converted to the new
- format (which now is in standard Windows .INI format).
-
- The old Queue Definition File must be writable when you choose
- to update it automatically. So if you have a shared QDF on a
- network drive you should start the new version on a PC with
- write access to this file first. It then gets converted, and
- on all other PCs you can skip the conversion when WLPRSPL 4.0b
- is started for the first time there.
-
- You can later load 3.x style QDFs with the Setup/Queues/Load
- queue definitions... menu option. The program automatically
- determines that the file is not a 4.0 QDF and asks if the file
- shall be read as 3.x QDF. After the file is read you can save
- it as 4.0 file.
-
- Note that the spooler settings are no longer kept in WIN.INI
- but in WLPRSPL.INI in the Windows directory.
-
-
- How Does the Spooler Work?
-
- Every printer used within Windows is connected to a so-called
- "port." Examples are LPT1, LPT2, COM1, COM2 etc. But those
- ports can also be normal disk files. When you add the line
-
- C:\SPOOL\DRUCKER.DAT=
-
- to the [ports] section of WIN.INI you may later connect a
- printer driver to this "port." Every print job sent to this
- port is written to the specified file. This is what WLPRSPL
- relies on. WLPRSPL uses a dedicated directory on the PCs hard
- disk for spooling (i.e. C:\SPOOL). This directory has to be
- specified the first time you start the program. For each
- network printer you want to print to you have to define a
- unique file name (i.e. HP.PCL for a HP LaserJet in PCL mode).
- This file name together with the chosen spool directory forms
- the port (in this case C:\SPOOL\HP.PCL) to which an
- appropriate Windows printer driver can be connected. The
- filename without path represents the local queue.
-
- A remote printer is defined by the local queue name as
- described above, the remote printer name, the host name of the
- computer that acts as printer server, and the name of the
- Protocol DLL to be used for connecting to the remote printer.
- The definitions of all remote printers are kept in a Queue
- Definition File (which will be abbreviated as QDF from now
- on). When starting the spooler for the first time, you have to
- specifiy the location of this file. It may either be located
- on a local drive, but it could also be on a shared network
- drive where it is maintained by some network printer
- administrator.
-
- You define remote printers by filling in the information
- described above into the queue setup dialog. WLPRSPL
- automatically creates the needed port in WIN.INI so that you
- later can install an appropriate printer driver for this
- remote queue.
-
- When you print to such a network driver from a windows
- application, the printer data is written to the corresponding
- spool file. WLPRSPL then puts the file into its own queueing
- system and sends the data to the remote printer.
-
-
- First Start
-
- When you start WLPRSPL for the first time you have to specify
- the spool directory you want to use. In the dialog that
- appears you can also create new subdirectories. Once you have
- selected the spool directory, you have to define the place
- where the QDF shall be located. It is possible to use a shared
- QDF that resides on a network drive and which is maintained
- centrally. The file that you specify does not have to exist at
- this time. It will be created as soon as you define the first
- queue in WLPRSPL.
-
- After this first time configuration you may define local
- queues for all remote printers you want to utilize. This is
- described in the next section. Then you should install
- appropriate Windows printer drivers for your network printers
- and connect them to the corresponding port.
-
-
- Adding/Changing Network Printer Definitions
-
- In order to define network printers in WLPRSPL start the
- program if not yet running, restore the program window if the
- program is iconized, and select the menu option
- Setup/Queues/Define new queue... or press Alt-Insert. A dialog
- pops up where you can enter a new queue definition. The fields
- in this dialog have the following meaning:
-
- Local Spool File: Name of the spool file (without path) that
- shall be used for the local queue.
- Remote Queue Name: Name of the queue on the remote print
- server.
- Remote Host Name: Internet host name or address of the remote
- print server.
- DLL to be used: Specifies the Protocol DLL to be used for
- this remote printer. It may be either the
- name only (which lets WLPRSPL search for it
- in the standard search order) or a fully
- qualified path name. WLPR2.DLL is the
- default for new queues.
-
- After filling in all fields you can review/change the options
- that are in effect for this queue by pressing the Queue
- properties... button. The options in the dialog popping up
- depend on the specified Protocol DLL. For the meaning of those
- options please refer to the DLL's documentation.
- When you press OK in the "Edit queue data" dialog, a new port
- is created if needed. Now you can go to the Control
- Panel/Printer Setup, install a printer driver that matches the
- remote printer, and connect it to the corresponding port. Take
- care that all printer characteristics you define match the
- remote printer. Normally a datastream from a Windows printer
- driver overrides settings of the remote printer defaults. If
- you select settings that the remote printer does not support
- it may hang.
-
- If you want to change the definition of a remote printer,
- select it in the main window listbox and click the menu option
- Setup/Queues/Edit queue data... or press Alt-Enter. You get
- the queue setup dialog box with the currently valid values
- filled in, ready to be altered.
- Changes to queues are not automatically saved. This has to be
- done either through Setup/Queues/Save queue definitions, or by
- accepting the automatic saving when WLPRSPL (or Windows) is
- terminated.
-
- After installing the printer driver you may print to the
- remote queue from any Windows application.
-
-
- Adjusting WLPRSPL Operating Parameters
-
- Through the menu (Setup/Preferences...) you can get to a
- dialog box where you can change the following operating
- parameters of WLPRSPL.
-
- Timer ticks in This entry defines the time steps used by
- sec. WLPRSPL to periodically check for possible
- spool files. It can be 0 which means that
- this feature is disabled. With this feature
- enabled it is possible to create spool
- files in DOS sessions and have them
- automatically entered into the WLPRSPL
- queueing system (see Usage Notes).
- Default is 0.
- Warn if When this check box is activated (default),
- suspended you get a warning every time you print to a
- remote network printer if the spooler is
- currently suspended.
- Default is on.
- Unattended When this check box is activated, the
- mode spooler is in "Unattended Mode". This means
- that the user is not notified of spooling
- errors. Instead the faulty queue is
- temporarily disabled, and is re-enabled
- after the number of seconds specified.
- Default is on.
- Automatically If unattended mode is on, this entry
- re-enable specifies after how long a failed print
- queue after file transfer is retried.
- ... sec. Default is 300 seconds.
-
- Normally you can leave the default values as they are. If you
- notice a performance degradation on slow PCs due to the spool
- file polling set the Timer Ticks to a higher value, or set it
- to 0 if this feature is not needed.
-
-
- WLPRSPL Running ...
-
- When WLPRSPL is active you normally don't notice anything of
- its existance because the spooling is done in the background.
- The WLPRSPL main window always shows you what is currently
- going on. You see the following information being displayed:
-
- the time the spooler was started
- the mode in which Windows is running (Standard or Enhanced)
- the current state of the spooler (suspended or active)
- the current run mode of the spooler ("unattended" or
- "interactive")
- the currently used spool directory
- the currently used Queue Definition File
- a listbox displaying the states of all local queues (more
- detailed description below)
- the Windows printer driver used for the currently selected
- (and therefore highlighted) queue
-
- The individual columns in the listbox have the following
- meaning:
-
- Symbol If blank the local queue is currently not
- connected to a printer driver, if ">" it
- is connected, if "*" it is connected and
- is currently selected as default printer.
- Red "E" If present, it indicates that there was
- some spool error. You can check this error
- with the Queues/Show last error... menu
- option and remove the flag with the
- Queues/Clear error flag menu option.
- Loc. Queue Name of the local queue (and of the spool
- file).
- Rem. Queue Name of the queue on remote print server.
- Host Name of remote print server.
- Spool tries Number of print jobs sent over this queue
- unsucc./succ. since WLPRSPL was started or since the
- queue statistics were reset, and number of
- times the current spool file in a queue
- failed to be sent.
- Files queued Number of unsent print jobs.
-
- Permanently disabled queues (that means "disabled by user")
- are shown with red text. A temporarily disabled queue
- (disabled because of spool error in unattended mode) is shown
- with yellow text. A queue that is active sending a print job
- is shown in green, and the statistics are replaced with a
- progress message.
-
-
- WLPRSPL Menu Options
-
- Following is a list with all available menu options. On the
- right hand side the keyboard short cut is shown.
-
- Files
- Delete next spool file (Delete)
- Delete next spool file in selected local queue.
- Delete all spool files in queue (Ctrl-Delete)
- Delete all spool files in selected local queue.
- Delete all spool files (Shift-Ctrl-Delete)
- Delete all spool files in all local queues.
- Cancel spooling (Ctrl-C)
- A currently running transfer is cancelled.
- Suspend/Resume spooler (Ctrl-S)
- The spooler is suspended, or its operation is resumed,
- depending on the current state of the spooler. When the
- spooler is suspended, no print jobs are transferred to
- remote printers.
- Control Panel (Ctrl-P)
- Call the control panel.
- Exit (Ctrl-X or Alt-F4)
- Exit WLPRSPL.
- Queues
- Show remote queue status (Ctrl-Q)
- Shows the state of the remote queue that corresponds to
- the selected local queue by executing an LPQ request.
- The dialog box showing the remote queue status then
- allows refreshing the display and cancelling one or
- more remote print jobs.
- Show jobs in local queue (Ctrl-L)
- Opens a dialog box that shows all jobs which are still
- in the currently selected local queue. In this dialog
- box you have the possiblity of removing jobs
- individually.
- Enable/Disable queue(Ctrl-A or doubleclick on queue in listbox)
- The selected local queue is enabled/disabled.
- Scan queues immediately
- (Ctrl-I or click right mouse button on WLPRSPL symbol)
- The spool directory is scanned for new spool files
- immediately.
- Retry to spool now (Ctrl-N)
- If the queue is in retry timeout state (yellow text)
- because an error occured when trying to send the active
- spool file, the spooler retries immediately to send the
- file instead of waiting for the time to expire.
- Select as default printer (Ctrl-D)
- The printer connected to the currently selected queue
- is made the Windows default printer.
- Show last error... (Ctrl-E)
- A message describing the last spool error is displayed.
- Clear error flag (Ctrl-F)
- A message describing the last spool error is displayed.
- Reset selected queue (Ctrl-R)
- The statistics of the selected local queue are reset.
- Reset all queues (Shift-Ctrl-R)
- The statistics of all local queues are reset.
- Setup
- Preferences...
- Activates the dialog described in "Adjusting WLPRSPL
- Operating Parameters"
- Spool-Directory...
- Activates the dialog for selection of the spool
- directory described in "First Start".
- Queues >
- Define new queue (Alt-Insert)
- Activates the dialog for defining a new queue
- described in "Adding/Changing Network Printer
- Definitions".
- Edit queue data (Alt-Enter)
- Activates the dialog for editing queue data
- described in "Adding/Changing Network Printer
- Definitions". The dialog is filled with the data of
- the currently selected local queue.
- Delete queue (Alt-Delete)
- Deletes the currently selected local queue.
- Reload queue definitions
- Reloads the queue definitions from the currently
- active QDF.
- Load queue definitions...
- Activates the dialog for selecting a QDF described
- in "First Start".
- Save queue definitions
- Saves changes made to a queue definition in the
- currently active QDF.
- Save queue definitions as...
- Saves the current queue definitions to a QDF which
- must first be selected. If wanted, this new QDF can
- be made the currently active QDF, which will then
- be used the next time WLPRSPL starts.
- Register Program...
- Activates the program registration dialog. If you have
- a pre-registered version of the program, this menu
- option is grayed.
-
-
-
- Usage Notes
-
- When the spool directory is changed after the first
- installation, new ports are automatically generated for all
- local queues in the [ports] section of WIN.INI. The user
- then has to manually connect all printer drivers to those
- new ports. This is currently not done automatically.
- If you have a DOS application that can print to a file in
- addition to printing to a real LPTx or COMx, you can use
- WLPRSPL to spool those files. Just let the application
- print to the file that defines the port for the desired
- network printer (i.e. C:\SPOOL\HP.PCL). Then there are two
- possibilities to initiate the transfer: Either you have set
- the Timer Ticks to a non-zero value. In this case you only
- have to wait for the specified number of seconds, and
- WLPRSPL puts the file into its queueing system. If you have
- disabled this feature you can also switch back to WLPRSPL
- with Alt-Tab and select Queues/Scan queues immediately from
- the menu or click on the WLPRSPL icon with the right mouse
- button.
- The state of all queues (enabled/disabled, number and names
- of spool files) is saved in the spool directory as file
- filename.SPL, where filename corresponds to the name of the
- QDF. When, for example, the name of the QDF is WLPRSPL.QS,
- then the name of the queue state file is WLPRSPL.SPL. This
- file should not be deleted because it is needed to
- determine to which local queue any unsent spool files
- belong.
- When you print to a remote queue that automatically detects
- PostScript files and you get the PostScript text printed,
- this usually happens due to the fact that the Windows
- PostScript driver prepends the PS datastream with a Ctrl-D
- (0x04). This character normally causes a locally attached
- PS printer to reset, but it also makes it impossible for
- network queues to recognize the print data as PS file.
- Included in this package is a ZIP archive called
- CTRLD10B.ZIP which contains a small Windows utility that
- allows you to selectively enable or disable the Ctrl-D
- generation for all installed PS printers.
-
-
- Troubleshooting
-
- If you have problems with the spooler that can't be resolved
- through this document please take a look at the documentation
- of the supporting DLLs. There are given some troubleshooting
- tips which are specific to those DLLs. If this fails, too,
- please feel free to contact us. But do not forget to provide
- us with info about the program version, your operating system,
- and your networking software, as well as info about what
- printer and printer server you use (model, operating system
- etc.)
-
-
- Change Log
-
- Version 4.0a:
- Package includes WLPR2.DLL Version 2.0a.
- The logic when saving the state of a queue (enabled,
- disabled, retry timeout) was changed. Now, if a queue is
- permanently disabled, it will stay in this state when you
- close down the spooler and later restart it. Previously, a
- disabled queue went into "Retry timeout" state when the
- spooler was restarted.
- In the "Edit Queue Data" dialog the "Local Spool File" name
- now is limited to 12 characters.
- Long queue and host names extended into the data right of
- it in the main window list box. They are now truncated in
- the display.
- In unattended mode, the error code of a failed spool
- attempt is now kept and can be displayed with the
- Queues/Show last error... menu option. If an error occured,
- this is also indicated with a red "E" at the beginning of
- the relevant line in the spooler's main window listbox.
-
- Version 4.0b:
- Package includes WLPR2.DLL Version 2.0b.
- The file name generation scheme for the spool files has
- been changed. Previously it was based on the time with a 1
- second resolution which caused two print jobs to be given
- the same name if printed within one second.
- More keyboard accelerators for menu functions.
- The default Windows printer can now be changed within the
- spooler to one of the WLPRSPL queues by right-
- doubleclicking on a spooler queue.
-
-
- Licensing and Registration
-
- This software is not free. It is shareware. You are granted
- the right to test this software for a period of 30 days. After
- this you have to register the product (see registration form
- at the end of this document) and, if this applies to you, pay
- the required registration fee.
-
- The unregistered shareware version displays a message box at
- the program start reminding you that the program has not yet
- been registered. When you register the program, you get a
- serial number and a corresponding key. Start the spooler,
- select the Setup/Register Program... menu option, and type
- your user information together with serial number and key into
- the dialog box. Then press the OK button.
-
- You may redistribute this program to other persons as long as
- you keep the package complete with all the files that are
- listed in the "Contents" section at the beginning of this
- document.
- Registration Fee
-
- Contact us (see next section) for the registration price. We
- also offer site/company licenses.
-
-
- One Final Word ...
-
- Tell us everything you like or dislike about this program in
- order to let us make it better. Tell us about functions that
- you would like to see added. Tell us about problems you have
- encountered.
-
- You can reach us under the following E-mail addresses (first
- in the list preferred):
-
- th.heil@kfa-juelich.de
- ich211@zam001.zam.kfa-juelich.de
- ich211@djukfa11.bitnet
- ich211@ich210.ich.kfa-juelich.de
- CompuServe: 100434,2167
-
- or by ordinary mail as
-
- Susanne Heil EDV-Vertrieb
- Hindenburgstr. 50
- 41352 Korschenbroich
- Germany
-
- or by fax under +49 (0)2161 644337
-
-
- Registration Form
-
- (Please register WLPRSPL 4.0b when you decide to use it beyond
- the trial period of 30 days.)
-
-
- Name:
- Institution:
- Department:
- Street:
- City/Town and
- ZIP/Post Code:
- State:
- Country:
- Phone number:
- FAX number:
- E-Mail address:
- Customer Number1
-
- I would like to register _______ Windows LPR Spooler 4.0b
- licenses
-
- for an educational/no-profit institution.Total price:
- DM
- a commercial/for-profit institution. Total price:
- DM
-
- Payment: Remittance to:Bank: Stadtsparkasse Korschenbroich,
- Germany
- Bank Routing Code: 310 512 40 Account:
- 149401
- included Cheque (in German currency)
-
-
-
- Date/Signature
-
- Please mail this form (with a possible fee included) to
-
- Susanne Heil EDV-Vertrieb
- Hindenburgstr. 50
- 41352 Korschenbroich
- Germany
- _______________________________
- 1from a previous registration
-