RE: AS400 Printing, Can This Be Solved ???

Forwiw wrote:

>What happens is when spool files 
>are created and sent to this output 
>queue, there is a cl that is used 
>to send the appropriate spool
>file to the correct tractor (drawer).
>
>This all works fine, BUT we would 
>like all spool files that print to tractor 
>(drawer) 1 to be first, followed by all 
>spool files that print to tractor 
>(drawer) 2 to be second.

You can override to 3 separate OUTQs and CHGWTR between them as needed
(except that your management don't want to take the time.  Hm.  How about a
menu option for the users to do it?)

>I don't think you can sort the spool 
>files so all drawer 1's are first, or can you?

There is no facility to directly sort by drawer, but you could write your
own OUTQ manager easily enough.  Add a data queue to the OUTQ and run a
program to intercept the entries.  Use the spool APIs to check the drawer.
If it's the one you want to use, send it to the "real" OUTQ - the one with
your printer attached to it.

>We want to try an eliminate any time 
>spent starting a writer for a certain form
>type, that is why all spool files have 
>the same form type or answering a message
>to change form types, alignments etc.

This would have been the easiest solution - separate form types and a
CHGWTR.  A simple CL with one parameter would automate the chore.  Alas.

>We could get a cutter for this printer, 
>but management does NOT want 
>to spend any more money.

Hm.  They want solutions without spending time or money?  Do they propose to
implement solutions via magic wand?  You can try tinkering the spooled file
priority but unless the files hit in large groups (i.e. 50 drawer 1's, 50
drawer 2's, etc.) you're still going to suffer the tractor switching
problem.

Good luck in your struggles.

Buck Calabro
Aptis; Albany, NY
"We are what we repeatedly do.
 Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle


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