Re: Function keys not allowed

Whether one is using a real terminal (there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING "dumb" about 5250 or 3270 terminals, or DEC VT-100s or Lear ADM-1s, or Datamedia 1524s, for that matter) or an emulator, there is a fundamental difference between host printing and local printing.

On the 3489 that sits on my desk, I could, if I wanted, reconfigure the internal settings so that the HP LaserJet attached to it isn't visible to the host, and the Print key, instead of sending a Print AID-code to the host, does a local screen-print.

I don't do that, because if I want a screen print, I can do it from an emulation session.

By sticking with the host-print option, I can send spool files to the printer, regardless of whence they came.

I don't know about Client Access; we're not a Client Access shop, but in our emulator, we have 3 print buttons on the toolbar: a floor-model line-printer, for host print (which obeys any print-key restrictions), a laser printer, for text-mode screen prints, and a camera, for graphics-mode screen prints.

What is the difference in effect between a local screen print and a host print? That depends on the application. In many cases, the application, if it gets a Print AID-code, will simply spool out a screen print, looking little different from a locally-generated one. In others (such as our own QuestView application), a Print AID-code actually generates a report, possibly several pages long, that takes full advantage of the fact that you've got more real estate on a printed page than you do on a terminal screen. But the point is, if your print key is set to do a local screen print, then you can get a screen print at will, but the host never sees the printer, and the host application never sees a Print AID-code, while if it is set to send the AID-code, then the application is in full control over what to do with it.

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JHHL