Using an FCB to format data

IP PrintWay™ can use a forms control buffer (FCB) to format line data when IP PrintWay creates a text, SCS, or DSC data stream:
  • IP PrintWay extended mode uses an FCB if an FCB is specified.
  • IP PrintWay basic mode uses an FCB if an FCB is specified and you select the Use FCB option in the printer definition.

An FCB can be specified in several locations. If an FCB is specified in more than one location, IP PrintWay uses this hierarchy for selecting the FCB:

  1. The FCB specified in the FCB parameter of the OUTPUT JCL statement or in the forms-control-buffer job attribute.
  2. The FCB specified in the Forms control buffer field of the printer definition (on the Allocation panel).
    IP PrintWay uses the FCB specified in the printer definition when one of these conditions is met:
    • IP PrintWay extended mode processes the data set
    • NetSpool allocates the data set on the JES spool
    • Print Interface allocates the data set on the JES spool and the VTAM® protocol is selected
  3. The FCB defined to JES as the default FCB (IP PrintWay basic mode only).
The specified FCB must reside in the SYS1.IMAGELIB library. IP PrintWay prefixes the specified FCB name when it searches for the FCB in SYS1.IMAGELIB, depending on the transmission protocol that is selected in the printer definition:
  • For the VTAM protocol, IP PrintWay prefixes the FCB name with FCB2 to create the member name. If the FCB cannot be located with the FCB2 prefix, the FCB request is ignored and default values are used. The default values are skip-to-channel 1 line 1.
  • For other protocols, IP PrintWay prefixes the FCB name with FCB4 to create the member name. If this member is not found in SYS1.IMAGELIB, PrintWay uses prefix FCB2, and if it is not found, PrintWay uses prefix FCB3. If no members are found, IP PrintWay writes a message that states that the member does not exist in SYS1.IMAGELIB, and it retains the data set if retention is requested for failed data sets.
If the input data stream contains carriage controls, IP PrintWay accepts skip-to-channel carriage controls in the input data, in addition to carriage controls for print no space, space 1 line, space 2 lines, and space 3 lines. If the input data does not contain carriage controls, IP PrintWay either ignores the FCB or reports an error, depending on the transmission protocol that is selected in the printer definition:
  • For the VTAM protocol, IP PrintWay does not use the FCB.
  • For other protocols, IP PrintWay reports an error.

Table 1 summarizes the FCB functions that IP PrintWay supports. IP PrintWay supports different FCB functions, depending on the type of output data stream that IP PrintWay creates. For example, the DSC/DSE data stream does not support specification of the number of lines per inch.

Table 1. FCB functions supported by IP PrintWay
FCB function Output data stream
Text1 SCS2 DSC/DSE2
Number of lines per page Yes Yes Yes
Number of lines per inch No Yes No
Channel codes Yes Yes Yes
Left margin (indexing) No Yes No
Skip a line Yes Yes Yes
  1. IP PrintWay can create a text data stream when you select the LPR, direct sockets, IPP, or email protocol.
  2. IP PrintWay can create an output SCS or DSC/DSE data stream when you select the VTAM protocol.
Tip: IP PrintWay does not format data sets that Print Interface allocates on the JES spool unless the VTAM protocol is selected.
JES3 notes for IP PrintWay basic mode:
  1. JES3 passes the FCB parameter that is specified on an OUTPUT JCL statement to IP PrintWay basic mode only if FCB is specified as a JES3 work-selection criterion for the PrintWay basic mode FSA.
  2. JES3 provides a default FCB to IP PrintWay basic mode unless you specify the PDEFAULT=FCB parameter in the JES initialization statement for the IP PrintWay basic mode FSA.
  3. For information about how to configure JES3 initialization statements for IP PrintWay basic mode, see z/OS Infoprint Server Customization.
Parent topic: Planning printer definitions for IP PrintWay

Procedure for specifying attributes

To format data sets by using an FCB, specify these fields in the printer definition:
  • (Basic mode) On the IP PrintWay Options panel, specify this field:
    • Formatting: Select Use FCB.

    When you select Use FCB in the Formatting field, IP PrintWay basic mode uses the FCB only if an FCB is specified for the data set. If no FCB is specified, IP PrintWay does standard formatting. Therefore, you can select Use FCB even if some data sets do not use an FCB. In a JES3 environment, however, you might want to configure the IP PrintWay basic mode FSA so that JES3 does not pass a default FCB name to IP PrintWay.

    IP PrintWay extended mode ignores this field. It always uses the FCB if one is specified for a data set.

  • (Optional) On the Allocation panel, specify the name of a default FCB in the FCB field.

Example

This ISPF panel shows how to request that IP PrintWay basic mode use the FCB, if one is specified, to format the data. Only a portion of the ISPF panel is shown.

                           IP PrintWay Options
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Basic Mode Formatting:
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        Formatting. . . . . . . 4  1. None            2. Standard
                                   3. Translate only  4. Use FCB
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