Line width options: L40, L64, L80, and HONEOM

In addition to the print bit, the write control character contains a pair of bits that govern line length on printing.

If you are using terminal control commands, you use the CTLCHAR option to set these bits. For BMS, the default is the one produced by the HONEOM option, which stands for “honor end-of-message”. With this setting, the printer formats according to the buffer control and print format orders only, stopping printing at the first EM (end-of-message) character in the buffer. Only if you attempt to print beyond the maximum width for the device (the platen width) does the printer move to a new line on its own.

However, you also can specify that the line length is fixed at 40, 64, or 80 characters (options L40, L64 and L80). If you do, the printer ignores certain print format orders, moves to a new line when it reaches the specified line size, and prints the entire buffer. The print format orders that are ignored are NL (new line), CR (carriage return), and EM (end-of-message). Instead they are printed, as graphics.

If you use L40, L64, or L80 under BMS, only use the value that corresponds to the page width in your terminal definition (see Determining the characteristics of a CICS printer ). The reason is that BMS calculates buffer addresses based on the page size, and these addresses are wrong if you use a different page width.