Configuring a PC5250 Display Session for Local Print Screen or Host Print Screen Functions

Printer Must First be Installed within Windows

To configure a PC5250 display session for the Local Print Function, the printer must first be installed and configured within Windows and the Windows PC must be able to successfully print to that printer.

1.	Bring up the Windows Printers and Faxes folder by clicking on the Windows Start button and selecting Printers and Faxes.
2.	If the printer is not listed, then follow the instructions provided by the printer manufacturer to install and configure the printer within WIndows, which will most likely involve using the Add Printer Wizard.
3.	After the printer has been successfully installed and configured within Windows, right click on the printer and select Properties from the context or pop-up menu, click on the Print Test Page button.
4.	Confirm that Windows was able to successfully print to the printer.
	Warning: If printing to a Host-based or Windows-only printer, or if you run into issues with garbage output or get a "No printer" error when generating a local print screen from a PC5250 display session, try clicking on the Advanced tab and un-checking the "Enable advanced printing features" option. For example:
	Note: You may also need to try selecting "Start printing after last page is spooled" rather than "Start printing immediately".

Configure the PC5250 Display Session to Select the Printer

After it has been confirmed that you are able to print a Windows Test Page to this printer, use the following step-by-step instructions to configure a PC5250 display session for the Local Print Function:

1.	Bring up the PC5250 display session.
2.	Select File > Printer Setup on the menu bar for the PC5250 display session to bring up the Printer Setup panel. Click on the appropriate Windows printer driver, and click Setup to bring up the printer driver settings. This helps PC5250 remember the printer driver that has been selected.
3.	Click OK to exit the Windows Printer Driver Properties panel without making any changes.
4.	Click OK to exit the Printer Setup panel.
5.	Select File > Save to save the changes to the PC5250 display session profile.

Option to Use a Printer Definition Table (PDT)

If not printing to a Host-based or Windows-only printer, then you have the option to configure the PC5250 display session to use a Printer Definition Table (PDT) file when performing the Local Print Screen function. You can use one of the PDF files that are supplied with System i Access for Windows or iSeries Access for Windows, or use your own modified PDT file.

Warning: Printer Definition Table (PDT) files will not work with Host-based or Windows-only printers (also known as GDI printers). To determine if a particular printer is a Host-based or Windows-only printer, contact the printer manufacturer. For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1019605: Information on Printers from Various Manufacturers

Use the following step-by-step instructions to configure a PC5250 display session to use a Printer Definition Table (PDT):

1.	Bring up the PC5250 display session.
2.	Select File > Printer Setup on the menu bar for the PC5250 display session to bring up the Printer Setup dialog box.
3.	Select Use PDT, and click on the Select PDT button to bring up the Select PDT file panel.
4.	Look through the list of file names for a PDT file that corresponds to the Windows printer driver being used (for example, hppcl5.pdt in V5R3 iSeries Access for HP LaserJet and compatible printers or hpdskjt.pdt in V5R2 iSeries Access or earlier for most HP DeskJet printers). Select the appropriate PDT file from the list (such as hppcl5.pdt for an HP PCL5 compatible laser printer, ibmppds.pdt for a dot matrix or line matrix printer in IBM Proprinter emulation mode, epson.pdt for a dot matrix or line matrix printer in Epson ESC/P emulation mode, or basic_ascii.pdt for plain ASCII text) to select it, then click OK to exit the Select PDT file panel. Note: If you cannot find a PDT file that corresponds to your printer, look in the printer manual to see what other types of printers it emulates. For example, there are no PDT files listed for the Lexmark Optra printers or the HP LaserJet 5, 6, 4000, or 8000 printers; however, because they all emulate the HP LaserJet 4 printer, you can use the hppcl5.pdt file. There were a number of additional PDT files available with earlier versions of iSeries Access for Windows that are no longer shipped with the latest versions of iSeries Access for Windows and IBM System i Access for Windows. For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document: N1019626: List of Printer Definition Table (PDT) Files for Use with PC5250
5.	Click OK to exit the Printer Setup panel.
6.	Select File > Save to save the changes to the PC5250 display session profile.

Option to Select the CPI, LPI, Max Lines per Page, Max Characters per Line, and Font

If not using the option to configure the PC5250 display session to use a Printer Definition Table (PDT) file, then you have the option to configure the PC5250 display session to select the Characters Per Inch (CPI), Lines Per Inch (LPI), Max Lines per Page, Max Characters per Line, and Font.

Use the following step-by-step instructions to configure a PC5250 display session to select the CPI, LPI, Max Lines per Page, Max Characters per Line, or Font:

1.	Bring up the PC5250 display session.
2.	Select File > Page Setup on the PC5250 menu bar.
3.	Select the desired Characters Per Inch (CPI), Lines Per Inch (LPI), Max Lines per Page, Max Characters per Line, and Font. Courier New Font Recommended The default font is set by the Windows printer driver, but often this results in a print screen that is too small to read due to the default point size selected by the Windows printer driver. Therefore, it is generally recommended that the Font be set to [Courier New]. Click on the down arrow next to Font and select [Courier New] out of the list, then click on the OK button to close the Page Setup dialog box. The CPI will default to 10, which is appropriate for local print screens on an 80-column display. Note: For more information on the font selection for Local Print Screen, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document: N1019685: Local Print Screens Printing Too Small Using PC5250 10 CPI Recommended for 24 x 80 Screen When using the Local Print Screen function on a 24 x 80 screen, the Page Setup panel should typically be configured with the CPI set to 10, which will allow all 80 columns to print in portrait without truncation. 17.1 CPI Recommended for 27 x 132 Screen When using the Local Print Screen function on a 27 x 132 screen, the Page Setup panel should typically be configured with the CPI set to 17.1, which will allow all 132 columns to print in portrait without truncation. Note: If doing local print screens on a combination of 80-column and 132-column displays then you will need to switch back and forth between 10 and 17.1 CPI. LPI, Max Lines per Page, and Max Characters per Line The Max Characters per Line can be left at the default value of 132 even when doing local print screens of 80-column displays. The LPI would typically be set to 6 and the Max Lines per Page would set to 66 if printing in portrait on Letter sized (8.5 x 11 inch) paper or if printing on a dot matrix or line matrix printing using 11.0 inch long continuous form paper, and the LPI would be set to 6 and the Max Lines per Page would set to 51 if printing on a dot matrix or line matrix printing using 8.5 inch long continuous form paper.
4.	Click OK to exit the Page Setup dialog box.
5.	Select File > Save to save the changes to the PC5250 display session profile.

There is nothing within a PC5250 display session that must be configured before using the Host Print Screen function. Unlike the Local Print Screen function, a user must be signed on the IBM System i or iSeries system before using the Host Print Screen function. Once signed on, invoking the Host Print Screen function will result in i5/OS generating a spooled file containing the print screen and will route it to the appropriate output queue.

Printer File Specified in the Printer file (PRTFILE) Parameter in the Display Device Description

The printer file used is determined by the setting of the Printer file (PRTFILE) parameter in the display device description, which would most likely be one of several shared QPADEVxxxx display device descriptions if Device Naming is not used. By default, display device descriptions are configured with PRTFILE(*LIBL/QSYSPRT), in which case the system-supplied QSYSPRT printer file in library QUSRSYS will be used.

The system-supplied QSYSPRT printer file defaults to having the Page size (PAGESIZE) parameter set to 66 lines x 132 columns, the Lines Per Inch (LPI) parameter set to 6, the Characters Per Inch (CPI) parameter set to 10, the Overflow line number (OVRFLW) parameter set to 60 lines, the Font identifier (FONT) parameter set to *CPI, and the Degree of page rotation (PAGRTT) parameter set to *AUTO. Due to the use of Computer Output Reduction (COR) processing depending on the page size when PAGRTT(*AUTO) is specified, spooled files with these attributes will typically print in landscape and in a compressed font on an HP PCL compatible laser printer, in portrait and in a compressed font on a narrow-carriage dot matrix or line matrix printer, and in portrait but not in a compressed font on a wide-carriage dot matrix or line matrix printer.

The spooled file attributes of a spooled file generated by the Host Print Screen function can therefore be changed by either changing or overriding the parameters in the QSYSPRT printer file, or by creating a new printer file with the desired spooled file attributes and then specifying that printer file in the Printer file (PRTFILE) parameter in the display device description. However, this typically should not be done for any of the shared QPADEVxxxx display device descriptions unless all of them are going to be changed to use the preferred printer file.

For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1010245: Creating a New Printer File to Change the Appearance of Host Print Screens


Determining the Output Queue where the Host Print Screen Spooled File will be Generated

The output queue where the Host Print Screen spooled file will be generated is determined based on a hierarchy involving the Output queue (OUTQ) and Print device (PRTDEV) parameters in the printer file, the job description, the user profile, and the display device description, as well as the QPRTDEV (Printer device description) system value. For instance, the spooled file can be routed by overriding or changing the OUTQ or PRTDEV parameter in the printer file that is specified in the Printer file (PRTFILE) parameter in your display device descriptions, by changing the OUTQ or PRTDEV parameter in your job descriptions, by changing the OUTQ or PRTDEV parameter in your user profiles, or by changing the OUTQ or PRTDEV parameter in your display device descriptions.

If all of these are set to their default values, a user's Host Print Screen spooled files will go to the output queue associated with the printer device description specified in the QPRTDEV (Printer device description) system value.

For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1018110: Determining Print Hierarchy Parameters


Associating a PC5250 Display Session with a Particular Printer Device Name or Printer Session

As mentioned above, output queue where the Host Print Screen spooled file will be generated is determined based on a hierarchy involving the Output queue (OUTQ) and Print device (PRTDEV) parameters in the printer file, the job description, the user profile, and the display device description, as well as the QPRTDEV (Printer device description) system value.

Often, the system administrator will leave the OUTQ and PRTDEV parameters set to the default values in QSYSPRT printer file, job descriptions, and user profiles and will attempt to control where output goes based on the settings in the display device description. This can be by using the Change Device Desc (Display) (CHGDEVDSP) command to manually change the PRTDEV parameter in the display device. If using the S/36 Environment (S/36E), this can also be done by using the Change S/36 Configuration (CHGS36) command to associate each S/36 Display ID with a S/36 Default Printer ID, which maps to an AS/400 or i5/OS printer device description just like a S/36 Display ID maps to a AS/400 or i5/OS display device description.

However, V5R4M0 (R540) iSeries Access for Windows and V6R1M0 (R610) System i Access for Windows have added support for a new Printer Association feature that allows a PC5250 display device description to be associated with the particular printer through the PC5250 display session profile itself. The PC5250 display session can be associated with a printer device name, which will assign the PRTDEV parameter to that printer device for you, or with a PC5250 printer session, which will not only assign the PRTDEV parameter for you but also launch the corresponding PC5250 printer session on that PC.

Note: Support for the new Printer Association feature has also been added to V5R3M0 (R530) iSeries Access for Windows, but requires manually editing the *.WS file for each PC5250 display session.

The new Printer Association feature is the preferred way to associate a printer device description with your display device descriptions, particularly since changing the PRTDEV parameter is a display device description using the CHGDEVDSP or CHGS36 commands could result in the Print device (PRTDEV) parameter being set to the default value of *SYSVAL when the PC5250 display session reconnects to the IBM System i, or should the display device description ever be deleted and recreated by the system. For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1013317: Printing Spooled Files to Printers Based on the User's PC5250 or TN5250e Display Session

Warning: It is highly recommended that the Printer Association feature only be used when the PC5250 display session is also setup to use the Device Naming feature, since changing the PRTDEV parameter in a shared QPADEVxxxx display device descriptions could result in spooled files going to the wrong printer when the QPADEVxxxx display device is assigned to another PC5250 display session at a later time. This could cause you to not be able to find your output, or could cause sensitive print data to be printed and picked up by another user on your IBM System i.

As mentioned above, the Local Print Screen can be generated by clicking on the Print Screen button on the PC5250 tool bar, selecting File > Print Screen, or by right clicking in the PC5250 display session and clicking on the LocalCpy button on the pop-up keypad, while the Host Print Screen can be generated by right clicking in the PC5250 display session and clicking on the HostPrn button on the pop-up keypad, or by pressing CTRL + Pause on the keyboard.

By default, there is no Host Print Screen button on the PC5250 tool bar like there is for the Local Print Screen. However, the Host Print Screen function can be added to the PC5250 tool bar. For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1017258: IBM i Access for Windows: Adding the Host Print Screen Function to the PC5250 Tool Bar

As mentioned above, the Local Print Screen can be generated by clicking on the Print Screen button on the PC5250 tool bar, selecting File > Print Screen, or by right clicking in the PC5250 display session and clicking on the LocalCpy button on the pop-up keypad, while the Host Print Screen can be generated by right clicking in the PC5250 display session and clicking on the HostPrn button on the pop-up keypad, or by pressing CTRL + Pause on the keyboard.

By default, PC5250 reserves PRINT SCREEN and ALT + PRINT SCREEN keys for use by Windows. Pressing the PRINT SCREEN key copies the entire screen to the Windows clipboard, while pressing the ALT + PRINT SCREEN key copies the active window to the Windows clipboard. However, either the Local Print Screen or Host Print Screen function (or any other function, marco/script or character for that matter) can assigned to the PRINT SCREEN or the ALT + PRINT SCREEN key by customizing the keyboard mapping.

As an alternative, the PRINT SCREEN and ALT + PRINT SCREEN keys can be left for use by the Windows Print Screen functions while the Local Print Screen or Host Print Screen functions within the PC5250 display session are be assigned to the SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN, CTRL + PRINT SCREEN, ALTGR (Alternate Graphics) + PRINT SCREEN (or the CTRL + ALT + PRINT SCREEN key on a US keyboard), or the CTRL + SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN key instead.

For more information, refer to the following Rochester Support Center knowledgebase document:

N1017257: IBM i Access for Windows: Changing the Print Screen Assignment in the PC5250 Keyboard Mapping

N1019626: List of Printer Definition Table (PDT) Files for Use with PC5250
N1016708: iSeries Access: Configuring a PC5250 Multiple Sessions Batch File
N1018494: Local Print Screens Not Ejecting the Page Using PC5250
N1019685: Local Print Screens Printing Too Small Using PC5250


For more information on the Host Print Screen function, refer to the following documents:

N1010245: Creating a New Printer File to Change the Appearance of Host Print Screens
N1018110: Determining Print Hierarchy Parameters
N1013317: Printing Spooled Files to Printers Based on the User's PC5250 or TN5250e Display Session

For more information on adding the Host Print Screen function to the PC5250 tool bar or keyboard mapping, refer to the following documents:

N1017258: IBM i Access for Windows: Adding the Host Print Screen Function to the PC5250 Tool Bar
N1017257: IBM i Access for Windows: Changing the Print Screen Assignment in the PC5250 Keyboard Mapping