Device Data (ttaad3100s000)

Use this session to define the various output devices that are used in an LN environment.

These are the device types to which a print request can be sent in LN:

  • Printer
  • Logical printer
  • Append to file
  • Rewrite file
  • Direct
  • Screen
  • Windows Printer
  • Windows Server Printer
  • Infor Enterprise Report Printer
  • External Reporting Services
  • Document Output Management
Note: This session contains various options for external reporting through Infor Reporting and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. These options are not described in this help text. For details about the external reporting options in this session, see these guides:
  • Infor Enterprise Server Connector for Infor Reporting Administration Guide
  • Infor Enterprise Server Plug-in for Microsoft SSRS Administration Guide

For every print request to a LN Printer device an intermediate print file "tmpxxxxx" is stored in directory $BSE/tmp.

For a Windows printer the intermediate print file "tmpxxxx.bpf" is not stored in directory $BSE/tmp, but the file is transferred to the users PC and printed by the LN Windows print program BWPrint.

The session is divided into three parts. You can specify:

  • General device data: for each device you must enter basic properties such as the name, description, type, and character set.
  • Data related to (physical) printers
  • Data related to append and rewrite files

Depending on the device type, you must skip or fill certain fields. For example, if you define a physical printer, you can skip the file-related fields.

References/Actions

These options are available:

Papertype by device
Starts the Papertype by Device (ttaad3107m000) session.
Systems
Starts the Systems (ttaad0550m000) session.
Select Report Server
Starts the Report Servers (ttrpi1500m000) session.
Select Device
Starts the Device Data (ttaad3500m000) session.
Device

The output device code.

This device code is a unique code that identifies a printer.

You can choose a unique name for a device, however the name SMTP is reserved for Microsoft Outlook to send the print file directly to e-mail and the name FAX is reserved to print directly to a FAX device.

This code is used by a user to send a report to an output device.

Examples:

  • ASCII (ASCII file)
  • NOTEPAD (NOTEPAD file)
  • D (Display Device)
  • D66 (Display Device 66 lines per page)
  • WINDOWS (Default Windows printer)
  • pnl0133L (UNIX printer pnl0133 Landscape)
  • pnl0133P (UNIX printer pnl0133 Portrait)
  • pnl0133D (UNIX printer pnl0133 Direct)
  • pnl0133W (Windows printer pnl0133)
Description

The description of the output device.

It is a good manner to specify the location of the printer if possible.

Examples:

  • IBM Printer in building X
  • HP Laserjet in room Y
  • Default Windows printer
  • Rewrite to file ASCII format
  • Print to Excel sheet
  • Print to file HTML format
  • Print to Business Objects Enterprise
Device Type

The type of output device.

Allowed values

Printer

A physical printer in a UNIX environment. The report is sent to a temporary file on the LN server and queued for printing to the physical printer. The LN printer daemon is used to control the print request.

Logical printer

A group of physical Unix printers. The report is sent to a printer in this group.

Append to file

A file on the LN server in which a report is stored. If the file does not exist, the file is automatically created. An existing file is extended.

Document Output Management

The report is send as document to Document Output Management. A document is a file produced by an LN print session. Each document is stored in the Document Store from where it can be used for further processing.

For more information, see Infor LN Document Output Management User Guide.

Rewrite file

A file on the LN server in which a report is stored. If the file does not exist, the file is automatically created. An existing file is overwritten.

Direct

A physical printer in a UNIX environment. The report is directly sent to the printer. The print request is not controlled by the LN printer daemon.

Screen

The report is sent to the computer screen to show a preview of the report.

Windows Printer

A physical printer that is supported by Microsoft Windows. The report is sent to the users PC. The LN Windows print tool BWPrint is activated and directs the report to the selected printer.

Mail API

This option is only available on a Windows platform. It is not maintained anymore and will be deprecated in the future.

Windows Server Printer

A physical printer that Microsoft Windows supports. The printing is handled by a separate Windows printer server with the Infor ES Reporting Service installed. Users do not need the BWPrint software on their client PCs. You must specify the printer server name and the port number for the ES Reporting Service in the Argument field. For details, refer to Windows printer devices (OP).

Infor Enterprise Report Printer

A device to print Infor Enterprise reports from LN.

Data is sent through a URL to the report renderer on the Infor Reporting Services server. The URL is specified in the Path of the device.

External Reporting Services

A device to print LN reports by means of a report design that is stored on an external Report Server. This Report Server will render the report. The destination of the report depends on the arguments filled in the Argument field.

Locale

Specifies the name of the Tools Super Set locale. A locale is a collection of the TSS character set definition, the NLS locale for the system and minimum and maximum values for form and database fields. Each locale uses a specific range of (multi-byte) characters of the Tools Super Set (TSS).

The user locale belonging to the user who makes a print request, must be equal to the print locale. If a user tries to select a print device with a locale different from the user locale, the LN system sends an error message and the report will not be printed.

Examples:

  • ISO-8859-1 (Western Europe - 8 bit)
  • GB-SUN (Simplified Chinese Sun)
  • HEBREW-AIX (Hebrew IBM AIX)
Note: If you have a Unicode installation, Infor advises you to leave the Locale field empty if you have chosen Windows Printer as the device type. In that case BWPrint automatically uses the locale of the Windows system.
Intermediate File in XML Format

If this check box is selected, the intermediate print file in $BSE/tmp is stored in XML format. XML files can be reused by other applications, for example Business Objects Enterprise. See the Argument field for details about printing a LN Report via Business Objects Enterprise.

Driver

The printer driver's code.

A printer driver is a file that contains settings, such as control characters, escape sequences, and so on, for a specific printer.

The driver specification is only applicable for UNIX printers, printer type "Printer" or "Direct".

For a Windows printer, the printer driver is stored on a local PC or on a Windows Printer Server.

The UNIX printer drivers can be found on the UNIX file system in directory $BSE/lib/printinf.

This directory contains several one-character sub-directories for each Printer Supplier, see example list below:

  • Directory c - Canon
  • Directory e - Epson
  • Directory h - HP (Hewlett Packard)
  • Directory i - IBM
  • Directory m - Mannesmann
  • Directory s - Siemens

Example printer drivers:

  • hp_lj4 ( HP Laserjet 4 Portrait printer)
  • hp_lj4_lndsc (HP Laserjet 4 Landscape printer)
Device Queue

The name of the printer as used by the UNIX printer spooler.

The value in the Device Queue field depends on the value in the Device Type field:

  • If Device Type is Printer then the Device Queue is the name of the printer as used by the UNIX printer spooler (for example, pnl0133)
  • If Device Type is Direct the print request is not handled by the printer daemon. Therefore the Device Queue is a UNIX print command with parameters to carry out the print directly (for example, lp -dpnl0133 -n%d -s %s).
  • If Device Type is Windows Printer then the Device Queue is the name of the Windows printer (for example: \\SRV_NLD_DEV2\PNL0133) . If this field is <empty> the default Windows printer of the user is used.
  • For all other Device Types the Device Type field is disabled.

  • If Device Type is Windows Server Printer and used as the placeholder device for client side printers then this field is filled with this fixed text: $default_printer_queue

    Normally you install printers through the share and the printer has its own UNC path such as \\server\printer. We do not support this for Windows Server Printers. Accessing the share and go through other servers when printing must be avoided, it introduces potential security risks. Install Windows Server Printers locally.

Paper Type

The paper type loaded in the printer's paper tray.

The Paper Type specification is only applicable for these Device Type:

  • Printer
  • Logical printer
  • Windows printer
Left Margin

The left margin for reports sent to a printer.

The Left Margin specification is only applicable for these Device Types:

  • Printer
  • Windows printer
Note: 

When you print a report, the Select Device (ttstpsplopen ) session suggests a left margin. This suggested margin is calculated as follows:

suggested margin = the device margin specified in this field + the report's left margin specified in the Reports (ttadv3130s000) session

Form Feed Every Page

Specify whether a form feed is sent after each report page.

The Form Feed Every Page check box is only applicable for Device Type: Printer.

If this check box is selected, a form feed is sent to the printer at the end of each report page.

If this check box is cleared, no form feed is sent at the end of the report page. If the page length of the report does not correspond with the page length of the paper type, the report page will be printed over several printer pages.

Driver

The UNIX printer driver that must be used for device types Rewrite file and File append.

See for details: Driver.

Shell Command

The program, at operating system level, which is executed before the output is (re) written to a file. For example, this program can be a conversion program to filter the input data.

Conversion Program

The 4GL Program field is used to define the name of a LN 4GL program, that is used to convert the output of an LN Report to another format. For example to HTML format.

This 4GL Program field is only applicable for the Device Types: Rewrite file and Append to file.

The most important available LN 4GL program to mention here is the conversion program: ttstpconv.

This program is able to convert a LN Report to several formats, for example HTML, RTF, Postscript, etc.

To specify the type of conversion to be done, the program uses Program Arguments, that can be specified in the Argument field.

Another available LN 4GL Program is the CMF (Common Messaging Facility) Print Utility: ttcmfprint.

The ttcmfprint utility is able to send a LN Report to an E-mail address, Fax etc.

The ttcmfprint utility always converts the report to RTF format.

See the Argument field for details about the Conversion Programs.

Argument for Conversion Program

The arguments you can specify here are dependent on the LN 4GL Program, that is specified in the 4GL Program field.

See this table for the possible arguments:

4GL program Argument Description
ttstpconv ascii ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) format
ttstpconv html HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format
ttstpconv rtf RTF (Rich Text Format) format (Portrait)
ttstpconv rtf_landscape RTF (Rich Text Format) format (Landscape)
ttcmfprint outlook

DefaultThe report is sent to E-mail recipients using MS Outlook

DefaultIf using argument outlook then it is mandatory to specify the Device code as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

DefaultThe E-mail addresses must be specified in the Path field
ttcmfprint fax

DefaultThe report is sent to FAX numbers

DefaultIf using argument fax then it is mandatory to specify the Device code as FAX

DefaultFax numbers must be specified in the Path field
<empty> XML

DefaultXML (Extensible Markup Language) used for Business Objects Enterprise

DefaultIf using argument XML then it is mandatory to select the check box Intermediate File in XML Format

<empty> XML -PDF

DefaultThe report will be converted to PDF format.

DefaultIf using argument XML then it is mandatory to select the check box Intermediate File in XML Format

DefaultYou can add the font size: “PFS=9.0”, “PFS=9.5”, “PFS=10“, or “PFS=11”. Specify the font sizes known from Microsoft Word. This functionality is not available when printing to PDF Landscape.

DefaultExample of the Argument field:

XML -PDF:acroRd32.exe PFS=11 %s

DefaultTo display the current number out of the total number of pages on each page, use this argument:

XML -PDF:acroRD32.exe -TP %s
<empty> server=<printer server name> port=<port number for ES Reporting Service >

DefaultThe report is sent to a Windows Server Printer. For details, see Windows printer devices (OP).

DefaultNote: You can leave the Argument field blank for a Windows Server Printer, if LN runs on a Windows server. When you send a report, BWPrint is started on the LN server.
<empty> XML -RPT

DefaultThe report is sent to the LN Report Viewer.

DefaultFor more information, refer to To create a Report Viewer device for session-based reports.

DefaultNote: You can only use the Report Viewer device to print reports with an XML report design.
<empty> -excel The report is sent to a Microsoft Excel device. You can specify additional parameters.

This functionality is only available for devices of type External Reporting Services.

For more information, refer to Microsoft Excel devices (OP) in the Infor Enterprise Server Administration Guide.
<empty> excelRD This argument is applicable for the Rewrite file device type. It is used to export a personalized report, through the Report Designer (ttstppersrep ), to an Excel workbook. See the Infor LN Report Designer Development Guide.

The arguments ascii, html and rtf can be appended with :<Client program> to start a program on the client PC for editing the LN Report and can be appended with \<UNIX shell script> to filter or modify the Report output file, see the examples in the table below:

Example Explanation
ascii Create ASCII file
ascii: Create ASCII file and start notepad (default)
ascii:notepad Create ASCII file and activate notepad
ascii\mfax %s Create ASCII file and send file to mfax
ascii\mfax %s:notepad Create ASCII file, send file to mfax and activate notepad
ascii:excel Create ASCII file and activate MS excel
ascii:winword Create ASCII file and activate MS Word
rtf:winword Create RTF file and activate MS Word
html:winword Create HTML file and activate MS Word
html:iexplore Create HTML file and activate Internet Explorer
postscript Create PostScript file. Use a PostScript printer to print the file

For some arguments you can specify Parameters behind the argument, see this table:

Argument Parameter Mandatory Explanation
ascii -8 No UNICODE (8 bit) format
ascii -u No LSB UNICODE (16 bit) format
ascii -umsb No MSB UNICODE (16 bit) format
ascii -win32 No Windows 3.2 format
html -c <company> No Display company name on each HTML page
html -g <logo.gif> No

DefaultDisplay company logo on each HTML page.

DefaultThe company logo must be in the same directory as the HTML report produced in order for the logo to be displayed with the report.
html -f <fontsize> No Fontsize
XML server <server name> Yes The name of the Business Objects Enterprise server
XML port <port number> Yes The port number on the Business Objects Enterprise server

In this table some examples of the arguments and their parameters are shown:

Example Explanation
ascii -u Create ASCII file in LSB UNICODE (16 bit) format
ascii -umsb Create ASCII file in MSB UNICODE (16 bit) format
ascii -win32:notepad Create ASCII file in Windows 3.2 format and activate notepad
html -c "MPC Global" -g "CMP.gif" -f 12 Create HTML file with company name and logo, fontsize 12
html -c "MPC Global" -g "CMP.gif" -f 12:iexplore Create HTML file with company name and logo, fontsize 12 and activate Internet Explorer
XML server=cnl01234 port=8999 Create XML file and send the file to Business Objects Enterprise server cnl01234 on port number 8999
Path

The content of this field depends on the Device Type. See this table:

Device Type Content of Path field

DefaultRewrite file

DefaultAppend to file

DefaultThe (default) path of the file you want to create.

DefaultIf the Conversion Program field contains ttcmfprint then the Path field contains the address where the file should be sent. For example, an email address or a fax number. In case of multiple recipients, the field contains multiple addresses separated by semicolons ";".

DefaultFor example:

Device Conversion Program Argument for Conversion Program Path
SMTP ttcmfprint outlook jsmith@company-x.com; gbush@president.gov
FAX ttcmfprint fax +31 342123456; +40 98765432

DefaultPrinting redesign based on RTF specification 1.9.1 (Used by Microsoft Word 2007/Word 12)

Device Conversion Program Argument for Conversion Program Path
RTF ttstpconv RTF:Winword.exe %s ${HOME}/rtf
RTFA4 ttstpconv RTFL:Winword.exe %s A4 L9 R3 ${HOME}/rtf
RTFLTC ttstpconv RTF:Winword.exe %s LTC L3 R3 ${HOME}/rtf
RTFLT ttstpconv RTF:Winword.exe %s LT L3 R3 ${HOME}/rtf
Infor Enterprise Report Printer

DefaultThe URL to connect to the report renderer on the Infor Reporting Services server.

DefaultThe URL has this format:

Defaulthttp://< Infor Reporting Services server>:<port>/IRServices/reportRenderer.vrf

DefaultFor details, see the Infor Reporting Designer User Guide.
Change Output file allowed

If this check box is selected, you can change the default path and file at run time when you print to a file.

Page Length

If you send the output to a file, you can enter the page length for the output.

Note: 
  • You must also define the height of your screen display.
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