Print Server Overrides Font ID Parameter When Using HPT (194598)

SYMPTOMS

The Host Print Transform (HPT) configuration in SNA Server 4.0 and 4.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) no longer includes the option to specify the font ID to be used by the AS/400 print session. Even though the Font ID parameter can be configured manually on the AS/400 for the AS/400 print devices being used, this parameter is overridden by SNA Server's print server each time the print session is restarted. If the AS/400 print device is configured to use a font ID other than 011, it is changed back to 011 when the AS/400 print session on SNA Server is restarted.

CAUSE

When an AS/400 print session is configured to use HPT, the print device on the AS/400 is updated each time the print session is started on the SNA Server computer. The print server passes various parameters to the AS/400 in the PIP (Program Initialization Parameters) data of the FMH-5 Attach message when it initializes a print session. The Font ID parameter is included in this PIP data, which causes the manually configured Font ID parameter to be reset on the AS/400 print device.

RESOLUTION

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server version 4.0 and 4.0 Service Pack 1. This problem was corrected in the latest SNA Server version 4.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining this Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

MORE INFORMATION

The updated Snacfg.exe file allows the Font ID parameter to be configured for the AS/400 print sessions on SNA Server. The following is an example of the format of the command used to set this parameter for an existing AS/400 print session:

snacfg [#configpath] printsessionappc [printsessionname] /fontid:xxx

Where xxx is the font ID that you want to use (for example, 011). Refer to the AS/400 documentation for a list of font IDs recognized by the AS/400. SNA Server versions 4.0 and 4.0 SP1 do not include all of the Host Print Transform (HPT) options that SNA Server versions 3.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP3 included. Only the following HPT options are available with SNA Server versions 4.0 and 4.0 SP1 when using Manager or Snacfg.exe:

Message Queue Name
Message Lib Name
Printer Type

The following options are available when HPT is configured on SNA Server versions 3.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP3 when using Manager or Snacfg.exe:

Font ID
Message Queue Name
Message Lib Name
Form Feed
Printer Type and Model
Paper Source 1
Paper Source 2
Envelope Source
ASCII Code Page 899 Support
Customizing Library Name
Customizing Object Name

For more information on the available HPT features when using SNA Server 3.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP3, please refer to the following Knowledge Base article:

169892 Host Print Transform Can Now Be Configured by SNA Server

For more information on a similar issue in SNA Server 4.0 and 4.0 SP1 regarding the Paper Source parameters, please refer to the following Knowledge Base article:

189621 Print Server Overrides Paper Source Parameters When Using HPT