How to Specify the Printer Tray

peterbruce

peterbruce

Legendary Poster
JDEList,

This is not related to PDF (JDE), but to text. We are using:

Create!form server 6 version 6.4.20.9427
Create!form designer 6 version 6.4.20.9427

We are using a Lexmark T564 PS3 with the native driver.

The problem is that we want the default paper tray a specific printer to be tray 2, not automatic or tray 1.

At the moment merging is working well, but it is using tray 1.

The windows driver is set to default to tray 2, but the printing is coming from tray 1.

The design is set to automatic (I think, I'm not all that familiar with the text version, but that side looks similar to the PDF version).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Here's how to control Tray selection in Create!form

1) Set the tray selection to tray 2 in the form project
- Open Form project in 6.4 designer
- File > Page Setup > Set input Tray to tray 2

2) Create a Printer Control File for the Win printer on the server
- On the Server go to Start > Programs > Create!form > Utilities > Create a Printer Control File
- Select the Win printer in the first option called 'select printer queue'
- This creates a Printer control file in C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device
- Rename the printer control file (if needed) to match the name of the Win printer
- Create a new directory under C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device with the same name
as the win printer & put the printer control file in this directory

That's it, when the job is processed by Create!form Server it will use the Printer Control file for that Win printer

Mark
 
Mark,

Thanks for your response. However it did not work.

I set the input tray to tray 2 in Designer 6.

I created the printer control file - there was a message to say it already existed and asked if it was ok to overwrite, I clicked OK. I created the folder called:

C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\carlos

the name of the printer is carlos.

I copied the file:

C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\Lexmark T654 PS3.pcf_ps

to

C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\carlos\carlos

and then tested. The result ws that the print came from tray 1. So I changed the name of the file to:

C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\carlos\carlos.pcf_ps

and retested with the same result.

Please note that I tested this using the Create!form Test Print File utility.

Further assistance would be greatly appreciated.
 
Peter,

This is a tried & true process, I've used it countless times.
- I dont think I've ever seen it not work.

You mentioned you set the input tray to 2 in the form project.
- is this the form project that is in production?
- Do you need to transfer it to production? (Compare .cfp6 file times & dates)

And Yes, the file must have an extension of .pcf_ps
- If the printer is called carlos, you must have C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\carlos\carlos.pcf_ps

Lets also make sure your testing correctly:
- Your testing from Create!form Server 6.4 on the server right?
- If your testing a director project double click on director printer.
- If your testing a data file straight to the printer, double click on carlos win printer
- Both printers will have a green check on them: One is a Director Project printer other is a a Form Merging printer
- After double clicking, make sure the default project is correct (Director uses a director project, Carlos uses a form project.
- Click the Test button to choose the Text (ASCII Data file) to test with.
- Make sure the data file does not already have Create!send Header lines in it (open with notepad) as this could call a different project.
- If all settings are correct, the tray will be called correctly.

If it does not, I would look at the win printer itself.
- You said you made changes to the tray selection
- Delete the win printer, recreate it, dont change tray settings, use the same Postscript Driver
- Test again.

If you get the same results, can you use a more generic Postscript Driver for this model printer?
(Meaning, I find HP 4000 PS driver will work great on just about any HP Postscript printer that's HP4000 or newer)

You should also send a job from the ERP application vs. testing it on the server.
- A real world test is better anyway.

If it still doesn't work, it will require deeper analysis either on the Win printer (to be sure it has the same settings as the physical printer) or the physical printer itself.

Mark
 
Here's another trick, could shed some light.

- Copy the .pcf_ps file to a PC thats running Adobe Distiller
- Change the extension to .ps
- Double Click file, Distiller will launch and it will create a PDF file in the same directory.
- PDF file is will show Cform Tray settings vs. Printer tray settings.
- The PDF is for informational purposes only, but its pretty much always correct.

Mark
 
Mark,

I appreciate your quick response.

In answer to your questions:

- is this the form project that is in production?
(A) Yes and No, this is all taking place on the one server. For the text based functrionality, there is no difference between production and test/dev - I did not set it up, it is just what I have to deal with. (For JDE PDF I have defined different project directories for prod and test/dev.)

- Do you need to transfer it to production? (Compare .cfp6 file times & dates)
(A) No, see above.

- If the printer is called carlos, you must have C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\carlos\carlos.pcf_ps
(A) this is what I currently have set up.

- Your testing from Create!form Server 6.4 on the server right?
(A) Yes.

- If your testing a director project double click on director printer.
(A) This is not a Director project.

- If your testing a data file straight to the printer, double click on carlos win printer
- Both printers will have a green check on them: One is a Director Project printer other is a a Form Merging printer
- After double clicking, make sure the default project is correct (Director uses a director project, Carlos uses a form project.
(A) The printer has the form project directory where the form project resides.

- Click the Test button to choose the Text (ASCII Data file) to test with.
(A) Result Printed from Tray 1.

- Make sure the data file does not already have Create!send Header lines in it (open with notepad) as this could call a different project.
(A) the file has the following header where can_statement_test is the form project:
%cpBegin
%cpParam:-scan_statement_test
%cpEnd

- If all settings are correct, the tray will be called correctly.
(A) Result Printed from Tray 1.

If it does not, I would look at the win printer itself.
- You said you made changes to the tray selection
- Delete the win printer, recreate it, dont change tray settings, use the same Postscript Driver
- Test again.
(A) I set up the printer control file again. Result Printed from Tray 1.

- Copy the .pcf_ps file to a PC thats running Adobe Distiller
- Change the extension to .ps
- Double Click file, Distiller will launch and it will create a PDF file in the same directory.
- PDF file is will show Cform Tray settings vs. Printer tray settings.
- The PDF is for informational purposes only, but its pretty much always correct.
(A) I did this with the second printer and it did create a PDF. Details:

Generated for printer:Lexmark T654 PS3
Input Tray Mappings
Create!form project number Related printer tray
1 Tray1/Tray 1
2 Tray2/Tray 2
3 Tray3/Tray 3
4 Tray4/Tray 4
5 Tray5/Tray 5
6 AutoSelect/Auto Select
7 MultiPurpose/Multi-Purpose Feeder
8 Manual/Manual Paper
9 ManualEnv/Manual Envelope
10 EnvFeeder/Envelope Feeder
Output Tray Mappings
Create!form project number Related printer tray
1 PrinterSetting/Printer Setting
2 StandardBin/Standard Bin
3 Bin1/Bin 1
4 Bin2/Bin 2
5 Bin3/Bin 3
6 Bin4/Bin 4
7 Bin5/Bin 5
8 Bin6/Bin 6
9 Bin7/Bin 7
10 Bin8/Bin 8
11 Bin9/Bin 9
12 Bin10/Bin 10
 
Peter,

Obviously this requires more in-depth inspection.

Contact me outside the forum if you'd like further help.

Otherwise, you'll need to contact Bottomline.

Mark
 
Peter,

Sounds like you've done everything correctly. Maybe the tray mapping utility you have with Cform v6.4 isn't creating a valid tray mapping file from the PS3 printer driver. Call BT support and have them look at it.

Karen.
 
Its not the utility.

Its worked fine for years.

Its something else.

Mark
 
JDEList,

I made a typo when typing in the printer driver information.

The printer driver Lexmark T654 PS3 (not T564 - I accidently transposed the 6 and 5 and did not notice).
 
Below is the last part of the log. Even though it mentions tray2 it is printing from tray1.

Last part of the log:

Loaded C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\fonts.data
Loading C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device\Lexmark T654 PS3.pcf_ps
Using custom tray procedure Tray2
Loaded resource IMG/UOW_logo from C:\Program Files\Create!form\smp_fees_revenues\UOW_logo.eps
'DoMerge' returned 1
Sent merged document to printer OK
After DoOutput
Job 'fee_44850_test.txt' completed (id 81)
 
Update:

I have taken this to Bottomline technologies. The problem was with the tray mapping (the .pcf_ps file). They sent me another one and it worked. But I can print from tray 2 now, but I need it to be a little more flexible. I need to be able to print from tray 2 for one printer, but from the tray defined in the design, if any, for all others. Bottomline said this can be set up using two pcf_ps files and two print queues. I am still looking at this.
 
Update:

After discussing this with Bottomline Tecnologies staff and having received some .pcf_ps files, here is my understanding on how create!form works and what needs to be done to resolve my original problem. If there are any corrections to this information please let me know.

Create!form processing by passes the printer drivers and send postcript directly to the printer. Thus the printer properties settings such as input tray and orientation are ignored. However settings that are on the physical printer itself are used.

The Lexmark T654 uses different code, in certain cirumstances, to that produced from Create!form. The printer tray falls into these circumstances. Thus, regardless of the printer tray specified in the design of the Create!form project, the default tray, as defined on the physical printer, is the tray that will be used.

To get around this Create!form has a tray mapping facility. This creates a file with the printer driver name as the filename and a .pcf_ps extension. For print queues defined in Create!form Server 6 (as opposed to Server 3), which is where the ARD printqueues and projects are defined, this file needs to be in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device

Any printqueue that uses the same driver will use the same mapping file.

However the Lexmark T654 PS3.pcf_ps is created without any mapping and the mapping code has to be inserted.

When a tray is specified in the design of the Create!form project, other than default, the tray mapping file is inserted in the code sent to the printer. If the default tray is specified in the design of the Create!form project the tray mapping file is ignored.

Using the Create!form Server 6 printqueue properties, a different mapping file can be specified and therefore will not use the mapping file with the same name as the printqueue's driver. However if the default tray is specified in the design of the Create!form project this tray mapping file is ignored too.

To specify a different tray mapping file, open the printqueue properties from with Create!form Server 6. In the General Properties there is the option to specify a default merge configuration. By clicking the down arrow and selecting Manage, configurations can be created, changed and deleted. When creating or editing the merge configuration, in the postscript properties, there is the option to use a printer control file. This is the tray mapping file. The drop down list will contain all files in the C:\Program Files\Create!form\SystemResource\Device directory with the .cpf_ps extension.

Now, taking into condsideration the above, here is how, I believe, things need to be set up to allow tray 2 to be used:

1) create a printer control file (aka tray mapping file) that maps tray 1 to tray 2 using the appropriate code. Do not name this file with the name of the printqueue driver.
2) edit the Create!form Server 6 properties of the printqueue concerned and assign a merge configuration that uses the printer control file in step 1.
3) edit the Create!form 6 project concerned and make sure that it specifies tray 1.

Now when a print job that uses a Create!form 6 project that specifies tray 1 is printed on the printqueue, it will print using tray 2.

If there is a need to print a print job that uses a Create!form 6 project that specifies tray 1 on the same printer, I believe this is what needs to be done: create a different Create!form Server 6 printqueue that points to the same printer, ensure that it will not use a printer control file, it will print using physical printer's default tray - usually tray 1. If there is a need to override the physical printer's default tray, then create a printer control file that maps tray 1 to tray 1 using the appropriate code and set up the Create!form Server 6 printqueue to use it.
 
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