The CAPTURE and NPRINT utilities

Using CAPTURE

You can use CAPTURE to perform the following tasks:

Set flags to redirect DOS and OS/2 print jobs to a network printer (or file) from an application designed to print to workstation parallel (LPT) ports.
NOTE: In order to redirect print jobs from a default parallel (LPT) port to a serial (COM) port, you must use the MODE command in DOS. CAPTURE cannot be used to redirect jobs to a serial port.
Redirect print screen text to a network printer or file.

For example, to redirect the LPT1 port to printer P_1 with no banner or form feed, type

CAPTURE P=P_1 L=1 NB NFF

If you are using a print job configuration, you do not need to specify other options except to override options in your job configuration:

CAPTURE J=JOB1

Material sent to the LPT1 port (for example, print screens or DOS piping.) will now print at printer P1. To end the capture, type

CAPTURE L=1 EC

The following list illustrates the syntax of typical CAPTURE commands:

Capture to network printer P1:

CAPTURE P=P1
Capture to print queue Q1:

CAPTURE Q=Q1
End a capture:

CAPTURE EC
Hold the print job in the queue:

CAPTURE HOLD
List the printing parameters for the job to be printed:

CAPTURE D
Redirect printer output to a file:

CAPTURE CR=file1
Redirect printer output to a printer:

CAPTURE P=P1
Use print job configuration ``Charts''

CAPTURE J=CHARTS
View online help:

CAPTURE /?
View all online help screens:

CAPTURE /? ALL
View help for the ``Banner'' option:

CAPTURE /? B
View current capture settings:

CAPTURE SH

The following options are provided to help you define how a job is printed. Separate options with a space or forward slash (/). Options are not case-sensitive.

ALL: All. When used with the End Capture (EC) option, it ends the capture of all LPT ports. Used with the /? option, it displays all online help screens.
AU: Autoendcap (End capture automatically). Specifies that the captured data be closed and sent to the printer when you exit an application. Default: Autoendcap enabled.
B=text: Banner. Indicates what will appear in the lower half of the banner page. Limit is 12 characters. Replace text with any word or phrase up to 12 characters long. To allow spaces in a banner name, enclose the name in quotation marks. Default: The captured port (for example, LPT1).
CA: Cancel. Used in conjunction with the EC option. Ends the capture of data to LPT ports and discards the data that was being captured.
ECCA: Cancel and end capture. Ends the capture of data to LPT ports and discards the data that was being captured. If the CR option was used in the original Capture statement, the file is closed but not discarded.
C=number: Copies. Specifies the number of copies. CAPTURE allows up to 65,000 copies in NetWork Services software. Default is 1 copy.
CR=pathname: Create. (Not available in OS/2.) Creates a file in which to store printed data. This option can be used only with the TI, AU, or NA options.
D: Details. Lists the printing parameters for a capture. It also indicates whether a print job configuration was used.
EC: End capture. Ends the capture of data to an LPT port. When used in conjunction with the L option, it ends the capture to the port number specified. When used without the L option, it defaults to the LPT1 port. When used with the ALL option, it ends the capture for all LPT ports. If data was being captured to a network file, the file is closed.The CA option can be used with this option to end he capture of data to LPT ports and discard the data that was being captured. Running CAPTURE again will end the current capture and assign new values.
F=name or number: Forms. Specifies the form that the printer will use. (You must define forms using PRINTDEF or NetWare Administrator before users can use form names or numbers.) With an invalid name or number, CAPTURE gives a warning message. Default: F=0.
FF: Form Feed. Enables form feed after your print job has been printed. ``FormFeed enabled'' means that the printer starts printing the next job at the top of the next sheet of paper. However, if an application automatically enables form feed at the end of a file, adding this option causes an extra blank page to be fed through. Default: FormFeed enabled.
/? or /H: Help. Displays general help information. Specific options are displayed for certain utilities on the initial help screen.
HOLD: Hold. Allows you to send a print job to a queue without having it print. To release the hold on the job, you can use either PCONSOLE or NetWare Administrator.
J=name: Job configuration. Indicates the print job configuration to use; does not require other options except to override print job configuration options. If no job configuration is specified and a default job configuration exists, it will be used. (Use the D option to see what job configuration is being used.) If no default print job is used, you will need to specify either a printer or queue in the command line. You can also use this option to specify the context in which to look for a print job configuration if it is outside the current search path by identifying the container or user owning the configuration. (See ``Printing with print job configurations in a different context''.)
K: Keep. Ensures that the NetWare server keeps all data it receives from your workstation if your workstation hangs or loses power while you are capturing data to the server. When the server notices your workstation is no longer connected, it sends the data it received from your workstation to a print queue for printing. Use this option if you plan to capture data over several hours.If you do not include the K option and your workstation hangs while sending data to the captured port, the NetWare server discards the data it has received.
L=number or LPTnumber: LPT port. Indicates the local LPT port you want captured. You can set network printers in your NET.CFG file by using the command NETWORK PRINTERS=number (1-9).
NAM=text: Name. Indicates what will appear in the upper half of the banner page. Limit = 12 characters.Default: The username you used to log in.
NA: No autoendcap (Continue capture). Specifies that the captured data not be closed and sent to the printer when you exit an application. This allows more information to be added to the print job.When this option is used, the capture will not close unless you also specify TI in the command. Otherwise, you must issue an EC command to close the capture.
NB: No banner. Suppresses banner page.
NFF: No form feed. Suppresses form feed at the end of a print job.
NNOTI: No notify. Specifies that the user not get a message after the print job prints. Do not confuse this option with the notification option in PCONSOLE that informs designated users when the printer is having problems. Default: NOTI enabled.
NT: No Tabs. Specifies that tabs are not converted to spaces in a print job. This is also called byte stream. This option ensures that all the tab characters in your print job arrive at the printer unchanged. Use this option for most network printing situations, especially when printing graphics. Default is NT (byte stream).
NOTI: Notify. Specifies that the user get a message after the print job prints. This option does not notify you if the printer has a problem or if your job cannot be printed.
P=name: Printer. Indicates to which printer the print job should be sent; you may set a default in a print job configuration. Do not use this option with the Q option.
Q=name: Queue. Indicates to which print queue the print job should be sent; you may set a default in a print job configuration. Do not use this option with the P option.
S=name: Server. Specifies the NetWare server if you want the print job sent to a bindery print queue. Not used for Directory Services print queues. Default = current tree or server.
SH: Show. Shows the current status of LPT (parallel) ports. Do not use with other options.
T=number: Tabs. Specifies the number of spaces to be substituted for each tab in a print job (default=8). Specify NT (No tabs) for byte stream print jobs.
TI=number: Timeout. Specifies the number of seconds to wait after the last data is received before closing the print job. If your timeout is not long enough, you may have problems printing some files, especially files with graphics. Increase the timeout if only parts of files are being printed or if the files do not print at all. Default: TI=0 (timeout disabled).