About Printer Device Definition

Use this view of the Device Definition window to view or modify existing printer definitions. Depending on which type of printer token you have selected, the information displayed will either contain a UNIX print spooler definition or a direct attached parallel port printer definition.

Using this view, you can also delete existing printer definitions or create new ones.

For more information about the general subject of device definitions and managing them, see About Device Definition.

Direct-Attach Printer Definition

Under some circumstances, you may not want to use the SCO Merge UNIX spooling system for DOS or Windows printing. In these cases, you can attach a parallel port printer directly to your DOS or Windows session.

SCO Merge provides two standard parallel port printer definitions for direct attachment (DOS Direct Port 1 and DOS Direct Port 2). SCO Merge on OpenServer provides two additional standard printer definitions for direct attachment (DOS Direct Port 1 - IRQ 7 and DOS Direct Port 2 - IRQ 5). The extra two are not available on UnixWare because direct attaching IRQs is not supported on UnixWare. Some types of parallel port printers will require the IRQ and thus will not be attachable this way on UnixWare. But even on OpenServer you should first try the attachment without the IRQ becasue it is best to not use system resources that are not really required.

You can view available printer definitions by selecting token names from the drop-down menu. The corresponding configuration parameters will appear below.

You can directly attach printers defined here to your DOS or Windows sessions by using the Personal Merge Session Configuration window.

You can also create new printer definitions.

Creating New Printer Definitions

Then, follow these steps to define the printer for direct attachment:

1. Click on the New button to create a new token name for the printer. Alternatively, you can select an existing printer definition (e.g., lp0) from the list of tokens, modify the settings appropriately, and then save the resulting definition under a new token name.

2. If you are making a definition that needs an IRQ, click on the Add button directly below the IRQ text box, and enter the IRQ the printer is to use. The IRQ value can be 0, 2 through 7, 9 through 13, or 15. You cannot choose an IRQ that another device will be using at the same time.

   If you make a mistake, click on the incorrect IRQ value to highlight it, and then click Remove. Then, reenter the correct IRQ.

   Note: Do not specify an IRQ on UnixWare systems.

3. Click on the Add button directly below the IO Port text box to bring up a window in which you can enter the address range. The address is given in hexadecimal notation, and is typically in the range 0 - 3ff(hex).

   If you make a mistake, click on the entry to highlight it, and then click Remove. Then, reenter the correct address range.

4. Enter a description for the device in the Description text box, and specify the appropriate Usable By and Failure Action settings. See About Device Definition if you need an explanation of the appropriate settings for these fields.

5. Click on the Save or Save As button to save your new printer definition. This printer can now be attached to your DOS or Windows session using the Personal Merge Session Configuration window.