Making printer files capable of DBCS
When the data involved contains double-byte characters, the printer file that is used to place the data into the spooled file must be capable of processing double-byte data.
In many cases, printer files are used by the system to produce data that is eventually printed or displayed. In these cases, the data is first placed into a spooled file using one of the IBM-supplied printer files. The data is then taken from the spooled file and is displayed or printed based on the request of the user.
A printer file is capable of processing double-byte data when *YES is specified on the IGCDTA parameter for the file. In most cases, the system recognizes the occurrence of double-byte data and takes appropriate measures to ensure the printer file that is used is capable of processing double-byte data.
In some cases, however, the system cannot recognize the occurrence of double-byte data and might attempt to use a printer file that is not capable of processing double-byte data. If this occurs, the output at the display or printer cannot be readable. This can happen when object descriptions containing double-byte characters are to be displayed or printed on an alphanumeric device.
To ensure that you receive correct results when you display or print double-byte characters, some recommendations should be followed. Action is required on your part if you have a single-byte national language installed as a secondary language. Printer files that are received as part of the DBCS version of a product are always capable of processing DBCS data.
The following suggested actions should be performed after the product or feature has been installed:
- If all printers and display devices attached to your system are DBCS-capable, you can enable all printer files for double-byte data. For IBM-supplied printer files that are received as part of a single-byte secondary language feature, you can enable all printer files by issuing the following command:
CHGPRTF FILE(*ALL/*ALL) IGCDTA(*YES)After this command has been completed, all printer files in all libraries will be enabled for double-byte data. The change will be a permanent change.
- If all printer and display devices attached to your system are not DBCS-capable, it is suggested that you not enable all IBM-supplied printer files.
Instead, use the library search capabilities of the system to control which printer files to use for any particular job. When the potential exists that double-byte data might be encountered, the library list for the job should be such that the printer files that are DBCS-enabled are found first in the library list. Conversely, if only single-byte data is expected to be encountered, the library list should be set up so the printer files that are not enabled for DBCS are found first. In this way, the printer file capabilities match the type of data that is processed. The decision as to what type of printer file to use is made on the basis of what type of data is processed. The device that is used to actually display or print the data might also influence this decision.
In some cases it might be desirable to make the printer file only temporarily DBCS-capable instead of making a permanent change. For a specific job, you can make this temporary change by using the OVRPRTF command. To temporarily enable a specific printer file, you can use the following command:
OVRPRTF FILE(filename) IGCDTA(*YES)where filename is the name of the printer file you want to enable.
Parent topic:
Improperly indicated DBCS files