DDMS Discontinues Support for
“Slave” Printer Configuration
Friday, March 7, 2008 — In version 8.14.0, DDMS made a decision to remove old outdated logic in the software relating to the use of slave printers¹ connected to dumb terminals². We feel this change will allow us to provide better support, and help protect the integrity of your software.
In the decision to discontinue support for slave printers, we considered these factors:
- Dumb terminal configurations with slave printers rely on logic that is based on outdated technology.
- The logic in the software was causing system conflicts.
- Supporting such outdated configurations has become prohibitively difficult.
- Our understanding is that most dealers have migrated to a more updated PC and network environment that supports newer printer configurations.
However, we found after releasing 8.14.0, there were a few customers still utilizing the slave printer configuration.
Instructions
To identify the presence of slave printers in your DDMS system, follow these steps:
- On your DDMS server's Main Menu, double-click the KeyOp Menu icon.
- Double-click the Parameters icon.
- Double-click Text-based.
- Select (L1) Terminal and Tickets Parameters by pressing the number 1 key.
- Look for the letter T in any of the following P columns:
- T-I-C-K-E-T-S P
- SLIP P
- Labels
- INVOICES P
See examples in the figure below:
The four (P) column headers are highlighted in red. For each row, this column usually identifies the second character of the printer's logical name. A "T" in the P column indicates that the Order Entry Terminal in question is using a slave printer.
TØ is using a slave printer for Tickets.
T2 is using a slave printer for Slips.
T3 is using a slave printer for Labels.
T4 is using a slave printer for Invoices.
None of the other O/E terminals have slave printers.
(L1) TERMINAL/TICKET/PRINTER PARAMETERS
================================================================================
ACTION [I] (C=CHANGE, I=INQUIRY, H=HELP, W=WINDOWS, L=LASER, P=O/E PRINTERS)
================================================================================
Starting Terminal to have Order Entry as Master [TE]
KEY: AHD=Ahead, ST.=Status, ONL=Print online, P=Printer number
LOG. KEY O/E T-I-C-K-E-T-S SLIP LABELS INVOICES
TER. LOC. AHD TYPE ST. ONL FORM P FORM P FORM P ONL FORM P OPTION
1 [T0] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [4T T] [ ] [ ] [Y] [ ] [+ ]
2 [T1] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [4T Q] [0X 5] [ 4] [Y] [4I 5] [+ ]
3 [T2] [ 1] [Y] [ ] [B] [Y] [ ] [0X T] [ ] [Y] [ ] [B ]
3 [T3] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [ ] [ ] [ T] [Y] [ ] [B$ ]
4 [T4] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [ ] [ ] [ ] [Y] [4I T] [B ]
6 [T5] [ 1] [Y] [Z] [B] [Y] [4T 1] [ ] [ ] [Y] [4I 1] [B ]
7 [T6] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [4T Q] [0D 5] [ 4] [Y] [4I F] [B$ ]
8 [T7] [ 1] [Y] [P] [B] [Y] [4T F] [0B Q] [ 4] [Y] [4I F] [B ]
9 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
10 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
11 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
12 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
13 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
14 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
15 [__] [__] [_] [_] [_] [_] [____ _] [____ _] [____ _] [_] [____ _] [___]
- If you do NOT find a "T" in any "P" column, this issue does not affect you. Press the Escape key until you return to the Main Menu.
- If you DO find a "T" in any of those "P" columns, your system still utilizes slave printers. Please contact your DDMS support team — before loading Version 8.14 — to discuss your options for changing over to newer printer configurations:
Definitions
¹ “Slave printers” are serial printers that are dedicated to only print the tickets, slips, invoices, and labels created at the terminals they are connected to.
² “Dumb terminals” are workstations that do not process data locally but rely on a centralized processor.
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