aj1826@trotter.usma.edu (DiGangi Joe CPT) (09/08/89)
Does anybody have any experience with this product? As I understand it, this works in the background with AppleShare on the same machine to provide print spooling capability. However, I'm unsure of a couple of things: 1) Will this only work with the LaserWriter and LQ, or will it also work with the ImageWriter II (assuming, or course, that these are all networked printers)? 2) The description of the product leads you to believe that you might require a dedicated machine just for the spooler. I'm assuming that's not the case - that it simply sits on the same machine as AppleShare does. 3) Are there any "types" of products which have difficulty working with this spooler (like apps that print one page at a time, etc.)? Any help would be appreciated. I'll summarize if I get enough good info. Joe -- CPT Joe DiGangi Department of Mathematics, US Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. 10996 UUCP: philabs!trotter!aj1826 ARPA:digangi@westpoint-emh1.army.mil Phone #: 914-938-4811 or 2559
bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (09/08/89)
In article <1398@trotter.usma.edu> aj1826@trotter.usma.edu (DiGangi Joe CPT) writes: > >Does anybody have any experience with this product? As I understand it, >this works in the background with AppleShare on the same machine to provide >print spooling capability. However, I'm unsure of a couple of things: We just got it here a few days ago. Installation takes only a few minutes, and it took me less than an afternoon to make sure that every one of 30 Macintoshes were working properly with it. >1) Will this only work with the LaserWriter and LQ, or will it also work >with the ImageWriter II (assuming, or course, that these are all networked >printers)? I believe that it will work with any of the three printers. However, those are the only three printers it is compatible with, and it is only capable of 'capturing' five printers at a time (see below). >2) The description of the product leads you to believe that you might require >a dedicated machine just for the spooler. I'm assuming that's not the case - >that it simply sits on the same machine as AppleShare does. Correct. You install it on your AppleShare server and run it as a 'concurrent application'. It must be in the foreground all the time; if you need to run AppleShare Admin, you must turn off spooling for a while, which might create problems (again, see below). >3) Are there any "types" of products which have difficulty working with >this spooler (like apps that print one page at a time, etc.)? There shouldn't be. Normally, if you have a printer named, say, "Vanna Write", the Chooser of every Mac connected to the same network will display "Vanna Write" as a valid LaserWriter destination. With the AppleShare Print Spooler, the destination "Vanna Write Spooler" will appear; trying to "print" something to this destination will result in your output being sent to the server very rapidly. Your machine is then freed from worrying about the printing job (you can even turn off your workstation); the server takes care of sending the output to the correct printer. You can opt to let users bypass the spooler if you want. If the Bypass option is on, "Vanna Write" will appear at the same time as "Vanna Write Spooler"; you can either spool through "Vanna Write Spooler", or print to "Vanna Write" as if the spooler didn't exist. This is for the rare application that don't like the server (although the server is transparent to the workstation, so these faulty applications are rare). The problems arise when a machine is set (with the Chooser) to print to "Vanna Write Spooler". You disable spooling while you go into AppleShare Admin, somebody comes along and tries to print something with MacWrite on a workstation, the workstation of course can't find "Vanna Write Spooler" (it vanishes as soon as you quit the print spooler application on the server to enter Admin), so MacWrite says "MacWrite can't print this document". The user, nine times out of ten, panics. A rare situation, but this also happens if you don't enable the bypass option, and a computer looks for the now-nonexistant "Vanna Write" (which is now "Vanna Write Spooler"). This has happened several times, and lots of people are after my head right now because of it. (If they'd only know enough to go into the Chooser!) All in all, the AppleShare Print Spooler is very impressive. As I said, it took me a few minues to install it in the server, then an afternoon of making sure all the Choosers of the thirty machines here were set correctly. No new software needs to be installed on the workstations. It works beautifully, and even keeps a log of everything that's being printed (unbeknowst to the poor users out there...). If you have any further questions, E-mail me. << Brian >> -- | Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig | | Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | | Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET | | Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |