PRB: Print Screen Support from a LAN Man Enhanced Workstation

ID Number: Q82063

2.00 2.00a 2.00b 2.00c

MS-DOS

Summary:

SYMPTOMS

The following information applies to LAN Manager version 2.0, 2.0a,

2.0b, or 2.0c workstations, running under MS-DOS version 3.3, 4.0,

or 5.0.

If the PRINT SCREEN key is pressed from an MS-DOS workstation, the

following problems may be encountered:

- Nothing happens, or the print job sits in the queue and does not

print. (This is the most common case.)

- The workstation halts.

- The MS-DOS prompt returns in up to 10 minutes or it does not

return at all.

- The machine cold boots. (Rare)

Often, the first print screen command completes successfully, but

the problem appears on the second or third use of the PRINT SCREEN

key.

The above problems are more evident when using EMM386.

CAUSE

In the early revisions of LAN Manager, use of the SHIFT+PRINT

SCREEN key function suffered from kernel/redirector timing

problems, and the decision was made not to build the function into

the product. The lack of the SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN key function was

not the result of an oversight. These timing problems have since

been resolved, and in LAN Manager 2.0b, the SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN key

functionality was built into the enhanced redirector. This change

was made because of many customer requests; the basic redirector

was not changed.

RESOLUTION

This problem has been corrected in LAN Manager version 2.1. PRINT

SCREEN key functionality has been built into LAN Manager 2.1 basic

workstations as well.

WORKAROUND

If you do not have LAN Manager 2.1, try one of the following

options:

- Try using the PRTSC utility.

- If the user already has Microsoft Word on the workstation, he/she

can use the built-in Microsoft Word utility, CAPTURE.COM. This

utility is loaded into memory similar to a TSR

(terminate-and-stay-resident) program and requires about 20K.

When the user presses SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN, the contents of the

screen are captured to a file. The user can then print the file

at his/her convenience from Word. CAPTURE.COM can also be

unloaded from memory to save the 20K if the user doesn't need to

perform a print screen for some time. Page 397 of the "Using

Microsoft Word" manual gives an explanation of this utility.

Print Screen Usage

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To use the PRINT SCREEN key function across the network, the user must

first be working on an enhanced MS-DOS workstation. The primary

printer port must be redirected to the network printer; for example,

"net use lpt1: \\print_spooler\share (queue) name". Users not running

MS-DOS 5.0 must send an end-of-job marker to the printer. This can be

accomplished by using the PRTSC utility furnished with LAN Manager.

This is a TSR that can be started automatically in the workstation's

AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Once the user has sent the print job, he/she needs to press the

CTRL+ALT+PRINT SCREEN key combination, which will send the end-of-job

marker and allow the screen to print. Those users who are trying to do

a print screen from a basic workstation can sometimes get the PRINT

SCREEN key function to perform properly, but they need to have loaded

"Graphics" and be in the graphics mode. Without this they will

experience either beeps, or nothing at all.