Zero Length RU Causes a Blank Page to be Printed

ID: Q170583

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft SNA Server, versions 3.0, 3.0 SP1

SYMPTOMS

When a zero-length RU is sent to the SNA print server as part of a host print job, a blank page will be printed. The following is an example of a zero-length RU as captured in a SNA Server Data Link Control Message trace:


   04160080->01020101 DLC DATA     
      DAF:EC OAF:01 ODAI:off Normal 
      RQE FMD BC EC DR1 PI BB EB 

   ---- Header  at address 01034418, 1 elements ----
   04B00004 00002C00 EC010004 01002102     <......,.......!.>

   ---- Element at address 0152D5A4, start 10, end 12 ----
   0391C0                                  <.j.             >

The Element portion of the preceding frame contains a Request Header (RH) of x'0391C0', but no actual data.

CAUSE

Print Server treats the zero-length RU as a unique print job where 0D 0C (CR FF) is sent to the printer. The print server calls "StartDoc" to start a new document as soon as it receives a request, and "EndDoc" when the document is complete. Even though there is no data submitted to the printer between the "StartDoc" and "EndDoc" calls, the printer will still print a form feed (FF).

RESOLUTION

There are two possible workarounds for this issue:

Configure the print session to use a PDF file. The PDF file uses "StartDocPrinter" and "EndDocPrinter" which do not automatically produce a FF. For instructions on configuring PDF files, refer to the SNA Server online help Chapter 6 Printer Definition Files.

-OR-

Use the DelayPrintStart Registry parameter as discussed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
Q172283 Title: Blank Page Is Printed Between Each Print Job

Additional query words:

Keywords : prodsna snaprintservice
Version : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0 SP1
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :