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Appendix a interfacing xerox printers, Introduction – I-Data 5250 ALLY User Manual

Page 163

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APPENDIX A

INTERFACING XEROX PRINTERS

Introduction

The AGILE 5250 ALLY provides extensive special support for Xerox

printers in XDPM and XPPM modes. XDPM mode is also referred to as

XES mode or UDK mode.
XES mode is the native Xerox print mode for Xerox 2700, 3700, 4030,

4045 and 4213 printers. The XDPM mode option on the 4235 also

provides the XES command set.
XPPM mode is available on Xerox centralized printers such as the 4050,

4090, 4850, etc. XPPM mode is also available on the 4235.
This appendix describes the use of XDPM/XES mode commands to

control the formatting of Xerox printers attached through the 5250 ALLY

to an IBM AS/400 or System 34, 36 and 38. It also describes how to use

the 5250 ALLY to interface twinax systems to the 4235 in XPPM mode.
The first part of this appendix describes the issues involved in using a

Xerox printer’s native command set to control formatting. The last part of

this appendix is a reference of the 5250 ALLY’s options that are used to

resolve these issues.

System-Based Formatting

Normally the 5250 ALLY controls the formatting of documents received

from the IBM host via the SCS (SNA Character String) commands

embedded in the document by the host System.
The subset of the SCS command set that the System uses is dependent

upon the IBM printer that the 5250 ALLY has been configured to emulate.

5256, 5224/5225, 4214, 5219 and 3812 emulations provide successively

more control over document formatting.
The 5250 ALLY achieves its emulation of IBM printers by translating the

SCS codes into sequences of PFSs (Programmable Function Strings).

When the user loads a printer driver for a Xerox printer, these PFSs are

defined with XES commands that the Xerox printer understands. This

allows documents sent from the host System to be formatted as they would

be on an IBM printer.