Question regarding printer queue only printing jobs at certain times

Products

• Spool

Issue/Introduction

Is there a way to setup a printer queue so that a certain printer job name would only be started at certain times or time during the day, while it would remain active to print other jobs all the time?

Environment

Release : 14.0

Component : CA-Spool

Resolution

Although CA Spool doesn't have the requested functionality, you can use the following work around.

1) Create a DESTID statement changing the class of the files with a specific jobname to a class not attended by the printer to where the file was created. For example, if the printer PRT1 is serving CLASS=A then you can define the following DESTID statement:

DESTID QDEST=PRT1,QFNAME=jobname,FCLASS=C

Where jobname is the name of the job you want to be printed only during a certain period of the day. As the files will have class C and the printer PRT1 is selecting only files with class A the files will remain in the queue.

2) Use any automation tool available at your site to change the classes served by this printer to include the class C. You can use, for example, CA OPS/MVS in case you have our automation tool at your site,  a TOD (Time of Day) rule to issue the following command at the time you want the files to start to be printed:

F caspoolstc,T,PRT1,Q=AC

Where caspoolstc is the name of the CA Spool started task.

3) Create another time rule to change the class served by the printer to only A when the period of time when the job is allowed to be printed finishes. Then issue the command:

F caspoolstc,T,PRT1,Q=A