Network Supervisor's Toolkit/Network Supervisor's Toolkit.iso/printers/qmaster/readme.1st

Text File | 1996-07-10 | 14.5 KB | 276 lines

                      Compass Computer Services, Inc.
                   3110 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 1050
                       Falls Church, Virginia  22042

                            [phone]
                         FAX: [phone]

                              QMASTER 5.1

PROGRAM NOTE

The enclosed copy of QMASTER 5.1 is an trial version only.  It is
fully functional in all aspects of program operation but is limited
to 30 user, 10 printer and 15 group definitions.  The full version
is currently limited to 350 user, 100 printer and 50 group
definitions and can be purchased for $295 per file server that the
product will be installed on.  For more information please call the
number listed above or send e-mail to Chris Kryza or Dan Burk at
Compuserve address 72760,1612.


INTRODUCTION

QMASTER 5.1 is a print queue CAPTURE management system designed for
Novell networks.  Many applications (such as WordPerfect) are
network-aware in that they recognize and allow you to print to any
valid print queue on your network.  Many other applications,
however, are not network aware and only allow you to print to LPT1-
LPT3.  Applications of this type require that a Novell CAPTURE be
run prior to entering the application.  On a large network with
many printers it can be time consuming and tedious to create a
system that will CAPTURE the right people to the right printers.

QMASTER 5.1 was designed to solve this problem.  It allows you to
centralize print queue management for one server or multiple
servers into one database system.  As each user logs into the
network, he or she will be automatically CAPTURED to the correct
print queue(s) with CAPTURE FLAGS being customizable down to the
user level.  If you desire, you can allow users to temporarily
change their default CAPTURE settings by adding QMASTER as an
option on your main network menu.  You can even restrict access to
certain print queues by creating groups within QMASTER.  This means
that users in the Accounting department might only be able to
temporarily change their print CAPTURE to another printer in the
Accounting department.  They won't even see any other available
printer selections on their QMASTER Printer Selection Menu.
QMASTER 5.1 has been fully tested on Novell Netware 2.15, 3.11 &
3.12 networks.

QMASTER has three modes of operation:  Administration Mode (e.g.
[QMASTER -A -S] where you, as the system administrator, go on an
as-needed basis to modify, delete or print existing print queue,
user or default settings), Menu Mode (e.g. [QMASTER -M] where users
go to temporarily change their capture settings and flags for ports
LPT1-LPT3), and Normal Operation Mode (e.g. [QMASTER] which should
be called during the LOGIN process to set the default CAPTURE
assignments for each user on your system).

QMASTER can be configured to set CAPTURE assignments based upon
Ethernet Address (e.g. the address of your NIC card) or by User
Name.  If you choose to be CAPTURED based upon Ethernet Address,
the print queue assignments are tied to the physical machine you
are working on (e.g. anyone logging into the network at your
workstation will receive the same CAPTURE assignments regardless of
who they are.)  If you choose to be CAPTURED based upon Login Name,
your CAPTURE assignments will follow you from workstation to
workstation.



BASIC SETUP AND CONFIGURATION

Here is a quick set of instructions to get you up and running
quickly.

Note: Typing QMASTER ? at the DOS prompt will give you a list of
valid command line switches.

The basic steps to set up QMASTER are as follows, they are
described in more detail below:

1.    Create QMASTER data directory and give EVERYONE rights to this
      directory.

2.    Edit QMASTER.DAT file to point to this directory.

3.    Import Novell Print Queues into QMASTER database.

4.    Configure Print Queues and CAPTURE defaults from QMASTER
      Administration Menu.

5.    Add Netware Users to the QMASTER database.

Step 1:     Create a directory on your server where QMASTER will
            create and maintain its data files.  (Example:
            SYS:DATA\QMASTER)  Give all users all rights to this
            directory except Supervisory and Access.

Step 2:     Edit the file QMASTER.DAT with your favorite text editor
            and replace the example path with the real path to the
            directory where the QMASTER data files will reside.
            Precede it with an available drive letter (Example:
            S:\DATA\QMASTER ... would be correct if the QMASTER
            directory you created was in SYS:DATA\QMASTER and S: was
            a valid drive letter on your network.) Step 3: Copy the
            three files QMASTER.EXE QMASTER.DAT and QMASTER.HLP to a
            public directory on your network and flag them as
            Shareable, Read Only (SRO).

Step 3:     Log in as Supervisor or equivalent and type QMASTER -S
            and press ENTER.  You will see the message "Scanning
            Bindery for available Print Queues" and you will be asked
            if you want to make all imported print queues members of
            the group QEVERYONE.  Type in Y for YES.  You will be
            able to change this later.  QMASTER will read the defined
            Novell Print Queues from the default file server into its
            data file and will present you with a User Configuration
            Screen.  Press ALT-E to exit this screen, without saving
            changes, for now. If you need to import print queues from
            additional file servers (e.g. if you have more than one
            file server on your network), from the DOS prompt type
            QMASTER -L <ServerName> for each server whose print
            queues you want to import.  For example, "QMASTER -L
            SERVER2" will instruct QMASTER to read in all print
            queues currently defined on SERVER2, even if it is not
            your default server.

Step 4:     Type QMASTER -A -S to get to the QMASTER Administration
            Menu.  The -A command line switch indicates that you want
            the Administration Menu, the -S switch indicates that you
            want full supervisory access while in the Administration
            Menu.  If you don't use the -S switch, you won't be able
            to change user characteristics such as Login Name and
            default Ethernet Address.  The Administration Menu has 8
            options, as follows:

            Printer Customization:  Select this option and you will
            be presented with the "Customize Printers" data entry
            screen.  You will use this option to modify
            characteristics of the print queue names that were
            imported during Step 3.  You can give your print queues
            more descriptive names (e.g. instead of
            "SERVER1/PRINTQ_1" you could change it to read "HP 4si in
            Accounting".  Whatever name you select for your print
            queues, they will appear when users operate QMASTER in
            Menu Mode.  You can also assign print queues to specific
            QMASTER groups (see Group Customization below) to
            restrict access and, finally, you can temporarily or
            permanently activate or deactivate print queues from this
            screen.

            User Customization:  Select this option and you will be
            presented with the "User Capture Configuration Screen".
            Use this option to modify characteristics of the users
            contained in the QMASTER database.  Please note that
            while all print queues can be imported into the QMASTER
            database in one fell swoop, users are added to the
            QMASTER database on an incremental basis as they run
            QMASTER for the first time.  This means that this data
            entry screen won't be of much use to you until you have
            added a few users into the QMASTER database.  User
            characteristics that can be modified on this screen
            include user full name, user default Ethernet Address,
            user Login Name, user QMASTER Group membership (see Group
            Customization below), user default print CAPTURE for
            ports LPT1-LPT3, specific CAPTURE flags for each port
            (e.g. Banner, FormFeed, AutoEndcap, Tab Conversion,
            Timeout, Copies and Tab Size) and user CAPTURE preference
            (e.g. CAPTURE by Ethernet Address or by Login Name).

            Group Customization:  Select this option and you will be
            presented with the "Customize Groups" data entry screen.
            This screen contains only two fields, Group Name and
            Description.  QMASTER allows you to set up internal
            QMASTER groups to help restrict access to certain print
            queues.  Please keep in mind that these internal QMASTER
            groups have nothing to do with any Novell Groups created
            in the Bindery.  You can create as many groups as you
            like at any time you like.  You can then go back to the
            Printer Customization option and the User Customization
            option and assign print queues and users to specific
            groups.  Print queues and users can belong to one or to
            many different QMASTER groups.  Once you make a user a
            member of a specific QMASTER group or groups, they will
            only be able to "see" print queues that are also members
            of the same group(s).  If you do decide to implement
            QMASTER groups, please remember to remove all of your
            print queues (under Printer Customization) from
            membership in the group QEVERYONE.  A print queue that is
            a member of QMASTER group QEVERYONE is essentially
            visible to all users, regardless of their own QMASTER
            group membership.

            Default Configuration:  Select this option and you will
            be presented with the "Customize Title & Capture Flags"
            data entry screen.  This is where you will go to set up
            certain defaults concerning the operation of QMASTER.
            The options you can change are the Printer Menu Title
            (this is the title that will appear when users are
            calling QMASTER in Menu Mode (e.g. QMASTER -M)), the
            default flag settings for Banner, FormFeed, AutoEndcap,
            Tab Conversion, Timeout, Copies and Tab Size, the default
            for user CAPTURE preference (e.g. by Ethernet Address or
            by Login Name) and Lines per Page for QMASTER reports.

            Help:  Select this option to view help screens concerning
            various QMASTER topics.

            Print User Configurations:  Select this option to print
            a report containing defined users in QMASTER and their
            specific CAPTURE settings.

            Print Printer Configurations:  Select this option to
            print a report containing defined printers in QMASTER and
            their configuration options.

            Exit:  Select this option to return to DOS.


Step 5:     Now that you have imported your print queues and had a
            chance to look over the available options on the
            Administration Menu, its time to add your first user to
            the QMASTER database.  To do so, simply type QMASTER at
            a DOS prompt and press ENTER.  You will be presented with
            a "User Capture Configuration Screen" similar to the one
            you would see if you selected User Customization from the
            QMASTER Administration Menu.  Press the TAB key to move
            to the LPT1 Capture field and a list box will appear
            displaying all available print queues.  Use the Up/Down
            arrow keys to scroll through the list.  Press ENTER to
            select the print queue that you want as your default for
            LPT1.  You will then automatically be moved to the LPT2
            Capture field.  Repeat the process for LPT2 and LPT3.  If
            you wish to change your default Capture Flags for any of
            the three ports (e.g. LPT1-LPT3) press ALT-F and the
            "Customize Capture Flags" data entry screen will appear.
            Press the TAB key to move through the available fields.
            The upper fields (e.g. Banner, FormFeed, etc.) are toggle
            fields selected/deselected by pressing the SPACEBAR.  The
            lower fields (e.g. Timeout, etc.) are regular data entry
            fields that allow you to type in a value.  Press ALT-S to
            save your Capture Flag changes and press ALT-S again to
            save your User Customization changes.  You will be
            returned to a DOS prompt.  Next, type QMASTER again and
            press the ENTER key.  Now that QMASTER knows who you are,
            it simply CAPTURES you to the print queues you selected
            and drops you back at a DOS prompt.  If, for whatever
            reason, you want to go back in and modify your personal
            CAPTURE settings, you can do so by typing QMASTER -U at
            a DOS prompt.  Of course, you could also do so by
            accessing the QMASTER Administration Menu and selecting
            the User Customization option.


SETTING UP NETWORK USERS

How you proceed from here really depends on the skill level of your
users.  The simplest way would be to add a call to QMASTER to your
System Login Script or, better yet, a network batch file that all
users run upon system login.  The first time QMASTER is run for
each user they will be presented with the same "User Capture
Configuration Screen" that you used under Step 5 above.  Each user
will need to select his/her default CAPTURE assignments for ports
LPT1-LPT3 and, optionally, modify their CAPTURE flags and then save
their work by pressing ALT-S.  If you are not comfortable that your
users will be able to perform this function properly, then you
might want to visit each workstation on your network and run
QMASTER while logged in as the user who normally uses that
workstation.  In either case, the user configuration process is a
one-time ordeal.  Subsequent calls to QMASTER will simply perform
the CAPTURE assignments as stored in the database.

We hope you find this product useful.  If you have any questions or
concerns please do not hesitate to contact us at [phone] or
at Compuserve address 72760,1612.