Managing spooled files

Spooled files management includes tasks such as holding a spooled file, releasing a spooled file, and moving a spooled file.

Displaying a list of spooled files
To display a list of spooled files (printer output), use either of these methods.
Displaying the contents of a spooled file
To display the contents of a spooled file (printer output), use either of these methods.
Displaying messages associated with a spooled file
To display messages associated with a spooled file (printer output), use either of these methods.
Holding a spooled file
To temporarily prevent the spooled file (printer output) that you selected from printing, use either of these methods.
Releasing a spooled file
To release a spooled file (printer output) that is being held, use either of these methods.
Moving a spooled file
To move the spooled file (printer output) from one output queue to another output queue, use either of these methods.
Deleting spooled files
To delete a spooled file (printer output), use either of these methods.
Converting a spooled file to PDF
To convert a spooled file to a PDF file, follow these steps.
Exporting a spooled file to your PC
To export a spooled file (printer output) to your PC file system where you can work with it using PC tools, follow these steps.
Copying a spooled file to a physical file
To copy a spooled file to a physical file, use the Copy Spooled Files (CPYSPLF) command.
Sending a spooled file to another user or system
To send a spooled file (printer output) to a remote system that is running TCP/IP or to another user on the Systems Network Architecture distribution services (SNADS) network, use either of these methods.
Changing attributes of a spooled file
To change a spooled file's (printer output's) attributes, use either of these methods.
Restarting the printing of a spooled file
To restart printing a spooled file on a particular page, follow these steps.
Suspending one spooled file and printing another
To temporarily stop the printing of one spooled file (printer output) and start the immediate printing of another spooled file (printer output), follow these steps.
Enabling spooled file notification message
To be notified when a spooled file (printer output) completes printing or is held by the printer writer program, you need to enable the spooled file notification function.
Controlling the number of spooled files
The number of spooled files on your system should be limited. When a job is completed, spooled files and internal job control information are kept until the spooled files are printed or canceled. The number of jobs on the system and the number of spooled files known to the system increase the amount of time needed to perform IPL and internal searches, and increase the amount of temporary storage required.
Deleting expired spooled files
You can use the EXPDATE or DAYS parameter on the Change Printer File (CHGPRTF), Create Printer File (CRTPRTF), Change Spooled File Attributes (CHGSPLFA), or Override with Printer File (OVRPRTF) command to make a spooled file eligible for deletion using the Delete Expired Spooled files (DLTEXPSPLF) command.
Reclaiming spooled file storage
You can use the Reclaim Spool Storage (RCLSPLSTG) command or the Automatically clean up unused printer output storage (QRCLSPLSTG) system value to reclaim spooled file storage. These are the only allowable ways to remove spooled database members from the QSPL or QSPLxxxx libraries. Any other way can cause severe problems.
Saving and restoring spooled files
You can use the SPLFDTA parameter on the Save Library (SAVLIB), Save Object (SAVOBJ), Restore Library (RSTLIB), and Restore Object (RSTOBJ) CL commands to save and restore spooled files without losing the print fidelity, attributes, or identity of the spooled files.
Controlling printing by spooled file size
You can use the MAXPAGES parameter on the Create Output Queue (CRTOUTQ) or Change Output Queue (CHGOUTQ) command to control the printing of spooled files by size.

Parent topic: Spooled files