Assigns a numeric value and attributes to a print form name. The
/FORM qualifier is required. To modify a form's name or number,
you must delete and redefine the form. Values for any DEFINE/FORM
qualifier can be modified by reentering the DEFINE/FORM command
with different values, as long as the form name and number remain
the same.
Requires OPER (operator) privilege.
Format
DEFINE/FORM form-name form-number
1 – Parameters
form-name
Assigns a name to the form being defined. The form name can
be the name of an existing form type or a string of 1 to 31
characters that defines a new form type. The character string can
include any uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, the dollar
sign ($), and the underscore (_), and must include at least one
alphabetic character.
form-number
Assigns a number in the range 0 to 9999 to the form being
defined. The DEFAULT form, which is defined automatically when
the system is bootstrapped, is assigned number zero.
2 – Qualifiers
2.1 /DESCRIPTION
/DESCRIPTION=string
A string of up to 255 characters used to provide operator
information about the form. The default string is the specified
form name.
The string can be used to define the form type more specifically.
For example, if you have form names such as LETTER1, LETTER2,
and LETTER3, the /DESCRIPTION qualifier could be used to let
the users and operators know that LETTER1 refers to the standard
corporate letterhead paper (8.5 inches x 11 inches), LETTER2
refers to the smaller corporate letterhead paper (6 inches x
9 inches), and LETTER3 refers to the president's personalized
letterhead paper.
Enclose strings containing lowercase letters, blanks, or other
nonalphanumeric characters (including spaces) in quotation marks
(" ").
2.2 /LENGTH
/LENGTH=n
Specifies the physical length of a form page in lines. The
default page length is 66 lines, which assumes a standard page
length of 11 inches with 6 lines of print per inch. The parameter
n must be a positive integer greater than zero and not more than
255.
The print symbiont sets the page length of the device equal to
the form length. This enables the driver to compute the number of
line feeds for devices lacking mechanical form feed.
2.3 /MARGIN
/MARGIN=(option[,...])
Specifies one or more of the four margin options: BOTTOM, LEFT,
RIGHT, and TOP.
BOTTOM=n Specifies the number of blank lines between the end
of the print image area and the end of the physical
page; the value of n must be between 0 and the value of
the /LENGTH qualifier. The default value is 6, which
generally means a 1-inch bottom margin.
LEFT=n Specifies the number of blank columns between the
leftmost printing position and the print image area;
the value of n must be between 0 and the value of the
/WIDTH qualifier. The default is 0, which means that
the print image area starts as far to the left of the
paper as the printer can go.
RIGHT=n Specifies the number of blank columns between the
/WIDTH qualifier and the image area; the value of
n must be between 0 and the value of the /WIDTH
qualifier. When determining the value of the RIGHT
option, start at the /WIDTH value and count to the
left. The default value is 0, which means that the
print image extends as far to the right as the /WIDTH
value.
TOP=n Specifies the number of blank lines between the top
of the physical page and the top of the print image;
the value of n must be between 0 and the value of
the /LENGTH qualifier. The default value is 0, which
generally means that there is no top margin.
2.4 /PAGE_SETUP
/PAGE_SETUP=(module[,...])
/NOPAGE_SETUP (default)
Specifies one or more modules that set up the device at the start
of each page. The modules are located in the device control
library. While the form is mounted, the system extracts the
specified module and copies it to the printer before each page
is printed.
2.5 /SETUP
/SETUP=(module[,...])
Specifies one or more modules that set up the device at the start
of each file. The modules are located in the device control
library. While the form is mounted, the system extracts the
specified module and copies it to the printer before each file
is printed.
For more information on device control modules, see the chapter
on Batch and Print Operations in the VSI OpenVMS System Manager's
Manual.
2.6 /SHEET_FEED
/SHEET_FEED
/NOSHEET_FEED (default)
Specifies that print jobs pause at the end of every physical page
so that a new sheet of paper can be inserted.
2.7 /STOCK
/STOCK=string
Specifies the type of paper stock to be associated with the form.
The string parameter can be a string of 1 to 31 characters,
including the dollar sign, underscore, and all alphanumeric
characters. If you specify the /STOCK qualifier, you must specify
the name of the stock to be associated with the form. If you do
not specify the /STOCK qualifier, the name of the stock will be
the same as the name of the form.
You can create any string that you want; however, when you are
creating forms with the same stock, be sure that the /STOCK
string is identical in all the DEFINE/FORM commands that refer
to the same type of paper.
If you are defining a number of forms to provide different
formatting options, specify the same stock type for each form.
Jobs that request any of these forms will print on the same
queue. If you want to modify the stock string associated with
a form, you can do this only if the form is not referenced by any
job or queue.
2.8 /TRUNCATE
/TRUNCATE (default)
/NOTRUNCATE
Discards any characters that exceed the current line length
(specified by the /WIDTH and /MARGIN=RIGHT qualifiers). The
/TRUNCATE qualifier is incompatible with the /WRAP qualifier.
If you specify both the /NOTRUNCATE and /NOWRAP qualifiers, the
printer prints as many characters on a line as possible. This
combination of qualifiers is useful for some types of graphics
output.
2.9 /WIDTH
/WIDTH=n
Specifies the physical width of the paper in terms of columns or
character positions. The parameter n must be an integer from 0 to
65,535; the default value is 132.
Any lines exceeding this value wrap if the /WRAP qualifier is in
effect or are truncated if the /TRUNCATE qualifier is in effect.
(If both the /NOTRUNCATE and /NOWRAP qualifiers are in effect,
lines print as far as possible.)
The /MARGIN=RIGHT qualifier overrides the /WIDTH qualifier when
determining when to wrap lines of text.
2.10 /WRAP
/WRAP
/NOWRAP (default)
Causes lines that exceed the current line length (specified by
the /WIDTH and /MARGIN=RIGHT qualifiers) to wrap onto the next
line. The /WRAP qualifier is incompatible with the /TRUNCATE
qualifier. If you specify both the /NOWRAP and /NOTRUNCATE
qualifiers, the printer prints as many characters on a line as
possible. This combination of qualifiers is useful for some types
of graphics output.
3 – Example
$ DEFINE/FORM /MARGIN=(TOP=6,LEFT=10) CENTER 3
The DEFINE/FORM command in this example defines the form CENTER
to have a top margin of 6 and a left margin of 10. The defaults
remain in effect for both bottom margin (6) and right margin
(0). The form is assigned the number 3.