Printronix P8000 Series Administrator's Manual page 320

Summary of the CONFIG Command
The UPLOAD and DOWNLOAD command can be used for uploading and downloading complete printer
configurations. If a customer needs to configure 50 printers identically, the customer needs only configure
one printer and UPLOAD the configurations. The UPLOADed configurations may then be DOWNLOADed
to other printers eliminating the necessity for the operator to configure each printer manually.
The UPLOAD command will always place a header and a footer into the uploaded data. This header will
be the DOWNLOAD command followed by the configuration number. The footer will be the DOWNLOAD
END command. The operator should be aware that the UPLOAD and DOWNLOAD commands use a
secondary copy of the menu structure which does not affect the printer's active configuration. This allows
the UPLOAD and DOWNLOAD commands to operate without affecting the printer's current configuration.
If the operator intends to use one of the DOWNLOADed configurations, the operator should reboot the
printer to ensure proper operation. This can be accomplished by adding the RESET command as the last
command in your setup file. This is necessary because the printer caches the active configuration.
Rebooting the printer ensures that the desired configuration is correctly read from FLASH.
NOTE: While an upload or download is in progress, the Front Panel will be unavailable.
The Configuration Save and Delete commands from the front panel can be blocked by using the Protect
Configurations feature. This is intended to prevent someone from inadvertently reconfiguring a printer.
The PTX_SETUP commands, however, will override the protect configurations feature. All PTX_SETUP
commands will be honored regardless of the value of the Protect Configurations feature.
Operation of the FILE_IO Command
When a file is opened for writing with the FILE_IO–CAPTURE;filename command, the system will allocate
RAM for file control blocks and 1 Kbyte for data. If the file already exists on the Flash File System and the
Overwrite Enable feature in the Flash File System menu is set to disable, a warning will be displayed on
the front panel. After clearing the warning, the file data will be printed. To overwrite the existing file, set
the Overwrite Files option to enable.
Due to the nature of writing to flash, any data intended to be stored permanently in flash must first be
copied into RAM. As a result, the ability to manipulate files in the Flash File System is dependent upon
the printer having sufficient RAM. None of the captured file data will be committed to flash until the entire
file is loaded. The PTX_SETUP parser will interpret the command "FILE_IO–CAPTURE<lf>" as an end of
file marker. Receipt of the command will cause all file data to be written to flash. The file system allocates
RAM for temporary data storage in 1 Kbyte blocks. If at any time during the file download the printer runs
out of RAM, a warning will be displayed on the front panel and as much of the file as possible will be
saved in flash.
Three things can limit the ability to save a file: insufficient RAM, insufficient Flash, and lack of empty file
system entries. Flash can only be written once before it needs to be "optimized". As a result, the
maximum file size is limited to the largest unwritten block of Flash. If any of these problems occur, the
printer will display an error message and will attempt to provide the operator with a description of what
steps to take to correct the error. Normally, the solution will involve optimizing the Flash File System. This
can be accomplished by selecting the Optimize & Reboot function in the Flash File System menu under
the ADVANCED USER menu, "Main File System."
NOTE: After selecting the Optimize & Reboot function, do not shut off the printer's power until after the
printer returns to the power-on state. Loss of power during the optimize process may corrupt the
printer's program. If this occurs, first attempt to repeat the downloading process. If that fails,
contact an authorized service representative.
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