Summary Of The Config Command; Operation Of The File_Io Command - Printronix T8000 Administrator's Manual

Command
FILE_IO
(DISK_IO)
PTX_END

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 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.

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
System > Flash File Edit > Overwrite Files 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 System > Flash File Edit > Optimize & Reboot function.
Table 27. General PTX_SETUP Commands
Sub-Command
MINSIZE
OPTIMIZE
(none)
Parameter
Kb For backwards compatibility.
(none) Causes the printer to optimize the
Flash File System. The printer
automatically reboots during this
process.
(none) Exits the PTX_SETUP.
Description
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