Printronix SL4M User Manual page 270

Appendix D
The PTX_SETUP Commands
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
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 PRINTER SETUP.
NOTE: After selecting the Optimize & Reboot function, do not shut off the
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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.