Print precedence directives

[Bruce Easton]

The online manual at fptech.com shows a page entitled "Print Precedence 
Directives" showing the various ways to control output destination (and 
sometime print code type).  It shows the following list with the 
directive with the highest priority being highest on the list:

=====
Print command in processing
Command line options
PFPRT
Printer designated on output format  <--should be above PFPRT
PFPRINTER (default filePro printer)
PRINTER1 (default filePro printer, if no default printer)
PFSPOOL (default if no default printer destination)
LPDEST

Default system spooler "lp -s"
=====

A printer named on the options screen of an output format is, I believe, 
higher in priority than the PFPRT environment variable.  At least my 
testing under 5.8 shows this to be so, and I believe that has been the 
case all along.  (I don't have a photographic memory, but I do remember 
referring many times to a page devoted to such precedence in the blue 
filepro 3.0 manual.)

The last sentence of the paragraph above the list on that manual page says:

"Again, special print jobs can be directed with PFPRT/C or -p on the 
command line."

True, but it's important to note the importance of what was left out of 
that statement - the printer named on the options screen of the output 
format.  Assuming that these "special print jobs" are not going to the 
default filepro printer, and such jobs use print codes, then in order to 
be able to browse the proper set of print codes for the special printer 
(while editing the output format), one must put the special printer on 
the options screen of the output format. (Otherwise, when you browse 
print codes from the output format, you would be looking at the default 
printer's print codes.)

Oddly, you can also, on the options screen of the output format, enter a 
print code table name instead of a *filepro printer name*, and it seems 
to be observed as if it's a printer name (including affecting the 
destination).  I'm not sure what filepro actually does here.  It might 
can the defined list of printers and look at the first entry it comes 
across with that print code table name.





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