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SAP Printing Guide (BC-CCM-PRN)
Implementation Considerations
The SAP Printing Guide describes the functions of the SAP Spool System. This system was designed
to be used on various platforms. SAP provides its own spool service and a spool database so that
users do not have to deal with operating system-specific issues.
The platform-independent SAP spool system is responsible for the output of forms and documents.

a host spool system to be output. You can control all of your output from the SAP system and do not
need to arrange further processing in the host spool system.
The following are among the main tasks of the SAP spool system:
Processing and managing print requests
Administering output devices
Technical mapping of the output devices in the SAP system

Features
Among other things, the SAP Printing Guide describes the following:
Print Process in General
An introduction for users and administrators, in which the print process from document to
printout is explained in general.
The focus of the introductory sections is the Output Controller (transaction SP01), which can be
used by both administrators and users to manage print requests.
Spool Access Authorizations
This section and its subsections describe the access authorizations required specifically for the
spool system.
Possible Print Architectures and Print Methods
The various print architectures are described in this section and its subsections, that is, the
different constellations of hardware and software components with the corresponding access
methods: Each architecture also requires a specific print method, such as:
1. Local printing: The spool server (application server with a spool work process) and host
spool system (operating system spooler) are on the same host.
2. Remote printing: The spool server and the host spool system are on different hosts.
3. Frontend printing: Print d
4. Printing using SAP GUI for HTML
Output Devices in the SAP Spool System
Output devices must be defined in the SAP system so that they can be addressed from the
SAP system.
You do this using device definitions with which the devices are managed in the SAP system.
This link takes you to a description of these device definitions and their printer settings.
Spool Server
This section explains what a spool server is, how you define it, and what using logical servers
and alternative servers involves.
Device Types for SAP Output Devices
Device types are explained in this section. A device type in the SAP system is the category of
printer to be addressed. The information in the device type, such as font selection, page size,

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 and character set selection is used to convert a document from the internal SAP format to a
device-specific, printable data stream.
Connecting to an External Output Management System (OMS)
This section explains how you can connect the SAP spool system to an external Output
Management System.
Maintaining the Spool Database
This link takes you to a section explaining how you maintain your spool database to ensure
optimal performance.
TemSe Database Storage
This section and its subsections explain what TemSe is and how you can manage TemSe
objects.
Analyzing Printing Problems
This link takes you to examples that will provide you with support in identifying and correcting
errors

Spool and Output Requests

Definition
The SAP System differentiates between two types of request when printing:

Spool request
Output request

A spool request is a document for which a print function has been selected. However, it has
not yet been output on a printer or another device. The output data for the print document are
stored in a partly formatted form in the TemSe Data Store, until an output request is created
for it, that is, until it is sent to a particular output device.

The spool system uses a spool request to store the print data temporarily in TemSe and to be
able to access it. The data is stored in a temporary format. You can also display the print
document.

The system automatically assigns a 10 digit ID number to a spool request.

From the point of view of the SAP spool system, an output request is outputting the print
data of a spool request on a particular output device.

Multiple output requests may exist for a single spool request. Each represents an instance of
the output of the same spool request. Each of these output requests may have different
attributes, such as the target printer, number of copies and so on.

By differentiating between spool request and output requests, the spool system provides way
of storing the data temporarily.

You an administer spool requests and output requests using the Output Controller
(Transaction SP01).

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 See Authorizations for the output controller

Check the status of your own current spool requests. To do this, choose System Own Spool
Requests.
Specify selection criteria for displaying spool and output requests. A list of spool or output
requests then appears that match these criteria.
Output spool requests; that is, the system generates output requests that are sent to the host
spooler, for printing or output on other devices.
Display detailed data about a spool or output request and change certain attributes such as
destination printer and the number of copies
Display the data to be printed and download it as an ASCII file.
Add spool requests to another spool request.
Delete requests.

Requests that have already been passed by the SAP spool system to the host spool
system (operating system spooler) cannot normally be deleted.
The only exception is the use of output management systems that offer this feature

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 You can choose between the following basic settings:
Minimum
Standard
Extended
All
User-defined
If you choose User-Defined, you make your own selection.

Users with administration authorizations are offered more selection fields than users
who are only authorized to change their own requests.

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 Goto

Goto

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 The following procedures are irrelevant for the PDF-based form printing integrated as of
SAP Web Application Server 6.40, since the print data can be opened and stored as a
PDF. See also Displaying and Printing PDF-Based Forms.

Choose Spool Request Forward Export as Text.

The entire text is stored in your SAP GUI working directory in ASCII format.

You require appropriate authorization for this function.

Goto Display Requests Settings

Display Area

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 The following procedure is irrelevant for the PDF-based form printing integrated as of
SAP Web Application Server 6.40, since a PDF file is already returned. See also
Displaying and Printing PDF-Based Forms.

The PDF conversion only supports true bar codes for Smart Forms, which were generated with
the new bar code technology. In all other cases, the bar code is only simulated.
PDF conversion, especially of ABAP lists, is slower and is therefore not suitable for mass
printing. However, you can speed up the conversion to PDF using the FASTLISTCONV option
in report RSTXPDF3.
The font selection for ABAP lists is predefined in the PDF converter and cannot be changed.
For more information about constraints, see SAP Note 323736

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 Delete Date: After the spool request has passed the expiration date, it is marked for deletion. The
request is deleted during the next Reorganization of the Spool Database. For more information,
see Deleting Multiple Spool Requests Simultaneously.

To retain a spool request in the database, change the date specified in the Delete date
field. You can also do this past the expiration date as long as the database has not yet
been reorganized.
Authorization: You can enter an authorization in this field for the generated spool request or
change an authorization that was entered when the spool request was created.
The value in the Authorization field must match the value in the authorization field SPOAUTH. It
is compared with the authorizations of the user that is performing operations on this request.
The user can only perform the operations with the spool request for which he or she has
authorizations, for example, a user can print lists of salaries, but cannot view them. If the user
does not have sufficient authorization, the request is not performed.
Completed, no longer possible to add to:
Field selected:
You can close a spool request before it is printed by selecting the field Completed, no longer
possible to add to. The system creates a separate spool request for subsequent requests that
would have been added to this request.

Field not selected:

If you create repeated spool requests in the same transaction, you can combine them into one
spool request. For you to be able to do this, this option must be deactivated for the spool
request to which you want to add the others.
If you do not select this field, the spool system automatically adds additional spool requests that
have the same attributes (user, title, output device, client from which the request was issued,
number of copies, priority, cover sheet setting, archiving mode, and ABAP session number).

For a spool request to be added to another, you must deactivate the New Spool Request
option when creating the spool request.

If you are combining requests, note the following rules:

If the following situations exist, you cannot add any additional requests:

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