Creating Output Devices

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Classify Printing Methods
  • Create Output Devices

Introduction to Access Methods

All hardware and software components involved in printing are combined in the print architecture.

Depending on the number of printers in your landscape and on your printing requirements, you may want to use different printing methods, such as:

  • Local printing
  • Remote printing
  • Front-End Printing

Local Printing

Local printing means that the host spool system (OS spooler) and the spool work process of the SAP system are on the same host.

As the figure Local Printing shows, it is irrelevant whether the printer is directly connected to this host, or is reached over a network (and possibly another print server). The spool work process passes on its data locally to the OS spooler that is on the same host.

  • On Linux/Unix systems, the print data with access method L is output using operating system methods, such as the commands lp or lpr. The specific syntax is defined in profile parameters (see SAP Note 15355 – Command line parameter for access method "L").

  • Under Microsoft Windows, access method C passes the data directly to the operating system print API.

Local printing is the fastest and most reliable connection from the SAP system to the OS spooler – the data does not need to be transferred over a network connection to reach the host spool system. As soon as the spool work process has transferred its data, it can deal with new output requests, even if the operating system spooler is still occupied.

Note

You can configure multiple spool work processes for an SAP instance. Regardless of the access method, the output sequence is affected, and different spool requests may print in a different order from the one in which they were created. If you require output in sequence, you can specify this for individual printers. However, a setting of this type reduces the ability to process printouts in parallel. SAP Note 108799 – How many spool work processes for each instance? contains further information about this topic.

Remote Printing

With remote printing, the spool work process runs on a different host than the OS spooler. The SAP spool work process sends the formatted data stream to the output device over a network connection. In exactly the same way as with local printing, it is irrelevant from the SAP system's point of view whether the printer is directly connected to the remote host or is reached using a network connection.

As shown in the figure Remote Printing, the following are typical scenarios for remote printing:

  • Network printers provide their own OS spoolers, and are directly connected to a computer network. Printers of this type are directly addressed from the SAP system using their names via access method U (UNIX Berkeley protocol BSD).

    In this scenario, you should consider the capacity of the network printer and the size of the output requests.

  • Access method U is also used if the remote host is a Linux/Unix system – the data is forwarded to the Line Printer Daemon (lpd). SAP Note 39405 – Print on UNIX LPD: Malformed Address describes how access method U can be used for the various Linux/Unix versions.

  • If the remote host is a Microsoft Windows system, access method S is usually used (SAP protocol with SAPSPrint), but access method U is also supported when you want to use the TCP/IP Print Server of Microsoft Windows (with or without SAPSPrint).

    For all hosts running on Microsoft Windows operating systems SAP provides the SAPSprint program. SAPSprint is a Windows service that is capable of multi-threading. Each output request is processed in a separate, isolated thread. The output requests that SAPSprint receives from the SAP system can thus be transferred to a particular printer individually. If the printer is not working, this does not disturb the printing of other output requests on the other printers.

    SAPSprint is available on the SAP Support Portal under the quick link /swdc (https://support.sap.com/swdc). Here choose Access Downloads (for Support Packages & Patches in area Types of Software). From there, choose path S → SAPSPRINT.

    Hint

    SAPSprint 7.60 contains components for printing PDF files. These are based on .NET and are an integral part of the SAPSprint installation. It is no longer necessary to install SAPPDFPRINT as a separate component, see SAP Note 2772220 – PDFPRINT 750 and 760 - current information.

Hint

For performance reasons, you should only use remote printing in a LAN environment (not WAN), and ensure that the operating system spoolers are available.

Front-End Printing

Normally, all printers on which you want to print from the SAP system must be created in the SAP system as output devices. Front-end printing is available to reduce the significant administration effort associated with this. This means that – with the help of front-end printing – a user logged on to the SAP system through the SAP GUI can use the printers that are set up at his or her front end PC.

Unlike remote printing, you do not require any fixed IP addresses for front-end printing.

As shown in the figure Front-End Printing, you can use front-end printing with control technology and access method G. Controls are DLLs that run in the process context of the SAP GUI. The print control receives the print data and transfers it to the host spool system (OS spooler).

Note

Access method G allows you to set up front-end printing using SAP GUI for Java irrespective of the platform. Printing using the Windows Terminal Server is also made easier with front-end printing using control technology.

Output Devices for Front-End Printing

 SAP GUI for WindowsSAP GUI for JavaSAP GUI for HTML
Device typeSWIN<Select a suitable entry>PDF1 or PDFUC
Host spool access methodGGG
Host printer__DEFAULT<irrelevant><irrelevant>

As the table Output Devices for Front-End Printing shows, when using front-end printing with control technology and access method G on SAP GUI for Windows, you define a generic host printer in the SAP system by assigning it to the physical device __DEFAULT (starting with two underscores). Since the models used as front-end printers can vary considerably, the device type SWIN is often assigned for a Microsoft Windows front end, but you can also enter a specific device type.

When printing with SAP GUI for Java on other operating systems, use a corresponding device type, such as POST2 for PostScript, or PDF1 or PDFUC for PDFs.

If the front-end printing is used on SAP GUI for HTML, you can use the device types PDF1 and PDFUC. The print data is then transferred to the front-end browser as a PDF document and can be printed locally.

Hint

Front-end printing is suitable for output on local printers, but unsuitable for production or mass printing. Front-end printing is also unsuitable for output lists in background processing because it requires a connection to the front-end PC.

The processing of front-end printing is performed in the same way as with the other printing methods that use a spool work process. There can, therefore, be conflicts between regular and front-end print requests. With the profile parameter rdisp/wp_no_spo_Fro_max, you can define a maximum number of spool work processes for front-end printing for each SAP instance (the default value is 1).

We recommend that you configure at least one spool work process on each application server that users log on to. If no spool work process is running on the application server that a user wants for front-end printing, the system selects the available spool server that has the least load to process the print request. To override this behavior, you can define a spool server specifically for front-end printing by setting the profile parameter rspo/local_print/server to the required server name.

Hint

If you expect a significant workload due to front-end printing, you should configure at least one additional spool work process for each front-end printing spool server for other tasks.

Note

In addition to the general print authorizations, the following authorizations are required for front-end printing:

  • authorization object S_SPO_DEV, authorization SPODEVICE = <SAP name for the output device for front-end printing> and

  • authorization object S_RFC, authorization RFC_TYPE = FUGR, RFC_NAME = LPRF (function group for local printing RFC), ACTVT = 16 (Execute).

Note

For more information as well as some restrictions on front-end printing such as:

  • you cannot perform front-end printing in background processing, as there is not connection to the front end,

  • front-end printing does not support printing from BSP, Web Dynpro or SAP Fiori applications,
  • a free session is required for front-end printing, so it must not be the case that all sessions are occupied,

see SAP Notes 128105 – Front-end printing (composite SAP Note) and 616762 – Front-end printing from BSP, Web Dynpro, or SAP Fiori applications.

Addendum: Other Print Scenarios

The figure Addendum: Other Print Scenarios provides an overview of other print scenarios.

External Output Management Systems (OMS)

External Output Management Systems (OMS) can be addressed from the SAP system using a defined interface (BC-XOM) (access method E). This access method is of particular interest if you have a very large output volume, or the output of multiple systems (SAP systems and others) is to be centrally controlled and monitored.

Email

You can send print output by e-mail to a user (access method M). The e-mail is sent using SAPconnect.

All device types can be used to print the e-mail, however, you must ensure that the relevant display program or printer is available for the device type. The use of a device type that generates PDF files is recommended. This PDF file is then sent as an e-mail attachment. You can then display this with a PDF display program, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, and print it as required.

For more information, see SAP Notes 311037 – Printing using e-mail and 513352 – Printing by e-mail (update).

SAP GUI for HTML

A user can also be connected to an SAP system from a web browser using SAP GUI for HTML. This type of connection can be set up in the SAP system with the integrated ITS.

What options does this user have for print output? One option is the previously described output by email. In contrast, Web printing does not need an email client. To use Web printing, the system administration must provide an output device with device type PDF1 or PDFUC and access method G. When a user selects this output device, a PDF document is displayed in the Web browser window, which the user can then print locally.

For more information, see SAP Notes 771683 – Front-end printing for SAP GUI for HTML (as of Release 6.40) that lists the exact requirements and provides additional details about web printing and 2489982 – Font options for PDF preview on SAP GUI for HTML.

Create Output Devices

The SAP term for printers is output device. This is because SAP may not only print to printers but also to external Output Management Systems, archiving systems, and so on.

When creating output devices in transaction SPAD, to some extent, you need to enter different data. For details, please take a look at the table Creating Output Devices.

Creating Output Devices

  LocalRemoteFront end (SAP GUI for Windows)
Device AttributesDevice Type<Select the appropriate type in each case>SWIN
Spool Server–
Access MethodHost Spool Access MethodL (on Linux/Unix) resp. C (on Windows)S or UG
Host Printer<Printer name at OS level>__DEFAULT
Host Name<Determined by entry for Spool Server, fix>––
Destination Host–<Specify>–

Hint

Note that a printer can never be renamed, and that the name of the printer in the SAP system is case-sensitive.

The configuration of the SAP spool system is a system administration task. You must create a device definition in the SAP system for every output device on which you want to print a document, so that the SAP system recognizes this device. This is done in transaction SPAD.

The device definition contains all of the important data for addressing the device. When creating a new output device, you need to provide the following information.

Output Device

The name of the printer in the SAP system. It can be up to 30 characters long, and is case-sensitive. Users of the SAP system use this name to select an output device.

Short Name

This is used for internal system purposes and can be automatically generated.

Device Type

The device type indicates the type of printer to be addressed to format the device-specific output. When you define an output device, choose the name of the device type that was defined in the SAP System for your printer model, (such as Post2 for a PostScript printer).

Note

The device type SWIN transfers the spool data from the SAP system to the Microsoft Windows printer driver. This is useful, for example, when different printers are used for front-end printing in a Microsoft Windows environment.
Spool Server

An SAP application server with spool work processes or a logical server that is to prepare the output for this device.

Note

SAP Note 3129597 – Using __AUTOSPOOLSERVER as spool server explains the idea of the assignment option of the spool server __AUTOSPOOLSERVER.

Authorization Group

You can enter the name of an authorization group instead of an output device in a user authorization (field SPODEVICE for authorization objects S_SPO_DEV and S_SPO_PAGE). The user is then authorized to use all devices in this authorization group.

Location

The location of the printer, for example, building and room number (so that users can find their output).

Message

Additional information that, if entered, temporarily overrides information from the Location field (for example, "Currently in maintenance.").

Lock Printer in SAP system

Output requests for printers for which this indicator is selected are created but will not be transferred to the printer. The user receives the message ... no immediate printing.

Host Spool Access Method

Specifies how the spool work process transfers data from SAP system to the host spool system (OS spooler) for a specific printer.

Host Printer

The name of the printer at the operating system level (in the host system).

Note

The name of the host printer is case-sensitive. Under Microsoft Windows, there should be no blank in the host printer name, and network printers are addressed using their UNC names (in the format \\R12345\P42). The entry __DEFAULT (starting with two underscores) controls the Windows default printer (for front-end printing using SAP GUI for Windows).
Host Name

This field is used only for local printing. It is filled automatically when you specify the spool server.

Destination Host

This field is used only for remote printing and is the name of the host on which the OS spooler is running and which receives the data for output.

Do not query host spooler or printer for print requests

By default, the spool work process keeps track of print requests sent to the host spool system to be able to update the status of the requests in the SAP system. To do this, the host spooler must be queried periodically.

If a host spool system is slow or there are problems querying network or remote printers, the query may take a long time. This may affect printing performance as the spool work process cannot process any other print requests while waiting for a response from the query. In cases like this, you can deactivate querying using this switch.

Create an Output Device for Local Printing (Access Method L)

Task 1: Check the Printers on Local Linux Operating System Level

Check the printer settings on Linux operating system level on the host for your SAP S/4HANA application server.

Note

In this exercise, replace s4Xhost with the name of the application server of your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system (for example, s4qhost) and replace <sid> with the SID of your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system (for example, S4Q).

Steps

  1. Which printer is defined at the Linux operating system level of the host where your SAP system runs? Check the details of printer Printer_s4Xhost.

    1. If you have not done so already, log on at operating system level of your system host (s4Xhost.wdf.sap.corp) via Remote Desktop Connection with the credentials of user <sid>adm (your instructor will provide details).

      At WTS level, you may use MobaXterm → Session → RDP or the Windows Application Remote Desktop Connection.

    2. Choose the System Menu (at the top right, with the power symbol).

    3. Choose Settings.

    4. In the settings dialog, choose Search (the magnifier icon at the top left).

    5. In the search field, type print.

    6. In the search result list, select Printers Add printers, view printer jobs and decide how you want to print.

    7. Note that the printer Printer_s4Xhost is defined there and configured as raw printer (Local Raw Printer).

      Note

      The printer prints to the file /tmp/Printer_s4Xhost.

  2. Optional: create a short text document and print it to printer Printer_s4Xhost.

    1. Choose Activities (at the top left).

    2. In the search field, type editor.

    3. In the search result list, select Text Editor.

    4. Within the editor (technical name: gedit), type some text.

    5. Choose the hamburger icon (at the top right).

    6. Select the printer icon.

    7. In the printer dialog, select Printer_s4Xhost and choose Print.

    8. Open the /tmp/Printer_s4Xhost file with a text editor of your choice.

      In a terminal, you may issue the comment less /tmp/Printer*. Alternatively, start the Gnome application Files and navigate to Other Locations → Computer → tmp. From here you may finally want to select Open with Other Application using the context menu and then select the Text Editor).

Task 2: Create an Output Device for Local Printing

Create an output device with a local host spool access method, print a simple list on with this output device and check the output.

Note

In this exercise, when an object name or value contains ##, replace ## by the number your instructor has assigned to you.

Steps

  1. In your SAP system, create a local output device called Local## with short name LO## that controls the printer you previously identified at server operating system level of your SAP system.

    1. Log on to your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system using the credentials that your instructor has provided.

    2. Start transaction SPAD.

    3. On the Devices / servers tab, in the line Output Devices, choose Display (leave the input field to the left empty).

    4. If you cannot find the Create button, choose Change (in the application toolbar) to switch to change mode.

    5. Choose Create (in the application toolbar).

    6. Create the output device Local## with the following specifications (for this, you may need the tabs Device Attributes and Access Method):

      FieldValue
      Output DeviceLocal##
      Short NameLO##
      Device Type<Select any device type supporting PCL (for example, HPLJ5)>
      Spool Server<Select any spool server from your system (use the F4 value help)>
      Location<Enter any text>
      Host Spool Access MethodL
      Host Printer<Name of the printer you identified in a previous exercise (for example, Printer_s4Xhost) >

    7. Leave the other values unchanged and save your settings.

  2. Print a list of all profile parameters that begin with rspo* without immediate printing on the Local## output device.

    1. Following the previous step, to create the proposed list, start transaction RSPFPAR.

    2. In Profile Parameters, enter rspo*.

    3. Choose Execute.

    4. On the Display Profile Parameters screen, choose Print (in the application toolbar).

    5. In the dialog box that appears, use the F4 value help to select output deviceLocal##.

    6. In the Properties section, choose SAP spool only for now as Print Time. Choose Continue. You may have to confirm a prompt regarding the formatting. If necessary, choose Continue again.

      Result

      In the status bar, you see a message that the spool request was created without immediate output.

  3. Check your output.

    1. Following the previous step, start transaction SP02 or navigate to System → Own Spool Requests.

    2. On the Output Controller: List of Spool Requests screen, mark the line with your most recent spool request.

    3. Choose Print directly (from the application toolbar).

      Result

      An output request is generated for this spool request.

    4. Choose Output requests (F5) from the application toolbar to check the status of your output request.

      Result

      The output request should have the status Compl..

      Note

      It may take some time (and you may need to choose Refresh) until the output request is displayed in status Completed.

    5. Optional: Log on to operating system level of host s4Xhost with the credentials that are provided by your instructor. Here, navigate file /tmp/Printer_s4Xhost to which the print output was sent and open it with a text editor of your choice (for example, gedit). Verify the output.

      Note

      gedit cannot display all printer-specific control characters.

Create an Output Device for Remote Printing (Access Method U)

Task 1: Check the Printers on Remote Linux Operating System Level

Check the printer settings on Linux operating system level on your feature server.

Steps

  1. Which printer is defined at the Linux operating system level of your assigned feature server? Check the details of printer Printer_fsXhost.

    Use the following allocation:

    GroupFeature Server
    S4Dfsdhost.wdf.sap.corp
    S4Qfsqhost.wdf.sap.corp
    S4Pfsphost.wdf.sap.corp

    Note

    In this exercise, replace fsXhost with the name of your feature server (for example, fsqhost).

    1. If you have not done so already, log on at operating system level of your feature server host (fsXhost.wdf.sap.corp) via Remote Desktop Connection with the credentials of user install (your instructor will provide details).

      At WTS level, you may use MobaXterm → Session → RDP or the Windows Application Remote Desktop Connection.

    2. Choose the System Menu (at the top right, with the power symbol).

    3. Choose Settings.

    4. In the settings dialog, choose Search (the magnifier icon at the top left).

    5. In the search field, type print.

    6. In the search result list, select Printers Add printers, view printer jobs and decide how you want to print.

    7. Note that the printer Printer_fsXhost is defined there and configured as raw printer (Local Raw Printer).

      Note

      The printer prints to the file /tmp/Printer_fsXhost.

  2. Optional: create a short text document and print it to printer Printer_fsXhost.

    1. Choose Activities (at the top left).

    2. In the search field, type editor.

    3. In the search result list, select Text Editor.

    4. Within the editor (technical name: gedit), type some text.

    5. Choose the hamburger icon (at the top right).

    6. Select the printer icon.

    7. In the printer dialog, select Printer_Printer_fsXhost and choose Print.

    8. Open the /tmp/Printer_fsXhost file with a text editor of your choice.

      In a terminal, you may issue the comment less /tmp/Printer*. Alternatively, start the Gnome application Files and navigate to Other Locations → Computer → tmp. From here you may finally want to select Open with Other Application using the context menu and then select the Text Editor).

Task 2: Create an Output Device for Remote Printing to a Linux host

Create an output device with a remote host spool access method, print a simple list on with this output device and check the output.

Note

In this exercise, when an object name or value contains ##, replace ## by the number your instructor has assigned to you.

Steps

  1. In your SAP system, create a remote output device called RemoteLinux## with short name RL## that controls the printer you previously identified at server operating system level of your feature server host.

    1. Log on to your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system using the credentials that your instructor has provided.

    2. Start transaction SPAD.

    3. On the Devices / servers tab, in the line Output Devices, choose Display (leave the input field to the left empty).

    4. If you cannot find the Create button, choose Change (in the application toolbar) to switch to change mode.

    5. Choose Create (in the application toolbar).

    6. Create the output device RemoteLinux## with the following specifications (for this, you may need the tabs Device Attributes and Access Method):

      FieldValue
      Output DeviceRemoteLinux##
      Short NameRL##
      Device Type<Select any device type supporting PCL (for example, HPLJ5)>
      Spool Server<Select any spool server from your system (use the F4 value help)>
      Location<Enter any text>
      Host Spool Access MethodU
      Host Printer<Name of the printer you identified in a previous exercise (for example, Printer_fsXhost) >
      Destination HostfsXhost.wdf.sap.corp

    7. Leave the other values unchanged and Save your settings.

    8. On the Unable to reach the remote host spool system popup, choose Continue.

  2. Print a list of all profile parameters that begin with rspo* without immediate printing on the RemoteLinux## output device.

    1. Following the previous step, to create the proposed list, start transaction RSPFPAR.

    2. In Profile Parameters, enter rspo*.

    3. Choose Execute.

    4. On the Display Profile Parameters screen, choose Print (in the application toolbar).

    5. In the dialog box that appears, use the F4 value help to select output deviceRemoteLinux##.

    6. In the Properties section, choose SAP spool only for now as Print Time. Choose Continue. You may have to confirm a prompt regarding the formatting. If necessary, choose Continue again.

      Result

      In the status bar, you see a message that the spool request was created without immediate output.

  3. Check your output.

    1. Following the previous step, start transaction SP02 or navigate to System → Own Spool Requests.

    2. On the Output Controller: List of Spool Requests screen, mark the line with your most recent spool request.

    3. Choose Print directly (from the application toolbar).

      Result

      An output request is generated for this spool request.

    4. Choose Output requests (F5) from the application toolbar to check the status of your output request.

      Result

      The output request should have the status Compl..

      Note

      It may take some time (and you may need to choose Refresh) until the output request is displayed in status Completed.

    5. Optional: Log on to operating system level of host fsXhost with the credentials that are provided by your instructor. Here, navigate file /tmp/Printer_fsXhost to which the print output was sent and open it with a text editor of your choice (for example, gedit). Verify the output.

      Note

      gedit cannot display all printer-specific control characters.

Optional: Create an Output Device for Remote Printing (Access Method S)

Task 1: Check the Printers on Remote Windows Operating System Level

Check the printer settings on Windows operating system level on host smhost.wdf.sap.corp.

Steps

  1. Which printer is defined at the Windows operating system level of host smhost.wdf.sap.corp? Check the details of printer Printer_smhost.

    Caution

    This step must be carried out one after the other by the participants per training clone – coordinate with the other participants assigned to the same training clone (ST-UT2023L-***).

    1. Log on at the operating system level of the SAP Solution Manager server (smhost.wdf.sap.corp) using the Remote Desktop Connection with the credentials of user install that are provided by your instructor.

    2. Open the Control Panel.

    3. Choose Hardware → View devices and printers.

    4. Right-click printer Printer_smhost and choose Printer properties.

    5. On the General tab, note that this printer is a raw printer (Text / Generic Only).

    6. On the Ports tab, note that this printer prints to the file C:\Temp\Printer_smhost.txt.

  2. Optional: create a short text document and print it to printer Printer_smhost.

    1. On operating system level of the SAP Solution Manager server smhost.wdf.sap.corp, open Notepad and create a test print page by entering some text.

    2. Print it on Printer_smhost by choosing File → Print... then select Printer_smhost and choose Print.

    3. From File Explorer, open the file C:\Temp\Printer_smhost.txt with a text editor of your choice.

Task 2: Create an Output Device for Remote Printing to a Windows host

As a system administrator, you want to enable printing in your SAP system using a print server with Microsoft Windows operating system. For this. create an output device in the SAP system with a remote host spool access method. To use the output device, the installation of the SAPSprint program is required before. Finally print a simple list on with this output device and check the output.

Note

In this exercise, when an object name or value contains ##, replace ## by the number your instructor has assigned to you.

Steps

  1. Install and check the SAPSprint service at the operating system level of the SAP Solution Manager server (smhost.wdf.sap.corp). Make sure that this service runs under user install.

    Caution

    This step can only be performed once per training clone (ST-UT2023L-***) – coordinate with the other participants who will do it.

    Note

    The user for this Windows service needs to be changed before the first output request is created. After changing the user, restart the service.

    1. If you have not done so already, log on at the operating system level of the SAP Solution Manager server smhost.wdf.sap.corp (using Remote Desktop Connection) with the credentials of user install that are provided by your instructor.

    2. At the operating system of the SAP Solution Manager server, open the File Explorer to navigate to the S:\Courses\ADM100_24\Printing\SAPSprint directory.

    3. Choose the latest installation file offered there to install the SAPSprint program (naming convention: xSPrint_<Release_PatchLevel-xxxx>.exe) by double-clicking on the executable file.

    4. Run through the installation: Select SAP Print Service (x64) for installation and retain the default values for all other prompts.

      Note

      If you get a warning message prompting you to reboot your computer to complete the process, ignore it.

    5. Use the Services program (you may use the shortcut on the desktop) to verify that an SAPSprint Windows service has been created and started.

    6. Important: In the properties of this Windows service, tab Log On, change Log on as: to This account and enter the log on information of user .\install with password. You may need to confirm popus.

    7. Stop and start the Windows service SAPSprint using the secondary mouse button.

  2. In your SAP system, create a remote output device called RemoteWindows## with short name RW## that controls the printer configured on SAP Solution Manager server.

    This step can be performed in parallel by all participants.

    1. If you have not already done, log on to your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system using the credentials that your instructor provides. Start transaction SPAD.

    2. On the Devices / servers tab, in the line Output Devices, choose Display (leave the input field to the left empty).

    3. If you cannot find the Create button (in the application toolbar), choose Change (in the application toolbar) to switch to change mode.

    4. Choose Create.

    5. Create the output device RemoteWindows## with the following specifications (for this, you may need the tabs Device Attributes and Access Method):

      FieldValue
      Output DeviceRemoteWindows##
      Short NameRW##
      Device Type<Select any device type (for example, HPLJ4)>
      Spool Server<Use the F4 value help to select any spool server from your system>
      Location<Enter any text>
      Host Spool Access MethodS
      Host PrinterPrinter_smhost
      Destination Hostsmhost.wdf.sap.corp

    6. Leave the other values unchanged and save your settings.

  3. Print the list of work processes on your application server (transaction SM50) with immediate printing on the RemoteWindows## output device.

    1. Following the previous step, in your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system, start transaction SM50.

    2. Choose Print (in the application toolbar).

    3. In the dialog box that appears, use the F4 value help to select Output DeviceRemoteWindows##.

    4. In the Properties section, choose Immediately as Print Time. You may have to confirm a prompt regarding the formatting.

    5. Choose Continue.

      Result

      In the status bar, you see a message that the spool request was sent to SAP printer RemoteWindows##.

  4. Check your output.

    1. Following the previous step, start transaction SP02 or navigate to System → Own Spool Requests.

    2. On the Output Controller: List of Spool Requests screen, mark the line of your most recent spool request.

    3. Choose Output requests (F5) (from the application toolbar) to check the status of your output request.

      Result

      The output request should have the status Compl..

      Note

      It may take some time (and you may need to choose Refresh) until the output request is displayed in status Completed.

    4. Logon to operating system level of the SAP Solution Manager server smhost with the credentials that are provided by your instructor. Here, use the File Explorer to navigate file C:\Temp\Printer_smhost.txt to which the print output was sent and open it with a text editor of your choice (such as Notepad). Verify the output.

      Caution

      This substep can only be performed by one participant per training clone (ST-UT2023L-***) – coordinate with the other participants.

Create an Output Device for Front-End Printing (Access Method G)

Task 1: Check the Printers on Operating System Level

Steps

  1. Which printers are defined in your training environment (on WTS)? Check the details of printer Printer_WTS.

    1. Make sure that you are logged on to the WTS that is used in your training class (such as ST-UT4#L-###).

    2. In the search field, enter Control, and open the control panel.

    3. Choose Hardware → View devices and printers.

    4. Right-click printer Printer_WTS and choose Printer properties.

    5. On the General tab, note that this printer is a raw printer ("Text / Generic Only").

    6. On the Ports tab, note that this printer prints to a file (Port FILE) that needs to be specified when printing.

  2. Optional: create a short text document and print it to printer Printer_WTS.

    1. On operating system level of the WTS, open Notepad and create a test print page by entering some text.

    2. Print it on Printer_WTS by choosing File → Print... then select Printer_WTS and choose Print.

    3. When asked, select the directory N:\(My)Documents (if not already done) and enter file name Test_from_WTS (and keep the extension.prn unchanged).

    4. From File Explorer, open the file N:\(My)Documents\Test_from_WTS.prn with a text editor of your choice.

Task 2: Create an Output Device for Front-End Printing

As a system administrator, you want to enable printing in your SAP system using front-end printing on printers that are set up on the front end PC of the users with the SAP GUI installed. To do so, create a generic output device for front-end printing, print a simple list on with this output device and check the output.

Note

In this exercise, when an object name or value contains ##, replace ## by the number your instructor has assigned to you.

Steps

  1. In your SAP system, create output device Frontend## with the short name FR## that controls the default printer of the front-end PC where SAP GUI is installed.

    1. If you have not already done, log on to your assigned SAP S/4HANA Server system using the credentials that your instructor provides. Start transaction SPAD.

    2. On the Devices / servers tab, in the line Output Devices, choose Display (leave the input field to the left empty).

    3. If you cannot find the Create button (in the application toolbar), choose Change (in the application toolbar) to switch to change mode.

    4. Choose Create (in the application toolbar).

    5. Create the output device Frontend## with the following specifications (for this, you may need the tabs Device Attributes and Access Method):

      FieldValue
      Output DeviceFrontend##
      Short NameFR##
      Device TypeSWIN
      Location<Enter any text, for example, Where SAP GUI is running.>
      Host Spool Access MethodG
      Host Printer__DEFAULT (with two underscores)

    6. Leave the other values unchanged and save your settings.

  2. Print the list of work processes on your application server (transaction SM50) with immediate printing on the Frontend## output device.

    1. Following the previous step, in your SAP S/4HANA Server system, start transaction SM50.

    2. Choose Print (in the application toolbar).

    3. In the dialog box that appears, use the F4 value help to select the output deviceFrontend##.

    4. In the Properties section, choose Immediately as Print Time. You may have to confirm a prompt regarding the formatting.

    5. Choose Continue.

    6. In the Windows print dialog box that appears, choose printer Printer_WTS.

    7. Confirm with OK.

    1. When being asked, select the directory N:\(My)Documents and enter the file Frontend.txt to save the output in file N:\(My)Documents\Frontend.txt.

  3. Check your output.

    1. Following the previous step, start transaction SP02 or navigate to System → Own Spool Requests.

    2. On the Output Controller: List of Spool Requests screen, mark the line with your most recent spool request.

    3. Choose Output requests (F5) from the application toolbar to check the status of your output request.

      Result

      The output request should have the status Compl..

      Note

      It may take some time (and you may need to choose Refresh) until the output request is displayed in status Completed.

    4. On the Output Controller: List of Output Requests screen, mark the line with your current output request.

    5. Choose Display contents.

    6. Optional: In your training environment (on the WTS), open file N:\(My)Documents\Frontend.txt to which the print output was sent and verify the output.

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