Table reference characters

Squeak6 · New User Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 36

Hello everyone… I’m trying to create an overlay. In my PPFA code I want to bold a header line (every time it’s written). I was reading about the “TRCREF” that should handle this. For some reason when I try to add a Table reference characters in my COBOL (the 2nd byte after the CC) the 2nd position is showing up on my report. It’s not it’s supposed to be my Table reference characters.

Squeak....

Robert Sample · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:00 pm

You posted in the JCL forum, but you're talking about COBOL and something called "TRCREF" (whatever that may be). I think this should be somewhere else, but I'm not sure yet where.

What do you mean by "create an overlay"? Is TRCREF a vendor product -- and if so, from which vendor? What are "table reference characters"? I'm not sure I understand the term as you're using it. Is this Enterprise COBOL and if so, which release? If not, which COBOL are you using?

Bill O'Boyle · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:01 pm

PeterHolland · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:03 pm

I gues it is this : Page Printer Formatting Aid

If yes try the following manual :

IBM Page Printer Formatting Aid: User’s Guide S544-5284

Squeak6 · New User Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 36

Sorry for the lack of information... I'm been reading the PPFA manuals and I'm still unable to get the informaion I need... I'll keep looking..

Anuj Dhawan · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:11 pm

or is it something to do with AFP?

Thrusday was never a guess day before this...

Squeak6 · New User Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 36

yes... AFP... but more so with the PPFA using "TRCREF"

Anuj Dhawan · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:29 pm

Check the second link here, page 48 (Varying Fonts on a Page) should give you a hint ...

superk · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:12 pm

In JES print output processed by the Print Services Facility (PSF) utility, for a dataset defined as FBA/VBA/FBM/VBM, the first byte is reserved for the ANSI or machine carriage control characters. For IBM and compatible printers, you may also reserve the second byte as the "Table Reference Character (TRC)" which is used to control the character set (or font) used to print that line. This byte is reserved by specifying TRC=Y or TRC=YES in an OUTPUT statement, or OPTCD=J in the DD statement.

This terminology loosely applies to other printer makes, such as Xerox, although they employ different methods to accomplish this, and allow the developer to place the TRC byte anywhere in the print stream. However, for logical and compatibility reasons, it's still normally associated with the second byte of the data.

PeterHolland · Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:10 pm

OPTCD. Yes we had to use that for (if i remember) 3800 laser printers.

karthikbabudh · Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:05 pm