User guide

DECLANS — Load Answerback

The printer supports a method to lock the answerback message via the DEC

PPL2 protocol. A decimal password can be given along with the answerback

message being loaded. When a password is loaded into the printer, it must

be speciﬁed in a subsequent DECLANS command in order to change the

answerback message in the future. The password as well as the answerback

are stored in non-volatile memory. This feature is selected with a Ps1 value of

When this parameter value is speciﬁed, two additional numeric parameters

must be provided in the introducer of the control string. Pn2 speciﬁes the

previous password and Pn3 speciﬁes the new password. The encoding of these

passwords are the same as for normal parameter values.

The value of Pn2 is checked against the password stored in non-volatile

memory. If they match, the answerback message and the new password, given

by Pn3, are written into non-volatile memory. These ﬁelds may have the same

value.

The factory default password is 0 (zero). When this password is active—either

from the factory default or set through a subsequent DECLANS command—

any DECLANS command may alter the answerback message. When the

password is set to anything other than this value, only a DECLANS command

with a value of 3 for Ps1 and the correct password for Pn2 can alter the

answerback message.

Error Handling

If Ps is an unsupported value, the printer ignores the DECLANS control string.

See the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming

Reference Manual for special handling of control and GR characters. The

device ignores all printable characters in Encoded Message String other than

the ASCII digits 0–9 and A–F. Space (2/0 or 10/0) is also ignored.

If encoded_message_string contains an odd number of digits, the device

processes the last digit individually (as a low order nibble). If the decoded

string is longer than 30 characters, the device processes the ﬁrst 30 and

ignores the rest.

If Pn2 or Pn3 are omitted when Ps1 has a value of 3, they are treated as a

value of 0.

DEC PPL2 Command Dictionary Supplement C–3