Using the Device Type Wizard (Unicode)

In Unicode systems, the spool administration tool (transaction SPAD) includes a wizard that leads you step-by-step through the selection of the most suitable device types for your output devices.

Prerequisites

  • The device type wizard is only available in Unicode systems.
  • To select the best combination of device type and printer model for your output device, the wizard requires a set of information such as the name of the printer manufacturer and the language in which the documents are to be printed. This and more information is stored in two database tables that must be filled once and updated later on a regular basis.

    For more information, see Updating the Device Type Selection Data.

Context

Procedure

  1. In transaction SPAD, create or change your output device.
  2. To call the wizard, on the output device maintenance screen, choose the wizard icon next to the dropdown menu of the Device Type field.
    If you are using the wizard for the first time in a system, the system displays a message that the database tables for information about printer models and device types are empty, before the device type selection can be used. Follow the instructions in the long text.
    If the database tables are already filled, the initial screen of the Printer Model Selection of the Device Type Wizard appears. The Dataset Version field in the top-right corner of the selection screen shows the date of the last update of the table data.
  3. To find the appropriate device type for your printer model, select the relevant printer vendor.
    A table appears, showing printer models from the selected vendor. In this table, you can select one, more, or all printer models.
  4. Choose the printer models for which you want to display the recommended device types, and choose Continue with Language Selection.
    The system displays the language selection for the device types.
  5. To display details, double-click a line, or choose Show Details.
    Details for the selected device types are displayed on the right. In addition to general details such as device type, driver, vendor, and so on, the system displays the following messages, if appropriate:
    Option Description
    (+ Unicode support (UPE)) If this is displayed, the device type cannot print the selected languages itself. Instead, the documents must be printed using the Unicode Printing Enablement (UPE) solution. To print using the PE solution, you need to assign a Unicode Reference Device Type (URDT) to the the output device in addition to the "traditional" device type. The wizard does this automatically. For more information about the UPE, see SAP Note 1812076 Information published on SAP site.
    (resident fonts required) If this is displayed, the proposed device type might require a specific printer. Resident fonts must be available on the printer.
    Device type not installed If this warning is displayed, the selected device type is not installed in the system. It must be installed, before you can assign it to the output device. For more information, see Installing Devices Type.
  6. To assign the device type to the output device, choose Assign Device Type to Output Device.
    The spool administration tool (transaction SPAD) appears again. The selected device type is automatically assigned to the output device. If the UPE solution is required for printing in the selected languages, the most suitable Unicode Reference Device Type (URDT) is also assigned to the output device.
  7. Save your entries.