SAP Note 16307 - Processing times when printing

Symptom:

Spooling or printing takes a long time.

Other terms

Problem diagnosis, spool, SAPLPD

Solution
This note does not solve the problem. However, you can use it to determine the action which takes up the time. You need this information to be able to select the appropriate countermeasures.

When a transaction takes too long in creating and printing a report list, you want to know where the timeis taken up.

1 -------- Start of the transaction
2 : :
3 -------- NEW-PAGE PRINT ON (or SE38 "Execute and Print")
4 : : Writing of the first page
5 -------- First page full or NEW-PAGE
6 / / Spool request is opened and first page is written.
7 -------- Beginning of the second page
8 : : Writing of the rest of the list
9 -------- NEW-PAGE PRINT OFF (or end of the transaction)
10 : : Further processing
11 -------- COMMIT or End of the transaction
12 / / Waiting
/ / Waiting for output formatter
13 ----------------------------------------------------------------
14 / / Waiting 31 : : host spooler proc.
/ / Is sent to host spool : :
15 -------- : :
16 / / Waiting : :
/ / Waiting in the host spool, pos. xx : :
17 -------- : :
18 / / Waiting 32 ---------------
/ / Printing 33 / / Printer printing
19 -------- 34 ------- Paper finished
20 / / Finished (or problem/error) : :
40 ---------------------------------------------------------------

Does action 6 take too long?
Are the indexes lost? Note 4364
Spool database nearly full? Note 9419

How can you distinguish between phases 12, 14, 16 and 18?
When you call transaction SP01 and activate it from the selection screen (with ENTER or "List"), you see the list of (selected) spool requests. In this list, there is a column entitled "Output status" with the entry "Waiting". However, spool requests do not have a status. Rather, an abridged version of the statuses of the output requests is displayed. You get the statuses of the output requests by positioning the cursor and choosing "Output requests".

Does phase 12 take too long?
->SPAD ->Installation check
Numerous problems possible, numerous Notes.
Check whether the status is left shortly after transaction SP01 was restarted.

Does phase 14 take too long?
If the printer is not working:
Is there a network or other connection problem?
The printer is working or has even finished already:
If the spool work process is constantly busy, the status is not updated. Only when there is a break in the spool work process does it begin to prompt the the host spool for the statuses of the requests.

Does phase 16 take too long?
Check the printer.
Check the host spool. Is the list being printed very long?

Does phase 18 take too long?
Check the printer.

Does phase 31 take too long?
Are you using SAPSprint (see 894444) on a Windows PC?
Set SAPSprint debugging (sapsprint -oi LogLevel 5). Normally the processing time is not expended in SAPSprint itself, but in the Windows printer drivers. Some use up a LOT of processing time.

Does phase 33 take too long?
Does the printer carry out an emulation and are frames or colors printed?
There are printers which provide a complete functional emulation of HP JaserLet, but are very slow in executing certain functions.
See Note 15594.