Besides being useful in ever increasing shared environments, it is something increasingly inquired about by "security" auditors.
Prompting or general application interface to the user should be responsibility of the customer/final programmer and rightly so.
But I agree that IBM should ideally add an overridable attribute in the printer file catering for this purpose, and also one for descriptive confidentiality...
I.e. a field in the PRTF/spool with "pin code / password" that is passed to the downstream printer (if supported by the driver combo, but at least is implementable)... and also a more generic attribute describing the "confidentiality level" tag of the printout would be appropriate in modern context.
........ cmon we got "Number of staples" on the prtf , we can add something also regarding "infosec" stuff I guess ;P
This is so common that should be standardized in the spool file IMHO...
------------------------------
--ft
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: Mon March 31, 2025 09:07 AM
From: Robert Berendt
Subject: How to use "Secure print" from IBM i?
I see someone submitted an idea for this. The idea to improve upon their workaround got classified "not under consideration"
Create a parameter that would force a prompt | IBM Power Ideas Portal
https://ibm-power-systems.ideas.ibm.com/ideas/IBMI-I-2470
------------------------------
Robert Berendt IBMChampion
Business Systems Analyst, Lead
Dekko
Fort Wayne
Original Message:
Sent: Mon March 31, 2025 08:09 AM
From: Robert Berendt
Subject: How to use "Secure print" from IBM i?
In Windows I can go to print a document, pick my printer, go into that printer's properties and change the output method to secure print, as per
Then it will prompt for for a Pin to enter. Then I walk over to the printer, select Home and look for the icon. On my model it looks like papers with a lock on it. I click on that. I see my printout and select it. It prompts me for the pin. I enter it and it prints. It's tax season so you can guess what kind of documents I don't want coworkers seeing.
Now, how do I do this from IBM i based applications? Is there a printer driver I can use which will store this PIN? Workstation customization entry, User Defined Option, System driver program . . . . . . : SYSDRVPGM, etc?
I tried to google it but all I found was an AI generated thing which did it's best to combine how to secure an output queue on IBM i with how to use Windows Secure Print. It did plant a seed on perhaps a printer driver.
------------------------------
Robert Berendt IBMChampion
Business Systems Analyst, Lead
Dekko
Fort Wayne
------------------------------