Allscripts Print Queue

Overview

The Print and Fax queue in Allscripts is part of the CSS Job Queue. Other jobs, like Eligibility Checks run through CSS; however, printing and faxing are the most well known components of CSS.

Windows Service

On your Print or "Message" server, there is a Windows Service called TWCSSSpooler. If you are having trouble with printing, you can restart this service. While printing will stop for 30-60 seconds, any incomplete jobs will restart - you won't lose any print, fax or other jobs.

Database

• Log tables
  • CSS_JOB_QUEUE - The current job queue
  • CSS_JOB_QUEUE_ITEM - Items within each job (the 2nd tab of the Job detail screen)
  • CSS_JOB_QUEUE_ARCH - Archived jobs
  • CSS_JOB_QUEUE_AUDIT - The detailed audit for each job (the 3rd tab of the Job detail screen)
• Configuring the # days to archive
  • The default is 10 days
  • You need to update the CSS_SITE_PREF table. Only do this if you are a SQL Server DBA for an Allscripts database. You will need to construct the UPDATE yourself, but here is an outline of the tables and fields:

SELECT DEFAULT_TYPE_ENUM, *
FROM CSS_SITE_PREF
WHERE DEFAULT_TYPE = 'PRINT_QUEUE_CONFIG' 
AND DEFAULT_TYPE_CD = 'ARCHIVE_RETENTION_TIME' 

• • If a record doesn't already exist for a particular Site and Org, the nightly cleanup job (typically named CH Printing Queue Purge - Works) will create a record in CSS_SITE_PREF with a value of 10.