The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect

Question:

Occationally a warning occurs in my RPM log that states: "Unable to spool file 'C:\Path\To\Filename' 0x7b : The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect" and the queue is suspended automatically. What is causing this? And, can I change the behavior of suspending the queue on errors?

Answer:

The usual cause of this error is when RPM running on Windows NT with a "raw" type queue receives a job and tries printing it to a Windows Shared printer, and the PC hosting the printer is turned off, then RPM will hang for a period of time and wait for the printer. Eventually the connection to the printer "times out" and then the warning is logged in RPM. This is because Windows NT spools everything to the remote spooler and if it is unavailable, then it cannot spool it at all.

You can configure RPM to hold the incoming job rather than suspending the queue. In this case, when the host PC for the shared printer comes back up, subsequent jobs coming in will be printed. The existing jobs that were held will need to be unheld manually. To configure RPM for this behavior, here are the instructions:

From the RPM "Queues" menu, choose "Edit Queues..."
Press the "Print Data Options" button.
In the "Other" tab of the "Print Data Options" dialog, uncheck "Suspend queue on printer error".
Press "Apply" and then "OK" and "OK" again to save all changes.

RPM should now hold jobs rather than suspending queues. You will also have the same problem with a "text" queue type, but the message will state: "Can't start document printing 0x7b : The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect"