VMS Help SHOW, QUEUE, /CHARACTERISTICS, Parameter  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

 characteristic-name

    Specifies the name of a characteristic. The asterisk (*) and the
    percent sign (%) wildcard characters are allowed. The default
    value for the characteristic-name parameter is the asterisk
    wildcard (*).  Thus, information about all characteristics is
    displayed when you do not specify a characteristic name.

    You create a characteristic name with the DEFINE/CHARACTERISTIC
    command. You can then assign it to a queue by using the
    INITIALIZE/QUEUE, the SET QUEUE, or the START/QUEUE command
    with the /CHARACTERISTICS qualifier. You can also specify
    characteristics for a job by using the /CHARACTERISTICS qualifier
    with the PRINT, the SUBMIT, or the SET ENTRY command.