Spool-Conversion
In order to use the functions to convert spooled files into data stream files and vice versa, licenses for the *BASE and *SPOOL modules are required. To use the functions "Convert spooled file and send by email" a licenses for the module *EMAIL is required. For the functions of "Convert spooled file and send by eFax" a license for the *FAX module is required.
For certain special functions in the area of spool conversion, the *SPOOL+ module is required. These functions are described later. It is important to note that by using the server module, many functions of i-effect can not only be highly integrated, but also automated, and can be called up through user defined programs.
In i-effect version V1R3 the following target formats are supported for spool conversion:
| *TEXT | Simple ASCII-Text | ASCII Text. The text contents of the spooled file will be converted into ASCII text, which is limited by the combination of carriage return and line feed. |
| *HTML | HTML | Contents and attributes of the spooled file are converted, for viewing in a browser, in HTML format. Text attributes, such as variable font size and type, bold print, and underline are rendered in the target file, but the text positioning can differ from the original report. Use this format to view Power Systems reports in a browser and if style and attributes of the report text are more important than text positioning and margins. |
| Portable Document Format | Contents and attributes of the spooled file are converted into the PDF format. PDF files can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. | |
| *RTF | Rich Text Format | Contents and attributes of the spooled file are converted into the RTF format. RTF files can be view and printed with almost all current word processors such as MS Word, Word-Pad or Lotus Word Pro. |
| *TIFF_G4 | Tagged Image File Format | Spooled files are converted into the TIFF_G4 format. A suitable image-processing program can be used to view and print the file. |
| *TIFF_PB | Tagged Image File Format | Spooled files are converted into the TIFF_PB format. A suitable image-processing program can be used to view and print the file. |
| *XLS | Microsoft® Excel Worksheet | Transfers the data into a spreadsheet that can be edited with MS Excel. |
| *SAV | Archive format | The spooled file is saved in a compressed archive, which can be restored later with the CVTSTMSPLF command. |
| *CSV | Delimited ASCII-Text | The text contents will be converted into the delimited ASCII text format. The margins are created with a combination of carriage return and line feed. Using the DELIMITERS parameter, the delimiters can be specified in order to separate fields and string delimiters. This option can also create files in CSV format and other similar formats to import them into spreadsheet software and other PC applications. |
The following functions are available with the *SPOOL+ module:
- Converts spooled files in the PCL, LINE, and AFPDSLINE source formats.
- Converts spooled files into new spooled files (spool splitting and processing).
- Converts spooled files into printer data stream files for editing with programs, which can work with data streams (e.g. IBM AFP Viewer).
- Merging of PDF files (even those that were not created with i-effect or createdon the System i).
- Extraction and storage of resources such as soft-fonts and macros fromUSERASCII spooled files, which contain PCL data.
- In the area of PDF conversion, the ability to create nested bookmark in manylevels is included in the *SPOOL+ module.
Please be aware of the fact that there are certain rare AFP functions that are not supported by the current i-effect release.
These comprise:
The following rarely used bar codes: EAN2, EAN5, AP4SCC, DUTCHKIX, IPBC, PDF417, MAXICODE, DATAMATRIX, monochrome images that have be compressed with some other that the IBM standard method "IBM MMB Algorithm", colored images that have been compressed with some other than the JPEG method.
Please note that certain features might not be supported by every output format. Most of the extended properties of spooled files are only completely supported when being converted into a PDF document. For example, images and line graphics are only supported if the spooled file is converted into a PDF. At the moment, i-effect is not able to reproduce images and line graphics in HTML, RTF or Excel. This will never be possible if ASCII text or CSV is concerned because these text formats are not compatible with such data.