Comments on: Map spool file data to overlay

By: woodengineer

woodengineer — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:22:05 +0000

To check for Infoprint, GO LICPGM, then select option 10, Display installed licensed programs. This is what we see on our V5R4 system.

5733ID1   *INSTALLED   IBM Infoprint Designer for AS/400    
5722IP1   *COMPATIBLE  IBM Infoprint Server for iSeries

We found Infoprint rather cumbersome and vary frustrating. We are abandoning it when we move to 6.1 later this month.

By: tomliotta

tomliotta — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:05:04 +0000

...what I want, is my single overlay to reposition different blocks of a fixed spoold file to different locations on the printed page, without purchasing a package to do it. Adding overlays to existing printer files is fairly easy. But rearranging the spooled data isn't trivial. I can think of three options:

Update the printer file, and possibly the programming that uses the printer file, to cause the spooled data to appear in the desired locations on the pages.
Purchase a product to do this through rules-based engines.
Do it the way vendors do -- write a printer driver that rearranges the data in the printer data stream. This might be done through a Print Driver Exit Program, but I suspect it's a pretty obscure skill set.

There might be variations that simplify things. There might be other alternatives that I can't think of. And, of course, spooled *SCS printer data can always be read back into a "reformatter" program that outputs to a new printer file that includes an overlay -- this second program would fill the need for a "printer driver". (Technically, it doesn't have to be *SCS; but it's far easier if it is.) Overlays are one thing, but rearranging spooled elements is a very different matter. Tom

By: happylackey

happylackey — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:29:14 +0000

We use overlays for documents also. We use an OVRPRTF of the spool file in the CL to the overlay name (FRONTOVL). The device type is *AFPDS. We use output specs in the RPGLE to put the data in the correct positions. I’m not sure if that is what you are asking for. The data is not always lined up with the overlay text as exactly as you would want it to be, but it works.

By: yuva47

yuva47 — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 06:07:30 +0000

You can try the free version of the SpoolFactory in order to test what you want and later on you can decide to buy or not the commercial version, which are not expensive at all.

YuVa47

By: phancock

phancock — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:54:39 +0000

I thought the post was a little long, based on other I saw.

But what I want, is my single overlay to reposition different blocks of a fixed spoold file to different locations on the printed page, without purchasing a package to do it.

Thanks for responding!

By: tomliotta

tomliotta — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:05:13 +0000

Please excuse the length of the post but…

I’m not sure if you’re apologizing because you think you wrote too much or too little. I think you wrote to little.

Are you wanting your single overlay to reposition different blocks of a fixed spooled file to different locations on the printed page? Without recreating the printer file description?

Tom