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Greetings from the FormSprint help desk!
It's a brand new year but I'm guessing you didn't need me to tell you that. We hope your holidays were pleasant and wish you the best in 2010.
ICS has just released FormSprint version 2010_0104 and I go into a couple of the new features below. There is also information here telling you how to access the new release. So, let's get started.
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Data Mining
The title is to get your attention. But FormSprint would never call a feature "mining." Mining implies digging around in the dirt hoping to find something
useful. We call it the FormSprint Data File Extract Function. (The Marketing Department didn't have a chance to vote on the name.)
The Data File Extract Function is a new feature of the spool mapper that retrieves data from any of your AS/400 data base files to fill in the gaps in the incoming spool file. The retrieved data can be printed directly to the output or loaded to a buffer for reformatting and merging with data from the spool file. In many cases, it eliminates the reprogramming required when additional data is required for a form.
To retrieve data, you need to know the file name, member, and library where the data resides, the name of the data field containing the data, and the index key to access the correct record in the file. FormSprint includes a special utility to identify the index keys and file parameters. To run the utility, Call ICSPROG/PRINTFFD, enter the file name and library, and send the output to a FormSprint virtual queue. If you have loaded the utility forms that come with the latest software release, you will have a form PRINTFFD which will format
the result. If the data file has associated logical files, you should run the PRINTFFD program against the logical file so you know what the index keys are and select the correct logical file supporting the input data available in the spool file.
The index key used for retrieving the correct record would generally come from data in the spool file, perhaps concatenated in a buffer with other fixed value data. The key must be character data or zoned numerical data. The index key is used for input to the spool mapper and the special function is:
FN(DM,Filename,Library,Member,Field name)
You can use *FIRST for the member name if the file only has one member or the first member is the correct member.
For common data types, the retrieved data will be automatically converted to printable character data.
You can also chain your data file searches (if you really do like digging) to use the output of one call to determine the index for another. For example, you could take an item number from the spool file and look up the warehouse number, and then use the warehouse number for the key to the detailed warehouse address from another file.
If the extract function comes back blank, the log file will tell you why. It logs if the data file couldn't be found, if the field name is not defined for the file, or no record was found matching the index entry. Of course, sometimes it will come back blank because the data field for the selected record never had any data entered. |
Output Spool File Name 
In early versions of FormSprint the output spool file from the FormSprint processor was always FORMSPRINT. Because the use of a single spool file name caused confusion when FormSprint was using a number of virtual queues, the program was changed to use the name of the virtual queue for the output spool file name.
With this release, the output spool file name can be controlled within each form definition by using dynamic distribution. The desired file name is added to the PATH field of the distribution statement preceded by &N. The output form definition can still be controlled with the &F statement in the path field, but the two statements must be separated by a space if both are used.
If the form definition is not already using dynamic distribution, the collate option of the default print parameter screen (PF2 from the spool mapper) would be changed to D and then one distribution statement for each page of the form would be added to the end of the spool mapper. For each of these the input parameters would be input page 0, input lines and columns blank, output page n where n is the output form page, top, left, and right edge parameters could be 10, 10 and 100, respectively, and then the special function on the Fonts
and Special Function Screen would be
FN(DD,*QUEUE,,PAGE,1,&NFILENAME,N)
where FILENAME would be the name you choose for the spool file name. |
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FormSprint Version 2010
Our latest release of FormSprint is available for download. Contact your ICS representative, call 860-657-3339 or go here. |
FormSprint Power Email
If you need to add email delivery of your FormSprint output you need Power Email. It works the same way FormSprint printing does, except the output document is emailed as a PDF attachment. Contact your ICS representative, call 860-657-3339 or go here for more information. |
FormSprint Power PDF
Power PDF converts FormSprint output to a PDF file to eliminate unnecessary printing. Contact your ICS representative, call 860-657-3339 or go here for more information. |
FormSprint PC Designer
Want to use your PC to design and edit FormSprint forms in a GUI environment? You need PC Designer. Call your ICS representative or 860-657-3339 for a free demonstration. |
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