EliteForm Designer Users Guide - S4i Systems · • Have Administrator privileges to install software on the PC workstation Elite’s ... Once the installation is complete, ... 2

EliteFORM Designer User’s Guide 1

. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ELITEFORM DESIGNER USER’S GUIDE

his User’s Guide aims to provide a “big picture” overview of the process of electronic form composition by introducing new concepts and terminology relating to this environment. For example, the term “form overlay” is used often in this

Guide. It actually replaces a term that you would likely know quite well- the “preprinted form.” The “form overlay” is now a small component of a larger whole; that whole being an “electronic form.” “Electronic forms” themselves can range from the straightforward merging of data with a form overlay, to a very sophisticated application comprised of many different instructions and conditions to elegantly route and deliver intelligible information.

Following the steps provided in this User’s Guide, you will be able to create form overlays using Elite’s PC-based, design “front-end” and seamlessly transition to linking IBM System i data to the overlay using the PC-based Spool Mapping tool.

We hope that you’ll find the EliteForm Designer both powerful and easy to use.

T

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E1.0 System Requirements

2 EliteFORM Designer User’s Guide

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 0 S Y S T E M R E Q U I R E M E N T SBelow you will find a short list of requirements that must be met for the PC tools to work correctly. Note that there are requirements for both the PC side as well as the IBM System i.

1.1 Server-side ( IBM System i) Requirements• Be sure the eliteSUITE software is installed on the IBM System i

To check, use the WRKLIB command to locate the library FMG. If found, the software is installed. Contact your Elite representative if you do not already have the eliteSUITE software for the IBM System i.

• Have a valid key for ELITEVIEW on the IBM System iAt a minimum, you will need to test your communications between the PC and the IBM System i. To do this you must have a valid key for the ELITEVIEW module on the System i. Note that some of the other PC Tools require their own keys (Your Vanguard representative will be able to help you with this if necessary).

1.2 Client-side (PC Workstation) RequirementsElite’s Form Designer software and companion “PC Tools” are compatible with PCs running Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP versions. Minimum disk space requirements are 100MB and recommended 256MB RAM to run the software.

• Have Administrator privileges to install software on the PC workstation Elite’s software will reside

• Have IBM Client Access installed on the PC workstation, including Data Access components for ODBC or .NET Data Provider

• Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 installed on the PC workstation (Elite’s Install Wizard for PC Tools will automatically check this and install for you)

• Have a valid Username and Password to log-on to the IBM System i

• Have the IP address for the IBM System i

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E1.0 System Requirements


1.3 A Note on Instal l ing Client Access ComponentsBefore installing Elite’s PC Tools software, you must already have installed IBM’s Client Access software on the workstation. Additionally, there is an added feature set that must be included in the installation (or added to the already installed base product using “Selective Startup”) called “Data Access” components. These components are the means by which the PC Tools from Elite will communicate back and forth from the IBM System i.

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E2.0 Software Installation


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . 0 S O F T W A R E I N S T A L L A T I O NOnce the pre-installation requirements have been reviewed and addressed, the software may be installed. The Form Designer software is installed first, followed by the Elite Tools package which includes the GUI-based datamapping utility.

2.1 Instal l the Eli teForm Designer 5.0 Software1 Insert the Elite Designer CD. The CD should use an “auto-run” feature that launches a

window that looks like the one below. Click on the top button labeled “EliteForm Designer 5.0” to start the installation process for that product.

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E2.0 Software Installation


2 EliteForm Designer Installation Wizard starts. The first screen indicates the start of the EliteForm Designer 5.0 Installation Wizard. Click “Next” to continue.

3 License Agreement. In this screen, you are prompted to read and agree to the product license agreement. Click “Yes” to accept the terms described in the license agreement



4 Provide User Information. This screen requests a Name, a Company name, and the product Serial Number to continue the installation of the Designer software. Please consult your Elite Sales Representative for the Serial Number.

5 Choose Locality. The next window prompts for a Country of Residence. This will help choose the default character set unique to your region. “United States” is the default selection. Click “Next” to continue.

. . .



6 Select Installation Folder. This window prompts for a destination folder for installing program files. You may click “Next” to keep the default location or click the “Browse” button to indicate a different folder.

7 Select Installation Type. Here you must indicate the type of installation package you want to use. Select “Custom” and click “Next” to continue.



8 Select Components. No changes will be made in this screen. Simply click “Next” to continue.

9 Deselect Additional Components. In this screen, remove the checkmarks from the two additional components as you will not be using either of these tools. Click “Next” to continue.

. . .



10 Select Program Folder. No changes will be made in this screen. Simply click “Next” to continue.

11 Start Installation. This screen shows a summary of your options. Simply click “Next” to begin the installation process. Once completed, a new installation window will appear for the companion “MacMaker” software.



12 MacMaker Introduction Screen. Once the EliteForm Designer software has been installed, a second installation window will appear automatically. This Installation Wizard is for the companion “MacMaker” software. This software optimizes the form overlays created in the Designer for use on the IBM System i. Simply click “Next” to continue

13 Begin Installation of MacMaker. This screen shows the default directory for storing the MacMaker program files. Simply click the large button on the left to begin the installation process.

Once the installation is complete, you will be returned to the Windows Desktop and the initial Elite Softwares Installation window will appear. You will next begin the installation of the PC Tools software, described in the next section.

. . .



2.2 Instal l the Elite PC Tools Software1 View the Elite CD Installation Interface. Once the installation process for the Designer

software is complete, you should see the Windows Desktop again with the Installation Interface Window (see below). Click on the middle button labeled “Elite PC Tools .NET” to begin the installation process.



2 Microsoft .NET Installation Wizard. At the start of the installation process, Microsoft’s .NET Installation Wizard will check for an existing installation of “Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1” on the workstation. After checking, you will see either the window below or the window shown in Step 3 on the next page.

NOTE: You will only see the window below if the workstation does not already have Microsoft’s .NET Framework 1.1 installed:

Click “I Agree” radio button, then click the “Install” button to install .NET framework.

The window below indicates that the .NET Framework has been successfully installed. Click OK to continue.

. . .



3 Elite Installation Wizard starts. The first screen indicates the start of the Elite Softwares (PC Tools) Installation Wizard. Click “Next” to continue.

4 License Agreement. In this screen, you are prompted to read and agree to the product license agreement. Choose “I accept the terms in the license agreement” and click “Next” to continue.



5 Provide User Information. This Installation Wizard screen prompts you for name of the User and Company the product will be licensed to. If more than one user logs into this workstation, you may check the radio button to have the software be available to “Anyone who uses this computer (all users).” Click “Next” to continue.

6 Choose Setup Type. The Installation Wizard next prompts for an installation type. Choose “Typical” and click “Next” to continue. A confirmation screen will appear. Click

the “Next” button again to begin the installation.

. . .



7 Completed Installation. Once the installation has completed, click the “Finish” button to exit the Wizard.

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E3.0 Configure Communication settings (All Users)


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . 0 C O N F I G U R E C O M M U N I C A T I O N S E T T I N G S ( A L L U S E R S )This section is where we’ll establish the communications link between the IBM System i and the PC workstation. We’ll need to do this in two different programs, as they control different communication needs. First is setting up SpoolView400 which will give the ability to map IBM System i data in a PC interface instead of a 5250 one.

3.1 Configure Sett ings in Eli te’s SpoolView400 1 Open Elite SpoolView400. Click on the “START” button on the Windows Desktop and

choose PROGRAMS > Elite Softwares > SpoolView400

2 Configure the AS400 FTP Host Manager. Fill in the following fields to create the connection to the IBM System i:

Host Address - This is the IP Address of the IBM System i

User ID - Choose a valid username to log on to the IBM System i

Password - Enter the corresponding password for the user

Library - Type FMG (without quotes) for library destination

NOTE: QSECOFR is not permitted for use as a valid connection account

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E3.0 Configure Communication settings (All Users)


3.2 Configure Sett ings in Eli te’s MacMaker ProgramWe’ll need to perform a similar configuration step as in Section 3.1 above for the MacMaker program. The MacMaker software optimizes files created in the EliteForm Designer software and sends them to the IBM System i system using FTP. Follow the steps below to configure the MacMaker FTP program:

1 Open Elite’s MacMaker Program. Click on the “START” button on the Windows Desktopand choose PROGRAMS > MacMaker > MacMaker shortcut. Click the button labeled “FTP Mode” to open the interface for file transfer.

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E3.0 Configure Communication settings (All Users)


2 Configure MacMaker FTP. Once the FTP Mode window is launched, you will need to fill in the top part of the screen with connection information to the IBM System i.

Host Address - This is the IP Address of the IBM System i

User ID - Choose a valid username to log on to the IBM System i

Password - Enter the corresponding password for the user

Host Directory - Keep default setting of /QDLS/FORMFMG/

NOTE: QSECOFR is not permitted for use as a valid connection account

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E3.0 Configure Communication settings (All Users)


3.3 Add a New Printer: HP Laserjet 4 A bit later in this Guide, you will need to create an “optimized” version of the form overlay for use on the IBM System i. This “optimized” file gives you the flexibility to print to any HP-compatible laser printer on your network. So, you’ll need to have the HP Laserjet 4 driver installed, which is the last bit of configuration before starting on a form overlay.

1 From your Windows desktop, click on the Start button > Settings > Printers. In the Printers window, double-click on the Add Printer icon.

The Add Printer Wizard will start. Choose the printer connection as it applies to your personal situation (e.g. Local vs. Network). Then from the Manufacturers list, choose HP. The column on the right will change to display a list of various HP printer models. Highlight HP LaserJet 4 and click NEXT. Choose the appropriate Port to which you’ll be printing (If you are unsure, just select LPT1) then click NEXT. Keep the default printer name. Click the NO button so Windows does not make the HP LaserJet 4 your default printer, then click NEXT. Click the NO button to avoid having to print a test page, then click FINISH. Your HP 4 driver should now be ready to use. Note: This driver will act as the “lowest common denominator” for printing your form overlays and will provide the most accurate printouts of your overlays, particularly if you print to PCL-5 compatible laser printers by different manufacturers.

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E4.0 Designing Your Form Overlay


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . 0 D E S I G N I N G Y O U R F O R M O V E R L A YNow that we have the software installed and configured, we can begin work on a form overlay. The steps outlined in section 4.1 below take you through the process of converting a TIF image into objects you can shape and manipulate to get the form overlay you want. As an alternative, you may wish to create a new form overlay from scratch. To create a brand new one, simply open the File Menu and choose “New.” In sections 4.2 and 4.3, you will be introduced to the editing tools and the significance of using “fill text objects” or “map field boxes.” Sections 4.4 and 4.5 address how to get the form overlay into a format your printer will understand as well as uploading the file to the IBM System i. Section 4.6 shows you how to create an “Electronic Form Definition” on the IBM System i using the EliteForm software.

4.1 Convert a Form from “Picture” to “Vector” Format, Automatical lyA common first step in an electronic form project is to convert a tangible pre-printed form into an electronic form “overlay” that will participate in the creation of a larger electronic document. The EliteForm PC-based Design tool contains a handy utility to convert “pictures” of pre-printed forms into objects that can be edited, in a single step. What you need to provide is that a “picture” of the pre-printed form, which may be created by scanning it in at a specific image resolution (300 dpi) and save it in a particular file format (TIF or PCX file formats only). From there, the EliteForm Designer will provide a “best-guess” recognition of your pre-printed form and output results that you can edit in just a few seconds.

1 Start with a “Blank Slate.” We will want to start with a blank designer interface. After launching the PC Design tool, close the “Tip of the Day” box, then click the CANCEL button on the “Form Assistant.”

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E4.0 Designing Your Form Overlay


2 Select a TIF or PCX Image and Convert It. Click on the “File” menu at the top of the screen and choose “Scan Form” from the list provided. A new window will pop-up for you. In the “Source” section, click the “Image File(s)” radio button, then click on the “Select Files” button to indicate the location of your PCX or TIF image file. If you received a set of samples from Elite, you may select the TIF image provided or you may even choose the “Sample.tif” image from the following directory: C:\Program Files\FORMation mg\FlashFORM\Sample Forms. Highlight the file, then click the “Add File” button to add the path to the “Files to Process” pane as illustrated below. In the last section, “Settings” keep the default selections. Lastly, click the “OK” button to start the automatic conversion process.



3 The conversion process generates vector objects: lines, boxes, and text. It also provides a "best guess" for naming and positioning data fields. The screenshot below shows the conversion in action.

. . .



4.2 Edit ing the Form OverlayAfter the “vectorization” process finishes, we’ll want to give the form a once-over to identify any areas that require some clean up work. Some of the things to look for: text (OCR) errors, areas that need objects added, deleted, moved or resized, etc. To the left, there is an image showing part of the Drawing Toolbar. The first seven tools, as shown, will be the only ones you need to create your form overlay. Section 4.3 specifically discusses the last tool shown, “Fill Text” objects. Here’s a few hints and shortcuts to help you through the process:

• The Select Button. The Select button is the most frequently used tool in the program. This tool is found on the docked “Drawing” toolbar along the left edge your screen, and is displayed as an arrowhead cursor. By clicking on the button, you may change virtually every aspect of any object you click on. When you click on an object, you’ll notice that several little boxes appear on its perimeter. These little boxes are called “anchors” and indicate that you’ve selected that particular object. You can resize an object by positioning your cursor over an anchor. Depending on the anchor’s location, you may be able to resize the object on the horizontal axis only, the vertical axis only, or if located on the corner of an object, resize it on both axes at the same time.

• Selecting Multiple Objects. To select more than 1 object, hold down the Shift key and click the left mouse button. As long as you hold the Shift key, you can continue to select additional objects to edit. Selecting multiple objects on a form can also be accomplished by clicking and holding down the left mouse button, then dragging the cursor across the objects you wish to select. You'll see that a box with a gray border appears as you move your cursor across the screen. After you release the left mouse button, the objects contained within the area you've selected will display their "anchors."

• The Text Button. To add new text to your form, simply select the Text button on the “docked” toolbar and click on the form where you want the desired text to appear. This button also gives the ability to edit text that was converted in the Auto Design Form process. Just click on the text you would like to change, then start typing.

• Creating Lines, Ovals, and Rectangles. To draw any of the most commonly used objects on a form, just click on the appropriate object type, then click and hold the left mouse button until the object is the size you desire. For perfectly straight lines (or lines at 45º angles), perfect circles, or perfect squares, follow the same as above, only this time hold the Shift key down while drawing the object.



4.3 Creating “Fields” for IBM System i DataOnce we have the way the lines, boxes, and static text should appear on the form overlay, we need to determine where the variable data (data from an IBM System i spooled file) will appear on the page. With EliteForm, there are two methods by which we can achieve this link: (1) Field Box Mapping, and (2) X-Y Coordinate Mapping. This Users Guide will walk you through the first approach (See “Configure Data Map” in the EliteForm for IBM System i Users Guide for information on the coordinate mapping option).

• Drawing Fields. By going with the “Field” mapping option, we need to draw in special boxes that will be linked with the spooled file data in a later step. On the Drawing Toolbar (left edge of window) click the “Fill Text” button (highlighted in blue in below screenshot). Then draw a rectangle on your form where you’d like data to be linked. The resulting box created will appear in yellow. If you would like to see the number assigned to a particular field box, click the Tools menu, then click on Tab Order. A panel will pop-up to display the field names and numbers. TIP: These yellow “field” boxes represent the STARTING POINT for a given block of spooled data. Thus, it is not important what size the boxes are (small or large).

• Save Your Work. It’s a good idea to save your work often. Simply go to the “File” menu and choose “Save.”

. . .



4.4 Saving Form Overlays and Field Locations for the IBM System iWhen you’ve reached a point where the form overlay looks like it’s complete, you’ll need to create a special “optimized” file format (a PCL file with a *.MAC extension) so the laser printer will recognize it. The .MAC file type gives you the flexibility to print to any HP-compatible laser printer on your network. A companion file is also created (with a *.FLD extension) automatically when generating the *.MAC file. See the steps below for creating a .MAC file.

A Note on Emailing Forms: If you will be using your electronic form print only, please skip forward to Section 4.42, Create a PCL/Macro File. If the electronic form is meant for both print and email distribution, you will need to include the step below in Section 4.41, Create a TIF/JPG Image File. This allows the overlay to be displayed in PDF documents (the .MAC version of your form overlay cannot be viewed in Adobe Reader). This document assumes that the Image Driver software was successfully installed prior to following the steps below.

For more detailed information about emailing forms, please see the EliteMail User’s Guide. For more information about the Image Driver, please contact your sales representative.

4 . 4 1 C R E A T E A T I F / J P G I M A G E F I L E

1 Select the Informatik Image Driver. Starting in the eliteFORM Designer software, click on the File menu, and choose Print. In the “Print” window, click on the pull down list for “Name” and select the Informatik Image Driver from the list, then click “Properties.”

Continue to Step 2 on the next page.



2 Select the Bitmap Format. After clicking the “Properties” button, click the “Advanced” button on the next window (lower right corner). Locate the “Bitmap Format” drop-down menu.

The list displays the various output options available. You should only be concerned with two of them: the default option, “TIFF B/W Group 4-1 Strip,” and “JPEG Single Page.” Knowing which option to use is easy: Use the default TIFF option when you need the overlay to be grayscale; Use the JPEG option when you want the form overlay to appear in color. Click on the OK button to save your image format, then click OK again after arriving back at the original “Print” window. This will start the Image Capture process.

. . .



3 Name and Save the Image. A new window will appear with many options for defining the output image. Only two of the settings need to be changed: (1) Where the image file is to be saved, (2) The name of the TIF or JPG image. For example, you may have a

directory called C:\ELITEFTP that contains only those files you wish to upload to the IBM System i. Also, be sure that whatever name you give for the image file, you use the same name for the process outlined in Section 4.42 for the printer-ready version of the overlay. Thus, if you give the image the name SAMPINV.TIF, be sure to use SAMPINV again as the name for saving the .MAC and .FLD files.

NOTE: You do not need to include the file extension. This will be added automatically when the process produces the file.



4 . 4 2 C R E A T E A P C L / M A C R O F I L E1 Select the Printer Driver. Return to the eliteFORM Design software. From the File menu,

choose Print. A window labeled “Print” will appear. Click on the pull down list labeled Name and select the HP LaserJet 4 from the list of printers.

2 Select the Print to File Checkbox. Click the box labeled Print to File (A checkmark will appear in the box to show this feature has been activated).

3 Enter a 3-Digit ID Number. In the field to the right of Use Macro to Print Form, enter a 3-digit number for the form overlay. Then click the box to the left of it to enable that process. Another window will appear for you to give the PRN file a name. For this walkthrough, let’s call it “SAMPINV.PRN” for “sample invoice” (Also take note of the location to which these files will be saved). Click the Save button, then click OK to start the process.

Note: Three files are created during this process, each with the same name but different file extensions. The file with the MAC extension is the PCL version of your form overlay. The file with an FLD extension is the field box location file which contains name, number, and coordinate information about the yellow field boxes that appear on the overlay. Both the MAC and the FLD files need to be transferred to the IBM System i to be used in the eliteFORM integration software. The PRN file may be ignored or deleted, as it is the source file from which the MAC file is derived.

. . .



4.5 Transfer f i les to the IBM System iAfter the .MAC and .FLD files are created, a file transfer window pops up. If the information does not already appear for the Host Address, Username, and Password (all used for connecting to the IBM System i) be sure to enter it now. Keep the default location (/QDLS/FORMFMG folder) for the “Host Directory” field. Follow the steps below to transfer the files to the IBM System i.

1 Connect to the IBM System i. Click the “Connect” button to connect to the system

2 Add/Remove Files (Optional). Click the “Add/Remove File” button to add more files to the upload list (e.g. If you created a TIF or JPG image in Section 4.41, you may add that file to the list by clicking this button and locating it on your workstation. If no additional files are needed, go to Step 3.

3 Send Files to IBM System i. Click the button to “Send Files” to the system

Note: The MacMaker FTP window can also be used to retrieve files from the IBM System i. Just click the “Show Host Files” button near the bottom, then click on the file you wish to get from the IBM System i. A “Save File As” window will pop-up, prompting for the name and location to store the file locally on your PC. Click OK to complete the process.



4 . 5 1 T R A N S F E R R I N G O N L Y A T I F O R J P G I M A G E T O T H E I B M S Y S T E M IIf you did not create a TIF/JPG image version of your form overlay but later realize that you do need one to use for email distribution, you can still use the MacMaker program’s FTP utility (the one that opens automatically when creating a .MAC/.FLD file) to upload the image by following the steps below. Just be sure to first create the TIF/JPG image by following the steps outlined in Section 4.41.

1 Open the MacMaker Program. From the Windows START button, click on PROGRAMS > MacMaker > MacMaker program shortcut

2 Display “FTP Mode.” Click on the button at the bottom labeled “FTP Mode.” This will display the MacMaker FTP window (as seen in 4.42 on the previous page).

3 Connect to the IBM System i. Click the “Connect” button. This will open an FTP connection to the system

4 Add the File to the Transfer Window. Now click on the “Add/Remove File to Send” button. A new window will appear confirming your choice to “Add” a file for transfer. Click the OK button to continue. In the new “Select File to Transfer” window, locate the TIF/JPG file you created created in Section 4.41 and select it. The screen will return to the MacMaker FTP Transfer window.

5 Upload the File to the IBM System i. Click the “Send Files to Host” button. The TIF/JPG file will then be transferred to the system

. . .



4.6 Creating A Form Definit ion on the IBM System i using Eli teFormBefore you continue to the spool mapping process, the basic properties of an electronic form must be created on the IBM System i first. The basic properties of an electronic form are comprised of page orientation (e.g. Portrait or Landscape), the paper size (Letter, Legal), number of copies to print, and so forth. Below, you’ll find instructions on how to quickly create a form definition.

1 Add ELITE to your Library List. From an IBM System i display session, add the ELITE library to your library list using the following command: ADDLIBLE ELITE and press Enter.

2 Display the eliteFORM Main Menu and Select Option 1. From an IBM System i command line, type the command GO ELITE and press Enter. Your screen should look like the one below:

Choose Option 1 to Define a Form Application or Check Application and press Enter. When the next screen appears, press the F6 key to add a new form.



3 Define the Form’s Basic Properties. The screen will change to the “Work with Form Description” screen. This screen allows you to “define” some basic attributes about the form you’re creating. First, give the form a name and a description.

For a common form that will print on letter-sized paper (8.5”x11”), follow the layout as presented here. The areas of the “Work with Form Description” screen to focus are illustrated in the screenshot below:

Any items not specifically described below may be left blank or the default setting left unchanged. Here’s an explanation of these items:

Orientation: P - Determines the page layout for the form. Choose either portrait (default setting) or landscape

Front Field File(?) - Type a “?” for list of all FLD files in FORMFMG. Enter the name of the .FLD file that was created when using the PC Designer software (You would have been prompted by that software to transfer that file along with the printer-ready version of the form overlay, the .MAC file).

Front Overlay - Enter the name of the printer-ready version of the form overlay created in the PC Designer. You can use “?” the same way as “Front Field File” above

Seq#: 1 - This indicates the order in which the copies will print. Enter a ‘1’

Drawer: 1 - A value of ‘1’ will pull paper from the default tray on the printer

Merge: Y - This indicates whether to “merge” spooled data with the form overlay. Typically, you will want to do this, so enter a ‘Y’ here

Leave everything else blank and press ENTER twice to confirm changes

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E5.0 SpoolView400 General Overview


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . 0 S P O O L V I E W 4 0 0 G E N E R A L O V E R V I E WSpoolView400 is a program that enables you to view live spooled files from the IBM System i in various PC-based programs. For example, you may choose to view a spooled file in a word processing program, as a PDF in Adobe Reader, or as an HTML file through a web browser. Here are the steps for working with SpoolView400:

1 Open SpoolView400. An icon for SpoolView400 should be on your Desktop.

2 Find Spooled File by Outqueue/User. Name the location of the spooled file you want to view by typing the outqueue name, username, or a combination of both. Press the REFRESH button to retrieve the file list.

3 Select Viewer Preference. Choose the Viewer Preference (HTML, PDF, Rich Text, etc.). Note: Merged eliteFORM spooled files use Viewer Preference type “PCL” only.

4 Select Spooled File from List

5 View Spooled File. Click the “Select” button (A double-click on the spooled file also works) to launch the viewer

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E6.0 Split-Screen SpoolMapper


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . 0 S P L I T - S C R E E N S P O O L M A P P E RSpoolView400 also acts as a gateway program to Elite’s split-screen datamapping utility. This is a helpful tool that provides a quick “starting point” from which you can modify your map fields further using Option 8, “Work with Map Fields” on the IBM System i. SpoolView400 is used to launch the Split-Screen SpoolMapper program by selecting one of the two “Map with” options. Here, we’ll describe the process when choosing “Map with Designer.” The “Map without Designer” option launches only the Split-Screen SpoolMapper product (without the EliteForm PC Designer software).

1 Launch SpoolView400. Double-click on the SpoolView400 icon to launch the program, then type the name of the Outqueue or User to locate the desired spooled file and press the “REFRESH” button.

2 Select Viewer Preference. The main display screen will present a list of spooled files. Click the radio button labeled “Map with Designer” to mark the viewer preference.

3 Select the Spooled File. Click on the spooled file that you want to link to the form overlay and click the “SELECT” button which will launch the Split-Screen SpoolMapper (bottom half of screen) and the EliteForm Designer (top half of screen)

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E6.0 Split-Screen SpoolMapper


4 Open the Form Overlay (*.OFM File). Next, Open the form template that was created in the PC Designer to work with in this spoolmapping session and click OK.



5 Select a Form Application. The next step in the process is to select a form application that is already defined in the EliteForm software on the IBM System i.

NOTE: If you do NOT have a form already defined, go back to Section 4.6 in this Guide to create one. Once completed, go to STEP 6 below.

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E6.0 Split-Screen SpoolMapper


6 Link the data to a map field location. The screen changes to display two windows. The upper window is the eliteFORM Designer in “FILL” mode. The lower window shows your selected spooled file from within the Elite SpoolMapper tool. To map data, simply start in the SpoolMapper in the lower window and click and hold the the left mouse button down to capture the maximum amount of data that can appear in a particular field. In the screenshot below, only two column positions were captured for the page number. Next, move the mouse to the top window (PC Designer) and click once on the yellow field box representing where you will be placing the selected spooled data. The yellow box will populate with the highlighted data from the SpoolMapper. A new

window will appear that allows you to add some specific information to the map block (See screenshot on next page)



The “Map Field Maintenance” screen lets you identify the map block. The Field Name will auto-populate using the name referenced in the PC Designer, although you may choose to change this. Other options in this screen include setting conditions on the printing of the data, alternate data alignments, sorting and bursting the spooled file based on the contents of the map block.

For a basic map block, you only need to click the “Add Map Field” button to accept the defaults. If you would like to change the font, simply click on the question mark “?” next to “Font” to display the list plus options.

Once your settings are saved, you will be brought back to the split-screen windows to

continue the mapping process. Repeat Step 6 until your form is mapped completely.

Note: All of the datamapping that you do here updates the form application you selected in Step 5 above on the IBM System i automatically. This is a live connection between Elite’s SpoolMapper tool and the EliteForm software on the IBM System i. Once you’ve finished the datamapping phase, you do not need to “upload” your work because it’s already on the IBM System i!

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E7.0 Test Printing & Emailing the form Application


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . 0 T E S T P R I N T I N G & E M A I L I N G T H E F O R M A P P L I C A T I O NThe last step in the process is to test print the form with your spooled data to see the results of your work.

You may also choose to test the email output of the form application by using the “Manually Merge Form and Data” option. Before continuing, be sure you have a valid key for the EliteMail and ElitePDF modules, and also that the “Email Configuration” screen has been filled in correctly in the EliteMail Module. For more information about the “Email Configuration” please see the PDF document, “EliteMail Configuration” or the “EliteMail User’s Guide.”

Follow the steps below for each output type:

7 . 1 T E S T P R I N T I N G W I T H A M A N U A L M E R G E1 Use the Manual Merge feature. From the EliteForm Main Menu, choose Option 5,

“Manually Merge Form and Data” and press ENTER

2 Select the Spooled File. Select the appropriate spooled file from the list (you may change the display options by pressing the F5 key to toggle between User and Output Queue) and press ENTER

3 Select the Form Application. Choose the appropriate form application from the list and press ENTER

4 Define the Output Options. Finally, type the name of the output queue you would like the resultant merged document to be sent (Be sure that the output queue is connected to a PCL5-compatible laser printer). You may also choose to change the page range (e.g. Only print pages 5 - 9) by editing the values in “Start Page” and “End Page.” Keep the number of copies set to 1 and leave the “SplfName” blank. Press ENTER to start the merge process. Check your laser printer for your output.

E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E7.0 Test Printing & Emailing the form Application


7 . 2 T E S T E M A I L W I T H A M A N U A L M E R G E1 Choose Option 5 for the Manual Merge option. Choose Option 5, ‘Manually Merge Form

and Data from the EliteForm Main Menu and press the ENTER key

2 Select Option 7 to Email the Spooled File and Form Application. The next window will prompt you to choose a spooled file. Use Option 7, “Email” then press the ENTER key. The next window will prompt you to select the Form Application. Select the one you wish to email using an Option 1, and press the ENTER key.

3 Prepare the Message and Send. The next screen is the Send Email screen. Fill in the “From” and “To” fields. Note the “Type” field displays the name of the form application you’ve selected to attach to this email message. Press the F5 key to rename the file attachment, if desired. Type in a subject and fill in the message body, if desired. Press the F10 key to send the message with the form application as a PDF attachment.

• Making Further Adjustments - If the document requires additional work, make changes as needed to the OFM file (by adding, removing, or relocating objects), save and upload the updated MAC and FLD files and test print again. If the data mapping is not correct, be sure to make the changes in the Split-Screen SpoolMapper program.

Do keep in mind that the automated forms “engine” is the method to automate your merge process. Refer to the EliteForm User’s Guide, Chapter 4 “Automating the Merge Process” for more information.

. . .

. .E L I T E F O R M D E S I G N E R U S E R ’S G U I D E7.0 Test Printing & Emailing the form Application


Please contact the Vanguard Support Department with any questions:

Technical Support

Phone: (949) 707-2711

FAX: (949) 951-4468

Email: [email protected]

http://www.vansystems.com

24800 Chrisanta Drive, Suite 240

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Elite Document Solutions is a registered trademark of Vanguard Systems, Inc. IBM, System i, iSeries, OS/400 and AS/400 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. HP and Laserjet are registered trademarks of Hewlett Packard Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other product names are trademarks of their respective holders.

Documents

EliteForm Designer Users Guide - S4i Systems · • Have Administrator privileges to install software on the PC workstation Elite’s ... Once the installation is complete, ... 2