Handling mixed CPI and LPI in AFPDS spooled files
The input AFPDS spooled files can contain texts in many different font sizes, and that can be a problem, when InterFormNG2 is working on these input spooled files, when trying to map the input spooled file into fixed lines and positions.
If you e.g. consider a spooled file with the attribute of 10 CPI, then that means, that there are 10 characters per inch and each character should take up 1/10 of an inch, but if you now imagine, that there are some texts in the same line, that are written in 20 CPI, then there can be twice as many characters per inch as InterFormNG2 would expect (when looking at the attribute), and that can cause overprinting of texts, where you can only se parts of the text elements, when you load the AFPDS spooled file in the designer. Normally InterFormNG2 will e.g. push text to the right to make space for all the text (avoiding overwriting previous texts), so nothing is lost, but this may cause the alignment of columns to be lost.
That is why, you with InterFormNG2 can override the CPI and LPI to spread out the spooled file text, and thereby keep fixed positions and line number all through the spooled file.
You can override the external attributes and set higher values via these menu options in InterFormNG2:
You need to enter the IFORMNG2 menu from a 5250 emulation screen on the IBM i platform via the command: IFORMNG2/IFORMNG2:
Now you will see this menu:
IFORMNG2 InterForm NG2 Main Menu
Select one of the following: System . . . : PMK250 User . . . . : KSE Administration Version . . : 20.32 1. Work with monitored output queues 2. Work with XML definitions 5. Work with IFORMNG2 output queue
10. Start IFORMNG2 subsystem 11. End IFORMNG2 subsystem 12. Work with IFORMNG2 subsystem
31. Display print service log 51. Adjust CPI - *AFPDS configuration 91. License
Selection or command ===>
F3=Exit F4=Prompt F9=Retrieve F12=Cancel F13=Information Assistant F16=System main menu
|
Here you need to select option 51. Adjust CPI - *AFPDS configuration to setup the conversion of input AFPDS spooled files:
Work with afpds copy spooled file atributes AFP901D
Position to . . . . . . Printer file name
Type options, press Enter. 2=Change 4=Delete 5=Display
Printer Update Update Update CpySplf CpySplf Opt file Library user date time CPI LPI MYPRTF MYLIB KSE 2018.06.15 12:28:13 20,0 12,0
End F3=Exit F5=Refresh F6=Create F12=Cancel
|
The spooled file is identified by the printer file used, so you should actually add the printer file in the table above with F6=Create.
If you are in doubt as to what CPI and LPI to select, you could e.g. state the CPI to be highest CPI used (or higher) - although keeping in mind that the max. width of a spooled file is still 378, and that it is not that easy to design an overlay, for a spooled file that is so wide, that you are not able to see a complete line at a time. For the LPI it might be a very good idea to select a whole number times the spooled file LPI. So if the spooled file has 6 LPI you could e.g. override it with this function to e.g. 12 LPI (still keeping in mind that the max. number of lines in a spooled file is 255).
If you select the double CPI, then every other line in the designer will (normally) be blank, but you can then just use the half line distance in the overlay to compensate for this.
If you want to see exactly how InterFormNG2 sees the input spooled file, then you can load the spooled file in the Library and then in either the designer or as a sample spooled file in the workflow to see the contents.
