IBM AS/400 Printout Format Definition PFD Definition, PFD Specifications, Enables You Develop

Chapter

7. Introduction

to

Print

Format

Utility

The Print

Format

Utility

enables

you

to

develop

AFP

applications

directly

f

AS/400 database

files. In

a manner

similar

to

Query

for

AS/400,

databa

are selected and processed into full pages

of

output

combining varia

overlays, bar codes, lines, boxes,

image,

and graphics. All

of

the

i

during the Print Format Utility

design

process

are

stored

as

print

f

(PFD). The ability of the

Print

Format

Utility

to

design

individual

re

then replicate those layouts across and down the page make it very

applications

such

as

multiple-up

barcoded labels.

In addition to the data from database file members, you can print defined by any of the element types (text, boxes, lines, bar cod or graphics). Examples of fixed data are:

ŸTitles

ŸCompany logos

ŸDrawings

You can also print variable data that are not defined in the data as:

ŸJob date

ŸJob time

ŸPage number

ŸRecord number

ŸDatabase file name

ŸDatabase library name

ŸDatabase member name

To print data with the Print Format Utility, PFDyou definitionneed to tocreate a specify the print format of the data from the menu panel display i

Printout Format Definition (PFD Definition)

A PFD definition provides the necessary information about the data, f formats which you want to print.

You need to provide the following information in a PFD definition.

PFD Specifications

The specifications contain the following:

ŸPrinter type

ŸCharacters per inch

Ÿ Lines per inch

ŸDegree of rotation

Ÿ Whether or not you want page numbers on each page

ŸUnit of measure

Ÿ Initial element measurement method

ŸPage size

ŸOffset

ŸGrid (design aid) position

 Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 1998 95