IBM S544-5351-03 manual Analyzing the Existing Application, Questions you need to Ask

Analyze the

SCS job

Document structure

-Page format

-Page copy

-Data identification

-Resources identification

-Trigger for conditional processing

Create

AFP Resources

with AFP tools

-Font

-Page Segment

-Overlay

Create the

Print Definition

Define APU Defaults

-Select unit of measure

-Select font

-Select paper size

-. . .

Create print definition

-Define page format

-(cond. processing)

-Create copy

-(Mapping)

-(. . . )

Run the

Print Definition

Run APU manually Work with APU monitor

Figure 4. Steps to Creating a Document

Step 1: Analyzing the Existing Application

Questions you need to Ask

The first step in creating a document is to examine the contents of the current application program that is output by asking these questions:

vIs the application currently being printed on preprinted forms? If so, how complicated is the information on the preprinted forms? If the preprinted form contains only a few boxes and text strings, you might consider using the APU functions to include those items in the APU print definition. If the form is complex, you should probably use another program, such as the Overlay Utility in the Advanced Function Printing Utilities for iSeries program product, to create an electronic overlay. For more information, see Chapter 2, ªPreparing to Use the Advanced Print Utilityº on page 13.

vIs the application currently being printed on multipart forms? If so, do the forms all contain the same information, or is some of the data suppressed on some copies?

vIs the same page format used for all pages in the file? Could you improve the appearance of the output by using a different format for pages of different types, such as a different layout for the first output page than for subsequent continuation pages?

vIf you want to use more than one page format in the AFP output, examine the contents of a spooled file that is produced by the application. What information is contained in the print data that APU can use to determine which page format is to be used for each type of output page?

vWhat fonts will you need to produce effective output?

vWould you like to add any image data to the output?

vWould you like to add any bar code data to the output?

vWhat type of AFP printer will you use to print the job? Some AFP printers do not support all of the AFP data stream objects, such as bar codes. Refer to IBM Printing Systems: Printer Information, S544-5750, for details about printer capabilities.

Example of Sample Spooled File (Source Input Data)

An example of the sample spooled file (source input data) that you would use to build a print definition is given below:

8APU User's Guide