Xerox DocuPrint series Service and Tools Guide

Xerox DocuPrin t Network Printer Series Decomposition Service and Tools Guide

Version 3.0b July 1998 721P84271

Xerox Corporation 701 S. Aviation Boulevard El Segundo, CA 90245

copyrightable material and information now allowed by statuory or judicial law or hereinafter granted, including without limitation, material generated from the software programs which are displayed on the screen such as icons, screen displays, looks, and so on.

Printed in the United States of America. Publication number: 721P84271 Xerox® and all Xerox product names mentioned in this publication

are trademarks of Xerox Corporation. Products and trademarks of other companies are also acknowledged.

Changes are periodically made to this document. Changes, technical inaccuracies and typographic errors will be corrected in subsequent editions.

Conventions

This guide uses the following conventions:

• All caps and angle brackets — Within procedures, the names of

keys are shown in all caps within angle brackets (for example, press <RETURN>).

• Angle brackets — Variable information, or the position of a

specified argument in the command syntax, appears in angle brackets (for example, List Fonts <Pattern>).

• Bold — Within procedures, text and numbers that you enter are

shown in bold (for example, enter privilege operator).

• “Enter” — Within procedures, the two-step process of keying in

data and pressing <RETURN> (for example, enter y).

• Italics — Document and library names are shown in italics (for

example, the Xerox DocuPrint Network Printer Series Guide to Submitting Your Jobs from the Client).

• Quotes — Keywords you can enter as arguments and paths

appear in quotes (for example, “USLetter” and “/var/spool/ data”).

• The use of upper and lower case letters used for the names of

utilities and tools varies amoung the different environments. Examples follow:

— Within the Windows environment, the convention is to

adopt the initial capitalization of tool names such as

“XMerge” and “XCat”

— Within the UNIX environment, the convention is to use all

lower case letters such as “formmerge”

— Within the DOS environment, there is an eight-character

file name limitation and the case does not matter so “formmrg” is used.

Note: Notes are hints that help you perform a tas k or understand the text.

Caution: Cautions alert you to an action that could damage hardware or software.

Warning: Warnings alert you to conditions that may affect the

safety of people.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE iii

Xerox DocuPrint Network Printer Series

The Xerox DocuPrint Network Printer Series includes the following documents, besides this guide:

Installation Planning Guide System Overview Gui d e Guide to Managing Print Jobs Guide to Performing Routine Maintenance Guide to Submitting Jobs from the Client Guide to Using PDL Messages Guide Troubleshooting Guide Master Index Printer Controller Commands Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from DOS Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from Macintosh Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from UNIX Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from Windows 3.1x Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from Windows 95 Quick Reference Card Submitting your Jobs from Windows NT Quick Reference Card Generic MICR Fundamentals Guide (for MICR systems)

iv DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Table of Contents

Conventions iii Xerox DocuPrint Network Printer Series iv

1. Overview 1-1

Why Decomp Service? 1-1 Application examples 1-1

Print on demand 1-2 Personalized documents 1-2 Customized forms 1-3

Tools/macros 1-4 Summary of benefits 1-5

2. Installation 2-1

Windows 2-1 DOS 2-2 SunOS/Solaris 2-2

3. Using virtual printers to save forms 3-1

Disposition attribute 3-1

Differences between TIFF/G4 and ByteCode formats 3-2 Differences between mask and form formats 3-2

Example 3-5

4. Forms, variable data files, and file of files 4-1

How to create a form 4-2 How to create a variable data file 4-3

Microsoft Word 6.0 Mail Merge example 4-3

How to create a file of files 4-7

XCat 4-8 XMerge 4-9

5. Ba ckground forms 5-1

BackgroundForm attribute 5-1 Example 5-2 CycleForms 5-4

Values for CycleForms attribute 5-5

6. Client tools 6-1

Windows 6-1

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reprint 6-2 FormMerge 6-3 XMerge 6-4

Using XMerge 6-4 XMerge example 6-4

XCat 6-6

Select Paper dialog 6-7 Select Jobs dialog 6-8 Generate PostScript dialog 6-9

DOS 6-10

reprint 6-10 formmrg 6-10 xmerge 6-11

Using XMerge 6-11

xcat 6-12

SunOS/Solaris 6-14

reprint 6-14 formmerge 6-14 xmerge 6-15

Using XMerge 6-15

xcat 6-16

7. DocuPrint NPS co nt rolle r comm ands 7-1

Create virtual printer 7-1 Change virtual printer 7-1

BackgroundForm 7-2 CycleForms 7-2

Disposition 7-3 Delete form 7-3 Delete vir tual printe r 7-4

List forms 7-4 List virtual printer 7-4 Print form sample 7-5 Set tra y 7-5 Show log 7-6 Show status 7-7 Start virtual printer 7-7 Stop virtual printer 7-8

vi DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8. Postscript references/macros 8-1

run exec 8-1

Example 8-2 GetTiff 8-3

Example 8-4 Form reference in applications 8-6

Example 8-6

9. TIFF utilities 9-1

DOS 9-1 SunOS/Solaris 9-2

getg4 9-2

A. Decomposed form file format A-1

Form files for TIFF/G4 and ByteCode formats A-1

Form files common to both TIFF/G4 and ByteCode A-1

Files created when form is saved as TIFF/G4 A-1

Files created when form is saved as ByteCode A-2 Examples A-2

TIFF/G4 examples A-2

ByteCode examples A-3

B. Stor ag e of for ms or job s in a dif fer en t di rectory B-1

Example B-1

C. Storage of files in /var/spool/data C-1

FTP metho d C-1 NFS method C-2

D. Performance measurements D-1

Formulas D-1 Measurement methods D-2

Obtaining rough estimates D-2

Calculating throughput D-2

Getting a sense of performance improvement through

Decomp Service D-2

Example D-3

Get rough estimates D-3

Get sense of performance improvement D-5

E. TIFF file format E-1

TIFF 6.0 mandatory tags E-1 DocuPrint NPS TIFF E-1 Examination of tags in TIFF file E-2

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

F. Fo rms backup and restoration F-1

Backup forms F-1 Restore forms F-1

G. Example ap pl ica tio ns G-1

Variable Data PostScript "Address" File example G-1

Image Lift example G-3

Microsoft Word-based Variable Data Merge example G-4

Referencing the Static Form G-6 Print Merge G-7 Sending files to DocuPrint NPS G-7

Glossary GLOSSARY-1 Index INDEX-1

viii DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Why Decomp Service?

1. 1Overview

This chapter explains the need for Decomposition Service and provides examples of its many practical applications. The tools and macros are briefly described and the benefits of using Decomposition Service are summarized.

There are many software applications available on the market today which emit Page Description Language (PDL) files in either PostScript or Hewlett Packard PCL. Sometimes these files can be extremely complex, especially when they include graphics, and the printer may take a long time to decompose (or translate the PDL) and print.

If printing a complex document is a one-time occurrence, nothing can really be done to improve the performance of the printer. However, if the document is to be printed many times and you wish to avoid the time-consuming decomposition that occurs each time, the Xerox Decomposition Service (hereafter referred to as “Decomp Service”) provides the solution.

Application exam ples

With Decomp Service, complex documents can be decomposed once and then stored as a “form” on the DocuPrint to be printed very quickly upon demand. These forms usually print at or close to the rated speed of the destination printer and the typical performance improvement is two to five times faster than the original PDL file.

One important capability of Decomp Service is that it can produce forms in industry standard TIFF file format with CCITT/G4 image compression. These TIFF/G4 forms can be manipulated by many popular image editors and reused by other PostScript applications.

Decomp Service also provides several utility tools and macros which allow you to merge variable data with your forms, examine and print TIFF images, and build books.

Practical uses for Decomp Service are endless. Decomp Service can help quickly print newsletters, mailers, forms, pricing li sts, letters, contracts, surveys, travel maps, certificates, warranties, and so on. These documents can easily be personalized or customized.

The 1996 Olympics used the Xerox DocuPrint NPS network printers and Decomp Service to print more than 18 million documents. These documents displayed a unique watermark graphic for the sport (provided by a decomposed background form) and results for athletic events (provided by a variable data file).

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 1-1

OVERVIEW

Print on dema nd

Three application examples follow:

• Print on demand

• Personalized documents

• Customized forms.

With Decomp Service, the demand reprint of a small number of copies is faster because the pages are already in print-ready format. A few additional comments follow:

• In particular, Decomp Se rvice can improve performance for

frequently used documents that do not have good single-copy performance.

• If the initial decomposition runs at printer speed, there is no

performance gain.

A good example is a technical manual with complex graphics that is reprinted in small quantities a few times each week as shown in figure 1-1.

Personalized documents

Figure 1-1. Technical manual

Decomp Service enables the creation of personalized documents which allows you to merge the name of the recipient or personal data onto the document to make it look original.

An example is a benefits booklet which includes the name of the employee and employee number as shown in figure 1-2.

1-2 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Customized forms

OVERVIEW

Figure 1-2. Be nefits bookl e t

Customized forms can have data specifically directed at a particular customer. These forms generally have a moderate to high amount of personalized data. In addition, different form pages might be used for each individual job.

The forms are stored on the DocuPrint controller by Decomp Service. When you are ready to print, submit a PostScript file with the variable data and a reference to the form(s).

Note: Variable data can be printed on all or some of the form pages.

An example is an insurance quote which has the name of the policy holder and the premium printed on the selected form pages as shown in figure 1-3.

Figure 1-3. Insurance quote

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 1-3

OVERVIEW

Tools/macros

The following tools are available with Decomp Service:

• FormMerge — Generates a PostScript file to overlay form

pages on variable data

• GetG4 — Decodes TIFF tags into human readabl e format and

prints the values

• Reprint — Generates a PostScript file for printing previously

decomposed forms

• XCat — Builds a book by generating a PostScript file to

concatenate chapters of a book into a single job with optional duplexing and chapter starts

• XMerge — Generates a PostScript file to overlay variable data

onto some or all of the form pages.

These utilities are available for the PC and Sun platforms but not all of them are supported for all operating systems. Table 1-1 shows which tools are supported by these operating systems.

Table 1-1. Tools supported by PC and Sun operating systems

Utilities Windows DOS SunOS 4.1.3 Solaris 2.3

FormMerge X X X X Reprint X X X X XMerge X X X X XCat X X X X GetG4 X X X

Note: Earlier versions included tools for the Macintosh platform and a TiffEdit tool; these are no longer supported.

The Decomp Tools or Windows can be installed on PCs with Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, or Windows NT.

Two macros, which are automatically installed onto the DocuPrint by the DocuPrint NPS base software, are also available for PostScript programmers:

• run exec — Allows a PostScript program to print a form page

as a background

• GetTiff — Enables a PostScript program to image and print a

TIFF.

1-4 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Summary of benefits

OVERVIEW

To summarize, the primary benefits of Decomp Service are:

• It permits FAST printing!

— Complex forms are already decomposed which saves time — Client is freed up and network traffic is reduced as smaller

amounts of data are sent

— Printer throughput is increased because only variable data

has to be decomposed

• It is ideal for situations where documents are printed over and

over.

• It can handle or produce files in industry standard TIFF/G4

format.

• It utilizes the DocuPrin t N PS pr in t er controller to me rg e forms

and variable data.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 1-5

OVERVIEW

1-6 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Windows

2. 2Installation

Decomp Service is included with the DocuPrint NPS base software, no separate installation process is required.

The system requirements for Decomp Service fo llow:

• DocuPrint NPS software version 1.4x or later

• Enough disk space on the printer controller to store the needed

forms.

There are tools available to facilitate development of Decomposition Service applications. These are installed from diskette on the client workstation: Windows, DOS, SunOS/Solaris. You can also develop Decomp applications without these tools.

To install Decomp Service for the Windows environment, insert the installation diskette for Windows into the drive and execute “A:\SETUP.” A prompt similar to figure 2-1 is displayed:

Figure 2-1. Decomp Service Install Options screen

The examples are referred to by the help file for each tool which facilitate understanding of how the tool works. The example files occupy approximately 1 megabyte. If you wish to conserve space on your PC, then select the second option “Installation Without Examples.” If you need to examine the examples in the future, you can always re-insert the installation diskette and install the examples by running the “SETUP” execut able.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 2-1

INSTALLATION

DOS

You also have the option to specify a different destination directory where the “Decomp Tools for Windows” are installed. You may accept the default which is “C:\DECOMPn” (“n” is the current release number).

To install Decomp Service for DOS, create a directory and copy the tools from the diskette. An example follows:

C:\>mkdir DOSDCOMP C:\>cd DOSDCOMP C:\DOSDCOMP>copy a:*.* A:FORMMRG.EXE A:REPRINT.EXE A:XCAT.EXE A:XMERGE.EOPDXE A:GETG4.EXE 5 file(s) copied

SunOS/Solaris

The UNIX and Solaris versions are in the “tar” fo rmat. You ma y choose to create a different destination directory. An installation example follows:

% su Password: ******* # mkdir /usr/DecompTools # cd /usr/DecompTools # tar -xvf /dev/fd0c

2-2 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Disposition attribute

3. 3Using virtual printers to save

forms

To create forms with Decomp Service, you can define and configure a virtual printer to save the images as forms rather than print them. Enter the following commands in “Administrative” mode on the DocuPrint NPS co nt ro ller:

PS-Admin> Create Virtual Printer <name> PS-Admin> Change Virtual Printer <name> disposition <value>

The “disposition” attribute indicates that you want to save jobs as forms. The attribute value may be:

• SaveMaskG4 — This produces a compressed “TIFF/G4” file

and treats the white pixels as transparent. It is a com mo nly used attribute for many applications.

• SaveFormG4 — This is similar to the SaveMaskG4 attribute in

that it produces a compressed TIFF/G4 file. Use this attribute when your application requires the white pixels to be opaque.

• SaveMaskBC — This uses the “ByteCode” compression which

prints more quickly than TIFF/G4 because it does not have to rotate, scale, and perform other operations. It treats the white pixels as transparent.

• SaveFormBC — This also uses the ByteCode compression

and treats the white pixels as opaque.

Before selecting a value, you should understand the differences between TIFF/G4 and ByteCode formats as well as the differences between “Mask” and “Form” formats.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 3-1

USING VIRTUAL PRINTERS TO SAVE FORMS

Differences between TIFF/G4 and ByteCode formats

Table 3-1 summarizes the differences between TIFF/G4 and ByteCode format s:

Table 3-1. Differences between TIFF/G4 and ByteCode formats

TIFF/G4 ByteCode

• An industry-standard format.

• Portable and editable.

• Flexi ble be c au s e o f th e a bilit y to

employ PostScript image operators.

• Does not work with Background

Forms.

• Stored at printer resolution and

orientation, producing a printerefficient TIFF.

• Used where smaller file size is

important.

The primary advantage of TIFF/G4 files is that they are transportable; this means you can use them on non-Xerox printers. They can also be edited using image editor programs such as “Adobe Photoshop” for the PC.

The primary advantages of ByteCode files are that they print much faster than TIFFs and work with background forms.

Caution: The ByteCode compression is proprietary to DocuPr in t NPS and will not work on DocuTech or other printers. Therefore, if you need to use the form on another printer in the future, you should retain the original document.

• A Xerox proprietary format; not

available on systems other than DocuPrint NPS.

• Not portable or editable.

• Fast, used for maximum speed; it

can often print twice as fast as TIFF files.

• Required for Background Forms.

• Better with halftones than TIFF

files.

Differences between mask and form formats

Another distinction to make is the use of either “Mask” or “Form” structure. This is for applications where the opacity of the white pixels is an issue. A few concepts to keep in mind follow:

• With the Mask format, the white pixels are transparent

• With the Form format, the white pixels are opaque

• All unwritten pixels are always transparent.

Following is an example that illustrates the differences between the Mask and Form formats. This example starts by examining two forms, one using Mask structure, and the other using Form structure. The example is shown in figure 3-1.

3-2 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

USING VIRTUAL PRINTERS TO SAVE FORMS

Figure 3-1. Form using Mask structure

Figure 3-2. Form using Fo rm structure

Next, examine the variable data to get an idea of how the data is supposed to eventually fit on the form. The variable data is shown in figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3. Variable data

In applications (such as “FormMerge”) where the form is laid on top of data, the transparency or opacity of the form may be an issue. The previous two forms overlaid on top of the variable data are shown in figure 3-4 and figure 3-5.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 3-3

USING VIRTUAL PRINTERS TO SAVE FORMS

Figure 3-4. Fo rm using Mask stru cture with variable data

Figure 3-5. Fo rm usi ng Form stru cture wi th variable data

Use either “Mask” or “Form” as appropriate for your situation. The Mask format is used in most circumstances.

In other applications (such as XMerge) where the form is printed first, with any additional or variable data printed on top of it, there is no difference between “mask” and “form” as shown in figure 3-6.

3-4 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

USING VIRTUAL PRINTERS TO SAVE FORMS

Figure 3-6. Variable data merged over the form

In this case, the “Mask” format is recommended because there may be a small increase in performance and a smaller file size.

Note: All files processed by Decomposition Service and stored as print-ready images are generally referred to as “forms.” The word

“form” does not indicate whether the file has been saved using a “mask” or as a “form.”

Example

For the purpose of this example, assume that you want to create a form in the commonly used TIFF/G4 and Mask formats. Enter the following commands in “Administrative” mode using the DocuPrint NPS controller to set up a virtu al printer:

PS-Admin> Create Virtual Printer decomp_mg4 PS-Admin> Change Virtual Printer decomp_mg4 disposition SaveMaskG4

Note: The name of the virtual printer gives a clue to other printer users that it exists for Decomp Service form creation and that it indicates what formats are involved.

Any document that is submitted to this virtual printer (decomp_mg4) will be saved as a form.

Note: You can also use the lpr method of submitting a job to create a form. In the -C field, u se the disposition attribute with one of the values listed earlier. Refer to the Guide to Submitting Jobs from the Client.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 3-5

USING VIRTUAL PRINTERS TO SAVE FORMS

3-6 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

4. 4Forms, variable data files, and

file of files

Many documents have a lot of static content with a smaller amount of variable data. Examples are form letters, invoices, statements, etc. Decomp Service can help make printing these documents more efficient by saving the static content in a print-ready form. Then only the variable data needs to be sent to t he pri nter, along with a means of calling the desired form.

This chapter provides examples of this type of application, and describes how to create the ”form” and the “variable data file”. It also describes how to create a “file of files,” which is used for XMerge and XCat applications.

A master document containing both static and variable data is shown in figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1. Ma ster doc umen t

For example, assume that you want to make at least 10 award certificates. Each one is identical except for three items:

• The name of the company that is being recognized

• The year

• The date.

These three variable items should be provided by a variable data file while the rest should be turned into a template or a form.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 4-1

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

How to create a form

Step 1. Either strip out the variable data or create a document from scratch

The steps in this section provide information on creating a form.

Note: This is one example of the procedure you can use. There are some variations. For example, you can use lpr instead of a virtual printer to create a form. You can use PCL instead of PostScript as the basis for the form.

that does not contain any variable data. A document without variable data is shown in figure 4-2. This document will be the basis for your form.

Figure 4-2. Docum en t without variable data

Step 2. Create a PostScript file from this document by using a PostScript

pri nt driv er.

Note: In Microsoft Word, you may use “P rint To Fi le ” with a PostScript driver.

Step 3. Set up a virtual printer with the desired disposition attribute.

Note: The “Using virtual printers to create forms” chapter covered

virtual printers and various disposition attributes in detail.

An example follows:

PS-Admin>create virtual printer decomp_fg4 PS-Admin>change virtual printer decomp_fg4 disposition saveformG4

4-2 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

Step 4. Use any job submission method to submit the PostSc ript file to the

new virtual printer (“decomp_fg4”). DocuPrint NPS produces a decomposed form and stores it in the “/var/db/forms” directory.

How to create a variable data file

There are several ways to create a variable data file; for example, you can write a PostScript program. The following example involves no programming and uses the Microsoft Word “Mail Merge” feature and an Excel spreadsheet containing names and other data.

Microsoft Word 6.0 Mail Merge example

The following steps show you how to create a variable data file using the Microsoft Word 6.0 Mail Merge feature.

Step 1. Make a copy of the previous document (which does not have any

variable data in it) and insert frames where the incoming variable data should be. A sample document with frames for the variable data is shown in figure 4-3.

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

Figure 4-3. Docum en t with frames for variable data

Next you will use the Microsoft Mail Merge feature to extract variable data from the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet shown in figure 4-4.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 4-3

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

Step 2. Return to your Word document, go to the “Tools” menu, and choose

Figure 4-4. Micro soft Excel spread shee t with variable data

Note: The rating data is not needed in the awards document.

“Mail Merg e.” Wait for the “Mail Merge Helper” to appear.

Step 3. From the “Main Document” select “Create”, choose “Form Letters”,

and pick the “Active Window.”

Step 4. Configure the “Data Source”:

1. Select “Get Data” and choose “Open Data Source...”

2. Change to the proper directory and change “List File of Types” to Microsoft Excel Worksheet “*.xls.”

3. Specify the spreadsheet file name and click “OK.”

4. When asked if this is OK for the “Entire Spreadsheet”, click “OK.”

5. If prompted with “Word found no merge fields in your main document”, choose “Ed it M a in D oc u ment.”

Step 5. Merge the data with the document:

1. Select “Query Options...”

2. In “Filter Records”, set th e firs t field to “Company” and “Comparison” to “is Not Blank” and click “OK.”

Note: This has the effect of reducing the number of records from 377 to 10 valid entries.

The Mail Merge Helper should now basically look like figure 4-5.

4-4 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

Figure 4-5. Mail Merge Helper

Step 6. Close the “Mail Merge Helper” and click inside the frame after the

word “recognize”. On the new “Mail Merge toolbar”, click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Company.” This inserts “<<Company>>” in the frame.

Step 7. Click inside the frame after the first word “in”. Click again on “Insert

Merge Field” and choose “Year.” Then click in the frame after the word “on”, go to the “Insert Merge Field”, choose “Date” and add a period.

Step 8. Finally, format the “<<>>” text inside the frames so that it has the

proper font and size. It should look like figure 4-6.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 4-5

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

Figure 4-6. Text with prope r fo nt a nd siz e fo rm ats

Note: You may also need to change the “Before Paragraph” spacing to align them with the rest of the text.

Step 9. There are two outer frames which contain static data for the

certificate and a ribbon bitmap. Delete them and make the borders for the three inner frames invisible so that it lo ok s like figure 4-7.

Figure 4-7. Three inner frames with invisible borders

Step 10. Execute “Mail Merge” by clicking on the button shown in figure 4-8.

4-6 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

Figure 4-8. Merge button

This button creates a variable data file.

Step 11. When the “Merge” window appears, have it merge to a “New

Document” and click on “Merge.” The resulting file should roughly look like the scaled down pages depicted in figure 4-9.

Figure 4-9. S ca le d down pages

Step 12. Save the file and then create a PostScript file from this document

How to create a file of files

using a PostScript print driver.

Note: In Microsoft Word, you may use “P rint To Fi le ” with a PostScript driver.

The variable data PostScript file can either reside locally on the PC or you may store it on the DocuPrint in “/var/spool/data”.

This variable data file can now be merged with the form that has been stored on your DocuPrint NPS. One way to do this is by using the Background Form capability. Refer to the chapter “Background forms.”

Even though in the example the variable data has only 10 entries, you would perform the same steps even if the data had 100, 1000, or 10,000 entries. By allowing the form to reside on the printer, the documents will print much more quickly than if you merged the form and data on your PC or workstation and then submitted them to the printer.

Two Decom p utilities (“XCat” and “XMerge”) use a “file of files” to specify which forms to use, and their sequence.

Note that they require different syntax for listing file names. XCat does not need paths but XMerge does. A file of files is an ASCII file which is normally denoted with an “.fof” extension. It specifies the order of the forms or jobs that are printed.

DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE 4-7

FORMS, VARIABLE DATA FILES, AND FILE OF FILES

XCat

Step 1. Telnet to the DocuPrint NPS controller, enter the “Wizard” mode, and

PS> Privilege Administrator Administrator password: ******* PS-admin> Wizard Mode Entering Wizard Mode, type exit when finished.

vistrorio% cd /var/spool/data

Step 2. You may do a pattern listing, as shown in the following example:

There are several ways to create a file of files for XCat. If you know the administrative password for your DocuPrint, you can perform the following steps to improve accuracy. Otherwise, you can create one manually using a simple text editor.

change to the “/var/spool/data” directory as the following example shows:

vistrorio% ls -1 tb_*.prn tb_blank.prn tb_corp.prn tb_cover.prn tb_hcrrp.prn tb_tbrp.prn

Note: The -1 switch is the number one and not the lower case letter

“L”, so that each file is separated by a carriage return.

Step 3. Highlight the desired files, go to the “Edit” menu, and invoke “Copy.” Step 4. Now go to a text editor, paste, do minor editing (to rearrange jobs in

the order you want them to appear), and save it with an “.fof” extension. Your file could be named “tb_iediv.fof” which is composed of:

• tb_cover.prn

• tb_corp.prn

• tb_hcrrp.prn

• tb_tbrp.prn

• tb_blank.prn

Caution: A space accidently inserted after a filename can be the source of failure so make certain that there are no extraneous space characters that precede or follow any filename in the list.

4-8 DECOMPOSITION SERVICE AND TOOLS GUIDE

+ 90 hidden pages