Re: Need suggestions for automating spool files to imaging input file

[Brad Jensen <brad@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Diana Hicks" <DianaH@jupiter.fl.us>
To: "'Midrange-L submission'" <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2002 8:26 AM
Subject: Need suggestions for automating spool files to imaging input file


> We will be implementing the OnBase COLD imaging module in a few months.
We
> would like to automate the transfer of certain AS/400 spool files to input
> into the OnBase system (located on a separate NT server) as an ASCII text
> file.  We'd prefer not to have any user intervention for this process.
> All suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

With our spool file COLD system (we also have imaging) you control the PC
process from the CL side. (You can do the smae from UNIX/AIX/LINUX also).

Our competitor, Metafile sends remote commands to the AS/400 thru Client
Access (to the best of my knowledge) to select and download reports.

There are several other COLD/Image products that do one or the other of
these.

OnBase is a nice product, but with all the COLD/Imaging systems that are
well-integrated into the mdirange environment, I wonder why your management
chose one that isn't. (I don't mean to whine.....)

Something you might try is to use LPR to print the files to the PC. You run
LPD on the PC as a print server.

However, this won't name the files with any correspondence to the AS/400
job, userdata, or print file names. Some COLD systems have an autorecognize
feature that identifies print files by reading them for titles, format, etc.

It would be nice if IBM would enhance their LPR to pass all the spool
attributes thru as additional fields, or even encoded in the printq name.
you can do this yourself if you write CL to do it, but you have to run the
CL for each spool file.

(I'd be glad for somebody to prove me wrong on this, I have my own LPD I can
modify to capture those parameters.)

In our own system, we have LVSNDOUTQ to select multiple files, and LVSNDSPL
to send a specific file, and we pass thru the file identifier in FTP or LPD.
Unfortunately these are integrated into our COLD/Image system, and our 5
user price is 12.5 K installed.  I could see a 5K price for the
select/download/name only product, but I can't sell things cheaper than
that, it costs too much. I realize other people do sell tools and twiddles
in the 400 market at cheaper prices, but I can't do this and maintain decent
service.

For us, as with many non-verticle software products, the biggest cost is in
marketing and sales of the product, not the development or support.

Brad Jensen
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