CoolSpools

Output Formats

CoolSpools' CVTSPLSTMF command converts iSeries spooled files to a variety of modern industry-standard formatted documents. The formats currently supported are listed below.

Click here for some examples.

Adobe® PDF (Portable Document Format)

Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto standard for electronic document distribution. Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves the fonts and formatting of the source document. PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded from many places on the Internet, including the Adobe site.

Adobe PDF is the ideal format for electronic document distribution because it overcomes the problems commonly encountered in electronic file sharing. If you create a document in PDF format and e-mail it to a customer, so long as the recipient has a copy of the Acrobat reader, you can be confident that they will be able to read and print the document and that it will appear to them just as it did to you when you created it. 

PDF files can be published and distributed anywhere. You can attach them to e-mail, make them available on a corporate server or an Intranet or Extranet, posted on Web sites or circulated on CD-ROM.  

If you want to use CoolSpools to distribute and archive your iSeries reports, PDF is the format to choose.

RTF (Rich Text Format)

If you want to view your reports in a Word Processing application, such as Microsoft® Word  or Lotus ® WordPro, CVTSPLSTMF can convert your spooled files to RTF format.  

RTF (Rich Text Format) is understood and handled by virtually all modern Word Processing programs.

CVTSPLSTMF reproduces fonts and text formatting found in your spooled file in the RTF files it creates from them.

HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language)

If you want to view your reports in a browser, such as Netscape® Navigator or Microsoft ® Internet Explorer, CVTSPLSTMF can convert your spooled files to HTML format. 

HTML is the language in which web pages are written. CVTSPLSTMF supports not one but two HTML styles.  Which of these styles you choose depends on whether you want your text to appear laid out on the screen exactly as it was on the original paper report, or whether you are more interested in ensuring that text attributes such as bold type, fonts and underlining are reflected in the HTML version of the report.

Please note that HTML is not recommended for distributing and archiving your iSeries reports. HTML has certain limitations which makes it impossible to guarantee that a report converted to HTML will appear on screen or print exactly like the original report. For example, there is no means of controlling page throws in HTML. You should choose PDF for applications such as these.

Delimited ASCII Text 

CVTSPLSTMF can also convert your report into a delimited ASCII text file, such as a CSV (comma-separated variable file). This format is ideal for loading reports containing columns of numbers into a spreadsheet, Business Intelligence tool or other application for further manipulation. CVTSPLSTMF can use any field delimiter you like (by default a comma, but also tabs, blanks etc.) and any string separator you specify (by default a double quote “), allowing you to generate files in the precise format required by your PC application.

Excel (™) format

If you specify TOFMT(*XLS), CVTSPLSTMF will create an Excel (™) spreadsheet from your spooled file. CoolSpools will attempt to identify columns in the report using a pattern matching algorithm and will automatically assign text in the spooled file to columns in the spreadsheet.

This is most suitable for spooled files containing columns of text and/or numbers. Options allow you to exclude unwanted lines from your report as it is converted to Excel format (for example, report headings not required in the spreadsheet).

TIFF format

When you specify the TOFMT(*TIFF) option, CVTSPLSTMF generates a TIFF (Tagged Image Format File). This is suitable for viewing in an imaging application such as Wang Image Viewer.

Plain ASCII Text 

CVTSPLSTMF can also simply convert your iSeries spooled file to a basic ASCII text file. This file can then be loaded into virtually any PC application, such as a word processor or spreadsheet.

Please note, however, that when loaded into a spreadsheet, you may need to do additional work to line the text up correctly in columns.

Archive Format

When you specify the TOFMT(*SAV) option, CVTSPLSTMF generates a highly compressed archive file from your spooled file.

This facility allows you to save iSeries resources by removing spooled files from your system. You simply convert the spooled file to a stream file in *SAV format, then delete the original spooled file. If you need to re-print the report, you can restore it from the archive file using the sister command to CVTSPLSTMF, namely CVTSTMSPLF (Convert Spooled File to Stream File).

Stream files in *SAV format can also be attached to e-mails and sent to other iSeries users, who can then restore the spooled file to their own system.