Methods for transforming documents

You can use either of these methods to transform AFP documents:

z/OS® UNIX transform commands

z/OS UNIX System Services users can use transform commands to convert documents from AFP format to another format without printing the documents. You can run the transform commands from the z/OS UNIX command line, or you can use the Infoprint Server AOPBATCH program to run them.

You might want to transform documents without printing them in these situations:

• You intend to print a document many times. In this case, it is more efficient to transform the document once and print the output than to transform the document every time you print it.
• You want to present a document on the web as a PDF document.

You can use these transform commands:

afpxpcl

For AFP to PCL

afpxpdf

For AFP to PDF

afpxps

For AFP to PostScript

The input AFP document and the output document can be in an MVS™ data set or in a z/OS UNIX file.

For example, to transform the AFP document myfile.afp to a PostScript document named myfile.ps, enter:

afpxps -o myfile.ps myfile.afp

Printer definitions

The administrator can specify transform filters in printer definitions in the Infoprint Server Printer Inventory. When you do this, Infoprint Server automatically calls the appropriate transform filter before it prints the document or sends it to an email destination. You use this method when you want to transform and print (or send) documents but not save the transformed output.

For example, suppose that the administrator has configured a printer definition named "myprinter" to use the AFP to PCL transform filter. You can use the z/OS UNIX lp command to transform and print an AFP document by using this printer definition. Or, you can transform and print the output of a batch job by using this printer definition. For example:

• To transform and print the AFP document in file myfile.afp, enter this z/OS UNIX command:

  lp -d myprinter myfile.afp

• To transform and print the AFP document created by a batch program, submit this JCL:

  //MYJOB    JOB ... 
  //STEP1    EXEC PGM=USERA 
  //OUTDS1   OUTPUT CLASS=P,FSSDATA='printer=myprinter' 
  //DD1      DD SYSOUT=(,),OUTPUT=*.OUTDS1

  This example assumes that Infoprint Server processes output data sets in output class P for the printer definition myprinter.