President's Message from Jack Fugiel

The evaluations of the speakers have been excellent, and the food and locations have been rated as very good. What we would like you to help us with are ideas on why attendance is low. We know everyone can't attend, because of competing activities, but we would like to know what you think might be the reasons. If we can determine some of the reasons we can work on solutions to increase attendance and membership. We have very good speakers that are respected professionals in our field who bring their knowledge and experience to the group. The topics cover the current hot items in the midrange field and are very informative and educational. What we would really like you to do is take a few minutes to e-mail, fax, or call us and let us know what we can do to motivate you to attend a meeting.

You can be a big help to us if you would do that. Following are some of the reasons the board has discussed that might be the reason for the fluctuation. However, we know the real answer can only come from those of you who haven't attended a meeting in a while. Here are some of the reasons, won't you take a few minutes to send us a note with your thoughts.

• Tuesday is not a good day for me.
• The Tuesday followed a 3 day weekend and I was too busy.
• I wait for specific topics. (Let us know what topics you want!)
• The location was not convenient.
• The dinner meeting format doesn't work for me.

-Jack Fugiel

"JAVA: Hot Stuff or Just Another Cold Cup of Coffee??"

Java ? !Java is the hottest thing in the computing press, but is it the hottest thing in computing? Or is it just another hype for something that's due to fizzle or fail when real programmers use it to solve real problems? We will look at the Java concept, history, language, clients, and servers. A simple Java program will be reviewed and the potential of Java as an application development language will be explored. Java resources are available on the Internet and pertinent URLs will be covered. And then, as though the above were not enough, Carson will boldly predict the future of Java and its impact on the AS/400 and the AS/400 programming community. You won't want to miss this one ...

Tuesday April 15, 199718:00

Tyson's Westpark
8401 Westpark Drive
Tyson's Corner, VA

(Parking is FREE !)

Board Meeting Immediately After !

RSVP (by Friday 4/11) to Peter 703/834-3706
$25.00/member $30.00/non-member

Membership

K B Soni
Systems Management Associates
12023 Blackberry Terrace
North Potomac, Md 20878

Newsletter Deadlines

Upcoming Events

AS/400 Lunch and Learn Teleconference Series

Tuesday, April 8th 12:00 noon EST Confirmation Code 292067
Thursday, April 10th 12:00 noon CST Confirmation Code 292068

Dick Kiscaden, Internet expert from Rochester will give this informative session on the "hot" topic of Intranet and the AS/400. This one should be an eye-opener for finding out the latest in this exciting area. For more info call: 1-800-289-0579

From the Orange County Register

Ring ... Ring ... Ring ...Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline !
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly ...
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 ...
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6 ...
If you are schizophrenic, a little voice will tell you which number to press ...
If you are manic-depressive, it does not matter which number you press; No one will answer ...
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want; Just stay on the line so we can trace your call.

(thanks Peter)

Tip Sheet

Printing Logos

Q: We have a laser printer shared by people in different departments and want to be able to print an invoice from our AS/400 accounting application with a logo on it but still let the rest of the office print their reports on white paper. The documentation for AFP doesn't mention anything about creating logos. If AFP won't let me create logos, is there another technique I can use?

A: Many people don't know that you can use Windows software to create forms overlays for an IBM Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) printer, upload the overlay to the AS/400, and merge it with AS/400 data at print time. You must have connected the PC to the AS/400 using PC Support/400 (PCS/400), Client Access for OS/400 (CA/400) for Windows, or a similar product. I used PCS/400 V2R3 to create forms overlays, following these steps:

1) Configure the IPDS Windows printer driver:
* Before starting Windows, enter STARTFLR from the DOS prompt to start shared folders.
* Still at the DOS prompt, attach the I drive to the QIWSFL2 folder, using shared folders configuration CFGFLR or FSPC.

For example: FSPC ASSIGN I:

QIWSFLR

* Start Windows, then run I:\PCSETUPW.EXE from Program Manager.
* In the PCS Setup dialog box, select the Printer Check box and click on "OK" to install the printer.
* Go to the Control Panel's Printers section to configure the IPDS printer driver that PCS/400 has just created.
* To send Windows output to a file, click on "Connect" and then on "File".
* Click on the "Forms Overlay" check box.
* Click on "Setup" and select the type of printer you'll be using (the 4028 and the LaserJet are 300 dpi, and most IPDS emulation boxes attached to LaserJets emulate the 4028).

2) Configure a virtual printer (optional). If you want to test the forms overlay by printing from the Windows applicatoin to the AS/400 printer, you must configure a virtual printer using PCS/400.

3) Design the forms overlay.
* Use any Windows application that can print to a Windows printer (such as Microsoft Word) to design the overlay.
* If you configured a virtual printer in step 2, use the Printer section of Windows' Control Panel to connect the IPDS printer driver to the virtual printer device. Print the overlay document from the Windows application using the IPDS printer driver, and it will print on the AS/400 printer. Superimpose the overlay document over the AS/400 printout to check the alignment.
* If you didn't configure a virtual printer in step 2, print the overlay document from the Windows application to a PC-attached printer for review.

4) Print to disk.
* Once you're satisfied with the overlay document, print it from the Windows application to a file. (Note: If you connected the IPDS printer driver to a virtual printer in step 2, you must connect it to FILE again, as outlined in step 1.)
* Answer the Output File Name prompt with a filename prefixed with I: to put the printed overlay in the folder. For example: I:INVFORM

Remember to select the IPDS Printer before you print to disk--most users will use this driver only for creating forms overlays, so it probably isn't your default Windows printer.

5) Copy the file to an AS/400 file. * Use the CRTPF (Create Physical File) command to create an AS/400 file to hold the overlay, specifying LVLCHK(*NO). For example: CRTPF

FILE(QTEMP/INVFORM) +

RCDLEN(2048) +

LVLCHK(*NO)
The record length is, in my experience, arbitrary.
* Use the CPYFRMPCD (Copy from PC Document) command to copy the file from the shared folder to the AS/400 file. For example: CPYFROMPCD

FROMFLR(OVERLAYS) +

TOFILE(QTEMP/INVFORM +

FROMDOC(INVFORM) +

TRNTBL(*NONE) +

TRNFMT(*NOTEXT)

6) Convert the file to a printer overlay. Use the CRTOVL (Create Overlay) command to change the AS/400 file to an overlay: CRTOVL

OVL(PRODLIB/INVFORM) +

FILE(QTEMP/INVFORM)

7) Attach the overlay to a print file. Use either the CRTPRTF (Create Print File), CHGPRT (Change Print File) or OVRPRTF (Override with Print File) cammand and the FRONTOVL parameter to attach your new overlay to a print file: CHGPRTF

AP100R +

FRONTOVL(PRODLIB/INVFORM)
Documents printed with this forms overlay will automatically have the forms overlay merged with the output text. The printer you use must be natively attached to the AS/400.

-- Thurman Mayne