Creating enhanced PDF documents from spool files—including images, barcodes, added text, checkmarks, and encryption—is a simple process with the iPDF open-source package.

Written by Paul Manners

iPDF is a free, open-source toolset developed by Orati Systems Ltd. for the creation of PDF documents from *SCS spool files using iText 2.1.7, an open-source Java library (developed by Bruno Lowagie, Paulo Soares, and others) that allows you to create and manipulate PDF documents.

iPDF is used by thousands of companies and has been incorporated into the MMAIL product created by Giovanni Perotti at easy400.net.

Learn the color printing capabilities that are available "out of the box" on IBM i.

Written by Michael Sansoterra

SNA Character Stream (SCS) printer files produce output that is as exciting as watching grass grow. Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) printer files are better, thanks to features provided by the BARCODE, BOX, COLOR, FONT, and other keywords. But did you know that AFP printer files also allow color elements to be printed on an HP-compatible color laser printer or included automatically in a PDF? This article will address the features the average shop can already utilize without buying anything special.

Download a free tool that will do your job for you fast.

Written by Arpeggio Software

If you've been tasked with putting together a secure FTP process for exchanging files with a partner or a remote location, then this TechTip will save you many days of work. A new, free tool from Arpeggio Software will make it very easy for you to fully automate any sFTP task, with built-in recovery, using only one CL program, and it can be fully implemented in minutes. Best of all, you won't need to worry about PASE and parsing error codes because this solution is all native.

Learn how to set up iSeries Access to create PDF print-screen booklets.

Written by Jan Jorgensen

In December, Sam Lennon wrote a useful TechTip about iSeries Access. It made me remember a problem I had to solve for a customer who wanted to do some printing but did not want to spend a lot of money having me create a program.

The customer wanted to have some "print screens" of a subfile list from iSeries Access. He wanted multiple copies, and he wanted to export them to some kind of office package. The solution needed to be easy for the user, and it needed to be inexpensive (downright cheap actually), but besides that, he had no real demands.

IBM's free Lotus Symphony office suite makes a case for a nice, lightweight office program to replace, or use in conjunction with, OpenOffice and Microsoft Office.

Written by Max Hetrick

IBM has been around the document-processing field for a very long time. Almost everyone has heard of, or even used at one time, the IBM Lotus SmartSuite or Lotus Notes programs. Lotus was acquired by IBM in the mid to late 1990s and has grown into a pretty common business office platform.

Reduce your company's impact on the environment with ESEND report distribution.

Written by Floyd Del Muro

Paper, paper everywhere! Managing the paper generated by the System i has always been a challenge. Typically, that task falls on the person responsible for manually collating and distributing report segments and other printed output. Over time, companies have tried different ways to route printed output—from creating a broader set of output queues to using processes that automatically fax reports. Some of these approaches still exist and even have their place in certain situations. Unfortunately, these types of solutions don't address the demands placed on IT departments today.

Pdf995 is a quick, easy way to generate PDFs. And did I mention it's free?

Written by Laura A. Ubelhor

PDF has become a standard document format. If you need a quick and easy way to create PDFs, give Pdf995 a try. You can't beat the price! You can download and use the software for free!

Online reporting can save you when an end user calls.

Written by Tom Huntington

Do you have thousands of business reports on your output queues? Has a user ever called and asked where his report was? Have you, or has someone on your team, ever deleted a report from an output queue by accident? Did an auditor ever ask you for a report that you could not find in the output queue or the filing cabinet?