IBM Facsimile Support for IBM i

Q1: What are the recent IBM announcements which may affect those using Facsimile Support for iSeries (5798-FAX)?

In the April 2010 software announcement (Announcement letter 210-083), the IBM Facsimile for Support for i product is updated to V5R7M0 for i 6.1 and i 7.1.

In the June 4, 2002 hardware announcement (Announcement letter 102-157), support for the fax functions of the #2761/#4761 PCI integrated analog modem was withdrawn. V5R2 is the last supported release for the fax functions of the #2761/#4761. The replacement card is the #2805/#2806 PCI Quad Modem IOA.

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Q2: What fax hardware is available for use with Facsimile Support and what sort of capability does it have?

See Available Fax Devices.

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Q3: What are the impacts of using Host Print Transform (HPT) for the rasterization process?

Since the operating system is performing the rasterization, the system processor will be heavily used for the short period of time it takes to convert a document page to a bit image. Depending on the system configuration and load, some users may notice this additional work. Also, HPT will not rasterize a document that was created as an SCS spooled file with an overlay. This can be fixed by changing the spooled file to an AFPDS spooled file.

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Q4: How does one change an SCS-generated document to an AFPDS-generated document? and why?

SCS is the text-only printer data stream generated by IBM i (SNA Character String) and AFPDS is the full function rich printer data stream generated by IBM i (Advanced Function Print Data Stream). If the application builds an SCS document but specifies an overlay (FRONTOVL or BACKOVL) in the printer file, you must make changes so that the document is generated as AFPDS. Host Print Transforms (HPT) will not process overlays in an SCS document. If the application generates the SCS data stream with embedded images, HPT will convert the file for usage over fax and it is not necessary to make changes.

The type of data stream that an application produces is determined by the DEVTYPE parameter of the printer file associated with the application. Every IBM i job has a printer file regardless of whether the appearance of the printed output is formatted internally by the application program ("program-described" output) or described by Data Description Specifications (DDS) ("externally-described" output). The printer file provides page defaults such as margins, line spacing, and overflow. The printer file also provides printer and queue options such as printer device, file type, and spooled file save. It provides page composition, such as front and back overlays and page and form definitions. Generally, these parameters apply to the entire job or spooled file.

To change an SCS-generated document to an AFPDS-generated document, change the DEVTYPE parameter in the printer file from SCS to AFPDS using the CHGPRTF or OVRPRTF commands. Normally, you should change the printer file used by the application. If the application uses the system default print file and then issues an OVRPRTF within the application, you can run CHGPRTF to change the default print file before running the application. Some management of spooled files may be required, as all files generated after running CHGPRTF would be generated as AFPDS.
 

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Q5: Are there other limitations of Host Print Transform (HPT) provided support?

There are other limitations but they will not affect most applications, especially fax applications. HPT will not accept documents that contain graphics commands in them (e.g., a command that tells a printer to draw an ellipse rather than containing an image of an ellipse), HPT will not do 2UP and 4UP (2UP is when two pages of print are reduced to fit on one page of paper, similarly for 4UP), and HPT will not support the CHRSIZ DDS or printer file keyword (generates giant sized letters). Font substitution may occur, depending on the fonts available on the system. A good reference about font substitution is the Redbook "IBM AS/400 Printing V" ( SG24-2160).

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Q6: What PTFs are needed for IBM Facsimile Support for i?

See PTFs for IBM Facsimile Support for i (FAX/400).

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Q7: How do I decide whether to use IBM Facsimile Support for i or IBM Integrated Domino Fax for i (5733-FXD)? Is it possible to use both products?

See Domino Fax Frequently Asked Questions.

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