RPM SNA Character Set (SCS) Transform

Thu, 06/13/2024 - 13:51 By Dave Brooks

What it does

Converts SNA Character Set (SCS) files, typically System i spooled files (iSeries, AS/400, etc.) to text markup

Purpose

RPM has translated SCS since the early versions. Whenever we mention to an iSeries user that RPM does this, the comment we usually get is "that makes sense". 

By translating SCS into text markup you can, with 2 or 3 steps, produce:

  • Windows print
  • PDF
  • PCL for an HP printer
  • email message
  • plain text

Please see our iSeries support page for more ideas.SCS to Text Markup

Setup

With most formats, the setup will determine your end results. It's different with SCS. Here, the file itself might override anything you set below ... or it might not. We recommend that you specify the minimum settings you need, with the caveat that the original designer of the print job, in this case, has the last word.

  • Page Margins Select the size (in inches) of the top, bottom, left, and right margins.
  • Use Lines per inch When selected, the vertical size of the font will be scaled to print only the configured number of lines per inch.
    Note: Use the following formula to calculate lines per inch. LPI = Lines / (Paper Height - (left margin + right margin))
  • Fit lines per page When selected, the font size will be scaled to fit the configured number of lines on the page.
  • Use Characters per inch When selected, the horizontal size of the font will be scaled to print the configured number of characters per inch.
    Note: Use the following formula to calculate characters per inch. CPI = Characters / (Paper Width - (left margin + right margin))
  • Fit columns per line When selected, the font size will be scaled to fit the configured number of characters horizontally on the page.
  • Select Font Click the Font button to set the initial font to be used when printing. SCS can change the font face and size during the course of printing.
  • EBCDIC codepage Default EBCDIC encoding used on the AS/400 host.
  • Orientation Specifies the orientation to be used during output.
  • Wrap lines Add line breaks if a line does not fit within the printable width of the paper. If not selected, long lines will be truncated.
  • Remove control characters Non-whitespace characters with an ASCII value less than 0x19 will be removed.
  • Suppress blank pages If the document has any blank pages, they will not be printed. You may want this option turned off if you are printing duplex documents.