File Transfer between FP application & AnzioWin

[Bob Rasmussen]

On Fri, 16 Mar 2007, Scott Walker wrote:

> I've done a modification to my software that allows it to work with
> AnzioWin & transfer files from the Windows workstation to the Linux/Unix
> server & "attach" the files to an order or quote.  These can be any type
> of files (word documents, spreadsheets, pdf's, etc.)  It really doesn't
> matter what type of files they are because the fp application really is
> just keeping them "on file".  If the user wants to do anything with
> them, they can be easily downloaded to the pc.
> ... 
> 
> http://RAMSystemsCorp.com/RAMS_File_Manager_Demo

Scott,

Thanks for the plug, and your demo looks great!

(What Scott is doing here is issuing AnzioWin commands to transfer files. 
In his case, he's using FTP as the transfer protocol. It would also be 
possible to do SFTP, Zmodem, or Kermit.)

I have some suggestions for you or anyone else wishing to implement 
something like this. I don't want to detract from what you've done, of 
course, but looking ahead to version 2.0:

1. In Anzio's Transfer menu, turn on "Receive quiet", which is admittedly 
misnamed. Then the Anzio commands that are sent down from the server 
should not display on the screen.

2. You could add an option to download-and-open, or you might want to 
simply call it "view". After sending the file down, send Anzio a WINSTART 
command with the filename. A DOC will open in Word, an XLS will open in 
PowerPoint, etc., just as if you had done an Open from Windows Explorer.

3. Similarly, you could do a download-and-print, using AnzioWin's WINPRINT 
command.

4. You might also want to provide an ability to print ALL the files 
associated with a host record. We are getting this request from some 
customers of our (freestanding) Print Wizard package, and are developing a 
concept of a "print manifest", which is nothing more than a list of files. 
Printing the manifest means printing all the listed files. We're working 
on techniques in Windows to ensure that these print IN ORDER, which is 
proving to be a challenge. 

5. AnzioWin also has an interface to the scanner, using the 
pseudo-filename "SCAN://". You could easily integrate a scan-and-upload 
capability. We allow options on the filename to specify scanning 
parameters, such as density, color vs. B&W vs. grayscale, portion of the 
page, etc. We even have logic to de-duplex 2-sided originals.

6. AnzioWin can print certain files itself, including plain text, PCL, 
BMP, GIF, JPG, TIF, WMF, EMF, and SPL. It can also make PDFs out of these.

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
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