Working with sample AFP files

You can use AFP Visual Environment to enhance a sample AFP file.

The sample AFP file should be representative of production AFP files.You can then run an AFP Visual Environment command to make the same enhancements to production AFP files.

To enhance a sample AFP file, first you convert any line data to Mixed Object Document Content Architecture for Presentation (MO:DCA-P) format. Then you start the user interface and open the sample AFP file. You can choose to create a new AFP Visual Environment control file or update an existing control file. If necessary, you must specify the AFP resource directories to AFP Visual Environment, and create custom font-mapping files.

In this section:

  1. Converting line data to MO:DCA-P in sample AFP files
    If the sample AFP file contains line data, you must convert the data stream to Mixed Object Document Content Architecture for Presentation (MO:DCA-P) format.
  2. Installing AFP Visual Environment
    Install AFP Visual Environment to display and define enhancements for sample AFP files that represent your production AFP files.
  3. Displaying sample AFP files
    You can open a sample AFP file in AFP Visual Environment. The sample AFP file must be representative of production AFP files that you want to enhance in the same way as the sample file.
  4. Creating and updating control files
    When you open a sample AFP file to enhance it, AFP Visual Environment can either create a control file or update a control file that you created previously. The control file contains definitions that tell how to enhance production AFP files that are similar to the sample AFP file.
  5. Identifying AFP resource directories
    If the sample AFP file refers to AFP resources (fonts, page segments, and overlays) that are not located inline, identify the resource directories that contain the resources so that AFP Visual Environment can display the sample AFP file correctly.
  6. Mapping fonts for AFP files
    If AFP Visual Environment does not display a custom AFP font correctly in the sample AFP file, you can map the font to a comparable Java font of the same point size and style, and you can change how particular code points map to Unicode code points.
  7. Enabling object selection in sample AFP files
    You can change which AFP objects (text, overlays, page segments, barcodes, images) are selectable in the sample AFP file that is currently open.
  8. Showing page information in sample AFP files
    You can show the names of AFP resources (fonts, page segments, and overlays) that the current page in the AFP file refers to and sheet information for the currently displayed AFP page. For each resource, you can see whether AFP Visual Environment found the resource and where the resource was found.
  9. Specifying a form definition
    You can specify whether AFP Visual Environment displays the AFP file with a form definition. You can use an inline form definition or a default form definition from a specified directory.
  10. Checking enhancements to sample AFP files
    You can save an output AFP file that contains the enhancements you made to the sample AFP file. This is useful if you want to check that the enhancements were made properly before making the same enhancements to production AFP files.
  11. Configuring and running a set of filters
    You can configure and run a set of filters, in a specific order, to process large AFP files quickly and efficiently.
Parent topic: AFP Visual Environment User's Guide