June 29, 2003 - Reading time: 3 minutes

Great Falls Public Schools project

About Great Falls Public Schools
Great Falls Public Schools is a K-12 education school district in Great Falls, Montana. We have over 11,000 students. Our business system is an HP3000 mini-computer.

The problem
We produce many paper reports for our employees and were looking for a way to cut down on our paper consumption. We also had an archival issue in that keeping large paper reports was cumbersome and ineffective.

Why txt2pdf PRO?
Txt2pdfPRO was chosen as it was available for the HP3000 (read Installing txt2pdf on 3000) and we were able to incorperate a process to convert our paper reports into usable PDF documents that we could ftp or e-mail for use. We created a process that we could have the reports generated and ftp'd to a server to the appropriate location for the responsible user. The PDF generation is achieved by selecting the PDF print device as the destination device. We then have a process that checks that device for output and converts it to PDF files and transfers it to the server. This also allows us to copy the PDF documents to CD for archival purposes. End result is a much more effective process that requires minimal paper.
We were able to simulate green bar 8.5 x 14 inch line printer paper for our reports as well as dealing with the form feed issue on the 3000.

Summary
Benefits derived from this project:

• Printing less paper with faster turn around (PDF faster than printing).
• Can archive PDF documents vs having reams of paper for archival.
• Significant paper and ribbon savings.
• Large reports are now cataloged and full-text searchable.

This is a sample report output

Author
This synopsis was compiled by:
Bob McGregor
Great Falls Public Schools

June 6, 2003 - Reading time: 2 minutes

Mosecker is a reseller of sanitary, heating, steel and kitchen products in Germany.
Our main software (SanGross by SHD) is running under Digital OpenVMS. With txt2pdf PRO we were able to send offers and other papers to our customers via EMail (with PDF-attachment). Usually we send these documents via fax. But we think, sending them via EMail is not so expensive. In the next few weeks i will change our software to send invoices to out customers and to send orders to other firms.

View a PDF example offer

Here a project we made using txt2pdf PRO:
We developed a intranet-system, which is used by our sales personal (from home or from office). The system is HTML based and completely written in Cache Object Script code.
At some pages (5 at the moment) the user is able to view sales statistics for the last 3 years. The results are displayed in HTML tables. Here now is the point, where TXT2PDF Pro helps us. The collected data may be downloaded (with a simple click on a button) into a file. At the download window the user may choose between CSV-format, TXT-format or PDF-format. The CSV and TXT files are "handmade", the PDF file results of the TXT file.
At the next step (comming in the next few weeks) our users will be able to (re)-print costumer-invoices directly to PDF-format. Here will TXT2PDF Pro convert the stored TXT-data to PDF files "on the fly".

May 12, 2003 - Reading time: ~1 minute

Union Distributing Company has been a Fuel and Lubricants distributor in Phoenix Arizona since 1986. Hundreds of customer orders are printed everyday.
When the delivery of product is made, the order is confirmed and an Invoice is printed.
Many invoices are faxed rather than printed.
Union Distributing needed a form that would look good and be versatile.
It needed to be able to be printed, faxed, mailed and now e-mailed.
The custom accounting system is on a Unix platform running SCO OpenServer 5.
We needed a way to generate this form and overlay the data and then print to our high speed copier for dispatch.
When confirming the invoice, we needed a universal format in which to email.
We knew we could use Adobe Acrobat PDF files.
But how would we create them from our Unix server?
That's where txt2pdf PRO comes in.
With the txt2pdf PRO program we have been able to output not only our orders and invoices to PDF, but now all of our reports can be printed to disk and stored in PDF format for later review.

January 15, 2003 - Reading time: 3 minutes

Banco Central del Uruguay project

El Banco Central del Uruguay is engaged in various efforts to discontinue the generation and conveyance of physical documents replacing them, as far as practicable, with digital documents being sent by e-mail. For that purpose, and to avoid disturbing changes or possible rejections by the individuals involved, we have sought to substitute the physical documents and related procedures by digital versions designed after their own "image and likeness" (realistic pictures of documents and procedures formerly used.)

In order to automate the delivery of personnel salary receipts previously issued on pre-printed sheets showing a photograph of the bank´s building site, it was conceived the generation of graphic format documents easily readable via an Internet navigator or by an e-mail customer. The automatic generation of these documents implies the superposition of two layers, the one with the building´s photograph and the other with variable data corresponding to each officer´s earnings and discounts per month.

Upon checking out with local companies and exploring the industry via Internet, the product txt2pdf PRO was reached solving the problem in a prompt and effective manner.

An example of a personal salary recipt.

El Banco Central del Uruguay está realizando diversos esfuerzos a fin de suprimir la generación y el traslado de documentos físicos, sustituyéndolos en lo posible por documentos digitales que se distribuyen mediante correo electrónico (e-mail). A los efectos, y a fin de evitar cambios traumáticos o eventuales rechazos por parte de las personas involucradas, se ha buscado sustituir los documentos físicos y los procedimientos asociados a ellos por versiones digitales diseñadas a "imagen y semejanza" de los documentos y procedimientos que los antecedieron.

A efectos de automatizar el envío de las liquidaciones de sueldos de los funcionarios que se distribuían en hojas preimpresas con la fotografía del edificio sede del Instituto, se ideó la generación de documentos en formato gráfico de fácil lectura mediante un navegador de internet o un cliente de correo electrónico. La generación automática de estos documentos supone la superposición de dos capas, una con la fotografía del edificio sede y otra con los datos variables que corresponden a haberes y descuentos de cada mes y cada funcionario.

Una búsqueda que abarcó consultas a empresas de nuestro medio y exploración de la industria a través de internet, condujo al producto txt2pdf PRO que permitió solucionar el problema en una forma rápida y eficaz.

Ejemplo de recibo de sueldo

November 15, 2002 - Reading time: 3 minutes

Cuando vimos la posibilidad de poder mezclar la información tomada de las Bases de Datos en Pick con gráficos y semigráficos para poder generar un documento en PDF, empezamos una nueva etapa en la generación de informes. Estos son los procesos que hemos modificado utilizando el programa txt2pdf PRO de Sanface Software:

• Generar facturas, albaranes y pedidos de clientes en formato PDF.
  Siempre hemos tenido problemas con los pre-impresos de facturas y albaranes. Para que tengan un coste más economico habia que imprimir miles de copias, con la consiguiente dependencia de no poder añadir o quitar determinados campos que pasan a ser necesarios o dejan de serlo. En estos momentos, el programador, es capaz de añadir nuevos campos en la impresión o crear un nuevo impreso en pocas horas de trabajo.
  Actualmente, las impresoras se cargan con folios en blanco, donde se imprime la información necesaria en cada caso. Esto nos ha permitido centralizar las impresoras (de 6 impresoras matriciales a 2 impresoras laser).
• Mandar por fax los pedidos a proveedor.
  Al ser esta una empresa de fabricación, el número de peticiones a proveedores es muy elevado, siendo uno de los procesos que más tiempo lleva en dedicación al departamento de compras el de la impresión y envio por fax de las peticiones a proveedores.
  Utilizando el programa de Sanface hemos montado el siguiente proceso:
  • Se genera el documento PDF.
  • Se convierte a Postscript utilizando la utilidad de Linux pdf2ps
  • Se envia por fax utilizando el programa Hylafax.
• Guardar en formato PDF los datos contables (Balances, Extractos de cuenta y libros oficiales de Contabilidad).
  Otro de los procesos que hemos conseguido mejorar con este programa es el almacenamiento de la información contable de la empresa de periodos anteriores; consiguiendo además un elevado ahorro en papel y costes de impresión, además de mejorar la búsqueda de información.
  La ley obliga a tener una copia impresa de la información contable de la empresa. Pues bien, en vez de imprimirla en papel, la imprimimos en PDF guardando la información separada, para una posible consulta, en CD-ROM.
• Además de estos procesos, anteriormente comentados, hemos modificado la aplicación desarrollada sobre PICK para permitir que cualquier listado que se pueda imprimir sobre impresora tenga la posibilidad de guardarse en formato PDF, para su posterior revisión en pantalla, o su envio por e-mail o fax directamente desde el ordenador, con el consiguiente ahorro de tiempo, papel o impresora.

Miguel Angel Arribas
apicknet.com