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FormSprint 202201

FormSprint is celebrating 30 years with the most comprehensive update to our document management software!

The first version of FormSprint was released thirty years ago in 1992; to celebrate, we are releasing our biggest update ever as version 202201! The new version of FormSprint adds and updates web interfaces to make working with your documents and spool files easier than ever. In addition to the web interfaces, the core FormSprint software has smaller but important changes to improve performance and the already legendary reliability of our software. Power Email and Power PDF both include improvements that give you more power and improved performance. Web Archive Interface and Signature Manager Enterprise both get completely new interfaces and add many new features. The new Print Viewer and web form transfer are included with no charge for users with current software support.

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Print Viewer

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When the pandemic first started, we were looking for ways to help our users work from home. We received many questions about being able to view documents and spool files without having a printer at home. We worked together with some of these users to develop Print Viewer. This new web interface lets users view the FormSprint output spool files directly from a web page served up by their IBM i system. Since we first sent Print Viewer out to some users, we have continued the development to turn it into a powerful way to view print and work with your IBM i spool files and documents. 

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Web Form Transfer

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If you have had trouble getting to your forms that you have exported to ICSTRANS, you will love this web interface. With this new application, you will be able to go to a webpage served up by your IBM i system and search for your forms and graphics to import or export from or to your system. When the form is exported, it will download like a file from any other webpage, you do not need to worry about connecting to the IFS or QDLS.

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If you are the type of user who has wished that you could rename a form while importing, the web form transfer is the answer. When you import a form that already exists on your system, you will be able to rename the form that you are importing, rename the form on your system, or replace the existing form. Renaming forms is not a big change, but it is one of our favorites. 

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Web Archive Interface

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The Web Archive Interface (WAI) contains the most changes of any FormSprint module. The new version gives users a modern intuitive way to find documents. The WAI has added a lot of functionality, but the most important change might be the increased speed when searching for documents. The search algorithm in WAI 202201 has been completely rewritten, making it exponentially faster when searching. Below you can find a list of new features, but seeing the change is the best way to understand how far the application has come. We wanted to let users continue with the existing familiar interface while testing the new features, so WAI 202201 can be installed alongside your existing Web Archive Interface. 

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Web Archive 202201 New Features

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  • Add PDF files created outside of FormSprint to an archive database

  • Add notes, marked with user, date and time to any document 

  • Admin page to make changes to the archive databases

  • Add an alias to any archive database name or parameter

  • Set an archive parameter to date format to allow users to search by date range

  • Admin control to allow PDF files to be uploaded

  • Set required parameters for uploaded PDF files

  • Group and download search results as a zip file

  • Group documents into a single PDF file

  • Group and email documents

  • Select a large group of documents to output to an IFS folder in batch 

  • Sort chronologically or by any of the search parameters

  • Answer Signature Manager questions (SME license required) see below for details


Power PDF (PPDF) Updates

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In addition to adding new features, Power PDF (PPDF) has improved performance and fixes problems with some PDF viewers that do not fully implement the PDF specification. Also, if you are not familiar with the ability to print from FormSprint with a PDF print driver, this is an easy way to use existing jpeg files when printing. One of the new features of PPDF 202201 is the ability to choose the form type on the output spool file with the PDF Print Driver.

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The change with PPDF 202201 that we have been the most excited about, is the ability to call a program after a PDF file is generated. If you need a program to run as soon as a PDF file is created, PPDF now lets you run a command after it has created the PDF file. There is no longer a need to add an arbitrary length delay to a program to wait for the PDF, let PPDF call the program for you.

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Power Email (PEM) Updates

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When a form calls for a CC address on an email, FormSprint used to just send another email with the CC as the primary address, so recipients could not see the full list of recipients. PEM 202201 now sends CC addresses as true CCs, so everyone on the email can see who received it. The email log has also been greatly improved with much more efficient status updating, but a larger rewrite of this module is coming soon in a future release.

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Signature Manager Enterprise (SME) Updates

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SME 202201 will continue to work with the existing app that you are already using today, but there is a new app in the app store which will give you the ability to run on an iPhone and not just an iPad. The new version has a completely new, more modern look and also adds some features. The new app lets users collect some information ahead of time, so answers to questions can be added first and then a group of documents with different answers can be signed once by a customer.

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In addition to running on the iPhone, you will be able to answer questions in SME from any web enabled device if you also own the Web Archive Interface. For now, signatures cannot be collected from the webpage, but any other data that you are asking for, can be. If you are using Signature Manager for an approval process, you can have users fill out information from a computer and submit it to move the process along.

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Version 202202

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It has been three years since the last major update, but there was a little bit of a worldwide distraction during that time. We plan on producing at least one more version of FormSprint this year, and possibly more. We want to hear what our users want in FormSprint 202202, a web interface to the Batch Job Controller, Forms Editor or email log? A better way to create CSV files from spool files? The ability to run an SQL script to pull data from a file during form processing? We really want to know what you think, so please reach out! 

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THANK YOU!

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Thank you for continuing to trust FormSprint with managing your documents! FormSprint users are great, and we appreciate you! Our goal is to innovate, grow and support our software to help you and make your life easier. Enjoy the 30th anniversary edition, FormSprint 202201!

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