Document revision date: 19 July 1999

Text Output Converter

The Text output converter converts the intermediate representation of the input file to a Text output file. The following list summarizes the data mapping and conversion restrictions relevant to the Text output converter.

• Data mapping
  All Latin1 text in the intermediate representation of the input file is converted to the text output file.
  When converting an input file to a text output file, you should be aware that text output files can contain only textual content and minimal formatting such as line feeds, page breaks, and tabs. The Text output converter preserves formatting information to the extent possible. Page coordinates convert to the nearest character cell (line,column) position.
• Conversion restrictions
  All graphics, images, and text attributes in the intermediate representation of the input file are lost when converted to the text output file.
  Because a monospace font is used, it is possible some text may be lost due to overwriting to preserve the layout. It is also possible that lines can be truncated if the specified page width is smaller than the page width specified in the document's format information. Neither of these cases occur when you use the OVERRIDE_FORMAT processing option because, in that case, the document's format information is ignored.

PostScript Output Converter

The PostScript output converter converts the intermediate representation of the input file to a PostScript output file. The following list summarizes the data mapping and conversion restrictions relevant to the PostScript output converter.

• Data mapping
  The information in the intermediate representation of the input file maps directly to the PostScript output file.
• Conversion restrictions
  The intermediate representation of the input file does not lose any information when converted to the PostScript output file.

/MESSAGE_FILE=filespec

/NOMESSAGE_FILE (default)

/OPTIONS=options-filename

Creating the Options File

You can create an options file prior to specifying the CONVERT/DOCUMENT command with the /OPTIONS qualifier. An options file is a text file with a default file type of .CDA$OPTIONS on the operating system.

The options file contains all the processing options for your input file format and your output file format. Processing options help ensure minimal changes when your input file is converted to a different output file format.

An options file is not required. Default processing options are applied automatically when you convert a file. However, you may require an options file if you need to use other than the default settings.

Use the following guidelines to create an options file:

• Begin each line of the options file with the keyword for the input or output format, followed by one or more spaces or tabs, or by a slash (/).
  For some file formats, such as DDIF and DTIF, there is an input converter and an output converter. You can restrict a processing option to only the input format or the output format by following the format keyword with _INPUT or _OUTPUT.
• Specify only one processing option on each line when there are several options for the same input or output format.
• Use uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters, digits (0-9), dollar signs ($), and underscores (_) to specify the processing options.
• Use one or more spaces or tabs to precede values specified for a processing option.

The following example is a typical entry in an options file:

PS PAPER_HEIGHT 10

In this example, the extension _OUTPUT is not required for the format keyword, since PostScript is available only as an output format. The value specified for PAPER_HEIGHT is in inches by default.

If the options file includes options that do not apply to the converters for a particular conversion, those options are ignored.

If you specify an invalid option for an input or output format or an invalid value for an option, you receive an error message. The processing options described in the following sections document any restrictions.

Processing Options for Analysis Output

The Analysis output converter supports the following options:

• COMMENT DEFAULT_VALUES
  Inserts a comment character (!) at the beginning of lines generated by default values. (The comment prefix is also included on associated aggregate brackets and array parentheses where they may apply.)

• COMMENT INHERITED_VALUES
  Inserts a comment character (!) at the beginning of lines generated by inherited values. (The comment prefix is also included on associated aggregate brackets and array parentheses where they may apply.)
• TRANSLATE_BYTE_STRINGS
  Overrides the default. For data of type BYTE STRING, the analysis output no longer displays the hexadecimal translation if all the characters in the byte string are printable characters (hex values 20 through 7E). This feature may be overridden by supplying the TRANSLATE_BYTE_STRINGS option.
• IMAGE_DATA
  Overrides the default. For the special case of byte string data for item DDIF$_IDU_PLANE_DATA (a bitmapped image), the analysis output previously included both a hexadecimal and an ASCII translation display, neither of which were of particular value to most users. With the new version, both displays will be replaced with the following comment:

  ! *** Bit-mapped data not displayed here ***

  
  To retain the hexadecimal display, supply the IMAGE_DATA option. Even with this option turned on, there will be no translation into ASCII.

• INHERITANCE
  Specifies that the analysis is shown with attribute inheritance enabled. Inherited attributes are marked as "[Inherited value.]" in the output. This option also causes external references to be imported into the main document.

Processing Options for Text Output

The Text output converter supports the following options:

• ASCII_FALLBACK [ON,OFF]
  Causes the Text output converter to output text in 7-bit ASCII. The fallback representation of the characters is described in the ASCII standard. If this option is not specified, the default is OFF; if this option is specified without a value, the default is ON.
• CONTENT_MESSAGES [ON,OFF]
  Causes the Text output converter to put a message in the output file each time a nontext element is encountered in the intermediate representation of the input file. If this option is not specified, the default is OFF; if this option is specified without a value, the default is ON.
• HEIGHT value
  Specifies the maximum number of lines per page in your text output file. If you specify zero, the number of lines per page will correspond to the height specified in your document. If you also specify OVERRIDE_FORMAT, or if the document has no inherent page size, the document is formatted to the height value specified by this option. The default height is 66 lines.
• OVERRIDE_FORMAT [ON,OFF]
  Causes the Text output converter to ignore the document formatting information included in your document, so that the text is formatted in a single large galley per page that corresponds to the size of the page as specified by the HEIGHT and WIDTH processing options. If this option is not specified, the default is OFF; if this option is specified without a value, the default is ON.
• SOFT_DIRECTIVES [ON,OFF]
  Causes the Text output converter to obey the soft directives contained in the document when creating your text output file. If this option is not specified, the default is OFF; if this option is specified without a value, the default is ON.
• WIDTH value
  Specifies the maximum number of columns of characters per page in your text output file. If you specify zero, the number of columns per page will correspond to the width specified in your document. If you also specify OVERRIDE_FORMAT, or if the document has no inherent page size, the document is formatted to the value specified by this processing option. If any lines of text exceed this width value, the additional columns are truncated. The default width is 80 characters.

PostScript Output Converter

The PostScript output converter supports the following options:

• PAPER_SIZE size
  Specifies the size of the paper to be used when formatting the resulting PostScript output file. Valid values for the size argument are as follows:

  Keyword	Size
  A0	841 x 1189 millimeters (33.13 x 46.85 inches)
  A1	594 x 841 millimeters (23.40 x 33.13 inches)
  A2	420 x 594 millimeters (16.55 x 23.40 inches)
  A3	297 x 420 millimeters (11.70 x 16.55 inches)
  A4	210 x 297 millimeters (8.27 x 11.70 inches)
  A	8.5 x 11 inches
  B	11 x 17 inches
  C	17 x 22 inches
  D	22 x 34 inches
  E	34 x 44 inches
  LEDGER	11 x 17 inches
  LEGAL	8.5 x 14 inches
  LETTER	8.5 x 11 inches
  LP	13.7 x 11 inches
  VT	8 x 5 inches

  
  The A paper size (8.5 x 11 inches) is the default.
• PAPER_HEIGHT height
  Specifies a paper size other than one of the predefined values provided. The default paper height is 11 inches.
• PAPER_WIDTH width
  Specifies a paper size other than one of the predefined sizes provided. The default paper width is 8.5 inches.
• PAPER_TOP_MARGIN top-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided at the top of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_BOTTOM_MARGIN bottom-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided at the bottom of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_LEFT_MARGIN left-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided on the left-hand side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_RIGHT_MARGIN right-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided on the right-hand side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_ORIENTATION orientation
  Specifies the paper orientation to be used in the output PostScript file. The valid values for the orientation argument are as follows:

  Keyword	Meaning
  PORTRAIT	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is parallel to the vertical axis.
  LANDSCAPE	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is parallel to the horizontal axis.

  
  The default is PORTRAIT.
• EIGHT_BIT_OUTPUT [ON,OFF]
  Specifies whether the PostScript output converter should use 8-bit output. The default value is ON.
• LAYOUT [ON,OFF]
  Specifies whether the PostScript output converter processes the layout specified in the DDIF document. The default value is ON.
• OUTPUT_BUFFER_SIZE output-buffer-size
  Specifies the size of the output buffer. The value you specify must be within the range 64 to 256. The default value is 132.
• PAGE_WRAP [ON,OFF]
  Specifies whether the PostScript output converter performs page wrapping of any text that would exceed the bottom margin. The default value is ON.
• SOFT_DIRECTIVES [ON,OFF]
  Specifies whether the PostScript output converter processes soft directives in the DDIF file in order to format output. (Soft directives specify such formatting commands as new line, new page, and tab.) If the PostScript output converter processes soft directives, the output file will look more like you intended. The default value is ON.
• WORD_WRAP [ON,OFF]
  Specifies whether the PostScript output converter performs word wrapping of any text that would exceed the right margin. The default value is ON. If you specify OFF, the PostScript output converter allows text to exceed the right margin.

Domain Converter

You might create an options file containing processing options that apply to any CDA supported tabular file format for which there is an input converter. Data tables and spreadsheets are examples of tabular file formats.

To convert tabular input files to document output files, use the DTIF_TO_DDIF format name, followed by the processing options described in this section. Specify the DTIF_TO_DDIF processing options in addition to the processing options for a particular tabular input file format and a particular document output file format.

You might want to convert tabular input files to document output files so that you can include textual representations of tables in reports and other documents. You should be aware, however, that you lose cell borders, headers, grid lines, all formulas, and font types when converting a tabular input file to a document output file.

The domain converter supports the following options:

• COLUMN_TITLE
  Displays the column titles as contained in the column attributes centered at the top of the column.
• CURRENT_DATE
  Displays the current date and time in the bottom left corner of the page. The value is formatted according to the document's specification for a default date and time.
• DOCUMENT_DATE
  Displays the document date and time as contained in the document header in the top left corner of the page. The value is formatted according to the document's specification for a default date and time.
• DOCUMENT_TITLE
  Displays the document title or titles as contained in the document header centered at the top of the page, one string per line.
• PAGE_NUMBER
  Displays the current page number in the top right corner of the page.
• PAPER_SIZE size
  Specifies the size of the paper to be used when formatting the resulting PostScript output file. Valid values for the size argument are as follows:

  Keyword	Size
  A0	841 x 1189 millimeters (33.13 x 46.85 inches)
  A1	594 x 841 millimeters (23.40 x 33.13 inches)
  A2	420 x 594 millimeters (16.55 x 23.40 inches)
  A3	297 x 420 millimeters (11.70 x 16.55 inches)
  A4	210 x 297 millimeters (8.27 x 11.70 inches)
  A5	148 x 210 millimeters (5.83 x 8.27 inches)
  A	8.5 x 11 inches (216 x 279 millimeters)
  B	11 x 17 inches (279 x 432 millimeters)
  B4	250 x 353 millimeters (9.84 x 13.90 inches)
  B5	176 x 250 millimeters (6.93 x 9.84 inches)
  C	17 x 22 inches (432 x 559 millimeters)
  C4	229 x 324 millimeters (9.01 x 12.76 inches)
  C5	162 x 229 millimeters (6.38 x 9.02 inches)
  D	22 x 34 inches (559 x 864 millimeters)
  DL	110 x 220 millimeters (4.33 x 8.66 inches)
  E	34 x 44 inches (864 x 1118 millimeters)
  10x13_ENVELOPE	13 x 254 millimeters (15600 x 10 inches)
  9x12_ENVELOPE	12 x 229 millimeters (14400 x 9 inches)
  BUSINESS_ENVELOPE	9.5 x 105 millimeters (11400 x 4.13 inches)
  EXECUTIVE	10 x 191 millimeters (12000 x 7.5 inches)
  LEDGER	11 x 17 inches (279 x 432 millimeters)
  LEGAL	8.5 x 14 inches (216 x 356 millimeters)
  LETTER	8.5 x 11 inches (216 x 279 millimeters)
  LP	13.7 x 11 inches (348 x 279 millimeters)
  VT	8 x 5 inches (203 x 127 millimeters)

  
  The A paper size (8.5 x 11 inches) is the default.
• PAPER_HEIGHT height
  Specifies a paper size other than one of the predefined values provided. The default paper height is 11 inches.
• PAPER_WIDTH width
  Specifies a paper size other than one of the predefined sizes provided. The default paper width is 8.5 inches.
• PAPER_TOP_MARGIN top-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided at the top of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_BOTTOM_MARGIN bottom-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided at the bottom of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_LEFT_MARGIN left-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided on the left side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_RIGHT_MARGIN right-margin
  Specifies the width of the margin provided on the right side of the page. The default value is 0.25 inch.
• PAPER_ORIENTATION orientation
  Specifies the paper orientation to be used in the output file. The valid values for the orientation argument are as follows:

  Keyword	Meaning
  PORTRAIT	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is parallel to the vertical axis.
  LANDSCAPE	The page is oriented so that the larger dimension is parallel to the horizontal axis.

  
  The default is PORTRAIT.

Example

$ CONVERT/DOCUMENT/OPTIONS=MY_OPTIONS.CDA$OPTIONS -
_$MY_INPUT.DTIF/FORMAT=DTIF MY_OUTPUT.DDIF/FORMAT=DDIF
      

This command converts an input file named MY_INPUT.DTIF, which has the DTIF format, to an output file named MY_OUTPUT.DDIF, which has the DDIF format. The specified options file is named MY_OPTIONS.CDA$OPTIONS.

Invokes the Convert/Reclaim utility, which makes empty buckets in Prolog 3 indexed files available so that new records can be written in them. The /RECLAIM qualifier is required.

For more information about the Convert/Reclaim utility, refer to the OpenVMS Record Management Utilities Reference Manual or online help.

Format

CONVERT/RECLAIM filespec

Creates a new file from one or more existing files. The COPY command can do the following:

• Copy an input file to an output file.
• Concatenate two or more input files into a single output file.
• Copy a group of input files to a group of output files.

Format

COPY input-filespec[,...] output-filespec

Parameters

input-filespec[,...]

Specifies the name of an existing file to be copied. The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters are allowed. If you do not specify the device or directory, the COPY command uses your current default device and directory. If you specify more than one file, separate the file specifications with either commas (,) or plus signs (+).

output-filespec

Specifies the name of the output file into which the input is copied.

You must specify at least one field in the output file specification. If you do not specify the device or directory, the COPY command uses your current default device and directory. The COPY command replaces any other missing fields (file name, file type, version number) with the corresponding field of the input file specification. If you specify more than one input file, the COPY command generally uses the fields from the first input file to determine any missing fields in the output file.

You can use the asterisk (*) wildcard character in place of any two of the following: the file name, the file type, or the version number. The COPY command uses the corresponding field in the related input file to name the output file.

Description

The COPY command creates a new file from one or more existing files. If you do not specify the device or directory, the COPY command uses your current default device and directory. The COPY command can do the following:

• Copy an input file to an output file.
• Concatenate two or more input files into a single output file.
• Copy a group of input files to a group of output files.

The COPY command, by default, creates a single output file. When you specify more than one input file, the first input file is copied to the output file, and each subsequent input file is appended to the end of the output file. If a field of the output file specification is missing or contains an asterisk (*) wildcard character, the COPY command uses the corresponding field from the first, or only, input file to name the output file.

If you specify multiple input files with maximum record lengths, the COPY command gives the output file the maximum record length of the first input file. If the COPY command encounters a record in a subsequent input file that is longer than the maximum record length of the output file, it issues a message noting the incompatible file attributes and begins copying the next file.

To create multiple output files, specify multiple input files and use at least one of the following:

• An asterisk (*) wildcard character in the output directory specification, file name, file type, or version number field
• Only a node name, a device name, or a directory specification as the output file specification
• The /NOCONCATENATE qualifier

When the COPY command creates multiple output files, it uses the corresponding field from each input file in the output file name. You also can use the asterisk (*) wildcard character in the output file specification to have COPY create more than one output file. For example:

$ COPY A.A;1, B.B;1 *.C

This COPY command creates the files A.C;1 and B.C;1 in the current default directory. When you specify multiple input and output files you can use the /LOG qualifier to verify that the files were copied as you intended.

Note that there are special considerations for using the COPY command with DECwindows compound documents. For more information, refer to the Guide to OpenVMS File Applications.

Version Numbers

If you do not specify version numbers for input and output files, the COPY command (by default) assigns a version number to the output files that is either of the following:

• The version number of the input file
• A version number one greater than the highest version number of an existing file with the same file name and file type

When you specify the output file version number by an asterisk (*) wildcard character, the COPY command uses the version numbers of the associated input files as the version numbers of the output files.

If you specify the output file version number by an explicit version number, the COPY command uses that number for the output file specification. If a higher version of the output file exists, the COPY command issues a warning message and copies the file. If an equal version of the output file exists, the COPY command issues a message and does not copy the input file.

File Protection and Creation/Revision Dates

The COPY command considers an output file to be new when you specify any portion of the output file name explicitly. The COPY command sets the creation date for a new file to the current time and date.

If you specify the output file by one or more asterisk (*) and percent sign (%) wildcard characters, the COPY command uses the creation date of the input file.

The COPY command always sets the revision date of the output file to the current time and date; it sets the backup date to zero. The file system assigns the output file a new expiration date. (The file system sets expiration dates if retention is enabled; otherwise, it sets expiration dates to zero.)

The protection and access control list (ACL) of the output file is determined by the following parameters, in the following order:

• Protection of previously existing versions of the output file
• Default Protection and ACL of the output directory
• Process default file protection

(Note that the BACKUP command takes the creation and revision dates as well as the file protection from the input file.)

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