So, you’re using an IBM i server….

 The IBM i

The IBM i users are loyal and outspoken group. And it’s no wonder. Occasionally, you discover a product that has you wondering if you’ve stepped into some kind of alternative universe. The very first product that gave me this impression was the ‘63 Corvette Stingray. Close second was the old AS400 from IBM. It was kind of like if you took an M1 Abrams tank and created a server with similar survivability. The stories of these things were legendary.

• One system was on the top floor of a building literally flattened by a tornado. After falling 4 stories, being buried by rubble and rained on, they only needed to dry it out to bring it back on line.
• Another system ran for a whopping 18 years without anyone patching, updating or even backing it up with no issues.
• Yet another was accidently walled up yet remained in service for years until someone tracing down the power and network wiring opened a wall to see what the wiring went to and found a shrouded AS400.

Who’s using the IBM i?

The IBM i software platform evolved out of this legendary AS400 and it is even more amazing. Whereas the AS400 was successful in manufacturing and distribution, the IBM i has moved into construction, banking and finance, health care, hospitality, and retail. Much of Las Vegas runs on the platform. It’s a software platform that scales from a small mom & pop shop up to a mission critical system for a multi-national companies. It’s virtually immune to the vast majority of malware, ransomware and Trojans. The IBM i is far more robust and vastly more resistant to outside or inside attack. It runs both on premise on IBM Power, ranging from IBM’s smallest to largest servers, and in the cloud, which, surprisingly isn’t how the small customers we’ve dealt with are running it; those firms are buying IBM Power9 servers, which also tend to be more robust and less vulnerable than their Intel based alternatives.

Leaving the platform?

The IBM i is the closest thing to a software platform superhero that I’ve yet seen and likely the safest and most powerful server platform available. Yet, as new generations enter the IT world, many have diverse backgrounds that lack specific knowledge of the ‘i’. Likely the best server platform they’ve never heard of. As the pool of RPG developers dwindles, many feel the pressure to leave this secure environment for Cloud based solutions.

Is the Cloud in your future?

In response, IBM has recently introduced new end-to-end solutions that better connect the IBM i to the cloud. One of the key growth areas for the platform is when it’s used by software providers to provide Software as a Service, or Cloud-based solution. Additionally IBM and its many partners are finding new ways to provide value to their clients by providing cloud services, whether it’s backup in a cloud or fully hosting customers. IBM is dedicated to making the combination of IBM i and Power Systems as good in that cloud environment as they have always been if you physically have the box on site.

The 'i' stands for integrated

As the platform continues to evolve, becoming increasingly robust, embracing modern technologies, and giving many of the world’s top organizations a competitive edge, so do IBM partners, like inFORM Decisions. They complete the platform by providing integrated software designed to function as a packaged whole. inFORM Decisions has software to digitize, manage and distribute spool and database files. From complex spool file bursting and distribution requirements, electronic document automation to workflow, we have the products that you might need, as well as the IBM i, iSeries, AS400, Power Systems experts to help with the installation and development.

Unleash your systems power

inFORM Decisions has been a Document Automation provider specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – AS/400 arena since 1994. We believe that the IBM I / Power Systems will be relevant for a long time offering the stability and security that you’ve come to expect from IBM. inFORM Decisions experts can show you how to unleash your systems power and recoup countless hours of productivity! inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBM i platform forever!

Additional reading:
Improve your AP Process
iPDF from inFORM Decisions is now even more powerful

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Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.

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An Solution for iSeries Check Printing

Pre-printed checks have been in many companies' payment processes for years. Checks are typically typed and manually signed. As a company grows, the number of its employees and partners also increases. And it may have a number of regional offices which use different banks, different account numbers. When the time comes, organizations will soon realize that preprinted check processing is costing them so much: workforce, time, money. And is they want to change bank, all the expensive preprinted checks they stock are useless.

A simple solution for iSeries check printing is to use a software that allows users to generate and print check based on defined rules such as inFORM Decisions' iChecks - the MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) laser check printing solution.

iChecks empowers iSeries users in check processing. Checks are designed on a PC. Organizations can add their logos, bank names, account numbers and other necessary fields to the forms. If they need to change something, it’s as easy as some simple text changes.  Users can also add an electronic signature to the check so the person responsible for signing does not have to manually sign a pile of checks.

iChecks simply integrates with existing AS/400, iSeries, System i applications or check printing operations.

No stocked check means more secure check processing, less paper use, less check mailing/shipping, less manual work required.

Contact inFORM Decisions for more details and a demo, via phone at 800-858-5544, or visit us online.

http://www.informdecisions.com/ichecks/

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Tags; AS/400 document management, AS400 Adobe documents

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iSeries Document Capture Functionality

Advanced functionality in iSeries Capture Solution, iCapture

inFORM Decisions' iCapture is an innovative document capture platform which boosts automation, efficiency, stability and productivity in your organization.

But more than that, iCapture is capable of advanced functionality such as OCR, OMR, ICR, ADE, and EFE.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) allow scanned images to be converted into text. OCR empowers users to extract document metadata and turn scanned files into searchable PDF documents or text.

ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) module supports extracting metadata from hand-printed documents and translate them into data fields.

ADE (Advanced Data Extraction) module enhances recognition accuracy by scripting or pattern matching logic to metadata. It saves time, manual work and increases accuracy.

EFF (Extended File Format) module makes it possible for iCapture to import and process all types of digital files like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, etc. It supports manual or auto-import and bulk digital file migration to 60 ECM systems.

OCR and ADE modules allows iCapture to intelligently classify forms and document; hence speeding up the classification and forms processing and reducing manual work.

iCapture is a scalable solution that can be customized to fit the size of any organization. It can be an inexpensive solution for a small and medium businesses (SMBs) or a large scale one to match with a complex document workflow in big organizations.

Contact inFORM Decisions for more details and a demo, via phone at 800-858-5544, or visit us online.

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AS400 payment transmission, digital printer and paper supplies

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Avoid Check Fraud with iSeries Positive Pay

Positive Pay is a check fraud fighting application by inFORM Decisions. The electronic process allows companies and banks to mutually increase their level of security to an organization's check printing process.

Explaining the function of Positive Pay, Dan Forster, the President of inFORM Decisions said, "According to a top U.S. accounting firm, 500 million checks are forged annually, with losses totaling more than $10 billion. The law generally allows merchants and banks to seek restitution from the payee, so it's important to do everything you can to limit your exposure and liability."

Positive Pay captures pertinent check information like check number and amount from check-writing applications then saves them in a cash handling file. The application can also generate a report which will be periodically sent to the bank. The information in the report lets the bank know which checks should not be pay. If the bank pays for a fraudulent check, it will be responsible for the check itself.

Initially, Positive Pay was an add-on module for inFORM Decisions' iCheck. Since version 4.0, there are new connectivity features added that can reduce a company's network maintenance costs and bank fees. Users now can use Positive Pay to send data for multiple accounts in a single session thanks to the new Account Stacking Feature. The enhanced version of Positive Pay also supports sending check data via FTP.

Visit www.informdecisions.com or contact inFORM Decisions at 800.858.5544 FREE right now to get further information.

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as400 check, digital printer and paper supplies

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Save More Documents on Check Secure

Check Secure is Windows based, small removable, programmable security device. It is a hardware and software solution to prevent unauthorized printing of checks and other sensitive document. Users can use Check Secure to secure and control digital signatures, MICR check fonts, logos, forms and other sensitive resources. The security level of Check Secure is described by inFORM Decisions as 'unbreakable'.

When documents are offloaded to Check Secure, only authorized personnel can access, generate and load resources. The size of Check Secure is small, just 5 inches by 4 inches by 1.5 inches, suitable to be stored in a safe place like a wall safe.

Check Secure card's storage capacity is 8 GB. This amount is enough to store hundreds of thousands of documents on Check Secure cards.

Check Secure can be attached to any Hewlett Packards' PCL (Printer Control Language) compatible laser printer for printing. The printing procedure is simple:

- Insert the memory card for a print run

- Print the document

- When the print job is complete, remove the memory card and lock away the card to prevent unauthorized printing.

Any checks generated by Check Secure are controlled through a PC access program. Although Check Secure doesn't directly support OS 400, there is option to implement it as a part of solution to secure data on an iSeries server like checks and forms generated with iDocs.

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AS400 printing security

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Top questions about inFORM Decisions’s iDocs

Does iDocs allow I use form designs I have from other forms design solutions?	Yes. By using iDocs, you can export forms from other forms design solutions such as MS Word, Excel, Adobe, and PDF into iMap to take over data mapping and other form definitions.
Does iDocs allows I to setup forms or reports to distribute to multiple targets?	Yes. iDocs enables to route forms and reports to email addresses, fax numbers, printer output queues, stored drives in PDF format, etc.
In iDocs, can we print to a color printer natively from our IBM iSeries AS/400 ?	Yes. iDocs allows us print forms in PCL or PDF natively with high quality and high speed without downloading to a PC server.
Does iDocs run natively on the IBM i - iSeries - AS/400 ?	Yes.  iDocs run on the IBM iSeries natively.
In iDocs how can I automatically start its merge forms merge engine?	Just access the system startup program or the job scheduler.

To learn more about how iDocs can improve productivity, visit http://www.informdecisions.com or contact inFORM Decisions at 800.858.5544.

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Top benefits of scanning

Thanks to the speed and the efficiency of scanning, this process can be common and a good option for those who want to go paperless. Here are some of the advantages of scanning that you should consider if you are wondering that this process is really good.

Time Saving

In a traditional office, there will be staffs wandering around to look for documents. But scanning can making looking for scanned information easy via networks in a second. Time saving is the biggest benefit of scanning

Data Backup

Scanning helps you avoid facing with threats  such as natural disasters and thieves that can occur for critical information because information was saved digitally.

Distribution & Information Sharing

Digitally scanned documents are not only  internally but also externally distributed and shared via emails or other forms. With this process, you cost time, effort and postage.

Space Saving

Of course, scanning the need of paper. Thanks to this process,  more space is saved for other things.

Lost Information can be recovered

During the scanning process, reappear documents, drawings or microfilms considered to be lost. Scanning is really valuable.

Degradation of Quality

Documents, drawings and microformats can be faded because they are constantly degrading. Nevertheless, scanned information is not torn or faded because the form of scanning is an image.

About inFORM Decisions

inFORM Decisions is proud of providing powerful paperless solutions for those who want to improve efficiency and increase productivity. They on any platform and help companies get rid of paper and avoid unnecessary mistakes.

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What IBM iSeries products should you use to create a paperless office?

With the following IBM iSeries products, a paperless office will be created. They not only improve productivity but also help you to move towards a more efficient office. 

iCapture 

With this iSeries document capture software, invoices, contracts, mail and other paper-based documents can be easily converted into searchable PDFs and routed effortlessly into the organization. You can read more about iCapture in the article: 

http://iseriesibm.blogspot.com/2014/12/3-benefits-of-document-capture-software.html

iView 

iView reduces paper-based storage by allowing you to access to all your files. 

iWorkflow 

With iWorkflow, your business processes can be tracked, analyzed and improved these processes. 

iSign 

iSign enables digital documents to be delivered for signature on a device with a browser. 

If your dream is a paperless office and you want to get rid of paper, choose these powerful IBM iSeries products.

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All things about iDocs Open

What is iDocs Open?
iDocs Open is a product of inFORM Decisions has much experience in document automation.

As a comprehensive Document Management tool, iDocs Open enables to capture and process print or database output from many kinds of platforms out there such as Windows, Unix, AS/400, and Linux, merge it with a graphical form and/or with many other graphic objects such as signatures, logos, pictures, and barcodes.

iDocs Open includes an automated merge engine, a built in forms designer, print or spool data mapping tool, an ability to capture data many kinds of platforms, and user-defined conditional processing and output specifications.

In fact, the processor is active and iDocs Open runs in the background invisible to users running in their accounting or ERP accounting system when a form is designed, mapped, defined for output and routing specifications.

Below are unique features of iDocs Open.
- The ability to intercept print or spool data output from almost any platform in the market for processing

- The ability to distribute merge results to predefined locations

- The ability to define multiple conditions for bursting, routing, sorting and distributing jobs

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iCheck – Secure High Speed Laser Check Printing

Do you know that secure, reliable and seamless MICR laser check printing systems are being developed and implemented? In fact, These systems MICR laser check printing lets users increase laser check printing security and have cost savings associated with labor, storage, obsolescence, waste, and mailing/shipping. For these benefits, inFORM Decisions launched iChecks as a secure high speed MICR check printing. 

iChecks operates with a high speed. It runs completely in the background processing check runs. You only need to change your existing AS/400, iSeries, System i applications or check printing operations. iChecks offers easy to use menus. With iChecks, the check application business rules, OutQ destinations, routing and archiving instructions can be defined by authorized IT administrators.

Importantly, you must have appropriate passwords to enable iChecks’s features. It means that this software improves security. Adding and modifying bank account information, designing check templates, adding signatures and logos and starting the “engine” process are only done if you are authorized. 

Visit www.informdecisions.com or contact inFORM Decisions at 800.858.5544.right now to get further information.

Source: inFORM Decisions

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iShop – an iSeries host-based turnkey solution for establishing an eCommerce presence

If you are seeking a pure iSeries shopping cart application designed to indoctrinate companies to Web-based commerce seamlessly and quickly without requiring programming, iShop, a product of inFORM Decisions, is a good choice for you.

It is an iSeries (AS/400) host-based turnkey solution for establishing an eCommerce presence. In other words, it is a professional services project area, designed to web enabled commerce from the IBM i platform.

iShop offers the architecture design, security analysis, project management, technology selection and implementation. These are necessary to achieve e-commerce objectives of the customer.

iShop features searchable purchase history, keyword searchable product database, full featured shopping cart, browse order history, anonymous or account based shopping, browse items by product category and integration with PCI-compliant internet credit card gateways/processors.

Source: inFORM Decisions

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How to Activate a PC program from the AS/400?

If you are seeking the way to activate a PC program from the AS/400, you reach in the right place. This tutorial will help you know how to activate a PC program from the AS/400.

In fact, we can activate a PC program from the AS/400 by implementing a command called RUNRMTCMD. RUNRMTCMD lets the AS/400 to send command strings to any host running the rexec daemon. On Windows NT, RUNRMTCMD can start the incoming command service to receive incoming commands, for instance. 

Look at this example.

RUNRMTCMD CMD('c:test.bat') RMTLOCNAME(remotepcname *IP) RMTUSER('mypcuser') RMTPWD('myuserpwd')

The batch file test.bat on system remotepcname will be run by this. 

Remember that the user and passwords are sometimes case-sensitive and dny feedback from the PC program will be written to an AS/400 spool file.

Source: search400

Tags: AS 400 form scan, AS 400 form storage, AS 400 MICR

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What is a command on iSeries?

If you want to do something with your iSeries, you need a command on iSeries. Read Ron Turull’s review to understand the basics of iSeries commands and the command definition language.

Firstly, a command on the iSeries is an object of type *CMD. More importantly, a command on the iSeries is a program interface designed to help users call an underlying program called the command processing program (CPP) more simply. 

Especially, commands let you specify the parameters to the CPP using an easy-to-use "prompt-able" interface. A command interface for the program alleviates the need to remember all the details of the parameters when the parameters of a program become numerous and/or complicated. Commands also give you a number of validity-checking options so that parameters can be validated before the program is actually called.

What are the basics of the command definition language?

Command objects are created using a special language called the command definition language. Let’s discover 3 out of 6 command definition statements. 

1. CMD

CMD is used to introduce the command definition and specify the prompt text for the command. 

2. PARM

A PARM statement offers details about the corresponding program parameter, such as the prompt text to be displayed when the command is prompted its type and length, its name, and some basic validity-checking options.

3. QUAL

In fact, parameters have many forms. While most parameters are quite simple, others are a bit more complicated. On the iSeries, a qualified parameter is very common. For this reason, a QUAL statement is used to define the parts of a qualified parameter. It is also still required to define the parameter.

Source: Search400

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How to compress data on the iSeries 400

As you know, there is a hardware compression available on the iSeries 400. However, do you know that there is also a software compression? Do you know that it is easy to use software compression? If you do not know these facts, read the following article to get more details and Nick Hobson will give this tip. 

In fact, simple terse and IBM LZ1 are two algorithms offered by IBM. IBM LZ1 is used in WinZip and pkzip and is IBM's patented implementation of the Lempel-Ziv algorithm. According to Nick Hobson’s experience, IBM LZ1 is better than simple terse. Therefore, he will cover IBM LZ1 here. 

Firstly, you must the address and length of the source and result strings, and the algorithm number to use compression. (1=Simple Terse, 2=IBM LZ1.) To find these details, go to a data structure, known as a template. Then, the address of the template is passed to the MI builtin function.

The compress function will populate the result field, and place the length of the compressed string in CompressLen while the decompress function will populate the result field, and place the length of the decompressed string in decompresslen. Remember that you do not need to provide algorithm number or the source length. The decompress function can determine these from the compressed string. Also, you make sure that you provide a long enough result field. In fact, this will not be a problem because normally you will know the original string length.

Source: search400

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10 powerful iSeries products of inFORM Decisions

It is no doubt that iSeries, an IBM's midrange server line designed for small businesses and departments in large enterprises, brings a lot of benefits. However, there is a problem that there are a lot of options when many IBM iSeries products are offered out there. 

If you are looking to these products, you will realize that many companies providing iSeries products boast their powerful integration capabilities. However, you do not know whether these benefits are real and make sure that these iSeries products are really good for your business. And in fact, you cannot compare iSeries products to find best ones because they have their own advantages. 

However, you may love using a suite of iSeries products. If so, I would like recommend a powerful suite of iSeries products of inFORM Decisions including 10 powerful iSeries products. 

1. iDocs: The Nerve Center for inFORM’s Powerful Document Automation

2. iDocs Designer: A powerful user-friendly forms designer for multi-platform environments

3. iForms: iSeries laser form generation for the IBM i

4. Smart Router: Rules-Based Processing and Distribution for iSeries – System i Spool Files

5. iMail: iMail Spool File Report and Form Management

6. iFax: iFax Spool File Report and Form Management

7. iPDF : The Native PCL to PDF Converter

8. iCapture: Feature-rich, affordable document capture and scanning solution

9. iView: Web-based Content Management Solution for the iSeries, System i and Power Systems

10. iSign: IBM i native Mobile Signature Capture

These powerful iSeries products have their own features and advantages. In fact, to list all things, it takes much time because you cannot image that they have a ton of benefits. However, all iSeries products of inFORM Decisions are designed to help improve your business process and make your iSeries environment more efficient. They have an easy-to-use interface and powerful integration capabilities. 

To get further details about all benefits of these products, you can visit this site: http://www.informdecisions.com/ibm-iseries-products/

After reading information on the site, you can find that those products are better than others in the same sector. Share your comments about them to help people understand more.

Author: Sharah - inFORM Decisions

Keywords: AP Automation, as400 scan

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How to guarantee iSeries connections

If you want to make secure connections to your iSeries with the SSL Telnet, VPN Tunnel or a portable device, take some tips given by Andrew Borts, an iSeries programming expert. 

First of all, SSL Telnet lets you telnet into your systems securely. Therefore, a secure channel should be used to place your system on the internet. Importantly, giving out individual SSL certificates that only your system can access allows the secure “telnet”. This can be found in the Digital Certificate Manager (DCM). Certificates to OS/400 TCP/IP Telnet Server should be also assigned. In addition to, you can create a custom certificate that only you have and use for connecting. 

What is more, you can keep your iSeries from those who try to attack your data by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) Tunnel. 

If you want to make secure connections to your iSeries with small devices, use some software packages. 

Another problem is that you need make secure your connections online. Here are some tips you should know. The first tip is that you have to know where you are. In fact, there are Wi-Fi hotspots in many airports. However, connecting in public places like airports has hidden risks. Therefore, you should limit using public connections. In addition, you should turn off shared anything. More importantly, you should update your anti-virus software regularly. Finally, turning on your internal firewall is necessary to avoid dangerous viruses. 

Source: search400

Keywords: convert spool to pdf, Scanning to PDF, document automation tools, AP Automation

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