Understanding AMS document delivery

Owned by Tim` Smith (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 11, 2017
4 min read

Introduction

Reports and other documents you request are not produced by your workstation; they are produced by your company’s AMS server. When the server is finished producing a document, it is forwarded to the AMS document delivery system on the server for delivery.  Usually the document is delivered to your workstation and pops up on your screen but other options are available.  Delivery options can be simple or complex and are described here.

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How To Use

When you request a document, the screen where you make your request will have a Spool name field. In the example pictured here, the Spool name field is circled in red and contains the word VIEW . This means that the report should be delivered to the requestor’s workstation and should pop up in the report viewer immediately. If you do not want the report to pop up in the viewer, type MYINBOX instead of VIEW . The server will deliver the report to your INBOX on the files tab in your AMS Client but the report will not pop up in the viewer until you double-click the report’s entry in the grid.

You may find that “VIEW ” is the only thing you need to put in a spool name field. This is because once you are viewing a report you can use the File menu of the AMS Client to Print, Send (email) or fax the report. On the other hand, if you need to routinely send a report to a particular printer, AMS user, email recipient or send a report by fax you may wish to learn the more advanced features of the spool name field. This is because once specified, the spool name field is stored with your report request. This can save you from performing the repetitive chore of picking the correct printer over and over for example.

 

Here are some of the things that can be put in the spool name field:

  • VIEW The report will be delivered to your INBOX and will also pop up in the viewer as soon as it is delivered to your workstation.

  • PRINT  The report will be delivered to your INBOX and then will be sent to your default printer. After that, the report will be moved to your DELETED grid. Generally you will not see the report in your INBOX because it is only there for a second or so before being moved to the DELETED grid.

  • MYINBOX The report will be delivered to your INBOX but will not pop up in the viewer until you double- click the report entry in the grid.

  • DISCARD The report will not be delivered to you. This option is provided for those occasions when you must run an AMS job but you do not need one or more of the documents the job generates.

  • INBOX=SomeAmsUserName The report will be delivered to “SomeAmsUserName’s” INBOX. If  the user is signed on, the report will pop up on that person’s screen as soon as it is delivered. If the user is not signed on, the report will pop up the next time the user signs on.  “SomeAmsUserName” must be a valid AMS user and must be spelled exactly the way that person signs on.  If the  user’s name is Tom Jones and the user signs on to AMS as TOMJ you would put this in the spool name field: INBOX=TOMJ. You can send a report to yourself this way.  If your AMS user name is TIM you can use INBOX=TIM. The result is the same as specifying VIEW . You can send a report to as many users as you like at the same time by listing each user name like this: INBOX=TOMJ;TIM;MARYKAY;MARK.

  • INBOX=SomeAmsUserName,P You can send a report to the default printer of any AMS user by adding a comma P.  To send a report to the default printer on user JOE’s workstation use this: INBOX=JOE,P. Note that JOE must be logged on to AMS for this to work. If user JOE is not logged on, the printing will occur the next time JOE does log on. The report will be moved to user Joe’s DELETED grid after the printing completes.

  • INBOX=SomeAmsUserName,P!SomePrinterName! You can send a report to any printer available to any AMS user who is signed on.  By using your own name, you can use this command to send a report to any printer you have access to on your own workstation. This is one way to send a report to a printer that is not your default printer. To send a report to a printer named DeskJet on your workstation, use this command: INBOX=RICK,P!DeskJet! (Here we presume your name is Rick). W hen the printer a workstation has access to, is not locally attached to that workstation, the printer name you must use gets more complex. This is because W indows requires the name of the workstation the printer is attached to. This must be specified like this: \\WorkstationName\PrinterName. In the prior example if the DeskJet is attached to Jane’s computer and her computer’s name is “Speedball” then the proper name for the printer is \\Speedball\DeskJet so the command would be: INBOX=RICK,P!\\Speedball\DeskJet!

  • EMAIL=joe@someplace.com,P You can have an AMS document emailed to one or more persons by using EMAIL= followed by one or more email addresses separated by semicolons like this: EMAIL= joe@someplace.com,P;tom@someotherplace.com,P. The comma P after the email address requests that the document be converted to a PDF before it is sent.  If you omit the comma P, an ARF will be sent instead of a PDF. In that case the person receiving the document would need a copy of the AMS Client installed to open the report with. After the document is emailed, it will be moved to your DELETED grid. The email will be sent using your preferred email tool installed on your computer. The email will appear in your email tool’s list of sent items.