/FORMAT=format-name
Specifies the encoding format of the input or output file. The default
input and output format is DDIF.
Input converters bundled with the CDA Base Services for DECwindows
Motif for OpenVMS and the default file type for the file formats they
support are as follows:
| Input Format |
File Type |
|
DDIF
|
.DDIF
|
|
DTIF
|
.DTIF
|
|
TEXT
|
.TXT
|
Output converters bundled with the CDA Base Services for DECwindows
Motif for OpenVMS and the default file types for the file formats they
support are as follows:
| Output Format |
File Type |
|
DDIF
|
.DDIF
|
|
DTIF
|
.DTIF
|
|
TEXT
|
.TXT
|
|
PS
|
.PS
|
|
ANALYSIS
|
.CDA$ANALYSIS
|
The CDA Converter Library is a layered product that offers several
other document, graphics, image, and data table input and output
converters. Independent software vendors also write CDA conforming
applications and converters for the operating system. Contact your
system manager for a complete list of converters available on your
system.
Analysis Output Converter
The Analysis output converter produces an analysis of the intermediate
representation of the input file. The analysis output file shows the
named objects and values stored in the input file. Application
programmers use an analysis output file for debugging purposes.
Application end users use an analysis output file to determine whether
an input file contains references or links to multiple subfiles. Each
subfile must be copied separately across a network because subfiles are
not automatically included when an input file is transferred across the
network.
You can search the analysis output file for all occurrences of the
string "ERF_". The following example shows that the image
file "griffin.img" is linked to the DDIF compound document
that is the input file:
ERF_LABEL ISO LATIN1 "griffin.img" ! Char. string.
ERF_LABEL TYPE RMS_LABEL TYPE "$RMS:
ERF_CONTROL COPY_REFERENCE ! Integer = 1
|
Note that an analysis output file is intended as a programmer's tool.
The coded information in the file is not intended for modification but
rather to examine the content of a file. The previous example shows how
you can search analysis output for references to linked files.
DDIF Input Converter
The DDIF input converter converts a DDIF input file to an intermediate
representation that is subsequently converted to the specified output
file format. The following list summarizes the data mapping, conversion
restrictions, external file references, and document syntax errors
relevant to the DDIF input converter:
- Data mapping
The information in the DDIF input file maps
directly to an intermediate representation.
- Conversion restrictions
The DDIF input file does not lose any
information when converted to the intermediate representation.
However, if the DDIF input file is a newer version of the DDIF
grammar than that understood by the DDIF input converter, data
represented by the new grammar elements is lost.
- External file references
Any external file references within
the DDIF input file are converted to the intermediate representation.
The DDIF input converter makes no attempt to resolve external
references, although the converter kernel can if requested by the
output converter.
- Document syntax errors
A document syntax error in the DDIF
input file causes a fatal input processing error. If the DDIF input
converter encounters a document syntax error, the conversion stops and
no further input processing occurs.
DDIF Output Converter
The DDIF output converter creates a DDIF output file from the
intermediate representation of the input file. The following list
summarizes the data mapping and conversion restrictions relevant to the
DDIF output converter.
- Data mapping
The information in the intermediate representation
of the input file maps directly to the DDIF output file.
- Conversion restrictions
The intermediate representation of the
input file does not lose any information when converted to the DDIF
output file.
DTIF Input Converter
The DTIF input converter converts a DTIF input file to an intermediate
representation that is subsequently converted to the specified output
file format. The following list summarizes the data mapping, conversion
restrictions, external file references, and document syntax errors
relevant to the DTIF input converter:
- Data mapping
The information in the DTIF input file maps
directly to an intermediate representation.
- Conversion restrictions
The DTIF input file does not lose any
information when converted to the intermediate representation.
However, if the DTIF input file is a newer version of the DTIF
grammar than that understood by the DTIF front end, data represented by
the new grammar elements is lost.
- External file references
Any external file references within
the DTIF input file are converted to the intermediate representation.
The DTIF input converter makes no attempt to resolve external
references.
- Document syntax errors
A document syntax error in the DTIF
input file causes a fatal input processing error. If the DTIF input
converter encounters a document syntax error, the conversion stops and
no further input processing occurs.
DTIF Output Converter
The DTIF output converter converts the intermediate representation of
the input file to a DTIF output file. The following list summarizes the
data mapping, conversion restrictions, and external file references
relevant to the DTIF output converter:
- Data mapping
The information in the intermediate representation
of the input file maps directly to the DTIF output file.
- Conversion restrictions
The intermediate representation of the
input file does not lose any information when converted to the DTIF
output file.
- External file references
The DTIF output converter converts
external file references stored in the intermediate representation of
the input file but makes no attempt to resolve external references.
Text Input Converter
The Text input converter converts a Text (ISO Latin1) input file to an
intermediate representation that is subsequently converted to the
specified output file format. The following list summarizes the data
mapping, conversion restrictions, external file references, and
document syntax errors relevant to the Text input converter:
- Data mapping
The information in the text input file maps
directly to an intermediate representation. Line breaks and form feeds
are mapped to DDIF directives. One or more contiguous blank lines are
interpreted as end-of-paragraph markers.
If the text input file was
entered as a DEC Multinational character set file on a character-cell
terminal or terminal emulator, the following conversions occur:
| Original Character |
Converted Character |
|
Concurrency sign
|
Diaeresis
|
|
Capital OE ligature
|
Multiplication sign
|
|
Capital Y with diaeresis
|
Capital Y with acute accent
|
|
Small oe ligature
|
Division sign
|
|
Small y with diaeresis
|
Y with acute accent
|
- Conversion restrictions
The text input file does not lose any
information when converted to the intermediate representation because
no structure information is contained in a text file.
All
nonprinting characters are converted to space characters. For example,
characters introducing ANSI escape characters are converted to space
characters. There is no attempt to interpret ANSI escape sequences.
- External file references
Text files do not contain external
file references.
- Document syntax errors
Text files do not contain syntax, so
syntax errors are not reported by the Text input converter.
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 that 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)
Turns on message logging for document conversion. Messages output by
the input and output converters are directed to the file specified with
filespec. If filespec is not specified, messages are output to
SYS$ERROR. The default is /NOMESSAGE_FILE.
/OPTIONS=options-filename
Specifies a text file that contains processing options applied to the
input file and the output file during the conversion. The default file
type for an options file is .CDA$OPTIONS.
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:
In this example, the extension _OUTPUT is not required for the format
keyword because 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 can 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 (216 x 279 millimeters)
|
|
B
|
11 x 17 inches (279 x 432 millimeters)
|
|
C
|
17 x 22 inches (432 x 559 millimeters)
|
|
D
|
22 x 34 inches (559 x 864 millimeters)
|
|
E
|
34 x 44 inches (864 x 1118 millimeters)
|
|
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-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.
