International Business Machines Corporation

James Warden Marlin

Anthony Franke Stuart

Thomas Michael Ruehle

Raymond Lowell Knudson

Edward Thomas Hughes, Iii

Reinhard Heinrich Hohensee

David Earl Stone

Frankie Sherwood Shook

Weilin Chen

Brent P Gross

Filip J Yeskel

Ronald Dean Parrish

Jagdish Mooljee Nagda

Jeri L Sampson

Gerald B Anderson

Brian G Platte

Jerold Russell Sampson

Alexander Herzog

Von D Tucker

A computer-controlled printing system includes a host computer, an intelligent printer and an intelligent post printer processor. The print job is controlled by defining print data, printer control data and printer post processor control data in a print data stream from the host computer. The print data and printer control data are read at the intelligent printer. The intelligent printer executes the print control data to print the print data on a print medium. The printer also determines if there is post processor control data in the print data stream and, if so, sends the post processor control data from the printer to the intelligent post processor. The post processor reads the post processor control data, and executes the post processor control data to perform selected modification of the print medium. Selectable modifications of the print medium at the post processor include predetermined fixed printing of images, symbols or text, perforation of the print medium, cutting of the print medium, or user defined modifications of the print medium.

Selectable modification of medium in a printer system

A method and system for flexibly managing a presentation data stream which includes an ordered stream of uniquely identified data objects and associated elements which specify format and presentation parameters for those data objects for utilization within a specified application. An include object structured field is provided within the data stream which identifies a particular data object and specifies alternate presentation parameters for utilization with that data object. Thereafter, the data object reference within the include object structured field can be presented utilizing the alternate presentation parameters, which override the presentation parameters associated with the referenced data object, obviating any requirement for providing alternate versions of that object for each of multiple diverse applications. In this manner multiple versions of a single data object may be presented utilizing multiple applications or data objects of different architectures may be referenced in an open system and dynamically included in a presentation form document.

Method and system for dynamic presentation parameter override during

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is provided for workstations on a network in which a complex operation is controlled. At least one node on the network has a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) with an object oriented database for storing data objects for the complex operation. Objects are organized according to the DMI into components, groups and attributes. The GUI is generic to any complex operation but requires the DMI for access to data. The GUI enables the user to manage information in the database in whatever manner the user has interest through the provision of report definitions through which specific component, group, and attribute data are obtained in accordance with row and column definitions for table display. The DMI interface is probed with appropriate commands generated by the GUI to obtain and display the requested data. Provision is made for displaying data in chart format and a chain feature is provided to move from one report to another. Various other features are provided.

Table driven graphical user interface

A page placement process for advanced function print systems that is integrated in the datastream presentation architectures utilized for the storage, retrieval, and printing of documents over a wide range of applications and system environments. The process enables user defined placement of pages in an N-up environment in terms of sheet, sheet side, partition, offset and orientation.

Enhanced page placement for multiple-up presentation

A system for enabling the use of the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) in a network where the particular computing system containing the DMI and its database reside on one node and where management applications and devices (instrumented components) reside at other nodes. A client interface is established at each of the required client platforms by supporting all of the functions of the management interface (MI) and/or component interface (CI) at the platforms. In that manner, the management application can address the client management interface at its own node as though it were on the DMI node. The client MI issues a 'Remote Procedure Call' (RPC) using network protocol to address the DMI node. A server agent at the DMI node receives the call and acts as a proxy management application to address the DMI and its database. Similarly, instrumented components can address the client component interface at its own node as though it were on the DMI node. The client CI issues an RPC to address the DMI node. A server agent at the DMI node receives the call and acts as a proxy component to address the DMI and its database. In that manner, the semantics and syntax of the DMI is preserved while enabling three-way dialogues between clients, servers and instrumented components all residing on different nodes which may have a variety of operating systems, hardware platforms and architectures.

System for extending the desktop management interface at one node to a

A communication medium and method enabling the identification of manageable data produced on mainframe equipment, so that the data can be established in a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) database. In that manner, management applications residing on desktop equipment connected to the DMI nodes can manage a complex process which includes mainframe equipment. The medium is a 'tag' comprising a structured field which is sent from the mainframe to a desktop machine containing a server agent for generating DMI commands from the tag to address the database. In one embodiment, an exit agent is provided to split tags out of a mainframe generated datastream and send them to the server agent. The technique is extended to include desktop nodes so that tags can be produced and sent to the server agent for the generation of DMI commands.

Desktop management of host applications

A printing system wherein pre-printing commands, print data, and post-printing commands are nested in a data stream, the commands bounding a group of print data pages in the data stream, the group of pages containing one or more page data blocks, and the commands defining one or more operations to be performed relative to the group of pages. Groups of pages are handled in accordance with the commands in the data stream, and the commands are buffered while a print processor processes the group of pages to form printed sheets therefrom.

System for selectively processing nested print commands and buffered

This invention is a method for annotating and redacting a final-form document archived in a computerized system where it is important that the fidelity of the final form document is preserved. More particularly, this method allows final-form documents containing objects such as texts, graphics and images to be annotated or redacted by other objects carried in the same data stream without compromising the integrity of the original document.

Method for storing and retrieving annotations and redactions in final

Instrumentation logic is provided to map object oriented protocols to efficient data management protocols to provide direct, keyed access to multiple data entries. An object oriented database is utilized to model a complex process since it is easily extended to include tables of transactions for each of the many process steps in a complex operation. The database is accessed through the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) with individual DMI commands issued to get or set each individual entry. An application requiring access to many entries would require detailed knowledge of the database and would need to generate many DMI commands. For such an application, instrumentation logic is provided and is accessed by the application through a normal DMI command. The instrumentation then generates all of the successive DMI commands needed to access multiple entries. The invention is extended by utilizing an additional database management system such as DB2 which provide efficient query/response access to large databases. In such case, the invoked instrumentation logic issues a query to obtain the requested data. In both cases, the instrumentation returns the data utilizing the normal DMI interface.

Utilizing instrumented components to obtain data in a desktop management

This invention is a process for interconnecting an all points addressable printer with a host application program wherein the application presents output to be printed to the printer and wherein the host application can be present on a variety of different computer equipment such as a large host computer, a standalone workstation, or workstation on a local area network and wherein the all points addressable page printer can utilize any type of printing technology such as electrophotographic, magnetic or other and wherein the printer and the application host are interconnected by communicating means such as a channel, local area network, or telecommunication line and wherein any type of transmission protocol can be used and wherein the process enables the transmission of commands and data from the host application to the printer in a manner which is independent of the communication means and transmission protocol. And, finally, wherein the process enables the transmission of a variety of types of data including text, graphics, image, or bar code which may be merged together on a single printed page.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

James Warden Marlin