Integration: Third-party Simplified Command Control Using DOCLIST

Overview

NOTE: Depending on how you originally set up vMedia, it might be located in the root of vMedia rather than in the root of IMASTER. If this is the case, any references to the IMASTER folder should be referred to as vMedia.

vMedia incorporates a rich API to permit third-party applications to control the operation of the software and to be made aware of key user interactions. The API documentation and associated sample applications provide a developer with the information required to integrate third-party control and status using the Microsoft application message passing system built into the core of Windows.

As an outgrowth of the API development, a number of test applications have been written to expose specific functionality of the API. Some of these tools can be used in the end-user environment.

See also:

Component API Documentation vMedia Data Conversion Module (FJHINP1.EXE)

vMedia Direct DDE Control

The DOCLIST.EXE Command Line Execution Broker

DOCLIST.EXE is a small Windows application that can translate a specially formed command line into the required vMedia API commands to complete a complex set of tasks. DOCLIST is a pass-forward program only. No status is returned to the caller concerning the results of the operation. DOCLIST terminates from memory as soon as all of the required commands have been passed to vMedia except in cases where a critical error in inter-application communications has occurred.

DOCLIST functionality maybe extended from time-to-time as a result of developer requests. When functionality is extended, the vMedia API Documentation and the vMedia API source will be updated to reflect the changes.

How to Use

The basic form for DOCLIST command execution is to call DOCLIST from a Windows ShellEx or your development environment’s out-of-band process launcher. Along with the launch request, pass the desired command and parameters as documented below.

NOTE: Searches in non-SQL backend databases are case sensitive; however, searches in SQL backend databases are not case sensitive.

1. Direct Search and Display Results

This command launches vMedia if it is not already running, logs into vMedia using the ‘OFFICE’ username with no password, opens the specified database, launches the Viewing Module, performs a Database Search using the provided search expression, and displays the Search Results list UI (multiple document matches), or the actual document (a single document matches), or nothing (no document matches).

DOCLIST SEARCH,{short IM DB name},{search expression}

{short IM DB name} = the 6 character prefix to the vMedia database table name.

Could also contain a path if desired.

{search expression} = a standard DB search expression that match one or more documents.

Ex. FILENO='12345' AND GROUP$'SC

2. Generate an External Document (PDF or TIF document)

‘OFFICE' username with no password, opens the specified database, launches the Viewing Module, performs a Database Search using the provided search expression, and generates a multi-page TIF or PDF file by combining all of the pages from all of the documents that match the search expression, in the order that is optionally specified by the document order clause.

DOCLIST GENFILE, {short IM DB name},{output TIF or PDF path\filename to create},{search expression}~{document order}

{short IM DB name} = the six-character prefix to the IM database table name.

Could also contain a path if desired.

{output TIF or PDF path\filename to create} = the path and complete filename of the desired TIF or Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Note: If the file does not exist it will be created. If the file does exist, the pages from the documents will be APPENDED to the pages already in the file!

{search expression} = a standard DB search expression that match one or more documents.

{document order} = an ORDER BY clause that defines the order the documents should be combined.

Note that since this is a comma delimited string, the tilde(~) is used as the parameter delimiter instead.

Example Usage with Sample vMedia Database:

(Export documents that belong to email address user "sales", sorted by company name.)

DOCLIST GENFILE,SAMPLE,C:\IMASTER\MYFILE.TIF,CONTAC=’sales’~COMP

NOTE: If the output TIF or PDF file does not exist it will be created. If the file does exist, the pages from the documents will be APPENDED to the pages already in the file! Therefore, DOCLIST, GENFILE can be executed multiple times to build a composite output file composed of multiple individual queries.

3. Batch Processing GENFILE

This command extends DOCLIST functionality by permitting multiple GENFILE commands to be placed in a developer created text file. DOCLIST will process all of the commands in the file in order and will terminate once the last GENFILE has been processed by vMedia.

DOCLIST PARSE ,,{filename of file containing one or more GENFILE command lines as specified above}

NOTE: The two commas after the PARSE keyword are required. The developer is responsible for creating the command file and erasing it if desired once DOCLIST operations have completed.

Related Topics

Introduction vMedia Third-Party Integration