2022.2

PDF emulation slightly differs from other emulations: with other emulations, data is read either one line
at a time or one character at a time, while PDF emulation processes the input data from the PDF file in
such a fashion that every PDF page becomes a full data page.
Note: Protected PDF and PDF of versions above 1.7 are not supported by PlanetPress
Workflow.
PDF emulation options
The PDF emulation does not have any options - that is, there is nothing to set up when opening a PDF
data file.
In the Preferences there is a number of options that affect how words, lines and paragraphs are detec-
ted in the PDF when creating data selections. You will find these options when you select Workflow >
Preferences > PDF Text Extractor. For more information see "PDF text extraction tolerance factors"
on page655.
Text-based emulation
Text-based emulations display your data in plain text in the Data Selector and the Data Pane, one line
at a time, up to the limit you specify in the emulation properties (by default, 66 lines). This is especially
useful for legacy systems (such as AS/400 computers) that send data as text meant for older line print-
ers using pre-printed forms. The emulation options are used to make sure your data is stable.
Stabilizing data is the process of defining the size of the data page and where the first data page occurs
in the data stream. A stable data page is critical to obtain accurate results. When you stabilize your
data, you also need to consider the internal structure of each data page. The internal structure of each
data page must also be stable to make the data selections you use reliable (see "Data selections" on
page49). Ideally, a given piece of data occupies the same position across all data pages, or provides
some stable characteristic that makes it possible to locate it on every data page.
Text-based emulation options
The following properties are available for the text-based emulations (Line Printer, ASCII, Channel Skip
and CSV) to help stabilize the data:
l
Add/remove characters: Enter the number of characters to add to, or remove from, the head of
the data stream, or use the spin buttons to increment or decrement the value. Positive values add
characters while negative values remove characters. Further note that if you remove characters
in a CSV emulation, you should ensure that you do not inadvertently remove field or text delim-
iters.
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