2022.2

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48). 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:
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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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Add/remove lines: Enter the number of lines 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 lines
while negative values remove lines.
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Lines per page: Enter the number of lines each data page contains, or use the spin buttons to
increment or decrement the value. A higher value means more lines will be displayed on each
data page. Note that increasing the value for this setting increases the amount of RAM used by
the application and may exceed the system’s capacity. Since the Show used cells option also
uses up some RAM, consider removing this option (see "Data Selector display preferences" on
page713) to reduce system load.
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Pages in buffer: Enter the number of data pages you want the data page buffer to contain, or
use the spin buttons to increment or decrement the value. Putting more pages in the buffer mul-
tiples the lines shown and is only useful in specific cases.
Note for PlanetPress Suite users: You should also consider using the N-Up Object if you want to
display multiple data pages; see thePlanetPress Design user guide.
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Cut on FF character: Select to have a new data page when a form feed character is
encountered in the data stream. If you select the Cut on FF character option, there are two con-
ditions that signal the end of a data page: the form feed character and the number of lines set in
the Lines per page option. Note that the Cut on FF character takes precedence over the Lines
per page option.
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