Although the licensed name of the product is PCL Input Filter, in the software and this manual it is referred to as the PCL Processor or simply PCL.
PCL(Printer Control Language) is a specific document description language used by HP printers. A software module (often a printer driver) creates a PCL file containing text, graphics, and formatting information. This PCL file can then be sent to the printer for printing.
This same PCL file can also be brought into the document imaging system and viewed as a document, using these methods:
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Import Document dialog.
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PCL Processor configuration.
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The Import Document dialog allows for the specification of a PCL Data Stream File Type. The PCL file specified for import is brought into the database in the same manner as any other file imported via the Import Document dialog box.
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The PCL Processor extends the capabilities of the COLD/ERM module by working directly with PCL files while maintaining the common formatting associated with PCL documents such as graphics, bolding, and underlining. The PCL Processor is designed to process PCL documents generated by specific line-of-business systems. Currently, the system supports PCL Level 5, and can handle vector and raster graphics.
There are two types of PCL that are not fully supported: A PCL file that uses the HP-GL/2 extension to the PCL language, and bitmapped fonts that are not represented within the file by the ASCII value of the characters. Files which use bitmapped fonts are rendered correctly and can be viewed, but values cannot be captured from the text.
Since the PCL Processor is an enhancement to the capabilities of the COLD/ERM module, many of the same configuration requirements for COLD/ERM processing must also be met for PCL processing. These include identification of the file to be processed, selection of a document type, identification of Keyword Values, location of an identification string in the PCL file, and the definition of an optional continuation string. Unicode files are not currently supported for import using the PCL processor.
Since identification of Keyword Values and a continuation string cannot be done readily from viewing the PCL file in a text viewer, the Visual PCL module is required to configure the PCL Processor. Visual PCL incorporates a PCL viewer, so that configuration parameters can be defined via a visual interface.