Use this variable with caution: it will override an image options set you may have carefully tested with the Image Options Editor and you may not notice that it has been defined somewhere in a command file, although its effect will be reported in the trace file from CF9IMAGE.
This variable is used to override the $image_options keywords, and has some special properties and new features.
•Unlike most other variables that can be used at multiple levels, the values at each level are combined. Values set in FAXFACTS.CFG, a User Profile (USR), an FS File, and any set in an infobox script (IIF) are applied in sequence to whatever image option sets are active.
•Like all other variables, if a variable definition is repeated within a command file, only the last one is used.
•Variables are not expanded within the text of the variable value
•The legacy variable name QPDF_OPTIONS is no longer supported as a synonym for this variable.
•The special keyword value IMGn is no longer available for this variable. This is a keyword for $convert_options to select a specific image options set.
•An attempt to add a TRY option in the variable is ignored. You can, however, suppress a TRY option.
The variable value is a white-space-separated sequence of Image Option Keywords. Keywords which are to be added can optionally be preceded by a plus sign, but this is implied. For example:
$var_def IMAGE_OPTIONS "LOWRES +BRIGHTNESS120" ; add two options
Keywords can be deleted as well as added, using a minus sign. When this is done, any parameters following the keyword are ignored and can be omitted. For example:
$var_def IMAGE_OPTIONS "-LOWRES -BRIGHTNESS" ; suppress two options
When a plus sign or minus sign is used, it can be followed by a single digit option set number from 0 to 9 to affect only a single option set. Otherwise the override is applied to all option sets. For example:
$var_def IMAGE_OPTIONS "+5SCALE" ; add option to image set 5 only
$var_def IMAGE_OPTIONS "-2TRY" ; suppress trying other sets after set 2
Usage of the IMAGE_OPTIONS variable
The variable can be defined in several places:
| CFG | We strongly discourage defining this variable in FAXFACTS.CFG. It is better to change the keywords in your $image_options commands. When this variable globally overrides image option sets, the Image Options Editor (which processes only the actual contents of the set) will give a false view of how conversions will be performed by the Document Converter. The COPIAFACTS engine trace file will show a run-time warning when this variable is used in FAXFACTS.CFG. |
| USR/UJP | For a similar reason you should only define the variable in a USR or UJP file when a specific user will always need an override which cannot be set by any other means. It is not easy to remember that this variable is present in a user profile and its presence will affect the conversion which may have been tested in the Image Options Editor. The preferred solution is to define a special Image Option Set for the user, and select it with a $convert_options command keyword IMGn. The COPIAFACTS engine trace file will show a run-time warning when this variable is used in a user profile. |
| FS | It may sometimes be necessary to apply special options in an FS file, for example before a manual retry of a failed transmission. In an FS file the variable has a limited lifespan. |
| IIF | Special image options can easily be applied by using $set_var to assign IMAGE_OPTIONS in a preprocess or by defining the variable in FFCLIENT settings. For example a user may have documents named specially which require custom conversion processing, and these can be detected by name in a preprocess. |
