Superfiles in AnzioWin

What are "superfiles"?

With the release of AnzioWin 15, there is a new concept that underlies many of the new features in AnzioWin. Most any operation in AnzioWin that deals with a file, can work with "superfiles",  handles to input/output devices that can come from a number of sources. This is a short introduction to their use.

URI's ("universal resource indicator") and URL's ("universal resource locator") are known throughout the Internet community and you use them whenever you browse a web site. "superfiles" are similar in appearance to these strings and many represent actual standard definitions for accessing files or host systems.

AnzioWin startup with "superfiles"

It is possible to start AnzioWin up with a command line parameter that specifies the connection method and various parameters for the connection method. These can be done by simply including the URI after the executable name in a desktop shortcut, when you are typing the command from the Windows "Run" dialog, when starting Anzio from a script or when you are working from a DOS-type command prompt. Here are some examples:

anzio32.exe telnet://hostname

anzio32.exe telnet://

anzio32.exe telnet://username@hostname

anzio32.exe telnet://username:password@hostname

anzio32.exe telnet://username:password@hostname:port

anzio32.exe modem://phonenumber

anzio32.exe modem://username@phonenumber

anzio32.exe modem://username:password@phonenumber

anzio32.exe rlogin://somehost.com

anzio32.exe rlogin://username@somehost.com

anzio32.exe rlogin://username:password@somehost.com

anzio32.exe ssh://somehost.com

anzio32.exe ssh://username@somehost.com

anzio32.exe ssh://username:password@somehost.com

anzio32.exe serial://serialsettings

Using "superfiles" inside Anzio

There are a great number of locations throughout AnzioWin where external PC files come into play, such as file transfer, playing sound, capture, printing, and many others. Where ever a file name may be entered, a "superfile" file name may be entered instead. A "superfile" file name is very similar to the concept of a web page URL (Universal Resource Locator), the http://something that appears in the Address line of your browser. "Superfile" file names correspond to a URI (Universal Resource Indicator) and expands upon this standards approach to referencing remote input and output resources. This is a concept that underlies many new features. Many operations that used to deal with files can now optionally use a "superfile" URI. We already had this to a degree. For instance, you could issue the Anzio command:

COPY ftp://somefile@somehost.com mylocalfile

to fetch the file from an FTP location and store it on disk. Or you could do

COPY mylocalfile WPRN

where "WPRN" is a special name that corresponds to Anzio's built-in print handler.

Now we have added many new kinds, to handle faxing, scanning, speech, and many of the other features described below. Some can be input files and some can be output files. With the exception of "WPRN", which is in that form for compatibility with earlier usage, all superfile designations have a type identifier followed by "://", as in the first example above. The identifier is not case sensitive.

Following are the file name formats currently available, whether they are usable for input or output, and general notes. Additional "superfile" support will continue to be added in future releases.
 

anything else without "://" in it is a standard local file. For instance, you could use the Anzio command

ZSEND scan://

to scan and upload (via Zmodem) a file.

Superfile Parameters

Associated with many of the superfile names above are also variable and optional parameters that help control how these input or output names will behave.

There is usually a first parameter entered before any others that references a setting for the action for the superfile type, i.e. the file name to write to or the fax number to fax to. Optional parameters are entered after this, separated by question marks. As an example:

PDF://MyFileName.pdf?author=AnzioWin?email=myemail@somewhere.com?emailsubject=test

Below is a list of possible parameters for several of these file types. Note that a more complete list may be found in the current version's ReadMe.TXT file (shipped with the product) or in the current AnzioWin manual.

Additional superfile names may have additional parameters. Check the current documentation for more information.