If you run IBM i, you generate spool files. Invoices, statements, purchase orders, remittance advice, pick lists, shipping documents, payroll registers — virtually every transaction your system processes produces output that lands in a spool queue.
For most organizations, that's where the story ends. The spool file gets printed, handed to someone, and eventually filed in a cabinet or thrown away. The data inside it — data that already exists in your DB2 tables — gets disconnected from the document and becomes invisible to anyone who didn't happen to grab a copy when it was printed.
Spool file capture changes that. Here's how it works and why it matters.
What Is a Spool File?
A spool file is a formatted output file generated by an IBM i program. When your system produces an invoice, for example, it doesn't print it directly — it writes the formatted output to a spool queue first. From there, the output can be sent to a printer, emailed, faxed, or processed in other ways.
Spool files contain the same information you'd see on a printed document: header data, line items, totals, dates, reference numbers. They're stored in IBM i output queues and are typically transient — they exist long enough to be printed, then they're gone.
The problem with treating spool files as temporary print jobs is that you lose the document the moment it leaves the queue. If a customer calls about an invoice from six months ago, someone has to dig through paper files to find it. If your auditors need a year's worth of remittance records, someone has to reconstruct them manually.
What Is Spool File Capture?
Spool file capture is the process of intercepting IBM i output before or as it enters the print queue, converting it to a storable document format (typically PDF), and indexing it against your existing DB2 data so it can be retrieved later.
The key word is automatically. A proper spool file capture system monitors your output queues continuously. When a new spool file appears — an invoice, a statement, a report — it's captured without anyone having to do anything. It gets converted, indexed, and stored. The printer still gets its copy if you want one, but now you also have a permanent, searchable digital record.
What gets indexed? The index fields are pulled directly from your DB2 data — customer number, invoice number, document date, document type, amount, whatever makes sense for retrieval. No manual data entry required.
How RVI Handles Spool File Capture on IBM i
RVI's IBM i document management software monitors your output queues natively — no Windows server required, no middleware, no conversion utilities running on a separate machine. The capture process runs directly on IBM i, which means it's as reliable and fast as the rest of your system.
When a spool file is captured, RVI:
- Converts the output to searchable PDF
- Reads index values from your DB2 tables (not from screen-scraping the spool file)
- Stores the document in the RVI repository with those index values attached
- Makes it immediately available to anyone with appropriate access — from any workstation, including green-screen terminals
The result is that every document your IBM i produces becomes a permanent, retrievable record the moment it's generated — without adding any manual steps to your existing process.
Which Documents Can Be Captured?
Any output that goes through an IBM i spool queue can be captured. Common examples include:
- Accounts payable: vendor invoices, remittance advice, check registers
- Accounts receivable: customer invoices, statements, aging reports
- Order management: purchase orders, sales orders, pick lists, packing slips
- Payroll: pay stubs, payroll registers, tax forms
- General ledger: journal entries, trial balances, financial statements
- Shipping: bills of lading, delivery confirmations
If your IBM i produces it, RVI can capture it.
Why It Matters Beyond Retrieval
The most obvious benefit of spool file capture is faster document retrieval — finding a specific invoice in seconds instead of minutes. But the downstream benefits go further:
Audit readiness
When auditors request documentation, you can produce years of records in hours instead of days. Every document is timestamped, indexed, and stored with a complete access log.
Disaster recovery
Documents stored in a managed repository with proper backup are far safer than paper files in a cabinet or PDFs scattered across a network share. If something happens to your physical location, your document history survives.
Workflow integration
Captured documents can trigger automated workflows — routing an invoice for approval the moment it's generated, for example, rather than waiting for someone to pick it up from a printer and walk it to the right desk.
Reduced printing costs
Organizations that implement spool file capture typically reduce print volume significantly. When documents are instantly available on-screen, many print runs become unnecessary.
Getting Started
Spool file capture is usually one of the first things RVI customers implement because it delivers immediate, visible value without requiring process changes from your team. Your IBM i keeps doing exactly what it does today — RVI just captures the output automatically in the background.
If you're ready to stop printing spool files and start managing them, schedule a demo and we'll show you how RVI handles your specific output queues and document types.
See Spool File Capture in Action
We'll walk through a live demo using document types common to your industry — no generic slides, no pressure.
Schedule a Demo