CoolSpools Version 8 Coming in 2026

The CoolSpools product has been a trusted IBM i application for over twenty years.  While the application has been continually improved over that time, 2026 will see the release of Version 8, the first major release of the CoolSpools product since 2014.  Any enhancements that were added to CoolSpools Version 7 through fix packs will be included as standard, as well as a wealth of new functionality.  Below is a taste of the enhancements you can expect to see in CoolSpools V8.

The CoolSpools Admin module will see the introduction of rich system monitoring functionality, allowing sites to monitor both their CoolSpools environment and their wider IBM i system and applications.  It will also see the introduction of the ability to work with IFS files and folders from a simple green screen utility with easy access to CoolSpools document conversion and distribution commands.  For the first time it will be possible to set an activity schedule on individual spool monitors, so output queue automation can be finely controlled.

The CoolSpools Email configuration has been restructured to allow you to route messages via a different mail server depending upon the message sender’s email domain.  For the first time this will allow those hosting multiple companies on the same IBM i server to relay each company’s email via the appropriate corporate mail server.  These servers can use a mixture of different connectivity methods, including MS OAUTH 2.0.  Additionally, a standalone command has been introduced to allow sites to easily validate that a character string contains a correctly formatted email address.

The CoolSpools Database module has been enhanced to allow the use of $$FUNCTIONS within XML mapping, something that was previously only available with Excel mapping.  Using this in conjunction with a new function to embed the Base64 encoded content of an IFS stream file will allow a PDF document to be embedded within XML, in line with the European PEPPOL invoicing standard.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.