printing over html

[Bob Rasmussen]

On Fri, 26 Aug 2005, Enrique Arredondo wrote:

> I have 2 venders with a computer running SCO unix and filepro, they have a
> filepro menu which let's them print tags on a barcode printer. Now, this setup
> is quite obsolete because the database changes by the minute and they are
> always missing new parts or modifications on the information. So my new
> project that I want to make is something like this:
> ...

First, you can't depend on your browser to print reliably much of
ANYTHING, let alone barcodes. You can't even control pagination.

Yes, we have a solution. BTW, it's the one that Alan Mazuti uses. You can
see some examples starting at
   http://www.anzio.com/products/wepo.htm
Here is how it works.

The webpage the user is viewing contains an ActiveX object, which is WePO,
our Web Print Object. It typically appears as a button that says "Print".
(The first time the user visits the page, they will be asked if they want
to allow download/installation of WePO. They must say yes.)

Behind the scenes in that webpage are various parameter settings that
control the behavior of WePO. One of these parameters, "MainURL",
specifies the URL of the printfile.

When the user clicks the button, WePO fetches the file specified by
MainURL from the indicated FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS site. That file can be
static (already existing in that location), or it can be dynamically
created when called for, using typical CGI techniques.

WePO now has the file, and prints it, with or without doing Printer Setup,
with or without doing a Print Preview, etc. All these behaviors are
governed by parameters.

So what's in the file, you ask? Because the heart of WePO is the Print
Wizard engine, this file can be any of:

a) A plain-text file, which is auto-fit to the page. This means it can be
80-column, 132-column, whatever; with or without formfeeds. It can have
tabs, backspace-bolding, and backspace-underlining.

b) A file with PCL-5 codes. WePO can be configured to send the file
transparently to the printer, in which case it better be a compatible
printer. Or it can be set to "TranslatePCL", in which case the PCL is
translated by WePO and rendered on ANY printer.

c) A file with Print Wizard Markup Language (PWML), which looks a lot like
HTML. We provide a filePro .PRT file converts your filePro printcodes into
PWML. PWML includes codes for generating 14 kinds of barcodes, with
numerous options. You can initiate barcodes from a printcode.

You can also specify form overlays, in multiple file formats.

Important to all of this is device independence. The print output will be
consistent and correct for virtually any printer that has a Windows
printer driver. Barcodes will be printed out with intelligent handling of
print density.

It's a hard thing to explain, but it works, and it provides a solution to
an otherwise very sticky problem.

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com