Filepro-list Digest, Vol 70, Issue 3

[Richard Hane]

________________________________
From: Boaz Bezborodko <boaz at mirrotek.com>
To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
Cc: Richard Hane <yoresoft at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Fri, November 6, 2009 10:17:34 AM
Subject: Re: Filepro-list Digest, Vol 70, Issue 3


From: Kenneth Brody <kenbrody at spamcop.net>
>To: Richard Hane <yoresoft at sbcglobal.net>
>Cc: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com; Rick Hane <rhane at deluxestitcher.com>
>Sent: Thu, November 5, 2009 10:40:47 AM
>Subject: Re: Print Wizard from -pq option
>
>Richard Hane wrote:
>
>> System: fpODBC ver 5.0.15 , Windows 2003 network
>>> 
>>> I have several forms that we regulaly print as a pdf via print wizard.? That works fine.
>>> 
>>> However, I would like to give my users the option to do this on all forms and some reports as a regular option.? To do the above we have to use a batch file in addition to the printer definition.? Is there a way to do this with out a batch file?? IN short they could pick the pdf option as and other printer using the -pq flag.
>>    
>Can you describe how, exactly, you "use a batch file in addition to the printer definition" to currently do the conversion?
>
>What is the printer definition (specifically, the type and destination), and what is in the batch file?
>
>-- Kenneth Brody
>
>Morning Ken,
>
>here is the printer definition and batch file.
>
>Print Def....
>printer12: rickpdf, printwiz, u:\pdfquote\quote.txt, Create PDF
>Note: 'u' is a mapped dirve on all workstations as the users my documents file located on the main server.
>and below 'v' is a mapped dirve on all workstations to the fpodbc folder?located on the main server.
>
>Repair.bat file
>@echo off
>rem This File created by Rick Hane on 8-7-2009
>set PATH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
>set PFDSK=V
>set PFDATA=V:
>set PFPROG=V:
>set PFDIR=
>set PFLMHOST=server2007
>set PFMENU=V:\fp\menus\rick
>set PFGLOB=
>set PFCONFIG=
>set pfpostprint=c:\program files\printwiz30\printwiz /fpDF://u:\pdfquote\quote.pdf /quiet
>set PATH=%pfprog%;%PFPROG%\fp;%path%
>echo stuff > fp$$$$$$.bat
>del fp$$*.bat>NUL
>%pfprog%\fp\p repair
>
>Thanks
>RickRick,

It seems to me that there are a few potential problems with your setup especially as you increase the number of users.  First, you put all the output to the same file.  If more than one person decides to print to a .pdf then you can have a conflict or force one to wait.  Second, you require that each PC have a copy of PrintWiz installed in order to handle the .pdf.

I give people an option in some reports that requires me to put some lines of code into processing, but the code is portable from one program to another. 

In the select processing I have:
::DECLARE GLOBAL PrintSelPos(1,.0,g) 'Set 'Shipping' as the default:
::DECLARE GLOBAL PrintFileOpt(1,yesno,g)  'Allow printing to file as an option:
::DECLARE GLOBAL PrintToPDF(1,yesno,g)    'Pass whether PDF option was chosen:
::DECLARE GLOBAL PrintFileName(25,*,g)  'Set the file name prefix:
::PrintSelPos ="1": 'Which is the default selection to be displayed
::PrintFileOpt="Y":  'Some printouts should not be given the option of printing to a file
::ab(6,mdy)=rd:   'Change for each report to an appropriate reference number (inv#,PO#, etc.)
::PrintFileName="OpenAPCutOff-"&ab&"-":  'Change as needed for each report
::CALL NOAUTO "H\fpro\filepro\invno\printsel":
:PrintFileOpt eq "N" and PrintToPDF eq "Y":EXIT             'BRKY was pressed:

This is the "printsel" table:
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintSelPos  'Should be defined as (1,.0):
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintFileOpt  ' Should be defined as (1,yesno):
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintToPDF  ' Should be defined as (1,yesno):
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintFileName ' Should be defined as (25,*) - used for filename prefix:
::DIM prnter[10](20,*):
::prnter("2")="SHIPPING" ; prnter("1")="OFFICE" ; prnter("3")="PDF-FILE":
::DECLARE flname(63,*):
:'Set filename for printer file name with username-date-time:aa(8,yymd)=@td ; ab(5,*)=GETENV("USERNAME"):
:'Set filename for printer file name with username-date-time:flname="f/fpro/temp/"&ab{PrintFileName{aa:
::CLS("21","4"):
::SHOW "\r What printer should be used? \r":
LIST:PrintFileOpt eq "Y":pr=LISTBOX(prnter,"1","3","20","56","","",PrintSelPos):
:PrintFileOpt eq "N" or PrintFileOpt eq "":pr(1,*)=LISTBOX(prnter,"1","2","20","56","","",PrintSelPos):
:@sk="SAVE":GOTO LIST:
:@sk="BRKY"          ' Signal that the BRKY was hit with an impossible:PrintFileOpt="N" ; PrintToPDF="Y" ; END   'combination.:
::SHOW "":
:pr eq "1" or pr eq "2":PRINTER NAME prnter(pr) ; END:
:pr eq "3":PRINTER FILE flname{".txt" ; PrintToPDF="Y":
::SHOW ("24","7") "FILE WILL BE "&flname{".pdf":
::END:


The following is put at the end of report processing:
@DONE::DECLARE EXTERN PrintToPDF:
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintFileName:
:PrintToPDF ne "Y":END:
::CALL NOAUTO "H\fpro\filepro\invno\topdf":
::END:


This is the "topdf" processing table.
::DECLARE EXTERN PrintFileName ' Should be defined as (25,*):
::DECLARE flname(63,*) ; DECLARE flname2(55,*):
::aa(8,yymd)=@td ; ab(5,*)=GETENV("USERNAME"):
::flname="f\fpro\temp\ "{ab{PrintFileName{aa:
::ad=flname{".txt":
::ae=("!PDF /f\\mirrotek-server\data\fpro\temp\ "{ab{PrintFileName{aa{".pdf"):
::af=("f\fpro\temp\temp"&ab{PrintFileName{aa{".txt"):
::lookup ref = invno  r=("1")   -ep:
::ai(30,*)="temp"{ref(168)&".pdf" ; ref(168)=ref(168)+"1" ; CLOSE ref:
::EXPORT ASCII pdf = (af)  R=\n:
::pdf(1) = ae:
::CLOSE pdf:
::SYSTEM "TYPE "&ad&" >> "&af:
::SYSTEM "ECHO !PDF /f\\mirrotek-server\data\fpro\temp\ "{ai&" >> "&af:
::SYSTEM "COPY "&af&" \\mirrotek-server\pw1":
WAITLP:EXISTS("f\fpro\temp\ "{ai) eq "0" and zz lt "60000":SLEEP "500" ; zz(6,.0)=zz+"500" ; GOTO WAITLP:
:zz ge "60000":SHOW "@TIMEOUT ERROR!  PLEASE RETRY OR CALL AN ADMINISTRATOR" ; EXIT:
::SYSTEM "START "&flname{".pdf > "&flname{".err 2>&1":
::SYSTEM "ERASE "&ad:
::SYSTEM "ERASE "&af:
::SYSTEM "ERASE f\fpro\temp\ "{ai:
::SYSTEM "ERASE "&flname{".err":
::END:

This uses any Printwiz Server and keeps separate filenames per user and per document.  Not completely fine-grain enough as it will error out if the same user prints out the same document while a previous version is still open on the screen.  I could probably fix that by adding the time to the document name.

It creates a temporary pdf file at the end of the process to create a file for which it can check if Printwiz has completed the pdf creation.

Aside from making a few changes you simply drop the lines you need into your processing where needed and it works.

I am open to any suggestions for improvements or easier ways to do the same thing.

Also, by printing all reports through Printwiz, I keep the printer definitions constant (Printwiz) no matter which printer it ctually gets printed to.  I can change a printer to that of a different manufacturer and just change the drivers and Printwiz setup on the machine acting as the Printwiz server.

Boaz 

Boaz,

Thanks for the reply.  I see what you are doing but with hundreds of forms & reports and 16 users we are talking a lot of work.

The initial premise of my question was to see if there was a way to do this without having to add or change all the processing.  Possibly by just modifying the printer def.  Obviously not.  I have yet to find a pdf generator that can be called or pulled down like any windows printer can for filePro on a Windows system.

BTW... I get around the file name problem by having a bat file that renames the pdf files by there control number and redirects the copy to the correct users document folder.  I didn't mention that yesterday as I didn't think it made a differance.

Thank you,
Rick Hane
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