Re: Selecting printer in ACE reports using prompt

Kate writes:- > I have a number of reports that I'd like the user to be able to send > either to a local or network printer. Is there any way I can get the > user to be able to input the printer name? I see this as a proble, > because of the different syntax for local , cf. system printers. > > --Kate > > > Kate, you have stumbled on one of the biggest deficiencies of the INFORMIX report writers. A report, whether in SQL or 4GL, can only be output to one printer. If you want to change the name of the printer yo can do this by changing the DBPRINT environment variable before running each report, BUT ONLY IF THE PRINTERS HAVE THE SAME PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. By that I mean that they have the same number of lines per page, the same number of characters per line, and, if you use any PRINT ASCII statements to select BOLD, underline, or font, that both printers recognise the same sequences, which normally means that they are the same make and model. The way that I get round the problem is to produce the information I need to report into a file and then output it to printer using a modern mail-merge program. Again, these techniques are covered in much greater detail on my training courses. Malcolm Weallans Online Database Consultancy Phone 01628-72154 Fax 01628-37463 CIX - onlinedbc