We've got a vertical niche app running in VFP 7, and have coached the

clients through installing PDF995 as a printer driver and it is working

very well for them to pick manually from a REPORT FORM TO PRINT PROMPT

situation. Now, we'd like to be able to offer them the ability to print

to a PDF as part of a pre-report dialog.

Basically, the code is picking the PDF995 printer from the list in

APRINTERS() ('cause some workstations have 'PDF995' installed and some

'PDF995Share') and issuing a:

SET PRINTER TO NAME lcPrinter

In the Debug window we are seeing SET("PRINT",2), the windows default,

stay the same, and SET("PRINT",3), the VFP currently selected printer,

switch to the PDF995 printer. That command is followed by a REPORT FORM

TO PRINTER.

Sometimes, it generates the PDF. Sometimes it comes out the Windows

default printer.

We've tried throwing in various time delays (WAIT NOWINDOW TIMEOUT and

DOEVENTS()) with no change.

Reports are all stripped of printer information.

Ideas?

Ted Roche

Ted Roche & Associates, LLC

http://www.tedroche.com

Is it the TAG fields of the report?

It's necessary most of the time if you want to print to various printers

(not always the same printer) to clear the printer information stored

the TAG TAG2 and EXPR fields of the report...

Time for a test?

John

San Diego, CA

Ooops,

Had to scroll down to see the "Reports are all stripped of printer

information." Well, that's not it.

John

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---

multipart/mixed

text/plain (text body -- kept)

application/ms-tnef

---

Ted we are doing something very similar but not with the same printer

driver.

Here is some snips of our code.

(in the click of the pdf button)

lc_printer = Set('printer',2)

If Thisform.setprinter()

Report Form &lcReport &lcScope To File pdf\temp.ps Noconsole

Set Printer To (lc_printer)

...

Endif

(In the setprinter method on the print dialog form)

llSuccess=.t.

ON ERROR llSuccess=.f.

SET PRINTER TO NAME PDFPrinter

ON ERROR oError.Handle(ERROR(), PROGRAM(), LINENO())

IF !llSuccess

MESSAGEBOX("Could not find the PDF Printer")

ENDIF

RETURN llSuccess

We've never had a problem.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Chris.

-----Original Message-----

From: profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com [mailto:profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com] On

Behalf Of Ted Roche

Sent: 11 April 2005 23:20

To: profoxtech@leafe.com

Subject: SET PRINTER TO NAME... doesn't, sometimes?

We've got a vertical niche app running in VFP 7, and have coached the

clients through installing PDF995 as a printer driver and it is working

very well for them to pick manually from a REPORT FORM TO PRINT PROMPT

situation. Now, we'd like to be able to offer them the ability to print

to a PDF as part of a pre-report dialog.

Basically, the code is picking the PDF995 printer from the list in

APRINTERS() ('cause some workstations have 'PDF995' installed and some

'PDF995Share') and issuing a:

SET PRINTER TO NAME lcPrinter

In the Debug window we are seeing SET("PRINT",2), the windows default,

stay the same, and SET("PRINT",3), the VFP currently selected printer,

switch to the PDF995 printer. That command is followed by a REPORT FORM

TO PRINTER.

Sometimes, it generates the PDF. Sometimes it comes out the Windows

default printer.

We've tried throwing in various time delays (WAIT NOWINDOW TIMEOUT and

DOEVENTS()) with no change.

Reports are all stripped of printer information.

Ideas?

Ted Roche

Ted Roche & Associates, LLC

http://www.tedroche.com

[excessive quoting removed by server]

Ted Roche wrote:

> In the Debug window we are seeing SET("PRINT",2), the windows default,

> stay the same, and SET("PRINT",3), the VFP currently selected printer,

> switch to the PDF995 printer. That command is followed by a REPORT

> FORM TO PRINTER.

>

> Sometimes, it generates the PDF. Sometimes it comes out the Windows

> default printer.

>

Hi Ted,

I checked out some PDF printer drivers a while ago, including Expert

PDF, PDF995, PDF redirect,Virtual PDF and Win2PDF and the only one that

seemed to work reliably for me was the virtualPDF. Been using that now

for over a year with no problems. Not sure if other people have had

other results with PDF995. Got my Virtual PDF from

http://www.go2pdf.com/index.html

Peter

Hi Ted / Peter

I have had no problems with print2pdf as was recommended on this very

list.

To avoid the sort of problems picking printers I just have a print to

PDF entry on the menus.

-----Original Message-----

From: profox-bounces@leafe.com [mailto:profox-bounces@leafe.com] On

Behalf Of Peter Cushing

Sent: 12 April 2005 09:15

To: ProFox Email List

Subject: Re: SET PRINTER TO NAME... doesn't, sometimes?

Ted Roche wrote:

> In the Debug window we are seeing SET("PRINT",2), the windows default,

> stay the same, and SET("PRINT",3), the VFP currently selected printer,

> switch to the PDF995 printer. That command is followed by a REPORT

> FORM TO PRINTER.

>

> Sometimes, it generates the PDF. Sometimes it comes out the Windows

> default printer.

>

Hi Ted,

I checked out some PDF printer drivers a while ago, including Expert

PDF, PDF995, PDF redirect,Virtual PDF and Win2PDF and the only one that

seemed to work reliably for me was the virtualPDF. Been using that now

for over a year with no problems. Not sure if other people have had

other results with PDF995. Got my Virtual PDF from

http://www.go2pdf.com/index.html

Peter

[excessive quoting removed by server]

Ted,

I have been using "CutePdf Writer" printer driver with success

(www.cutepdf.com) I just verified the web site and they now have a pdf form

filler to fill in pdf files and print. They also have an SDK for $249, but

the pdf writer driver is free.

CutePdf Form Filer

Features Highlight

Save the data that you enter into a PDF form, fill it in offline, and later

print or submit your form.

Send a completed PDF form or just the form data as an e-mail attachment.

Export form data to a separate FDF, XFDF (XML-based FDF) or XML file.

Import form data from a FDF, XFDF or XML file.

Flatten PDF form to stamp content directly into the PDF document.

Add security (40-bit & 128-bit) to your PDF documents to prevent anyone from

changing it or altering the information.

$29.95

Alan Bain

For those tuning in late to the thread, a recap of the situation, and

some new symptoms:

Our clients (several) have purchased and deployed the PDF995 Suite. It

is a very nice solution to some complex problems, and we plan to stick

with it. Thanks for all of the alternate suggestions, but most were

considered and rejected. We are using some INI file programming in

other parts of the application, to produce uneditable, 128-bit

encrypted PDFs with great success, even over Terminal Services.

This app is running in VFP7 and using the Mere Mortals framework. Using

code based on that framework, the report requestor dialog has been

modified to give them a "Save to PDF" feature along with Print,

Preview, Export to Excel, Export to HTML, and a few others.

When the client selects the PDF output, just before issuing the REPORT

FORM command, we use the SET PRINTER TO NAME command to switch the

current VFP printer to PDF995. We've commented out the code that resets

the printer back to the originally selected one, and we do see the

PDF995 printer selected as SET("PRINT",3) at the end of the run. We've

also added various timeouts, as mentioned in the OP, below, with no

change.

Sometimes we get a PDF, sometimes it prints out on the (Windows

default) laser printer. It's not every-other-time, sometimes a batch

prints okay, sometimes the first one fails. No pattern discerned yet.

NEW INFORMATION: when we copy-and-paste the routine that issues SET

PRINTER from the code running before the report and add it to the

Report's Data Environment Init(), the report prints out PDFs, every

time (in the first several dozen tests, at least). Go figure. We'd

prefer not to have to copy-and-paste this code into dozens of reports,

but you do what you have to do to get the job done.

Insights, inquiries and comments welcomed.

On Apr 11, 2005, at 6:20 PM, Ted Roche wrote:

> We've got a vertical niche app running in VFP 7, and have coached the

> clients through installing PDF995 as a printer driver and it is

> working very well for them to pick manually from a REPORT FORM TO

> PRINT PROMPT situation. Now, we'd like to be able to offer them the

> ability to print to a PDF as part of a pre-report dialog.

>

> Basically, the code is picking the PDF995 printer from the list in

> APRINTERS() ('cause some workstations have 'PDF995' installed and some

> 'PDF995Share') and issuing a:

>

> SET PRINTER TO NAME lcPrinter

>

> In the Debug window we are seeing SET("PRINT",2), the windows default,

> stay the same, and SET("PRINT",3), the VFP currently selected printer,

> switch to the PDF995 printer. That command is followed by a REPORT

> FORM TO PRINTER.

>

> Sometimes, it generates the PDF. Sometimes it comes out the Windows

> default printer.

>

> We've tried throwing in various time delays (WAIT NOWINDOW TIMEOUT and

> DOEVENTS()) with no change.

>

> Reports are all stripped of printer information.

Ted Roche

Ted Roche & Associates, LLC

http://www.tedroche.com

While I'm sure you're not going to use that VB approach you mentioned

<vbg>, I'll say this out loud anyway. Write yourself a nice little util

program to iterate through your reports folder and hack the FRXs by

adding the code you need. I've done this in the past to update labels,

change fonts, change paper size from A4 to letter, etc.

Ted Roche wrote:

> We'd prefer not to have to copy-and-paste this code into dozens of

> reports, but you do what you have to do to get the job done.

>

--

Richard Kaye

RFC Systems

Voice: 973.761.0868

Fax: 973.761.4329

For the fastest response time, please send your tech support

queries to techsupport@rfcsystems.com

---------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------

Ted,

I can recall a problem with Set Printer To Name with certain operating

systems. Sometimes they'd behave slightly differently and I had a hack

in place to handle each system differently.

Is there any pattern with the operating system on the machines that are

sending out this print file? If so, I can post my hack in the event that

it might help you.

Kris

Chance favors the prepared mind -- Louis Pasteur