Yes I do use this technique for more demanding forms, but it does raise the complexity of the development significantly.
I should be able to take a report that has worked for years, add a logo and some boxes using DDS afpds keywords, and it should print well on most printers.
I should not have to map each field to the thousandth of an inch position vertically & horizontally.
Compare this to every other OS in 2012 where the developer clicks on a field from a list of fields, drops it on the page, and clicks on the size attribute to see a wysiwig of how the page will look.
It makes me understand why mgmt here and everywhere wants to run from the i - it is extremely labor intensive to set up dozens of report fields battleship style (specifying each horiz and vertical coordinate) on a report compared to every other OS. Show this to a c# or java developer and they will laugh and think it is a joke.
Yes I was there in the 1980's too when this was the norm, but those days are gone with the 8-track!
Thanks for the font suggestions!
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of J Franz
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 11:29 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: printed reports with font changes and logos, signatures, etc
In forms that need to print on different printers, I would use POSITION
coordinates instead of cpi, lpi spacing.
A R L1HEAD FONT(2305 (*POINTSIZE 9))
A WKCARC 80 POSITION(00.40 02.00)
A WKADR1 80 POSITION(00.54 02.00)
A WKADR2 80 POSITION(00.68 02.00)
you can also control the positions from within RPG (the values D1X and D2X)
A COM120 120 FONT(2304 (*POINTSIZE 6.5))
A POSITION(&D1X &D2X)
A D1X 5S 3P
A D2X 5S 3P
for fonts (FGID) that work well for me
variable width (typographic)-
2304 - Helveticaand specify *pointsize
2305 - Helvetica Bold " " "
fixed width -
Courier font 11 (10 pitch)
Courier font 46 (10 pitch bold)
Courier font 75 (12 pitch
Courier font 223 (15 pitch
Courier font 252 (17 pitch
Courier font 416 use chrsiz
A R $PRT09 FONT(416)
A CHRSIZ(1 1)
The internet is littered with complaint of different margins even within same
manufacturer,
including HP...
and don't get me started on discussing "universal drivers"...(some pgmrs should
be shot!),
plus the issues of printing through Citrix or other remote setups.
Jim Franz
I also use worstation customize object to set margins to where I want them,
overriding
what the mfgr & windoze has done.
________________________________
From: Pat Barber <mboceanside@xxxxxxx>
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wed, October 24, 2012 10:55:13 AM
Subject: Re: printed reports with font changes and logos, signatures, etc
Printing on the I is certainly complicated, but what other OS are you
aware of
that has all the functions built in that the I can do ? The advanced
printer functions
need to be learned, but they can certainly produce some very complicated
print streams
with little effort.
There are "many" manuals on printing available for your use.
Your lack of understanding doesn't make the printing systems out of date.
The differences in printer models is a very old problem shared by the entire
computer industry for as long as I can remember.
I am not familiar with a "quiet zone" but every single laser printer that I
have ever seen has a "no print area". They might be different in size, but
they all have one.
Maybe now you will understand why programmers/managers/CEO tend to
migrate to a single line of printers.
On 10/23/2012 10:10 AM, Stone, Joel wrote:
Yes of course it is the programming - no offense taken.
And yes some printers need a larger quiet zone than others.
But it is frustrating to deal with an OS that is stuck in the 1980s when it
comes to printing.
- Spacing from one DDS field to the next seems to be controlled by the
printer file's font size (not the current font size being used in the record
format or field level)
- DDS BOX command starting at 1/4" from the edge gets pushed out past
the quiet zone on printerA, but works well on printerB. OK so printerA
seemingly cant print within 1/4" of the edge, yet printerA DOES print an overlay
(with a box border) at 1/4" from the edge. How can an overlay access part of
the page that DDS cannot?
- Printing an AFPDS doc directly to an Iseries attached HP printer with
an IPDS card has all sorts of anomalies and variations from one printer to the
next, yet the exact same print file converted to PDF prints identically and
perfectly on all HP printers.
midrange.com
