Using PrintOMatic Lite

The PrintOMatic Lite Xtra can be used in two ways. The first and simplest way to use PrintOMatic Lite is by calling the global print command, passing the Director object(s) you would like to print as parameters:

	print member "illustration" of castLib 1
	print "Some example text for printing"
	print sprite 1, sprite 5
	print castLib "documentation"


If all you have to do is print something out quickly and easily, you can stop reading now; that's all there is to it.

Using an Instance of the PrintOMatic Lite Xtra

The second way of using PrintOMatic Lite, which is more powerful and customizable than simply using the global print command, is to create an instance of the Xtra using the new command:

	set doc = new(xtra "PrintOMatic_Lite")
	if not objectP(doc) then exit

An instance of the PrintOMatic Lite Xtra is called a "document object ". Be sure to check the validity of the document object using the objectP() function before continuing. Once you have created a document object, you can change its attributes, such as the document's name, margins and landscape orientation:

	setDocumentName doc, "My Document"
	setMargins doc, Rect(36,36,36,36)
	setLandscapeMode doc, TRUE

Then, you can add items such as sprites and cast members to the document object using the append command:

	append doc, member "title" of castLib 1
	append doc, sprite 1

Text field cast members will be printed with all their fonts and styles intact. Rich text cast members' bitmap images will be printed. However, text strings have no inherent style data associated with them. You can use setTextFont, setTextSize and setTextStyle to set the attributes of text strings that you append.

	setTextFont doc, "Helvetica"
	setTextSize doc, 10
	setTextStyle doc, "normal"
	append doc, copyrightInfo

When you have appended all the elements you want to print to the document object, show the user the job setup dialog, and print the document if doJobSetup returns TRUE. If you don't want the user to see the job setup dialog, omit the call to doJobSetup.

	if doJobSetup(doc) then print doc

Finally, dispose of the document object by setting its value equal to zero. This will release all the memory taken up by the PrintOMatic Lite document.

	set doc = 0