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AM_PRNT.HLP
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1991-07-30
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APPLICATIONS MAKER - REPORT SCREEN HELP
If you have not read the help for the INPUT screen please press 2
now, then press S or s to TOGGLE THE SCREEN to the INPUT screen.
Then press your H or h key to view the help for the INPUT screen.
APPLICATIONS MAKER's reports are NOT automatically executed. To
execute a report, or segment thereof, with APPLICATIONS MAKER you
will need to use a DO PRINT item on the INPUT screen.
This item must have a label as an argument. The program searches the
report screen for the FIRST occurrence of that label, and executes
until it encounters a BREAK item, or the end of the report. Control
then returns to the INPUT screen, at the next item past the DO PRINT.
The operation of the REPORT screen is perhaps too much like the
operation of the INPUT screen as users are often found to make errors
due to their similarity. The upper left corner of the dialog box
lists the current screen. Be certain to check it before taking
action.
CONTROLLING YOUR REPORTS:
Since this program supports multiple reports generated from an
application and stores them on the same screen it must require you to
specify the location in the report screen of the desired report, and
the width of same. To accomplish this you will use a PRINT CONTROL
item to set the REPORT OFFSET and the REPORT WIDTH.
In applications having multiple reports you will need to establish a
LABEL on the report screen to which you will go to start the
particular report you wish to print. This LABEL should ALWAYS appear
in the start column of the desired report. When executing a DO PRINT
item on the INPUT screen, you will be able to find any LABEL on the
report screen, regardless of the current settings of the OFFSET.
The start LABEL will set the report offset to the column in which it
appears for you when it is found. The WIDTH will then be set to 78
characters. You should get into the habit of setting the OFFSET and
the WIDTH via the PRINT CONTROL items directly after your start
label. This way you will be certain to get the desired results.
After beginning your report any LABEL or BREAK items not within the
boundaries set by the OFFSET and the WIDTH will not be found or
executed. Attempting to branch to a label that is not within the
current boundaries will result in a PRINT LABEL NOT FOUND error.
Only the desired section of the report screen will be filled with
data. The CHECK REPORT items on the INPUT screen will allow you to
view the entire report and you can use the BLANK REPORT items on the
INPUT screen to remove data from the report, or any section thereof.
ENDING YOUR REPORT:
Applications Maker actually prepares the segment of your report
delimited by the initial label and the next break item executed, or
the end of the report, and places it in space reserved for it on the
disk drive. This is necessary in order to allow you to view the
report via the VIEW REPORT input screen item.
When the report is printed the program simply sends the report file
to the printer. Character by character. When a GOTO is encountered
the sending of the report stops there and resumes wherever the
target label is located. If you do not properly terminate your
report you will end up sending all of it to the printer.
Reports usually fall into two classes: Those that comprise an entire
page (or pages) and those that fill only a section of a page. These
two types of reports are terminated in two different ways.
If you are printing a segment of a report you should drop down to the
FIRST space on the next line, or the line after that if you wish to
leave a blank, and place a BREAK ITEM there. This will cause the
report segment to terminate without printing any more spaces.
For the whole page reports you'll want to send your printer an ascii
twelve to go to the beginning of a new page. The very next screen
item needs to be a BREAK. When a control code is sent and the next
item is a BREAK the program will not print any intervening spaces.