>>>>>Can you use this overlay with the report designer? I can't figure out how to get the image to automatically overlay when I print with the driver (REPORT FORM...TO PRINT) without going into the driver advanced settings and explicitly telling it to insert a macro. So far all the messages I've seen regarding this subject bypass the driver for their printing. Anyone using the report designer with a macro overlay?? Thanks for any feedback.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Yep - I explicitly put a call to a UDF that outputs the macro via ??? in the page footer.
>>>
>>>Thanks Ed. Would you mind a little more detail. Do you call it from the "run expression on enter" or "run expression on exit" or some other place in the footer. Does your UDF just set the macro active or do you actually copy to the printer from the UDF? Thanks again.
>>
>>I copy the macro to the printer as a permanent macro before the application starts, so that all the macros that I might reference are present before I need them; typically, we have a batch job that runs once a day to copy the files containing the permanent macros to the printers involved, and that need only be run after the printers are turned off and back on.
>>
>>The UDF is in the page footer; it accepts a parameter that identifies the macro we want run (typically, the macro id is based on a company number, since we use the macros to overlay company-specific invoice formats.) The UDF returns a null string to the report form, but sends the following using '???':
>>
>>CHR(27)+'&f'+_macroid+'y3X'
>>
>>This sends
y3X to trigger the permanent macro. Our macro id is a 3 byte character expression, typically, something like '1'+company # for invoice layout, '2'+company # for credit memo layout, etc.
>>
>>hth,
>>
>>Ed
>
>Thanks again Ed,
>
>I understand what you're saying, but I am confused by UDF "in the footer". Where exactly do you call your UDF? I assumed you were using the report designer, right? Also, do you use TO PRINT in your REPORT FORM statement to print with the driver, or do you use another method to get the output printed? Sorry for being dense on this subject. Thanks again for your help.
Path a textbox in your footer somewhere. For the report expression, call the UDF. The UDF sends the macro to the currentlyelected printer by the ???. The UDF returns a null string, resulting in nothing other than the macro being sent. You can use the TO PRINT clause to send output directly to the printer.
>Marcus.
