>Hi all,
>
>What's the best tool for providing VFP report (FRX) output to a file in a format which can later be printed/faxed etc. without losing formatting codes?
>
>Output to ASCII is fine but doesn't have any graphical formatting, I tried Ken Levy's GenRepoX sample but that lost graphic formatting and didn't maintain the columns (and had bugs).
>
>Is there a good 3rd party tool which is fairly easy to integrate into VFP or am I better off looking at a different report writer like Crystal Reports, R&R etc.
>
FoxFire! and CRR can both do this; you might want to check the capabilities of Stonefield Reports as well, but I don't have specific experience with the tool.
FRXs can create .PDF files with the addition of Adobe's PDF printer driver or one of the compatible drivers, but the drivers are not cheap. You can also send FRX output to a fax; I've done this with WinFax both through DDE and the newer ActiveX controls, and the process is fairly straightforward. You can also create Encapsulated PostScript output which can be viewed on-screen using something like the PD GhostScript, and printed on PostScript printers (there are also software-based PostScript emulators available.)