Chapter 11
(continued)
The askSam Report Writer
Report Properties
The Report Properties Dialog Box lets you name (or rename) a report, define settings, or see statistics. These Report Settings are saved along with your report and may be changed at any time.
To Access The Report Properties Dialog Box:
1. Choose REPORT -> PROPERTIES.
The Report Properties Dialog Box will appear.
The SUMMARY Tab lets you name (or rename) the report. You can also enter the author's name, keywords, and notes.
The STATISTICS Tab displays information about the report such as Size, Number of Lines, Number of Paragraphs, etc.
The SETTINGS Tab lets you define the following Settings for the report:
Match Case This Option determines if a search is case sensitive. When Match Case is selected, please note that the case of the field names in your report must match the case of the field names in your Documents.
Output Field Names When active, this Option outputs the field name along with the field contents. For example:
With Output Field Names OFF:
Author[ outputs Miles Lowther
With Output Field Names ON:
Author[ outputs Author[ Miles Lowther
Absolute Line Spacing This option determines whether blank fields will output blank lines in a report. When Absolute Line Spacing is off and an empty field is output alone on a line, askSam removes the blank line from the report. For example, the report:
outputs
Kathy Emery
215-555-0000
if the Comp[ field is empty. If Absolute Line Spacing were turned on, the same report outputs:
Kathy Emery
215-555-0000
Text Foreground Color Sets the default foreground color for the text in the report.
Text Background Color Sets the default background color for the text in the report.
Printing Reports
There are two ways to print a report. You can print it directly, or you can run a report and print the report after it is output.
To Send a Report Directly to the Printer:
1. Choose FILE -> PRINT OTHER -> REPORT.
The Run Report Dialog Box will appear.
2. Select the report you want to print and choose the RUN button.
The Print Dialog Box will appear.
3. Set any options and choose OK to start printing.
Any report in which a layout is defined will create a new window when it is run. The contents of this window can be formatted, edited, and printed.
To Print the Report Output:
1. From the Report Output window, Choose FILE -> PRINT (or press
CTRL+P).
The Print Dialog Box will appear.
2. Set any options and choose OK to start printing.
Prevent Documents from Splitting
When you print a report containing information from multiple documents, askSam keeps Documents from splitting across pages (if the Document is smaller than a page). If you don't care where your page breaks occur, you can save paper by turning this option off. The "Keep docs together, printing reports" option can be set in the FILE -> PROPERTIES dialog box.
Printing Each Document on A Separate Page
When a report outputs information from multiple Documents, you can use the Output Separator to insert a page break between the information from each Document.
To Set the Output Separator:
1. Choose REPORT -> OUTPUT SEPARATOR.
The Output Separator window will open.
2. Choose FORMAT -> PAGE BREAK
When you print the report, each Document will be printed on a separate page.
Exporting Reports
You can export reports in various formats.
To Export a Report:
1. Choose FILE -> EXPORT.
A menu containing five options will appear.
2. Choose REPORT.
The Run Report Dialog Box will appear containing a list of reports.
3. Select the report you want to export and choose RUN.
The Export Dialog Box will appear. (See the chapter on Importing and Exporting for detailed instructions on using this dialog box.)
4. Enter a name for the file you are exporting.
5. Set “Export Type” to the file format you want for the report.
6. Choose SAVE.
The report will be exported.
Mailing Labels
You can use the Report Editor to design mailing labels.
1. Open the file containing your addresses.
2. Choose TOOLS -> REPORTS.
The New Report Menu will appear.
3. Enter a name for your Labels report and choose CREATE.
4. Choose REPORT -> SELECT DOCUMENTS -> SEARCH to enter a search for the desired
addresses. The chapter on Searching contains instructions for using the Search Dialog.
5. Choose REPORT -> SORTING AND GROUPING to enter a sort request.
6. Drag the fields for your labels from the Field List into the Report Editor.
7. Choose REPORT -> OUTPUT SEPARATOR.
The Output Separator window will open.
8. Choose FORMAT -> PAGE BREAK.
A page break will be inserted in the Output Separator. The page break will tell the printer to load the next label after the current one is printed. This only works on dot matrix printers. If you are using a laser or inkjet printer, see the next section on Printing 3 Wide Labels.
9. Choose FILE -> PAGE SETUP and select the PRINTER button.
The Page Setup Dialog Box will appear.
10. Choose the PROPERTIES button.
The Properties Dialog Box for the current printer will appear.
11. In “Paper Size” select “Custom”, enter the width and length of your labels, and choose OK.
NOTE: The length you set for the label should be the label size plus the size of the space between labels. For example, a 4" x 1 7/16" label would require a length of 2".
12. Choose OK to exit the Properties Dialog and then OK again to exit the Page Setup Dialog for the Printer.
You return to the Page Setup Dialog Box.
13. Set the “Size” field to “Custom”
14. Set the margins to zero (or make them very small).
15. Choose REPORT -> CLOSE REPORT and select YES to save the report.
16. To print your labels return to askSam and choose FILE -> PRINT OTHER -> REPORT.
NOTE: The SAMPLE_REPORTS.ASK file contains example reports for generating mailing labels.
For labels as well as other types of reports, it is possible to have askSam output multiple columns. The Reset Row command allows you to create multiple column reports.
To illustrate how this is done, we'll look at an example:
1. Open the file containing your addresses.
2. Choose TOOLS -> REPORTS.
The New Report Menu will appear.
3. Enter a name for your Labels report and choose CREATE.
4. Choose REPORT -> SELECT DOCUMENTS -> SEARCH to enter a search for the desired
addresses. The chapter on Searching contains instructions for using the Search Dialog.
5. Choose REPORT -> SORTING AND GROUPING to enter a sort request. In order to use the
Reset Row command, you must define a sort.
6. Choose FILE -> PAGE SETUP and set the left, right, top, and bottom margins to
0.
NOTE: Because most printers reserve margin space, setting your margins to 0 will result in minimal margin settings of 0.125".
7. In the Report Editor set the right margin to 8.5" (wider if necessary).
8. Drag the fields for your labels from the Field List into the Report Editor.
NOTE: In order for the labels to line up properly, output your addresses in the COURIER font (not Courier New).
9. Position the cursor after the last field and choose REPORT -> RESET ROW.
The Reset Row command will be inserted in the report.
10. In the line under the Reset Row command, place the fields for your second column of labels. Place the fields in the proper column (for standard 3 Wide Labels on a laser printer, place your fields in the column at 2 7/8”).
11. Position the cursor after the last field and choose REPORT -> RESET ROW.
The Reset Row command will be inserted in the report.
12. In the line under the Reset Row command, place the fields for your third column of labels. Place the fields in the proper column (for standard 3 Wide Labels on a laser printer, place your fields in the column at 5 13/16”).
13. Choose REPORT -> OUTPUT SEPARATOR
The Output Separator window opens.
14. In the Document Separator window, enter 3 blank lines. (The number of lines you set is determined by the number of lines in the address. For standard 3 Wide Labels on a laser printer, the number of lines in the address plus the number of lines skipped must equal 7).
15. Choose REPORT -> PROPERTIES, select the SETTINGS tab, and set the “Absolute Line
Spacing” setting to “YES”.
16. Choose REPORT -> CLOSE, and select the Yes button to save the report.
17. To print your labels choose FILE -> PRINT OTHER -> REPORT.
NOTES:
1. The SAMPLE_REPORTS.ASK file and the templates supplied with askSam contain example reports for generating mailing labels.
|
