PDF Printing & Print Preview

Transcription

1 PDF Printing & Print Preview Presented by: Gord Davey

2 Presentation Overview PDF Printing Syntax, Options, Usage Customizable Form Handling Customizable File Selection Dialogue Print Preview Capabilities Programmable Technology Data Independent Interface Customizable Interface

3 PDF Printing - *PDF* Overview Syntax & Options Usage Known Limitations Customizable Form Handling Customizable File Selection Dialogue Future Features Under Consideration

4 PDF Printing - *PDF* Overview Adds the ability to output documents in PDF format directly in ProvideX. Available on Windows/Linux/UNIX platforms. Provides *WINPRT* style graphical output for all platforms. Creates files compatible with Adobe Acrobat Reader and other PDF readers. New for V6, requires V6 license.

5 PDF Printing - *PDF* Syntax & Options OPEN(chan) *PDF* [;option] [; option] OPEN(chan,OPT= option[; option] ) *PDF* Options: ;ASIS ;DISPLAY ;OVERWRITE ;FILE=filename ;FORM=formname (from form library) ;PAPERSIZE=formnumber (from form library) ;ORIENTATION=LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT ;MARGINS=top:left:right:bottom ;TITLE=string ;SUBJECT=string ;AUTHOR=string ;PRODUCER=string ;CREATOR=string ;KEYWORDS=string..cont d

6 PDF Printing - *PDF* Syntax & Options ASIS Uses last defined settings, does not prompt user for file name, will overwrite file if it exists. DISPLAY Forces the input dialogue to display whether it is needed or not. OVERWRITE Overwrites the output file automatically (if it exists) without verify with user. FILE= Name of file to save output to. If not given then the user will be prompted for a disk file name. Filename must NOT contain [WDX]. If output to a WindX workstation is desired, then OPEN(chan) [WDX]*PDF*. FORM= Name of form from forms library. PAPERSIZE= Predefined form number from forms library. Other options are self explanatory.

7 PDF Printing - *PDF* Usage Output to *PDF* via channel just like *WINPRT*. Accepts graphical mnemonics such as: TEXT, FONT, PEN, FILL, PICTURE, PIE, POLYGON, ARC, RECTANGLE, LINE, CIRCLE, LPI, CPI, OFFSET. Accepts character-mode text. PRINT (chan) This is a sentence of output... MODE, colour mnemonics. Access to characteristics. MXC(chan), MXL(chan) etc...cont d

8 PDF Printing - *PDF* Usage Invalid mnemonics are ignored - no ERR=29. Paper Sizing comes from a Form Library. Every open of *PDF* will have its options and arguments passed to either the program *ext/pdf (user created) or *ext/system/pdf (ProvideX supplied) for validation and/or user intervention. Options and arguments given upon OPEN are retrievable via PTH(chan) and OPT(chan).

9 PDF Printing - *PDF* *WINPRT* Printer Selection Hook AP (AutoEnablePDF) system parameter to process options selected during *WINPRT* Printer Selection dialogue. User selects Output To File and includes a filename ending in.pdf. ProvideX takes *WINPRT* options and processes output through *PDF* instead. AP parameter may be set in one of 3 ways: SET_PARAM AP AutoEnablePDF=1 in INI file [Config] section System Menu on dialogue (from clicking Icon in window title bar), as Use Internal PDF Driver.

10 PDF Printing - *PDF* Limitations FONT Only supports 14 basic fonts common to PDF files. ProvideX will automatically map certain font names to approximate PDF equivalents. PEN Supports only solid, dashed or none. FILL Supports only solid, none (no gradients, lines, hash). PICTURE Supported on Windows platforms only, no UNIX / Linux support. Any supported picture type may be used (bmp, jpg etc)...cont d

11 PDF Printing - *PDF* Limitations RECTANGLE Does not support Rounded Rectangles. BO & EO Does not support extra user defined output. User-Defined Mnemonics Does not support. PDF File Compression Not currently supported. Output Element Skipping rather than Truncate. Unlike*WINPRT*, *PDF* skips processing of output elements which exist outside the page borders, or flow over a page border.

12 PDF Printing - *PDF* Customizable Forms Handling ;FORM=formname Looks for file: *ext/forms.xx user-defined, XX is language code. Then looks for *ext/systems/forms.xx ProvideX supplied, XX is language code. *ext/system/pdf allows for new form definitions. First time a new definition is made, then *ext/system/forms.xx is copied to *ext/forms.xx...cont d

13 PDF Printing - *PDF* Customizable Forms Handling Provides paper names, sizing characteristics. ProvideX only makes use of the length / width values and the name is only for display purposes. Form file contains records of form number, form name, width, height, unit of measure, and priority. Priority used to sort displayed form names by the most commonly selected sizes first. ;PAPERSIZE=formnumber. If no FORM= is given, but PAPERSIZE= is, form identified by formnumber is used. If no matching entry is found, then 8-1/2 x 11 LETTER size is assumed.

14 PDF Printing - *PDF* Customizable File Selection Dialogue *PDF* OPEN s and options are passed to either *ext/pdf (User-defined program) or *ext/system/pdf (ProvideX-supplied program). Programmers can use *ext/pdf to create their own forms/interface elements; e.g., dialogue box to display when a file name is required. Uses ENTER NewParam$,OldParam$,ERR=*next NewParam$ -value of OPEN arguments and OPT= values concatenated with semi-colons as separators. OldParam$ -value of OPEN arguments and OPT= values from the last time *PDF* was opened, providing values for ;ASIS option.

15 PDF Printing - *PDF* Features Under Consideration PDF File Compression Making Bookmarks and other PDF features available. PICTURE support for UNIX/Linux, likely via JPG support.

16 Print Preview Overview Capabilities Programmable Technology Usage Known Limitations Data Independent Interface Customizable Interface

17 Print Preview Overview New graphical Print Preview replaces *VIEWER*. Renders printouts exactly as printed to *WINPRT* or other print device. Programmable - ProvideX OOP object controllable from ProvideX session via OLE session within third-party programming language...cont d

18 Print Preview Overview Customizable, language-independent. Multiple instances of Preview can run concurrently. Feature-rich user interface. Extensible. Not included with current ProvideX V6 as it is not yet complete. Will be available in a later V6 release.

19 Print Preview User Interface Features Views reports from 0 to 50,000 pages. Views 1 page, 2 pages, 2-page book style, and 4 pages at a time. Renders images exactly as they will appear on output to a printer. Zooms from 10% to 400% in increments or custom level with Fit-To-Width and Fit-To-Window Zooms. Displays both Portrait and Landscape modes. Supports text-based reports to 255 columns (ProvideX limit) and graphical reports to ProvideX limits...cont d

20 Print Preview User Interface Features Allows different paper size/orientation for each page viewed. Full report scrolling. Banner information for Display and Print. Watermark feature for viewing and/or printing. 3D or 4D look and feel with customizable or Autoset themes. Document search via Find / Find Again. Customizable UI elements, such as images for buttons, icons, splash screen and about box...cont d

21 Print Preview User Interface Features Background report spooling. Language-independent and customizable menus, tips, help, etc. Full keyboard or mouse navigation (can use combination of both to manipulate viewer). Retains last states by user/machine for screen location, toolbar sizing/existence, status bar existence, zoom preferences, viewing mode etc. Multiple monitor and resolution aware. and much more

22 Print Preview Programmable - ProvideX OOP Object Controllable via ProvideX program, like any other graphical control. Controllable via OLE Server from a third-party programming language. Exposes Parameters and Methods Parameters: Left, Right, Top, Bottom, Column, Row, Columns, Rows, Visible, SupressToolBar, Page, Pages, View, Zoom. Methods: Init( ), Open( ), Close( ), SaveAs( ), Delete( ), Find( ) FindNext( ), GotoPage( ), FirstPage( ), LastPage( ), ScrollUp( ), ScrollRight( ), Zoom( ), ZoomIn( ), Quit( ) and many more

23 Print Preview Usage Displays graphical or text-based reports. May be run locally as part of an existing ProvideX session (CALL ed). May run as a separate stand-alone instance of ProvideX. WindX Aware...cont d

24 Print Preview Usage Security such as passwords and encryption may be used on report files. May be used for pass-through printing. Memory requirements (approx): 50 Page Report: 7.5 MB 250 Page Report: 8 MB 500 Page Report: 8.5 MB 5000 Page Report: 16 MB Values will vary depending on page size, screen dpi, number of pages, information kept per page and page content.

25 Print Preview Known Limitations Requires ProvideX license (V6 or higher). Will not currently work with JavX. Graphical display only. Will not work on character-mode devices.

26 Print Preview Data-Independent Interface Preview uses one object *viewer/preview.pvc for all UI items, screen handling etc. Data fetching/rendering of page data uses a different object *viewer/report.pvc (user-configurable) to read report files and render images to a *BITMAP* channel. Independence allows developers to create their own report objects, or extend the existing report object. Developers can read page information from disk, and alter it in any manner they wish before displaying to preview or requesting output to printer. Preview allows for both Files or Objects to be passed within open methods.

27 Print Preview Customizable Interface and Software All text used within the preview (balloon tips, menu s messages, etc.) driven from language-based message libraries. Every button image / icon is customizable. Various UI elements can be suppressed or altered programmatically; e.g., the toolbar. Developers can supply parameters file to control various items (splash screen, software name, icon usage etc.) or default settings (Zoom, View, DPI, font, pagination, overrides, class names, etc.). Objects (used for everything from reading physical report to watermark rendering) all customizable, with the developer optionally providing class overrides.

28 End of Presentation THANK YOU!