I'm an appraiser. I have a number of layouts many at their max length
such as photos, legal docs, market analysis, comp photos, extra comps,
extra photos, maps, etc. I want to be able to click in a checkbox set
of choices of some kind to select only those layouts I want to print
(PDF) each time a full report is complete. I can combine the PDFs
later.
Right now I am using a kazillion buttons attached to a kazillion
scripts for all the different combinations of pages and this is too
cumbersome.
Solutions??

In article <1169767313.424143.179940 (AT) s48g2000cws (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
"CRC123" <wndsngap (AT) island (DOT) net> wrote:

A quick test in FileMaker 5.5 shows that I can have a layout that is 22
A4 pages in height. You must some VERY long layouts to print to hit
that "max length".

You can define a Value List of the different layout names (or names
that mean something to the user) and have a field that uses this Value
List to display as checkboxes. It's best to make sure that none of the
names in the Value List is a sub-set of another option though - that
means you can't have "Photos" and "Extra Photos" since "Photos" appears
in both.

You can then merrily turn on and off the required checkboxes for each
record. That way you only need one Print script that is something like:

If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Main Photos") = 1]
Go To Layout [Main Photos]
Print []
End If
If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Legal Docs") = 1]
Go To Layout [Legal Docs]
Print []
End If
If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Market Analysis") = 1]
Go To Layout [Market Analysis]
Print []
End If
etc.

This of course assumes that you only need to print these layouts for
one record at a time. It will print each layout as a separate print job
and therefore separate PDF.

If you need to print them for groups of records that may have differing
checkboxes turned on / off, then you would have to have the Print
script loop through each record printing them separately.
ie.
Go To Record [First]
Loop
{print script commands from above}
Go To Record [Next, Exit After Last]
End Loop


The script above also assumes that all the layouts have the same Page
Setup (eg. all are A4 portrait).

If you nedd to have some layouts A4 landscape (for example) then you
will have to split the commands inside each If statement into its own
separate sub-script.
eg.
If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Main Photos") = 1]
PrintScript_MainPhotos
End If
If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Legal Docs") = 1]
PrintScript_LegalDocs
End If
If [PatternCount (CheckboxField, "Market Analysis") = 1]
PrintScript_MarketAnalysis
End If
etc.

Where each of the sub-scripts are something like:

PrintScript_MainPhotos

Go To Layout [Main Photos]
Page Setup [Restore]
Print []

Before creating each sub-script you will need to manually set the Page
Setup information correctly for the appropriate layout, so that it can
be stored by the Page Setup script command.


Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

Harken Hero: how happily her harrassed head halos hope.

I am going to try this ASAP.

Thank you.

Now the page thing
I have FM 8 and I can get only 10 pages. I opened an old FM 5.5 and the
same thing, 10 pages max.
I am on a Mac.
Any ideas?


On Jan 25, 9:27 pm, Helpful Harry <helpful_ha... (AT) nom (DOT) de.plume.com>
wrote:

In article <1169831989.771855.280240 (AT) q2g2000cwa (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
"CRC123" <wndsngap (AT) island (DOT) net> wrote:

Does your Layout have any Header / Footer or Summary parts??

My quick test was done using
- FileMaker 5.5 under Mac OS 9.2,
- only a Body part on the Layout,
- margins of 0.5 inches.

Preview mode then told me there were 22 pages (A4 portrait), a total
height of 111 inches according to the size palette ... although Preview
mode can sometimes lie and an actual printout might come to a few more
pages than that.

Interestingly, in FileMaker 4.1 the same process only gives 11 pages.
If you took that doubling increase, then FileMaker 8 would be able to
have 176 pages, but I doubt that happens. )



Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

Halleluiah Helpful Harry;

The script works perfectly and I adapted it for Proof Reading as well.

I browsed this site and consistently members say 111 inches and a max
of 10 pages legal length. So I guess that is that.

On Jan 26, 3:22 pm, Helpful Harry <helpful_ha... (AT) nom (DOT) de.plume.com>
wrote:

In article <1169859239.402907.78070 (AT) v45g2000cwv (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
"CRC123" <wndsngap (AT) island (DOT) net> wrote:
DOH!!!!!!

Silly me. I had two records in my test database, so previewing the
Layout was of course giving me double the number of pages. (

In reality (with a 0.5 inch margin) there's only 11 A4 pages as the
layout maximum or 11-and-a-bit US Letter pages. You're right. The
maximum length for the Body part is fractionally over 111 inches.

Apologies for the confusion caused there.

Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

Heck, halt humility. Hardship help humongous. Hi5

On Jan 26, 6:05 pm, Helpful Harry <helpful_ha... (AT) nom (DOT) de.plume.com>
wrote: