PDFs

I hope this is the right forum to ask this question... On my Mac, I often want to create a PDF of a report. I usually do this by choosing to Print the report, and selecting Save As PDF from the Mac's built-in Print dialog. My question is, everytime I do this, when I'm asked to name and save the PDF, the "Save As" name field is pre-filled with an old name from a PDF report I may have made from my database years ago! It's always the same old name too. It's bizarre because there are no fields I know of in my database that would store this info, and this is appearing in the Mac OS's Save As PDF dialog box. But it's an issue that follows the databse, that is, I …

I have found that "Append to Existing PDF" is not working if write permissions to Desktop folder are removed even though the ouput folder for PDF is for example "D:Userstemp_data" with proper write/modify permissions. Shared desktop folder is redirected to "D:UsersDesktop" for all users via group policy. If I uncheck write permissions to desktop folder then filemaker will only create the 1st PDF and then will give me an error saying there's a problem creating the file on the disk (error 800). This is a Terminal Server on Win 2003, running FM9 VLA. Users must not be able to save files on server Desktop. Filemaker is to create a single PDF from different layouts into a temp…

Does anyone know if there is a way to reduce the size of PDF that FileMaker creates. Can I reduce the resolution of it or something? For example, if I PDF an Invoice layout from FileMaker the file is 1,046 KB. However, if I PDF the same record from the same layout using a third party PDF writer like CutePDF it's only 95 KB. I see no difference in the quality and would rather user FileMaker's own PDF writer, but why is it so big? Any thoughts or solutions would be helpful. Thanks Heckate

I would like to email a customer a PDF file which is interactive such as can be done with Acrobat. But I would like to send them a simple pdf along with my filemaker layout that is interactive and that when they return the pdf "filled out" I can add it corrected to my filemaker database. Is this possible. Thanks Dave

I have a problem with the filemaker pdf creation. When I attempt to save as pdf the layout paper size changes to legal size. When after performing to pdf creation, I go to Print Setup it says "8 1/2 x 11", but if choose "8 1/2 x 11" the layout changes to "8 1/2 x 11". Needless to say, I am really confused. How can this change my layout? Thanks, Bill :)

I have a PDF source document, no security. I want to do some minor editing and then add this PDF document to a FM table, while maintaining the formating: text, column, returns, table, etc. How do I do this? Is the receiving field a Text, or Container? If it's a long document how do you view it, print it?

The new Append feature in the Save As PDF script step is a great feature. I have been doing this in Windows using command line code which works great with a little more scripting. The Append feature should allow me to clean up my scripts and, of course, use native features instead of external methods. I just ran into some trouble with the Append feature though and am hoping someone can help... If you impose any kind of Security on the PDF such as not allowing printing or editing, the Append feature doesn’t work. It creates the PDF just fine, but when you try to append to it, you get the Error Code 9 - Insufficient Privileges error. I tried not imposing any …

Is anyone else getting MPEG files from "Save Records as PDF" with the "Create email with file as attachment" script step on Windows machines? This is consistent with every email generated on every Windows machine. The Macs create PDFs on the same database with the same script. Is this an actual FileMaker bug? Any FileMaker tech guys watching? Any ideas or comments?

I'm using the command "Save Records as PDF" with the "Create email with file as attachment" option. The database is being used in a mixed environment with both Macs and PCs. The email sent from the Macs gives a PDF file as expected but from the PCs we get an MPEG file. Does anyone know anything about this? Have other people gotten correct results from PCs? Thanks for your help.

I'm running fm7 on Mac OSX (10.4.6). I've set up a button that calls a script that "prints" to PDF through the OSX print dialog. This all works fine. The problem I'm having is that all PDF's are created with the window name and overwrite the previous PDF. I'd like the PDF's to be named based on the value of a field in the record being "printed". I know that I can achieve this by re-naming the PDF using applescript but does anyone know a simpler / cleaner approach. Many thanks, Mark

Just thought others might like to know about this BUG I came across. If you save a PDF of a Filemaker Layout that uses Postscript Type 1 or OpenType fonts you will most likely get unwanted character substitutions in the resulting PDF, even though the characters look fine on screen in either Browse or Preview modes. However if you only use TrueType fonts ... 99% of the time (depends on the font in question) the PDF will be generated correctly. I encountered this when trying to export a PDF that contained Bullet Points "•" (keystroke Opt-8 under MacOS). My bullet points were showing up as inch marks in the PDF. After running some tests on a range of diff…

Hi, I am trying to create a button that will export to a PDF, then place in an e-mail, with the addresses autopopulating from a field. The problem is that I can get it to export to PDF and generate the e-mail WITHOUT the addresses or subject line being filled from a field with the database... and I can make an e-mail with the addresses and subject line but WITHOUT the PDF attached.... the problem is I can't seem to figure out how to combine both events into one nice tidy event. In the scripting process, selecting Sent Mail or Save as PDF... one or the other doesn't have all the options I need. Does anyone have an idea how I could do both? Goal is to have …

I have a PDF that have have made with lots of images and graphs on it so for me to remake this pdf would be very dificult and time consuming. Question: Is there any way to make a script that can print a PDF that is stored on the computer or on FM. If so can some one show me an example. Thank you

I am trying to save files as PDF files in Filemaker 8, however when it saves a page as a PDF it cuts half the page off horizontally when viewed in Adobe Reader. This is because the "form View" is larger than 8x11 and so it cuts everything else off. Is there a way to save the PDF and have it 'fitted to page' or save in landscape mode? Any other ideas?

I am a newbie customizing an existing database and noticed every time I send a PDF on an e-mail it also saves it to the desktop, and I don't want that. I noticed this in the script: ================================================= Let ( [MAC = "filemac:" & Get ( DesktopPath ) ;PC = "filewin:" & Get ( DesktopPath )];Case(Abs(Get ( SystemPlatform )) = 1; MAC; Abs(Get ( SystemPlatform ))= 2 ;PC ) & "Proposal" & Sales Orders::Invoice ID & ".pdf") ================================================= What can I change to avoid ending up with a bunch of PDF's in the Desktop? Thanks for any help, Emilio

I need to use a script to print (Unless there's another way that I don't know about), because I'm trying to put in page numbers for each record and for the whole document, and I need to alternate between two reports because of filemaker's 12-page limit. I'd like to be able to print the reports, or export it to a PDF, but I want to export the whole thing to a single PDF, not a new one for each Print[] function. How would I do that? Here's the script, although it probably doesn't matter. Enter Browse Mode Go to Record/Request/Page[ First ] Loop Set Variable [ $page; Value:0 ] Loop Enter Preview Mode Go to Layout [ “Report” (Main table2) ] Set Variabl…

Hello, I am currently running a script to print one of our filemaker forms to pdf... it works beautifully, but the pdfs come out to about 4MB... rather large for a simple text file. Some of our clients have a 3MB limit on thier e-mail and it is annoying to have to reduce the pdf before seding it. Are there any settings I can change to make the pdf print at a very low resolution? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Hi: I cannot figure out where filemaker saves the pdf file when printing to Acrobat 8.0. It is not in documents folder, the acrobat folder, or the filemaker folder... anyone have any ideas?

Hi, If you have a page you want to send to PDF that has tabs on it can you tell filemaker via script to send the same page with each tab one at a time to the same pdf? Beastman

Found this very handy, free for private and commercial including distribution without seat licence limits! http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php Scriptable output filename. Works Great in runtime developer solutions. Not filemaker native(plugin) so you have to export a filename to the ini file, no major stress though.

Hi, Has anyone figured out how to create pdf's from FileMaker which contain clickable url's? We are saving itineraries as a pdf. These contain the web site address of the accomodation and need the address to be a hyperlink. This solution is for FileMaker 8.5 on Windows XP. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Cath

Hi there, I am encountering a wierd problem with one of my customers. When they produce a pdf (using PDF995) from filemaker (version 6) the clients on XP os get a strange duplication of text. this duping is the last paragraph of one page then duping as the first paragraph of the next page. The clients still using WIN98 don't have the same issue. Filemaker is previewing the data correctly. Cant seem to find a solution. Any one have any ideas?

Recently, I came across a need to send out an interactive PDF, which any user with Reader could then fill-in. I upgraded to Acrobat 8 Professional, and with it came a tool called LiveCycle Designer, a really great forms-building tool. It allows you to create all kinds of controls: text, number, drop-down lists, radio buttons, checklists, etc. and then turn the thingy into a PDF. The nice thing is that the answers are returned in an easy-to-process XML file format. I used a custom FM function to get back each answer, although you could use Filemaker's import command if you desired. So I was left with one problem: how to pre-fill some of the fields on the form. A…

Howdy, howdy... I know that FM 8.5-generated run-time solutions don't natively support the creation of .pdfs but what's curious is that while in a run-time solution, if I manually "send" a script-generated report to Acrobat (7 or 8) in the print set-up menu, a .pdf of the report is created just fine. However, when we tried to automate the process with a script, the solution won't generate the .pdf. Yes, I'm aware there are a couple of .pdf-related plug-ins out there but their costs is prohibitive. Has anyone written a script (for a run-time solution) that'll cause the solution to look for an "external" .pdf print driver and hence, create a .pdf? At least th…

I am running FMP8.5 Pro on WinXP I have a form that I fill out for clients who want quotes. MOst of the form is automatically filled in from data from database. I have been saving the filled out form as a PDF and then attaching to their emails. However, I cant be sure that every one of my clients has the knowledge to view the pdf attachments (yes its true I have run into a few old timers who had to be walked through it) so what I would like to do is to save the filled out form as a jpg... or convert the pdf to jpg if need be. So far every single pdf to jpg converter I have tried converts the pdf and saves it as promised but when I open the outputted jpg, it is only fiel…

We create report cards for over 131,000 children, 8 times a year in 16th largest public school system in America, all in FileMaker. We are exploring ways to reduce paper creation and are interested in e-mailing report cards to parents who would subscribe to this service. Of course we will be automating this process. I have been looking at FileMaker 8.5 and its ability to create PDF’s and am trying to see how we might automate this step and “name” each PDF created with a meaningful name. I would like to pick up the name for the PDF file from a field in the FileMaker solution. I cannot seem to discover how I can specify the file name in the scripting environment. If this is…

I have a persistent and repeatable problem. When I use the script step “ Save Records as PDF”, Filemaker crashes. When I “Save as PDF..” from Print Dialog, Filemaker completes the task without issues. Additionally, this only occurs on one user. Other users on the same computer do not experience this problem. I am sure it is some preference file, but I cannot determine which one. I have reinstalled Filemaker, which did not help. Any clues to what is causing this problem??

I am unable to determine why saving as a pdf on FMP 8.5 over the network makes the application shut down almost every time. I have never run into this problem with FMP 8.0 running the same script and files on the same network. The network environment consists of 2 dedicated servers: One acts as a domain and file server and the other as FMS 7v4. 10 users on network w/ XP computers. All print jobs are saved on file server on a shared “print job folder” to archive documents printed. Interface.fp7 starts the script and sends to Forms.fp7 (where all forms are held) below are key parts of the script. The Error Occurs at Step 3 below. This only happens on FMP/FMA 8.…

Hi, Has anyone else noticed that layouts with postscript type1 fonts and characters like the (germaqn) A-umlaut and e-accent are not correctly exported. I either get a blank spot in the resulting PDF or a different character. I think the problem does not happen if I select a Truetype font (like Helvetica)..... At least that one does work.

Hi all, I've been having the worst time possible trying to create PDFs using the “PDF Printer” that comes installed with Adobe Acrobat Standard 6.0 out of Filemaker 8.5. (I’m using Windows XP sp2) I typically print 100's or 1000's of carton labels for our warehouse out of Filemaker. In the past we've printed them out of FMP6 but recently we switched to FMP8.5. When we converted our databases over and I tried printing labels this is what happens. The Acrobat print dialog pops up and, runs extremely slow. When it finishes, the file created only has a portion of the created labels. In other words of 500 labels only 280 print out and I have 220 blank pages.…

Some friends using Windows are having trouble reading or printing my pdf reports. I think it is because the Mac pdf function (in Preview software built into OSX) is interfering with Adobe Acrobat. I would prefer to have Acrobat create the pdf, as they seem more cross-platform compatible in general. I have searched for prefs in FMP 8.5, Mac Preview, and Acrobat 8 that would let me set the default to Acrobat for pdf creation (though in most cases Mac pdfs are dandy and simple). I have set the pdf options menu to 'Acrobat 6 or later', but still get Mac pdfs

I have searched and can find nothing similar to my request. One of our largest chain customers now pays their (hundreds of) invoices by direct deposit. They are providing us with a pdf with the detail (dollars paid on each invoice number). I currently import transactions from many other companies who provide delimited text of their detail but this chain said it was not possible - their program only provides pdf. I have tried dragging pdf to FM shortcut; nada, the result is garbage. I tried saving the pdf as straight text and it works but the lines are one multiline (all Invoice dates, then the Invoice numbers then the amounts); the format would be difficult (and …

When I print a record and choose the "save as a pdf" option in OS X.4, the document receives a name automatically; how do I control this in advance? I have looked and looked and can not seem to find where FM is getting this name.... Thanks:)

I want to create a single PDF of 3 or 4 pages but each page is a different layout. I can script the creation of the PDFs using the right layout. I determine the if it is the first page and print (create a PDF) from that layout. Then I determine how long the page is and print from one of 3 other layouts.But each one of course comes out as a single page document. Is there a way to combine these pages into a single PDF document or better yet any suggestions on how to make a single PDF to begin with even though they come from different layouts? Thanks in advance.

I Have 15 Containers with Jpegs in 5 tabs. (3 Containers in each tab). What im trying to do is set up a script to print all the containers at the same time. Ideally i would want them to be on different pages, but they can be on the same page. THis is just one record. THanks

I'm trying to save a PDF and naming it for the user. I'm using local variables. $OrderSerial Using the Save Records as PDF [Restore; No Dialog; "$OrderSerial &.pdf"; Records being browsed] It completes the script just fine but it doesn't insert the $OrderSerial portion. It actually names the file $OrderSerial &.pdf I have tried to add $OrderSerial &".pdf" but then I get a error popup. I'm sure this is something easy to fix. Can someone point out the obvious for me please... ;-)

I'm having a strange issue with an invoice I've created. If I go to FILE > PRINT > PDF > SAVE AS PDF I get a perfect pdf copy of my invoice. However, if I go to FILE > SAVE/SEND RECORDS AS > PDF the result is a pdf that contains nothing except the graphical elements (i.e., inserted images and drawn lines). None of the fields from my layout appear. Unfortunately, I need to use the SAVE/SEND route because it allows me to create a relative file name. This is driving me crazy! Thanks in advance for any help. :confused:

I'd like to run a report with a large customized graphic in the background to be inserted into an already existing powerpoint presentation. The names are part of a competition at a conference and they get compiled quickly and then turned over to a powerpoint operator. I can't figure out how to get the names on top of the graphic. I can import a PDF into a powerpoint, but can't get a transparent background. If I have the graphic in the background of the FMP file, don't know how to get the names to continue down the page, the report body needs to be approximate 8x10 just to accomodate the graphic. I think there must be an easy solution to this, but I don't know wh…

Has anyone had a problem wih their pdf file only showing the first page when the document is several pages in preview mode? I have an online performance review database and since people can be reviewed by self, peers, team leads and supervisors, and the report ends up being more than 12 pp long in some cases, I put a calculated field in the subsummary part and sort by a certain field. No problems last time I pdf'd but today I get one page, except every now and then it pdfs all the pages. Using the same script from the same layout, etc. Can't figure out what's happening here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi If I insert a pdf into filemaker I want to print page 1 & 2 without going to acrobat, unless I can script it to do something like the following... This is required to work on WINDOWS (working on a mac also is a plus) Example without acrobat... 1)Print this PDF Script 2)Print all pages of inserted pdf file. 3)Update "Number Of Times Printed" Field to +1. Example with acrobat reader... 1)Print this PDF Script 2)Open file in Acrobat 3)No user interaction print all pages and close acrobat. 4)Return to Filemaker 5)Update "Number Of Times Printed" Field to +1. Thats the basics, I need to print a pdf file contained within my dat…

I am a photographer and need to print text "onto" a photo. I have a layout with a container and data over the container. I can print it perfectly but I need a way to save it as a jpg to send to my lab. It needs to be automated enough do handle volume work. Any Ideas??

Hi, [Must be more careful with CRs in this site!] I've created a script with creates a pdf of a receipt letter layout. I've used the Set Variable command to name the file with the contents a DB variable. So far, so good. My script then has: Save Records as PDF [Restore; "$PDFName & ".pdf"; Create email; Current Record]. Problem 1: each record triggers a "Save Records as PDF Options" modal box, requiring repetition of the option specified in the Save Records Script. Problem 2: the script also opens my email browser with the pdf as an attachment. BUT: is there a way to pass over a)an email address b)Subject and c)message text to the email client? t…

Is there a script I can attach to a button that lets me open a pdf file inserted into a FM file into Acrobat? The only one I found so far is just a script which exports the file out of Filemaker.

FM Geniuses, I'm sure this is a simple solution...but for the life of me I can't figure it out. I have a lengthy assessment that my clients fill out online - which I then import into FM. I have set up a layout with text displaying the appropriate question, followed underneath by a text field for their imported responses. The problem is, several of the questions are essay, and therefore change in length from one client to the next. I made the fields large enough to hold the most long winded of texts... and solved the "extra space" problem with the sliding (vertically) function. THE PROBLEM: This approach set's up random page breaks through the entire docume…

Hi all Is there a way of scripting the "insert of PDF files" into a container file. When I chose "insert object" from the script menu, I have to choose an object to insert. If I leave the option blank,I get an message for FM that states that it cannot continue. But if I choose a PDF file to insert then that is the only file that is inserted and then i have to go into the script and change the to insert object to another PDF file. Is there a way for FM to just open the Folder where the PDF files are stored and let the operator chose the one that he/she wants? I am linking to the PDF file and inserting only an icon into a container field. Thanks for your help …

Can you combine pdf's into one document in filemaker? For Example Print Report1 (Layout1) to pdf Print Report2 (Layout2) to pdf Print Report3 (Layout3) to pdf Then combine pdf 1,2 and 3 into one final pdf? I am sure I read it here somewhere but can't seem to find it.

Sorry this is such an idiot question, but I'm a beginner and cannot find in the manuals how I export the RESULTS of a layout that has exactly the information I need. I can see it on screen and print it out, but I don't know how to get it into a format I can read in Excel. I can export the entire database, but I want to export ONLY the results shown in my format that I can see on-screen. I'm using FMP 6.0 under OSX 10.4.7 on a Mac G4. Thanks! Dave

HI, I have created a small db, one of the buttons is attached to the "Save Record As PDF" script. everything works great until I compile it as a runtime. Once opened from the runtime my button which I attaced to the "Save Record As PDF" script will not function. It just blinks when it is clicked. Any ideas on what I may have done wrong? Also the PDF option on the menu bar is also greyed out, but the Excel option is active? Thanks for your time, Jim

Filemaker Pro 8 Advanced sends data to PDF but when I convert the files into a standalone runtime solution the PDF option disappears from the menu and the script step 'Save records as PDF' fails silently despite setting 'run script with full access privileges'. I can find no mention of this in the documentation - is this a bug in Filemaker Pro 8 Advanced ?

I'm working on a database script that prints invoices to pdf's without dialog, then attaches it to an email. when i got my macbook pro and ran the script i got an error that said "out of memory". i went into the script and re-did the print step, and that fixed it. I sent the updated database to someone with a PPC mac, and he got the out of memory error... has anyone run into this using an intel mac?

I would like to save for each record a PDF. The dynamic name is no problem, but I would like to select a folder at the beginning of the script to store all the PDF in this folder. Is this possible? Thanks for answers

How can I set up a script to save as pdf with a field date as the pdf filename?

I have an main (invoice) layout that will not show any info when I try to save as a PDF. This main layout out has a portal displaying data from related Invoice Line Items TO and none it of comes through when I save the record as a pdf, although all of it shows in my preview mode. Secondly, I have a related field also from the same TO (Total amount) that also doesn't show but is not in the portal. Any thoughts or ideas why this may be? -brian

Im not sure if this is the right area to post this in. Before I start designing a databse I want to make sure that what I want to achieve is possible. I need to make an advertising database where people can enter text and photos then output to PDF. the original photos and completed PDF would then be emailed to someone. Is this possible in Filemaker? and probably more to the point, how hard is it? Thanks.

Is there any easy way to automate creating a PDF in Filemaker Pro 8 that is compatible with Acrobat 4.0 My boss still does not want to upgrade to acrobat reader 5. These pdf's get sent to customers so she wants them to be compatible. We are using distiller but it takes too long to generate pdf and save it to the certain filename. If we could automate the process it would save us a LOT of time.

Hi, I read a topic called "How can I set up a script to save as pdf with a field date as the pdf filename?" (I am sorry I don't know how to link to it). Reed attached an example file, but when I downloaded his purchase order file and ran the script I got the message ""Intertec 3-4-2006.pdf" could not be created on this disk. Use a different name, make more room on the disk, ulock it or use a different disk." I tried to adjust the name for my own file, but no luck. I am not sure what they mean by unlock or how to unlock my disk. I have plenty of room on it. When I checked the variable in question, the path seemed valid. what could I be doing wrong? Th…

All, I've been using the native PDF creation ability of FM8 more and more lately. One question; how do you script the creation of a PDF so that you get the correct page orientation (landscape vs portrait). I assume that you use Print Setup but that requires choosing a physical printer which really never comes into play beyond setting the orientation. Is there another way to ensure that the page orientation is correctly set when creating PDFs?

Ok, its easily possible export a PDF but is it possible to view one through a container field or by some other means?? I cannot find a way. I have some awkward customers who will only send art work in PDF format. Is there anyway to link to the files or view them?? Thanks, Ben

When making a pdf in Acobat 7 Pro we see a properly created pdf when viewed on our Macs. After emailing the pdf, a minority of our windows customers see a document where some of the words are condensed to a single spot or just badly over lapping each other. I tried reading it on our windows machine and I was able to recreate the problem using Acobat 5. The problem does not occur when using the latest reader however. The easy thing to do is tell everyone to upgrade but this isn't always practical. The .pdf's affected are not necessarily created by the same Mac and where I would send a document that reads properly, someone else in the firm will send a screwed up pdf and the…

I have this script to automate saving a file as a pdf and then embedding it into a field for each record (records are service contracts) the problem is, my boss seems to believe that adobe acrobat 4.0 is what version we should use for everything since it is so old everyone will have it. FMP 8 only allows you to save it as acrobat 5.0 or 6.0 compatible. Is there any way to either: A ) get a patch or get a free batch program to put into script to convert it to compatible with acrobat 4.0 automaticall or B ) find a website that proves that upgrading to version 5.0 of acrobat will not suddenly become a HUGE burden on our customers because most pe…

I am a graphic designer and intermediate filemaker developer. I have a client who would like to be able to export some cd artwork layouts from Filemaker. I have designed a template in Illustrator CS & In Design CS, saved as an EPS then as a TIF. When I import the background image into FMP, if I import a high resolution version (300 dpi) it is huge - I think FMP converts it automatically to 72 dpi then adjusts the size without downsampling. If I import a low-resolution version of the image, (72 dpi), then the size is fine but it's a bit bitmappy. In the end, I am hoping to be able to make the page into a high-resolution PDF for printing on a press and would li…

We run a mixed network of xp and osx. We would like to have users able to click on a button to open a pdf. I have tried using a container field and storing a reference to the pdf file. But the guest machines can't find the pdf file. How (and can) this be set up to open the pdf file? What am I doing wrong? Is there a relatively easy answer to this?

I'm hoping that this is the right subforum for this, if not I apologize. We have a simple script designed for saving to a PDF. Essentially, it takes the form, saves it to a PDF. We just use the "Save Records as PDF" script step to accomplish it. Unfortunately, it forces us to use the same name for the file every time. Is there any way to use a variable or field name as the name of the exported file? Right now, we have something like: filewin:/C:/Documents and Settings/user/Desktop/NEPSpdfs/nepsrecord.pdf There HAS to be a way to do this....

I have a filemaker file with 5 pages in it. When I go to make a PDF, I have the alias to my e mail program. I choose that, and I see the 5 pages in attachment form ready to e mail out. But for some reason, if I choose to save to desktop, save as pdf only 1 page end up on desktop. Any ideas on my the other 4 pages are not saving to desktop? thanks! Mac/ 10.4.6

I have a photographers estimate created in FM7. The estimate is 5 pages, and the best I've been able to do to e mail a PDF, is get an alias for my e mail program, Entourage, in the PDF dropdown with you print. Only thing is it attaches 5 separate files all with same name. I'd really like a single PDF with 5 pages. any ideas appreciated. (just read that FM 8 has some new PDF functionality)

I would like to be able to open a pdf that i have either in a container or just linked into fm7. Idea is I just want it to print, I don't want Acrobat to open or at least I don't want it to stay open, self close or something. anyway I found a lot of stuff on Send DDE Execute, and I have the service name and topic name and I can get fm to open thru dde command however, I don't think i quite understand the syntax of the dde command lines. if anyone can help me out on this, it is driving me crazy! thank you! p.s. my os is xp fm7

Is there any way to save a file as PDF in FileMaker 7?

Hi. I have seen the issue of FM 8 integrating fonts when creating pdfs being mentioned somewhere, but now I can not find any threads dedicated to this... So I was hoping somebody could guide me/give me the highlights... My story in short: The font we use for printing i our company: Myriad (all printing/pdf are done with Macs) I am now upgrading our solution from FM6 to 8. A 24 page list saved as pdf (via "print") in the FM6 solution has a filesize of 530KB. Now - in 8 - it is 8,3 MB So I tried the new "Save as PDF" function, and the new filesize was 250K ! I was very happy for a few seconds. But when I opened the pdf doc - all was empty - or rather: it was …

Anyone experimented with 8.0v2 to see if it fixes the PDF bloating?

hi i am using a custom database (running fm 5.5 via classic mode on os x 10.4) that, until recently, printed reports to pdf. now i am getting all the same options, distiller opens and seems to make the pdf, but no file shows up in the save location. can anyone help with finding the cause...assuming it's an os issue?

Can anyone offer a suggestion as to how to password protect a PDF document that has been printed from FileMaker 6 such that printing is restricted? AppleScript would be a nice solution if available, but I'm open to other possibilities. Thanks, Chuck

FMP7 & FMP7 Server We have two different files that we have container fields that contain pdf files. In one file we can double click and open the pdf and the Export File is greyed out when right clicking on the field. In the other file we can't open the file by double clicking and the Export File is the only way to view the pdf, but it must be saved somewhere first. Can anyone tell me the difference? They were both setup the same way. I'd like to be able to have users just click on them and view.

I have been developing a database for a company using a mac, but they are running windows machines. In the mac i can import pdf files(their links only) so that they can be viewed in the program. I tried out the program on their system and everything worked except for importing of pdf files. Is this even possible in windows? Also, they will likely be running a mac server with the filemaker database shared out from there. If this is the case, can I reference windows filepath names in scripting to import from a windows machine pdf file references to the fm8 db running on the mac server? Also, they would be running the program off the mac from windows machines, they would st…

An employee received the following error message while trying to PDF 53 records (records being browsed). We have tried several times to recreate the PDF and have not received the message again, however, we are unable to view the PDF that is created. The PDF window pops up with the pages greyed on the left and with the 1st page showing on the right. Can't scroll or anything - it basically just locks up. Oh the cryptic stuff above was saved to a .LOG file with the name that was specified for the .pdf. Any ideas on how to fix all of this would be appreciated. I have downloaded the 8.0v2 update but it doesn't seem to make a difference eith…

FMP 8v2 fixed most of the Font problem, when embedded in the automatically created PDF file. Before FMP 8v2 my automatically created PDFs where blank (they where fine when created through MacOS X "save as PDF" function). ... unfortunately there still is a BIG problem : international characters (accented for example) do not show up corretly they show as squares. Again, the PDF created through MacOS X is perfect though.... Did anyone notice that ? Is it a well known bug ? Is filemaker aware of it ? Thank you

I have designed an invoice but how can I add a page of Terms & Conditions to the end? I am still in the 30-day trial period so I may have this wrong. But I think that Filemaker only allows a body with either "page headers and footers" or "report headers and footers." I think I need both similtaneously. I have designed the invoice using "header" to hold the invoice address, invoice date and invoice number. I have put invoice lines as the body which may span a couple of pages. Then I have put our name and address in the footer. But how can I add a page of Terms and Conditions to the end of the invoice?

Server/Filemaker 7 Server Advanced (Win Server 2000) Users - Filemaker 7 (Win XP) We have a database into which we are dragging and dropping .pdf's into a container field. Suddenly we can't open the .pdf's from within FMP anymore. Are there any limits on using FMP to store .pdf's? Any ideas why it would just cease and desist after working for weeks?

I'm working for an organization that creates custom stationary for its customers. My org has all their past orders in Filemaker and used to type in the orders taken by the customers over the phone or from a printed form. I am in the process of making an online ordering system which will create the records in Filemaker as the user submits the custom forms. I need to create a demo before I can upload it to the server. I have been using Filemaker Pro's Instant Web Publishing and mostly everything works. I have even been able to create previews for the client, but now I need to create PDF previews. It would be ideal if we could have the PDF saved on our server. If I cou…

I have a help file written in Adobe PDF. I am trying to write a script to open this file. I used the Open URL and can get Adobe Acrobat Reader to open but cannot reference my PDF to open. Here is what I tried. Open URL [student Records::LocationPDF I defined a field called LocationPDF and put this in the calculation: "C:Program FilesAdobeAcrobat 7.0ReaderAcroRd32" This works, the adobe acrobat will open. What I cannot get to open is my file. It resides in C:Documents and SettingsadminDesktopstudent recordHelpStudentManual.pdf What do I need to do to get this file to open after adobe opens? I tried two Open URL but it would not open either…

I have created a runtime with FM 8 Advanced which includes a script to create a pdf document (new option only available with FM 8)as well as keeping such option under a customized File menu. Everything works fine until I use it under a runtime version. On the File menu, the pdf submenu disappear and the pdf script command doesn't work! Anyone has experienced the same problem. Anything I'm doing wrong! Michel

I am exporting a layout from fileMaker as a pdf. The layout has text, and a graphic in a container field. If I use Save/Send Report as PDF- from the file menu - the pdf looks good but there is no font information in the pdf(as reported in optomize pdf in acrobat). If I use OSX to write a postscript file then distill it (acrobat 6) I get no errors and a blank pdf. I wish to generate pdf's that will be placed in Quark 6.5 and output for book production. Any input will be appreciated.

Is there a way to print a found set of say 10 record to 10 individual .pdfs instead of one? Obviously I can do them one at a time but is there a way to do them all at once?

Hello! I'm wondering if there's any easy way to create a multipage pdf from several 1 page pdfs. I want to set up a quotation program, and I'd have a 1 page submittal pdf sheet for each item. Then I'd like to create a single pdf with all the indiviual sheets based on the items in each Bill of Material. I've seen this done in other programs, and was hoping I could duplicate it in FileMaker. Thanks! Any help would

Help! When I create a .pdf from my computer all is fine, when my boss creates the same, the text (contact name) is not where it should be on the page and its font size is huge. Would this have anything to do with my boss opening the file remotely?

Thank you in advance. Is it possible to control the name of a pdf using the save as pdf function in FM8? I would like to create the name based on data from related tables and the current date. Also, is there a way to include the number of copies of the pdf to print in the pdf, or can I control the number of copies automatically in the print dialog? I obviously have a field in my database that says how many to print.

Does anyone know a way that I could create a script that would automatically generate a PDF. I am trying to create a "Make PDF" button. Thanks.

I am trying without success to save a PDF to a relative path on the mac. Every time I try I get the disk in locked error, but if I give it a direct path it works fine. In the script step before the path I am setting a variable as the username, which of course is my computer username. file: ../Users/$$username/Desktop/ProjectSchedule.pdf What am I doing wrong? Thanks

After working on this for a while I have finally sorted out a free solution to print to PDF from FM. This solution has many other benefits as well such as: The free PDF distiller can be set up and used for any PC printing requirements; The solution effectively works around the limitations of FM changing printers without a plugin; In my current solution, all printed layouts are printed to PDF and the document opened in front of the database in the centre 1/2 of the screen and full screen height. This is a very effective print preview with the option to save as, print, or just close. The temp PDF directory is cleared by a script run upon exiting FM. …

Anyone been here before? I have a FP7 file hosted on server advanced, with Mac, Windows and web clients all accessing it. I want a button that makes a PDF file, but printing through IWP is SHOCKING so I really want this button to "tell FMP server to make a PDF" and ideally name this file according to the contents of a field. Lots of good posts about client-side PDF creation, but I need something more universal than that, but have never seen anything about forcing a server to do a task for you. Any clues anyone? Thanks Alex

I am confused. I have created a number of PDF files from FMP and some of them have a larger print area than others. For example, on some layouts, I have field just to the right of the printed area for view in browse but not in print. when I create a PDF Part or all of the field is showing. Is this a normal thing or is there a way to avoid it? Thanks

OS Tiger & FMP 7 I'm looking for the best way to print to PDF but automatically rename each file as it's saved. Instead of printing a hard copy of an invoice for our records, we want the invoices to be saved as PDF's with the invoice number as the name. Then we'll see if we can link to the PDF from the customer's account but that's another issue. Should I be using Automator or Apple Script (I'm less comfortable with this one)? How do I capture the invoice number? Sorry if this is a repeat of previous posts but I suspect that they might not apply to my platform and I've had trouble navigating this site (e.g. finding topic 141081 which might have m…

Hi, I've got a layout with Title Header and Footer, both contain images to show our company info. When I look at the layout in preview mode, everything is absolutely as I want it but the moment I go to the print option and preview, the title footer has disappeared. Has anybody got any ideas? Thanks

Hi, all. Can anyone recommend a PDF print driver that works well with FM6 on Windows 2K+ (9x would be great but not required)? I have seen several recommendations on the Forum, but they all seem to be geared towards a solution for the developer who wants to install a PDF writer for a small number of clients. I am looking for a PDF writer that: 1. Allows the developer to specify a default file name and requires no user intervention (at which point we will use Troi File to give the PDF a custom name). 2. Can append new documents to existing ones--i.e., print from multiple FM files to one PDF. 3. Has volume licensing or SDK pricing available. I've checked ou…

What is the simplest approach in creating PDFs from FileMaker? I am looking for a solution where the script simply creates the PDF files based on the found records similar to creating HTML files from FileMaker using an XSLT. I would use an XSLT stylesheet but I can't seem to find any documentation or simple example on creating PDF with XSLT in FileMaker. I was thinking of PrintToPDF but this only seems to work for OS 9 and not OS X. Is there an update to this that I can use in OS X? Thanks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Here's what I have: 1) A predictable file path 2) A predictable file name 3) PDF creation software, of course Our engineers go through a tedious process to save PDFs. They must... 1) Click a "Save PDF" button to activate a script 2) Paste the calculated file name into the Save dialog box 3) Navigate to the correct folder on a network drive 4) Click "Save" More steps may include... 5) Creating PDFs from a CAD program using virtually the same process as above 6) Combining these PDFs into a single PDF file for general use and archiving I believe the first 4 steps can be simplified into 1 automatic step. Can this sort of thing be done in App…

Hi all, My client wants a function that creates a PDF file automatically without the Print dialog box, then attach the PDF file to an email. I've got these working in Windows XP with the help of Visage PDF Converter. However, my client is using Mac OS X and I have no idea on how to make it works. Do I need to create an Applescript? I've never actually worked on Mac before, would really appreciate a detailed solution. Thank you! Rgds, Ren

I'm a little new to FM. I have spent the whole morning creating an invoice template. How do I convert a file into a pdf so I can email it. Any help would be much appreciated.

Has anybody tried to install the Apache FOP (Apache Formatting Objects Processor) together with FMS7A? Martin

At the risk of being ostracized by the community, i am double-posting the below because it doesn't seem to have gotten many views in the Container Fields forum and it's a matter of considerable importance to me. Please forgive me (or at least ignore the post!) I know i personally never visit the Container Fields forum, so maybe someone smarter in PDF matters than i am will pick it up here. Begging your pardon, Jerry

I have read many posts about printing records to a PDF file and emailing. I have evaluated AfFiler and pdf995, but haven't been able to do what I need to. I have a quote system (Windows FM7) and need the ability to hit a button to automatically e-mail a quote in PDF format. The script needs to print the quote as a PDF, automatically name it "Quote Number XXXX" (from a field on the quote) and automatically email it to the customer based on the e-mail address field on the quote. All of this without user intervention (well, it may be good for the user to see the e-mail message before it is sent just in case they want to add some comments or maybe copy another person - bu…