How to Print Receipts?

[Greg Parks]

This is probably a general question, but here goes:

I have a movie library db with a related Users db and a Join file. My join file has fields for the user's names, borrowed film title, date out, date due, date in.

On my Users db, I want to make a layout to print receipts (on a Dymo Labelwriter using roll paper) of movies checked out that show the title, date out and date due.

I've tried to use a portal, but it makes a row for every movie the user ever borrowed, whether returned or not. Using this calculation field on the join file:

If(

IsEmpty(Date In), Title,

"")

and similar ones for the Date Out & Date Due.

Anyway, I don't think I'm going about it the right way. I'd use a table, but I don't know how to squeeze it all onto a 2.25" wide roll.

Here's how I want my receipt to look:

UserName

Address

City, ST, Zip

Title:

Two lines worth of film title space here that

slides up when short enough to fit one line

Date Out: Date Due:

08/28/02 09/25/02

Title:

Two lines worth of film title space here that

slides up when short enough to fit one line

Date Out: Date Due:

08/28/02 09/25/02

etc. for each title not returned.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Greg Parks

[danjacoby]

First of all, never print from a portal (OK, that's not always the case, but it's an excellent rule of thumb), always print from the related file.

Next, create a layout in the related file for your receipt. Then go to Page Setup (or "Print Setup") and create a custom setup that prints to the correct width.

Create a script in the related file that performs the page setup and prints the current record.

Finally, in the Users db, create a script that goes to the related record and performs the external script.

The rest is just the details in which the devil is in (and how's that for not using a preposition to end a sentence with?).