View/print a report several pages wide?

[jrp]

Using FM Pro 5.0v3, on a Mac.

Trying to build a report that should be printing about 11 pages wide - about 10 fields per page, with a set of repeating titles on each page.

I can't seem to create a report wider that one page. Is this impossible in FM? What am I doing wrong?

Many thanks.

[jrp]

Ack! I'm killin myself here. Isn't there anyone who can help?

Is there no way to create a report in FM that is wider than one page?

Please.

[Kurt Knippel]

1 layout, 11 pages long. Line them up side by each and the client gets exactly what they are looking for.

[jrp]

OK, but how?

I create a new list layout, select all the fields I need, and then in preview mode it only shows the first page. Where do I put the fields to tell FM I want them to go to a new page?

[Kurt Knippel]

Creating a LIST layout and a printable report are two different things.

By making the Body part of the report longer it can span multiple pages in depth.

If you are needing a report that is BOTH many pages wide and many pages deep, then you are pretty much scewed, since it will be very difficult to pull off.

I have run into this kind of mentality before and in general you just have to produce a report that is as close as possible. Databases are very poor spreadsheets and spreadsheets are very poor databases. Both have thier uses and thier own set of advantages/disadvantages that need to be taken into account.

Matrix style outputs and interfaces is one of the strengths of a spreadsheet and the weakness of a database.

I would start by ignoring the directive that they need a wide report, simply because that is what they get from Excel. Find out what they really need and develop a report to satisfy that need.

[danjacoby]

Two layouts!

One viewable layout in the wide format, and one "print" layout in vertical format -- hidden, of course, with a "Print" script (& button) that goes to the other layout, prints, and returns to the original layout.

[Kurt Knippel]

Why do you think that the report needs to be WIDE?

Just do the same thing but with the pages in a vertical orientation, then line the output up next to each other.

[jrp]

Well, the report needs to be wide because my client says it needs to be wide.

I'm trying to replicate an Excel spreadsheet that my database is in fact replacing - they want to be able to print out a report that "looks & feels just like what they used to have." So, I'm creating 11 separate layouts that look like each of the 11 pages of their Excel file. And a script that will print them all out. Seems like a silly amount of work, for a reasonable request.

Ah well, now I know.

[jrp]

Thanks Kurt - I really do need to go both ways, so to speak. Once I had it confirmed that it wasn't possible, I quit my whining and setup all 11 layouts, and with the scipt they print just fine...and in the end this is only a hand-holding measure for a nervous executive. Once he's comfortable with the new setup, I think he'll be happy with the other reports I've created, but for now I want him to feel like he still has access to the same data in the same format.

Thanks again for your help!