"Save As Excel" option is disabled in Pause script mode

[saigopaldas]

Hi ,

I have a report layout.

 

In preview mode the "Save As Excel" Option is working fine.

But when through script I pause the script in preview mode "Save As Excel" option is greyed out , but "Save As PDF" is working fine.

 

Menu set is Standard Filemaker Menus.

 

Please suggest if there is any solutions to make this work in preview mode with pause script .

[Matthew F]

Sorry, I don't do know if you can do exactly what you want.  But let me ask, why do you want to pause a script to save to excel?  Perhaps instead consider one of the following:  

 

1. Run a script with an Save as Excel step built into the script.  If you don't select the "Perform without dialog" option, then the script will pause to allow the user to select the fields to export. Otherwise it will export in the format that you previously chose while setting up the script. 

 

2. Break the script into two parts.  Run one. Let the user save the data to excel.  Then let them activate a second script with a button.

 

Exporting to excel is so complicated I would think that you would either want to fully automate the process, or else let the user have free-reign on deciding how to best accomplish it.  If you do the latter, you probably wouldn't want to resume a paused script because the database would be in an uncertain state. 

[Rick Whitelaw]

Hi ,

I have a report layout.

 

In preview mode the "Save As Excel" Option is working fine.

But when through script I pause the script in preview mode "Save As Excel" option is greyed out , but "Save As PDF" is working fine.

 

Menu set is Standard Filemaker Menus.

 

Please suggest if there is any solutions to make this work in preview mode with pause script .

The main use of the Pause Script script step is to allow a user to enter data on a layout. The script is then usually resumed with a button. I suspect Save as Excel is one thing that can't be done when a script is paused. And of course a second script cannot be run until the first is finished.

[comment]

And of course a second script cannot be run until the first is finished.

 

But of course it can.

[Rick Whitelaw]

Michael,

I misspoke there. Of course a second script can be called. But then the same "master" script is, in effect, the one script running with sub-calls to other scripts.

Rick.

[comment]

But then the same "master" script is, in effect, the one script running with sub-calls to other scripts.

 

I am not sure I understand the distinction. If a script is paused, you can still run another script by clicking a button or pressing Command+[0-9] or by triggering it via a keystroke or another action.

 

True, clicking your own button in Preview mode is problematic; for this you'd need to open a new "palette" window showing the button.

[Rick Whitelaw]

I am not sure I understand the distinction. If a script is paused, you can still run another script by clicking a button or pressing Command+[0-9] or by triggering it via a keystroke or another action.

 

True, clicking your own button in Preview mode is problematic; for this you'd need to open a new "palette" window showing the button.

Yes, all true. I should have simply said that two scripts can't run at the same time. Doh!

[saigopaldas]

Thanks for your comments.
 

Actually it is a report  layout.

I show the layout in preview mode before printing the layout.

That is why the script is in pause mode with Allow user abort [OFF] .

So when user clicks continue on the status bar  , the layout gets printed.
But some user wants to save the report in excel sheet before printing, which is not frequent.

So asking user always for exporting the records as excel is annoying.

 

I have found a way , by giving a option on the custom menu for user and attached a script with that which save the current reocords as Excel.

 

 

Thanks.

[dauerbach]

Above suggestions certainly avoid the problem, but do not address it. 

 

There seems to be some behavior related to permissions that affect whether the Save as PDF and Save as Excel buttons are disabled when using "Enter Preview [pause]". When logged in as [Full Access], both are available. However, when logged in with another privset that has "Allow Printing" and "Allow Exporting" enabled, AND even with the script set to "Run as Full Access", these buttons are still disabled.

 

Since it appears FileMaker INC is ok with Full Access users having access to these functions at the Enter Preview [pause] script step, AND FileMaker displays these buttons even without Full Access, there must be a way to make it available to end users when configured with proper privs.

 

Does anyone insight on how to make this work?

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

Thanks,

dan

[dauerbach]

Discovered a few things:

 

1) In order for Save as PDF to be enabled in Preview mode:

   - the Prv Set must Allow Printing, AND

   - the Print... menu item must be in the active menu-set

 

2) In order for Save a Excel to be enabled:

   - don't bother trying. IT appears that unless the user is Full Access, even with Allow Exporting, Run as Full Access, adn the Export... and Excel... menus active, the Save as Excel button can not be enabled when in Preview mode.

 

Maybe I am still missing something, or perhaps this is a bug/feature.

 

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

 

thx!

dan