Printing on iPad

[ConorH16]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me.

 

I am designing a FileMaker application that will be used on iPad and will require to print from the software.

 

I have designed the complete software and have added some print buttons. Now, I am currently testing it on my Mac though I would think the same thing would happen on the iPad.

 

When I click the print buttons I would like it to print the entire layout with all records included (includes a portal to show multiple records) but It only seems to print 3/4 of the layout. I have tried everything I can think of to fix this but the only solution I can see is to shrink everything on that layout?

 

I would have thought there was a way to print exactly what's on the page or at least 'fit the layout to one page' option (that doesn't work either).

 

Please tell me someone has a better idea.

Conor

[bcooney]

Your mention of a portal suggests to me that your print layout is not based on the child table. For example, when printing an invoice, your print layout is based on the line items table. iow, do not print portals, design a print layout from the context of the child table.

[Matthew F]

 

 

I would have thought there was a way to print exactly what's on the page

What does your page look like in preview mode?  You should get the same thing when you print.   If your layout is sized larger than your printers page then some clipping will occur.  Your "Page setup" setting will effect the results too, but you should be able to see this in Preview mode.  On a Mac, you can use Page Setup to set the scale to something smaller than 100%, which will allow you to fit more of the layout on the printed page.  Sadly, this does not work on well on Windows. Instead it just shrinks the material but does not provide more content, making the page look like it was cropped. 

 

As bcooney pointed out, printing a page with a large portal can be tricky.   In layout mode, using the position tab on the Inspector, you can anchor the bottom and right hand edges to allow the portal to expand when you resize your window.  This is nice when viewing portal with a lot of records on your computer monitor.   However, a portal anchored like this will not stretch and show more content as a result of changing your Printer Scale as mentioned above. 

 

-- Edit --   

Sorry, I missed the little detail about printing from an iPad.     I don't know how this works!

Edited May 2, 2014 by Matthew F

[Rgordon]

Typically in FileMaker you will have separate layouts for inputting data and a different layout for printing the data, especially if you are using an iPad. The print layout should be designed to print on a 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper (or whatever size paper you are using). Use a print script to go to the print layout, print the page and then return back to the input layout. On an iPad, using a 16 to 18 point font size is a good size for readability. Your print layout would usually use fonts between 9 to 12 points.

[ConorH16]

Cheers guys! I've got that sorted. I was trying to print the page size of the iPad screen but when shrunk it fits perfectly.

 

Now, another challenge for yous...

 

I have a field that I want to display the most recent entry of another field... (if that makes any sense). Do you have any idea on how this would be done?

 

Can you tell i'm new at this? lol

 

Thanks,

Conor

[bcooney]

Hi Conor,

Ideally, pls start a new thread if you are posting a new question. Having said that, your question isn't clear to me. A field to display the most recent entry of another field? Can you start a new thread and expand on your scenario.

Thanks,

Barbara

[Matthew F]

I have a field that I want to display the most recent entry of another field...

If this field is to be specific to each record, then simply create a calculation field, and equate it to the field of interest.   Then it will always show you the most recent entry of the other field.   If the field should show the most recently entered value, independent of the record that you're on, then do the same, but set "Storage..." to global. 

[ConorH16]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have started a new thread like asked to and you can find it here: http://fmforums.com/forum/topic/91865-creating-a-solution-for-ipad/

 

It would be much appreciated if you could have a quick look.

 

It's kinda complicated.

 

Thanks,

Conor