Invoice with photos in footer?

[Fat Panda]

I'm currently evaluating if FMSP will meet my needs for invoicing.  Our average invoice is about 2 items, and usually no more than 7 line items.  What is critical for our business is that the invoice contains photos of the products.  Photos in the body might not work for space reasons, and I was wondering if it's possible to produce a invoice with the photos of the products in the footer of the invoice?

 

TIA

 

Tim

[comment]

I am afraid your question makes very little sense, because the terms are not clear. In Filemaker, the footer is a part that appears at the bottom of every page.

[Lee Smith]

Automatic message

This topic has been moved from "FileMaker 13 General Discussion" to "FM Starting Point - General Discussions".

[Fat Panda]

Sorry for my poor descripton.  Let me provide a visual of what I am thinking of.  I would want to reduce the line items to a maxium of 7 or so, and leave room for photos of each of the line items at the bottom of the estimate.  Something like this...

 

 

Would this be something that could be done easily using FMSP?

 

TIA

 

Tim

[comment]

How would this scale to situations where there are only 2 or 3 items?

 

I am not sure what's acceptable here, but the simple solution would put the image inside the Body part, so that ultimately you would end up with something like:

 

 

This is assuming one image per item.  In this arrangement, it is not necessary to limit the number of items.

[Fat Panda]

I already use the included Filemaker invoice/inventory template for that now.  However, the postage stamp images, are too small for our purpose.  The "invoice" in this case, will be used by the drop shipper to source the items from their suppliers, and many of these items don't have part numbers, and this is the reason photos are so critical. Postage stamped photos won't suffice.  This is probably more of a "pick ticket" used by a warehouse to make sure the worker pulls the correct item for the order. 

The drop shipper will use what we give them, so there is no restriction  on format, size, pages, or anything.  Having a multiple page "pick ticket' would be acceptable. 

[comment]

However, the postage stamp images, are too small for our purpose.

 

I am afraid we are not understanding each other.

 

The thing that I don't understand is this: you are showing a layout of 7 images, arranged side by side - yet you say that postage stamp images are too small?

 

The thing that I think you don't understand is that the image in the body part can be as large as you want - limited only by the width of the page (or the width of the column, if you choose to print the line items in columns). The downsides of this method (if they are downsides at all) are:

 

1. the images will be in a single column, one beneath the other (unless you choose to print the line items in columns);

2. all information about a line item (i.e. SKU,  description, quantity, price, extended price) will appear next to the image, or immediately above/below it.

 

If these are unacceptable then you are looking at something that will be much more complicated to set up.

[bruceR]

The FMSP4 Invoice Print and Estimate Print layouts are designed to print from a portal.

 

Fat Panda (FP) is apparently new to FileMaker; and may not understand how to change or add a layout design that prints from the line item records.

 

When the layout is designed as Comment suggests - including the critical difference of being based on the line item records, then it will work.

 

FP lists his application version as 4.

 

But - FP needs to update his profile.

 

FP is not using FileMaker 4, he is using FileMaker 13; with a template (FileMaker Starting Point) that is version 4 of the template.

 

FP discusses changing the portal row count, to display taller rows.

 

Completely wrong approach.

 

It is a modest bit of layout work to eliminate the portal and design a proper line-item based print layout.

[voltron2112]

Hey Fat Panda, you can do exactly what you want pretty easily.

 

 

To make it work you need to first make your invoice line portal only show 10 or so rows so you have room to add the photos. Then you need to duplicated the entire lineitems portal (The portal should be based on "T12j_invoices_LINE_ITEM||id_invoice|").

 

***EDIT Just noticed from your photo that your portal is based on "T08k..........." so your instructions for the table names will be a little off. Must be a different version of FMSP, but it should still work fine you'll just have to find the corresponding tables***

 

On the duplicated portal change it so it only shows one portal row (Double clicking brings up the options), and then delete all the fields in it. Then resize the portal to be about the size of one photo. Add the field "T12j1_invoices_PRODUCTS||id_product|::Image_Data" to the portal. Then duplicate the portal so you have 7 of them side by side, and then double click on each portal and change it so the initial row is 1 through 7 like below. 

 

 

 

I turned on borders on the portals to make it easier to see and move, but after you get it setup you can turn them back off.

 

I'd attach the file for you but it's pretty big, but feel free to message me if you have any questions!

[comment]

The FMSP4 Invoice Print and Estimate Print layouts are designed to print from a portal.

 

Oh, no...

 

I did not know this was about FM Starting Point when I first responded; this was originally posted in "FileMaker 13 General Discussion", and I thought FMSP was a  mistype of FMP... Later I thought the screenshot was just an illustration - not something OP was seriously contemplating to adapt.

 

 

@Fat Panda:

As Bruce says, printing an invoice from the Invoices table using a portal to LineItems is a completely wrong approach. Except for extremely rare cases, invoices should be printed from a list view layout based on the LineItems table, where the item details are in the body part, and the invoice details go into leading/trailing sub-summary or grand summary parts. What you have now is a starting point to a dead-end street.

[Fat Panda]

Thanks for the replies.   I think that might do what I want, and I think you have given me enough information where I can figure out how to make the changes.  Thank you very much, this was very helpful..  

 

I apologize for any confusion to my questions.  I am new to FMSP and only a novice when it comes to FM.

 

Tim

[Richard Carlton]

Hi Bruce,

 

Yah... thats an interesting situation for users to get into.   I get into arguments with my senior staff all the time about stuff like this... given that we are trying to train new and intermedia developers in FileMaker.   You technique is going to be hard to teach a swallow for a lot of new people.

 

Your technique is infinitely flexible... but so is SQL.  LOL.  

 

When new people get pissed off with the platform... they just get up and walk away...and those are the issues I am more concerned with... rather than page 2 issues.

 

I am wondering of we should just add a video on have to building infinite invoices using your technique... or allow for a multiple page option in FMSP.  

 

Most senior engineers just say "hey this is the right technique" and I'm right.   But I have broader concerns... because I have to measure the cognitive jump necessary for new users to absorb techniques.

 

- RC