Printing and Sliding

[dee2dum]

Hi-

I've created two layouts on my database with the exact same fields. One layout is for inputting and the other is for printing. I created the two layouts, so that on the printing layout I could enlarge the fields and have them slide as required for printing. Unfortunately, sometimes part of the text in the field gets cut off when printing. This only happens on a few of my records, though.

Does anyone know why this might happen and how I might be able to fix it?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[BobWeaver]

You have to size the fields big enough to hold the maximum text that you will ever have. When you set a field to shrink, it will shrink to fit but it won't expand. So, you have to make sure that it starts out big enough for everything.

[dee2dum]

Thanks bob, I checked my fields and I believe they should large enough to display all the text. Only some of the records are getting "cut off" and when this occurs, the top half of the text is displayed. For example, if the letter "o" should be printed then all that is actually printed is a semi-circle facing down. Would it make a difference if I used a merge cell on my print layout instead of a regular field?

Thanks in advance.

[Vaughan]

Do you have any of the layout's body part options set, like "allow part to break over page boundary" or "discard remainder of part before new page" because these can cause some weird things to happen. Turn them off and try again.

[dee2dum]

Thanks Vaughan, I've checked my body part options and I don't have anything selected. When I preview the records it displays everything correctly. The text only seems to get "cut off" when I actually print and in general it's usually only the last line. Could there be another setting that I've unknowingly set that may be causing this?

Thanks again.

[Vaughan]

I prolly should have aked this first: what version and patch level of FMP are you using?

[dee2dum]

I'm using Filemaker 5.5v2

[BobWeaver]

If it only happens in a few records, you should look at those records to see if the text formatting has been changed for them. In Filemaker the layout fields have a default format which is set when you are in layout mode using the various text formatting menu items. But, when in browse mode you can override the default format when entering or editing data by using the same formatting menu items. If the default font size has been overridden for those records, then these might not print properly.

[dee2dum]

Thanks. I'll check.

[slstrother]

You did not mention which platform you are on. If you are on Windows as I am, you could be experiencing one of the "many unresolved printing issues with Windows" as Filemaker put it. I also have a problem with sliding and printing which is different than yours. But, some the steps that Filemaker suggested to me might help you. Check your layout set-up, the margins should not be less than .25" on a Windows machine (according to Filemaker). Try changing your sliding options, if you are sliding up based on 'all of the above', try changing it to 'directly above', select or deselect 'reduce the enclosing part'. In layout mode, select the field and then Format>Text, push the 'Paragraph' button. In the paragraph format window, look at line spacing, change the height. Do this by changing 'Lines' to 'Pixels', then change the value up or down. Filemaker told me the height in pixels should be about 2 more than the point size of your font. So if you have a 12 point font, the pixels should be about 14. Look at your printer set-up. If you are able to change the resolution, ie. 600dpi, try changing it to a lower setting. Unfortunately, this is all trial and error. Make a duplicate layout to experiment on so you don't screw up what you already have.

Good Luck.

[GibsonCRG]

Hi - I wondered if you solved your printing problem, with the cutoff text on random records. I've run into exactly the same thing, running FMP 6.0. On occasional records, with no discernable pattern I can make out, the text appears to be "cut off".

Looking more closely at what's happening, it appears that a "bounding box" for the text is being set in the correct size and locatio, but the actual text starts printing offset about 0.5 to 0.9 lines too low (relative to the upper left corner of the invisible "bounding box". Then, when the last line of the text prints, you only see that upper portion of those letters - the remainder is being "clipped" by the boundaries of the rectangle that the text WOULD have fit within, had it been properly started at the upper left corner of the field.

In other words, the SIZES of each field are being set correctly, but for some reason the text within random fields is offset within the field, causing the edges to get clipped.

Anyway, this sounds like the problem you describe, and wonder if you found a fix? I've checked the text formats etc on each problem record, but everything is fine. Moreover, it displays properly in the Print Preview mode - it's just when actually printing to the printer that the text weirdness happens. I wonder if there might be a problem with the printer driver, but the two HP printers we're using are pretty bulletproof in all other printing.

..Chris..