Overview of Print Functions
Description
Alpha Anywhere allows you to print and preview all layout types under Xbasic control. In addition, you can specify custom toolbars and menus for the print preview window. You can also use Xbasic to specify the printer driver to use, and if you are printing to file, you can use Xbasic to specify the output filename.
To print, or preview a layout, you use the appropriate method. For example, to preview a report, you use the PREVIEW_REPORT() function, and for a label, you use the PREVIEW_LABEL() function. These function are described in Print Functions. The Xbasic methods to control the print preview menus and toolbars and for specifying the printer and output filename are also described below. You can also email your reports etc. to someone else. Alpha Anywhere allows you to email layouts as Adobe Acrobat PDF files, Dynamic HTML, Rich Text, or plain text files. See Email Functions, Methods, and Properties. In addition to printing layouts, Alpha Anywhere allows you to archive layouts. An archive is simply a copy of the layout printed to a file in the .PDF format. This creates a snapshot of how a particular report or other layout looked at a certain point in time. For example, rather than keeping printed copies of your October 1999 invoices, you could simply create an archived copy. See the REPORT.ARCHIVE() method. Alpha Anywhere also allows you to print your layouts to file in the following formats: Adobe Acrobat PDF, Dynamic HTML, Rich Text, or plain text. See the REPORT.SAVEAS() method. The CRLF() and NEW_PAGE() functions generate CR-LF and FF character strings that cause the printer to advance a to the next line or advance to the next page.