A Handy New 4D Write Pro Attribute: wk page size!
The WP SET ATTRIBUTES command in 4D Write Pro is undoubtedly one of the most frequently used commands, as its vast possibilities apply to all sorts of elements in your documents.
A new document attribute is now available in 4D 20 R5: wk page size. Let’s take a closer look at what it can do!
Non-blocking Printing
With 4D v20 R4, we significantly improved the management of print jobs inside 4D. 4D can now run multiple print jobs in parallel, significantly increasing your applications’ reactivity while facilitating the management of concurrent print jobs.
Let me tell you more about it!
Meet the Updated Print form & FORM LOAD Commands
4D v16 R5 brought a significant improvement to the DIALOG command. An improvement that lays in the possibility of passing a new parameter “formData” of type object. It was great to hear that this new addition has been well received by 4D developers.
With 4D v20, two other commands are upgraded, Print form and FORM LOAD! The benefit will be just as great. The object’s content passed in the parameter will be directly exploitable in the printed forms or forms loaded in memory.
PDF format for Print Previewing on Windows
PDF format is a viable alternative to XPS for print previewing on Windows, providing users with a more accessible option. Microsoft’s decision to make the XPS Viewer an optional Windows feature has caused issues for many users when deploying applications, resulting in end-users being unable to preview their printings. Although installing the free XPS Viewer is straightforward, some administrators are hesitant to install additional features, particularly on Remote Desktop environments.
Fortunately, 4D v20 now offers the option of using the PDF format for print previewing. Since almost all current Windows versions have either XPS or PDF pre-installed, end-users should no longer encounter issues with print previewing. This new option offers a more flexible and efficient solution that meets the needs of both end-users and administrators.
Tips & Tricks for your 4D Apps – September Edition
by Add Komoncharoensiri, Director of Technical Services at 4D Inc
Here we go with another set of tips and tricks.
As you know, 4D Knowledge Base is a library of information about 4D technology where weekly tech tips and monthly tech notes are actively published. If you missed the last tips on the KB, that’s fine; here is a compilation from the past few weeks.
This blog post covers 16 tips:
Use 4D Write Pro to Create & Print a Batch of Documents
Whatever your business, you must create listings, inventories, tracking sheets, product sheets, invoices, and many other documents. These documents are usually printed or saved in PDF for archiving.
4D Write Pro is the ideal tool to create all your documents. Here is a list of several features available in 4D Write Pro that can help you make beautiful documents for printing:
- page layout and margin management for printing,
- pdf export,
- document protection,
- table creation,
- table formatting with repeated headers,
- definition of a data context,
- inserting ORDA formulas in a table (new in 4D v19 R6).
Using these different features, here are some examples of documents produced.
4D View Pro: Print Interface
4D View Pro is a powerful tool in many fields. Its razor-sharp capabilities enable users to easily store, organize, and manipulate data. 4D v19 R5 brings a new ability to the product.
To make it easier for your customers to set up printing, the Ribbon has now a new addition; it supports print settings with a Page layout tab and a Page setup dialog. This dialog includes tabs for the Page, Margins, Header/Footer, and Sheet, allowing users to manage many options in the VP SET PRINT INFO command.
Here is everything you need to know.
4D View Pro: Manually Adjust the Print Area Using Page Breaks
When printing, page break location is set by default, but you can adjust the print area by defining your own page breaks.
Starting with 4D v19 R2, to help your customers choose where they want to place their page breaks, 4D View Pro lets you add and remove page breaks manually, and also display the print preview lines.
4D View Pro: Manage Printing and PDF export
With the VP PRINT and VP EXPORT DOCUMENT commands, you can now print a document or create a PDF version of it. However, in order to create an appealing document for your customer, you not only need to print a document, but also add headers, footers, define the zoom, define the paper orientation, and so on. With 4D v18, it’s all possible thanks to the VP SET PRINT INFO command that allows you to define these attributes and more in your document!
New commands to save and restore print settings
This feature allows users to save and restore print settings (even those that cannot be set using 4D Get print option and SET PRINT OPTION commands) quickly and efficiently, whether on Windows or Mac OS in both 32 and 64 bits environments.
Office printers supports a large set of features, duplex, staple, punch, watermark, ink saving, color calibration, just a name some. The new commands BLOB to print settings and Print settings to BLOB supports to save and restore the whole set of information available via printer dialogs, allowing fully automatic (and faceless) print jobs.
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