This is a follow up from last week's thread about custom print sizes in MS Word. Potential client has 8" wide by 4.625" high custom form that has been a real SOB trying to get to print correctly and consistently. This is that client that is from a colleague of mine. The previous vendor for them sucked, giving them hardly any help and even less instruction, so we'd like to get it right for them, hence the willingness to get this darn thing working! Here's their process:
- go into Quickbooks (or Quicken....can't recall exactly) - export customers mailing address to Excel - go into MS Word and run mail merge document The problem is that the freakin' Oki printer doesn't have any books with it, and I didn't have online access at the site, and on top of that, MS Word won't take the true dimensions of the tractor feed form. It's truly a 8" wide by 4.625" (4 5/8") tall form. Yet when I put in the 4.625, it always changes it to 4.5. Grrr!!!!! I was thinking of just whipping up a simple label program in VFP and having VFP ask for the Excel file to import to do the freakin thing. That allows the customer to 1) avoid the current problem with printing out of whack, and 2) simpler as he just locates the Excel file and presses "Go" as opposed to manually doing all those steps in the Mail Merge process in MS Word. I was starting to do that (simple VFP program) at client site when the stinking printer said "out of paper"...yet it was online and had paper fed just fine! Resetting printer and rebooting machine didn't help either. Ugh! Nothing like making matters worse at the client site. :-p Rather than dealing with the crap above, wouldn't VFP allow me to do this easier with a fixed band height? And the 2nd question on this thread-- how do most of you handle printing in triplicate forms....do you use the good old fashioned pin printers or do you make it easier on yourself (avoiding the custom form size bullsh*t) and just print 3 copies off the laser printer? I hardly ever have to deal with pin printers anymore but I guess they're not necessarily a dying breed (in cases where duplicate/triplicate forms are needed). Your comments encouraged and welcomed...thanks! --Michael -- Michael J. Babcock, MCP MB Software Solutions, LLC http://mbsoftwaresolutions.com http://fabmate.com "Work smarter, not harder, with MBSS custom software solutions!" _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
