I understand the point to a degree. An actual paper print out is a physical document.
A PDF stored on a hard drive is still a set of binary bits on a spinning platter. Storing a PDF is simply storing it in Adobe's format versus Rbase's format. The end result, is that it is re-created when sent to a printer, not the format it is stored in. Binary data on a hard drive is still binary data regardless of Rbase or Adobe. It is true, if you need to have a picture perfect copy, then your Rbase needs to store all the data needed to recreate the original statement. Which is what you are doing in the PDF, it is simply being stored outside Rbase. No difference. You still have to create Rbase programming to manage this external data, which is usually less efficient than managing RBase tables. If customers names/data change, then you still have to maintain a cross reference in Rbase to the files you stored outside. Something I would find a little more difficult than if it were all in Rbase. So the real question is... is the data more efficiently stored in PDF form or Rbase form. I am sure that question has a different answer for different people. -Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: "RBASE-L Mailing List" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 8:29:55 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: [RBASE-L] - Re: Printing a bunch of PDF files I agree with Larry. I like having PDF files rather than regenerating as Bob suggested. You have a time-stamped PDF file that "proves" what you invoiced on a certain date, rather than regenerating the data right now. If you re-generate the data later, you have to be careful of things like client names and addresses. At this client, their customers (the general public) can change their names (get married), move... So you need to prove exactly where and to whom you sent the invoice. If you store the data in a table, you have to store the name/address as it was at the time of the invoice, and not do a current lookup based on the customer ID. That IS how we do it right now since we can't store a PDF file, but again a PDF file is a better picture of what happened way back when. Karen Here are the benefits that I see to keeping archival PDFs in addition to data: A backup of important documents. A time-stamped record of the appearance and contents of certain documents at the time of generation. Ability to fulfill document requests without using the database. The possibility of maintaining "paper" copies of records without maintaining any actual paper. Integration with other document based systems (such as Sharepoint). -- Larry Here are the benefits that I see to keeping archival PDFs in addition to data: A backup of important documents. A time-stamped record of the appearance and contents of certain documents at the time of generation. Ability to fulfill document requests without using the database. The possibility of maintaining "paper" copies of records without maintaining any actual paper. Integration with other document based systems (such as Sharepoint). -- Larry
