[ FMPA 8.5 ; OSX 10.4.9 ]

I have a layout which contains a two-page
invoice.

Page 1 is the basic invoice itself, one line item of which
is the total of hours billed on this invoice.

Page 2 is a detail of
billed hours. This is a portal to the table containing the billed job
records, keyed on the invoice number. Typically, there are a dozen or
so billed jobs related to an invoice.

Viewing the record in Browse
mode, I can see all of the billed hour records in the portal.

If I
switch to Preview mode, the portal framework is visible, but none of
the records are there. The portal is empty.

As goes Preview, so goes
Print and Save to PDF. Using either method, the second page comes out,
the portal framework is there, but the detail records visible in
Browse are gone.

I checked Printing/Sliding. None of the objects are
set to "Do Not Print."

All of the first page comes out properly.

If
I put the portal on a layout by itself (making it Page 1), everything
works properly: Preview, Print and Save to PDF all contain the
previously missing records. FileMaker seems to have a problem with
Page 2.

Any thoughts?

Matt


--
Free FileMaker Technique Demos: http://www.VirtualVermont.com/FMP

My Custom Functions: http://www.briandunning.com/filemaker-custom-functions/resul ts.php?keyword=wills

In article <nemoThu080907022521 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:

> [ FMPA 8.5 ; OSX 10.4.9 ]
>
> I have a layout which contains a two-page
> invoice.
>
> Page 1 is the basic invoice itself, one line item of which
> is the total of hours billed on this invoice.
>
> Page 2 is a detail of
> billed hours. This is a portal to the table containing the billed job
> records, keyed on the invoice number. Typically, there are a dozen or
> so billed jobs related to an invoice.
>
> Viewing the record in Browse
> mode, I can see all of the billed hour records in the portal.
>
> If I
> switch to Preview mode, the portal framework is visible, but none of
> the records are there. The portal is empty.
>
> As goes Preview, so goes
> Print and Save to PDF. Using either method, the second page comes out,
> the portal framework is there, but the detail records visible in
> Browse are gone.
>
> I checked Printing/Sliding. None of the objects are
> set to "Do Not Print."
>
> All of the first page comes out properly.
>
> If
> I put the portal on a layout by itself (making it Page 1), everything
> works properly: Preview, Print and Save to PDF all contain the
> previously missing records. FileMaker seems to have a problem with
> Page 2.
>
> Any thoughts?

Firstly, do NOT print Portals. Print from the related table itself and
use a Relationship link back to the main table to retrieve any fields
needed from there. Portals are not designed to be printed.

Secondly, the usual problem for "missing data" when looking at Preview
mode is because you're looking at the wrong record. In Browse mode you
may be looking at record 15 in the Found Set, but when you switch to
Preview mode you're looking at record 1, not 15 - record 1 may not have
any related records to display in the portal.

Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

In article <100820070851239278%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
> In article <nemoThu080907022521 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt
> WIlls<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
>> [ FMPA 8.5 ; OSX 10.4.9 ]
>>
>> I have a layout which contains a two-page
>> invoice.
>>
>> Page 1 is the basic invoice itself, one line item of which
>> is the total of hours billed on this invoice.
>>
>> Page 2 is a detail of
>> billed hours. This is a portal to the table containing the billed
>> job records, keyed on the invoice number. Typically, there are a
>> dozen or so billed jobs related to an invoice.
>>
>> Viewing the record in Browse
>> mode, I can see all of the billed hour records in the portal.
>>
>> If I
>> switch to Preview mode, the portal framework is visible, but none
>> of the records are there. The portal is empty.
>>
>> As goes Preview, so goes
>> Print and Save to PDF. Using either method, the second page comes
>> out, the portal framework is there, but the detail records visible
>> in Browse are gone.
>>
>> I checked Printing/Sliding. None of the objects are
>> set to "Do Not Print."
>>
>> All of the first page comes out properly.
>>
>> If
>> I put the portal on a layout by itself (making it Page 1),
>> everything works properly: Preview, Print and Save to PDF all
>> contain the previously missing records. FileMaker seems to have a
>> problem with Page 2.
>>
>> Any thoughts?

> Firstly, do NOT print Portals. Print from the related table itself
> and use a Relationship link back to the main table to retrieve any
> fieldsneeded from there. Portals are not designed to be printed.

> Secondly, the usual problem for "missing data" when looking at
> Preview mode is because you're looking at the wrong record. In Browse
> mode you may be looking at record 15 in the Found Set, but when you
> switch to Preview mode you're looking at record 1, not 15 - record 1
> may not haveany related records to display in the portal.

> Helpful Harry
> Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships
> ;o)

That issue, as I understand it, is when there are more related records
than lines in the portal. Such is not the case here. The portal is
defined to display more lines (25) than will I will ever need
(typically 10-12).

I have successfully printed this portal numerous times, when it was
the only thing on the layout. I wanted to put it on the same layout as
the main invoice specifically so I could generate a single two-page
PDF of the full invoice.

It is not an issue with being in the correct record. I made sure there
is only one record in the found set. The proper information is
displayed in the portal when in Browse; it disappears in Preview,
Print and Save to PDF.

It is not an issue with being in the correct layout part; the layout
is all Body.

I experimented by removing everything but the portal from the layout,
and moved the portal to the top of the layout ("Page 1"). In that
position, everything works fine in all modes. Moving the portal back
to the "Page 2" position" on the layout (below the page break) breaks
it again. This strongly suggests that FM has a problem with multi-page
PDFs.

I moved the solution to FMA 8.5 on WXP, and exactly the same thing
happens.

Matt

--
Free FileMaker Technique Demos: http://www.VirtualVermont.com/FMP

My Custom Functions: http://www.briandunning.com/filemaker-custom-functions/resul ts.php?keyword=wills

In article <nemoThu080907063051 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:

> In article <100820070851239278%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
> HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
> > In article <nemoThu080907022521 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt
> > WIlls<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
> >> [ FMPA 8.5 ; OSX 10.4.9 ]
> >>
> >> I have a layout which contains a two-page
> >> invoice.
> >>
> >> Page 1 is the basic invoice itself, one line item of which
> >> is the total of hours billed on this invoice.
> >>
> >> Page 2 is a detail of
> >> billed hours. This is a portal to the table containing the billed
> >> job records, keyed on the invoice number. Typically, there are a
> >> dozen or so billed jobs related to an invoice.
> >>
> >> Viewing the record in Browse
> >> mode, I can see all of the billed hour records in the portal.
> >>
> >> If I
> >> switch to Preview mode, the portal framework is visible, but none
> >> of the records are there. The portal is empty.
> >>
> >> As goes Preview, so goes
> >> Print and Save to PDF. Using either method, the second page comes
> >> out, the portal framework is there, but the detail records visible
> >> in Browse are gone.
> >>
> >> I checked Printing/Sliding. None of the objects are
> >> set to "Do Not Print."
> >>
> >> All of the first page comes out properly.
> >>
> >> If
> >> I put the portal on a layout by itself (making it Page 1),
> >> everything works properly: Preview, Print and Save to PDF all
> >> contain the previously missing records. FileMaker seems to have a
> >> problem with Page 2.
> >>
> >> Any thoughts?
> >
> > Firstly, do NOT print Portals. Print from the related table itself
> > and use a Relationship link back to the main table to retrieve any
> > fieldsneeded from there. Portals are not designed to be printed.
> >
> > Secondly, the usual problem for "missing data" when looking at
> > Preview mode is because you're looking at the wrong record. In Browse
> > mode you may be looking at record 15 in the Found Set, but when you
> > switch to Preview mode you're looking at record 1, not 15 - record 1
> > may not haveany related records to display in the portal.
>
> That issue, as I understand it, is when there are more related records
> than lines in the portal. Such is not the case here. The portal is
> defined to display more lines (25) than will I will ever need
> (typically 10-12).
>
> I have successfully printed this portal numerous times, when it was
> the only thing on the layout. I wanted to put it on the same layout as
> the main invoice specifically so I could generate a single two-page
> PDF of the full invoice.
>
> It is not an issue with being in the correct record. I made sure there
> is only one record in the found set. The proper information is
> displayed in the portal when in Browse; it disappears in Preview,
> Print and Save to PDF.
>
> It is not an issue with being in the correct layout part; the layout
> is all Body.
>
> I experimented by removing everything but the portal from the layout,
> and moved the portal to the top of the layout ("Page 1"). In that
> position, everything works fine in all modes. Moving the portal back
> to the "Page 2" position" on the layout (below the page break) breaks
> it again. This strongly suggests that FM has a problem with multi-page
> PDFs.
>
> I moved the solution to FMA 8.5 on WXP, and exactly the same thing
> happens.

It's unlikely to be a problem with multi-page PDFs since you said the
data doesn't show up in Preview mode either.

The problem of a Portal not printing ALL the related records because it
doesn't have enough rows is the most minor (as well as asiest to fix)
problem, but there are many other problems when printing Portals that
you may or may not hit.

You may well have had it working before and it may well work again in
other cases (and yes I admit to printing Portals at times too), but the
point is you're not meant to print portals. You are meant to print from
the related table itself using a normal Body part. Doing it this proper
way avoids all the problems.


Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

In article <100820071859548628%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
> In article <nemoThu080907063051 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt
> WIlls<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
>> In article <100820070851239278%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
>> HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
>> > In article <nemoThu080907022521 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt
>> > WIlls<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
>> >> [ FMPA 8.5 ; OSX 10.4.9 ]
>> >>
>> >> I have a layout which contains a two-page
>> >> invoice.
>> >>
>> >> Page 1 is the basic invoice itself, one line item of which
>> >> is the total of hours billed on this invoice.
>> >>
>> >> Page 2 is a detail of
>> >> billed hours. This is a portal to the table containing the
>> billed >> job records, keyed on the invoice number. Typically, there
>> are a >> dozen or so billed jobs related to an invoice.
>> >>
>> >> Viewing the record in Browse
>> >> mode, I can see all of the billed hour records in the portal.
>> >>
>> >> If I
>> >> switch to Preview mode, the portal framework is visible, but
>> none >> of the records are there. The portal is empty.
>> >>
>> >> As goes Preview, so goes
>> >> Print and Save to PDF. Using either method, the second page
>> comes >> out, the portal framework is there, but the detail records
>> visible >> in Browse are gone.
>> >>
>> >> I checked Printing/Sliding. None of the objects are
>> >> set to "Do Not Print."
>> >>
>> >> All of the first page comes out properly.
>> >>
>> >> If
>> >> I put the portal on a layout by itself (making it Page 1),
>> >> everything works properly: Preview, Print and Save to PDF all
>> >> contain the previously missing records. FileMaker seems to have
>> a >> problem with Page 2.
>> >>
>> >> Any thoughts?
>> >
>> > Firstly, do NOT print Portals. Print from the related table
>> itself > and use a Relationship link back to the main table to
>> retrieve any > fieldsneeded from there. Portals are not designed to
>> be printed.
>> >
>> > Secondly, the usual problem for "missing data" when looking at
>> > Preview mode is because you're looking at the wrong record. In
>> Browse > mode you may be looking at record 15 in the Found Set, but
>> when you > switch to Preview mode you're looking at record 1, not 15
>> - record 1 > may not haveany related records to display in the
>> portal.
>>
>> That issue, as I understand it, is when there are more related
>> records than lines in the portal. Such is not the case here. The
>> portal is defined to display more lines (25) than will I will ever
>> need (typically 10-12).
>>
>> I have successfully printed this portal numerous times, when it
>> was the only thing on the layout. I wanted to put it on the same
>> layout as the main invoice specifically so I could generate a single
>> two-page PDF of the full invoice.
>>
>> It is not an issue with being in the correct record. I made sure
>> there is only one record in the found set. The proper information is
>> displayed in the portal when in Browse; it disappears in Preview,
>> Print and Save to PDF.
>>
>> It is not an issue with being in the correct layout part; the
>> layout is all Body.
>>
>> I experimented by removing everything but the portal from the
>> layout, and moved the portal to the top of the layout ("Page 1"). In
>> that position, everything works fine in all modes. Moving the portal
>> back to the "Page 2" position" on the layout (below the page break)
>> breaks it again. This strongly suggests that FM has a problem with
>> multi-page PDFs.
>>
>> I moved the solution to FMA 8.5 on WXP, and exactly the same thing
>> happens.

> It's unlikely to be a problem with multi-page PDFs since you said
> thedata doesn't show up in Preview mode either.

> The problem of a Portal not printing ALL the related records because
> it doesn't have enough rows is the most minor (as well as asiest to
> fix) problem, but there are many other problems when printing Portals
> thatyou may or may not hit.

> You may well have had it working before and it may well work again
> in other cases (and yes I admit to printing Portals at times too),
> but the point is you're not meant to print portals. You are meant to
> print from the related table itself using a normal Body part. Doing
> it this properway avoids all the problems.

> Helpful Harry
> Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships
> ;o)

Well,if I can't I fix this I'll go back to generating separate PDFs
and stitching them together out side of FM. I doubt I will come up
with the money to upgrade to 9 just for the sake of appending PDFs.

Matt

--
Free FileMaker Technique Demos: http://www.VirtualVermont.com/FMP

My Custom Functions: http://www.briandunning.com/filemaker-custom-functions/resul ts.php?keyword=wills

In article <nemoFri081007064853 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
>
> Well,if I can't I fix this I'll go back to generating separate PDFs
> and stitching them together out side of FM. I doubt I will come up
> with the money to upgrade to 9 just for the sake of appending PDFs.

Or, you can simply set-up the report in the proper way and not have to
worry about such problems in the first place. ;o)

Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

In article <110820071053014627%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
> In article <nemoFri081007064853 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
> <Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
>>
>> Well,if I can't I fix this I'll go back to generating separate
>> PDFs and stitching them together out side of FM. I doubt I will come
>> up with the money to upgrade to 9 just for the sake of appending
>> PDFs.

> Or, you can simply set-up the report in the proper way and not have
> toworry about such problems in the first place. ;o)

> Helpful Harry
> Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships
> ;o)

I was fixated on the portal because, right or wrong, I had used it in
my original design on two pages, and except for the inconvenience of
stitching the two PDFs together, it worked fine.

Then I got the bright idea that there was no reason not to just put
the portal in a Page 2 position on a layout. I discovered that the
portal stops working when I move it futher down on the Body layout
part. I see no reasonable explanation for that. Still don't.

I found that I could use the List function to accomplish the same
thing, so the functional problem is solved, but it still doesn't
explain why the portal behaves the way it does. Whether it works or
not should not be determined by its position on the layout. Different
layout parts, maybe, but certainly not within the same Body.

Matt

--
Free FileMaker Technique Demos: http://www.VirtualVermont.com/FMP

My Custom Functions: http://www.briandunning.com/filemaker-custom-functions/resul ts.php?keyword=wills

In article <nemoSat081107065659 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
<Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:

> In article <110820071053014627%helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com>
> HelpfulHarry <helpful_harry [at] nom.de.plume.com> wrote:
> > In article <nemoFri081007064853 [at] news.verizon.net>, Matt WIlls
> > <Im [at] Witz.End> wrote:
> >>
> >> Well,if I can't I fix this I'll go back to generating separate
> >> PDFs and stitching them together out side of FM. I doubt I will come
> >> up with the money to upgrade to 9 just for the sake of appending
> >> PDFs.
> >
> > Or, you can simply set-up the report in the proper way and not have
> > toworry about such problems in the first place. ;o)
>
> I was fixated on the portal because, right or wrong, I had used it in
> my original design on two pages, and except for the inconvenience of
> stitching the two PDFs together, it worked fine.
>
> Then I got the bright idea that there was no reason not to just put
> the portal in a Page 2 position on a layout. I discovered that the
> portal stops working when I move it futher down on the Body layout
> part. I see no reasonable explanation for that. Still don't.
>
> I found that I could use the List function to accomplish the same
> thing, so the functional problem is solved, but it still doesn't
> explain why the portal behaves the way it does. Whether it works or
> not should not be determined by its position on the layout. Different
> layout parts, maybe, but certainly not within the same Body.

It's simply one of those mysterious problems of trying to print
Portals. It's very likely a bug in FileMaker to do with Portals rather
than PDFs. :o)


Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)