Printing to file via the batch process

[Chris Kelleher]

Hi QAD Peggers!

I was wondering if anybody out there had been able to print to a file via a
batch process.

We can easily print to a printer via a batch process

We wish we could do all report generation on the server and then redirect to
a file location or to email.

I would welcome all suggestions.

We run
QAD 8.5F
Progress 8.2C
WinNT 4.0, clients and server

Thanks, Aashish
Programmer/Analyst
SanDisk Corporation
111 Java Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
arathod@sandisk.com

 

[Chris Kelleher]

1. (36.15.1), create a batch id
2. run the program with batch id & output to a file
3. run your batch process

John

 

[Chris Kelleher]

You have just stated the problem that I am having. The server doesn't know
which home directory to send the file. Sigh...

Thanks, Aashish
Programmer/Analyst
SanDisk Corporation
111 Java Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
arathod@sandisk.com

 

[Chris Kelleher]

Where would the file go? Somewhere on the network? Somewhere on the
server? How do you deal with security?

Thanks, Aashish
Programmer/Analyst
SanDisk Corporation
111 Java Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
arathod@sandisk.com

 

[Chris Kelleher]

Aashish,

The file will go to the current working directory of the process that
creates it unless told otherwise (or the first directory in the propath, I
forget which). This means that if the file is created from a batch process
on the server, it will be found on the server (assuming that's where the
CWD or first directory is).

The clients can access the file from the server, provided you make that
directory accessible to them.

You can also experiment with printer setup (36.13.2) in order to do some
amounts of file manipulation (say, to have the file copied over to the
user's home directory after it is created), but you'd end up setting up a
single destination for every end user -- potentially a large issue.

I think I recall someone like SIG or ISS offering a print management
solution for MFG/PRO a while back that could address this problem for you.
However, it's been long enough that I don't remember any details. Perhaps
Bruce McIntyre can add something to this.

Good luck.

Scott
===============================================================
Scott M. Dulecki /* 1998061901 */ +1 616 975 6322
Product Manager scott_dulecki@qad.com
QAD, Inc. http://www.qad.com
1188 East Paris SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA

Next Michigan Progress Users Group: 19 January 2000

All opinions are my own, and don't necessarily reflect those of
any other living being.
===============================================================

 

[Chris Kelleher]

Along these lines, I dunno how you'd do this in NT, but in HP/UX, we assign an environment
variable as the user logs in, to a unique file name (it's his/her home directory,
plus "qad" plus the tty number plus ".prn"). Then we reference it in Printer
Definition (36.13.2). We set the "Device Pathname:" field to "cat > $RPT", and
"Spooler:" to "Yes" (which really just means interpret "Device Pathname" as a
command rather than a file name). Again, how you'd do this in NT is beyond me. But
it might be something to start with.