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FORMagic/400 - Using Landscape Forms
Landscape forms require that settings be made very consistently in several areas during forms design and development of FORMagic/400 applications. FMTEST01.EXE provides a package of test files to illustrate the required procedures. (Some of the files are applicable only to FORMagic/400 PDF applications addressed in a separate procedure.) Download the package (58k) into an empty folder, then click on it to restore the individual files.FORMagic/400 fully supports landscape forms. However, successful usage requires that several settings, all outside of FORMagic/400, must be handled correctly. FORMagic/400 itself is almost never directly involved in landscape printing issues. For landscape forms to work correctly, you must observe these requirements:
The example files permit quick viewing and testing of a landscape application, with several possible time-saving shortcuts:
- The form must be designed as a landscape form, with the proper page dimensions and landscape settings in Page Setup. See LTEST01.DOC.
- Print Preview must display the form properly as a landscape form.
- When print is captured to a PRN file, the landscape setting must be used in the Printer properties. Sometimes, but not always, the design product passes this setting to the driver automatically and you don't actually have to specify it. Failure to do so when actually needed, however, will cause orientation problems when forms are merged with spool file data.
- AS/400 spoolfile attributes must specify correct and consistent PAGESIZE, CPI, LPI, and OVRFLW parameter values for the exact landscape page you are using. Further, you must specify PAGRTT(90) and FONT(*CPI). Example of consistent values: OVRPRTF FILE(x) PAGESIZE(51 132) LPI(6) CPI(10) OVRFLW(49) PAGRTT(90) FONT(*CPI)
- Note that Work With Overlays Test Option 5 only partially tests landscape forms. See Help for more information.
Once the form has been uploaded to the AS/400, you will have to develop a complete or trivial application for your test -or- if the AutoMerge command FMGMRG01 is available, you can perform these steps to see a complete landscape application very quickly.
- LTEST01.DOC: view landscape settings and/or generate a form without having to design it.
- LTEST01.PRN: shortcut to bypass PRN capture and work with a PRN file known to be good.
- LTEST01.HP*: shortcut to bypass forms generation entirely. Simply copy these files to the AS/400 FMAGIC folder and complete the upload in Work With Overlays to test a complete application.
- Insure library FMAGIC is in your library list.
- Issue the above OVRPRTF command using FILE(QSYSPRT).
- Press the print key to capture a screen. It must not actually print; you may need to hold the OUTQ or include HOLD(*YES) in the override.
- Execute this command: FMGMRG01 SPLF(QSYSPRT) MRGOVLS((LTEST01)).
- Print the resulting two spoolfiles (the form download and the "application" with form and data merged together).