Text Export - Needed Enhancement

[Frank_Fragomeni_(Guest)]

Please read!! I been waiting for the following enhancement__but as simple and as logical as it seems it never arrives.____I have been using R&R since the early days of v 4.0 for DOS and,__if memory serves, one primitive version before that. In my opinion,__v 4.0 was and still remains one of the most powerful, flexible,__and compact tools at my disposal.____Yes, I do use Windows R&R v 8.1 since it came out, even bought__into but never used v 9, and just got my copy of v 10. These__Windows versions do prove themselves in the production of well done__hardcopy presentations well beyond DOS version capabilities.__But they fail me where I need R&R the most and so I remain tied__most of the time to the DOS version.____Understand that my main use of R&R over the years has been and__continues to be the interrogation of databases, validation of__information contained therein, manipulating of same information,__all from within an R&R report, and finally exporting the usually__multiband report as simple batch transaction files in predefined__format for assimilation by mainframe and other systems. Thus,__I manage to do what others perceive as being difficult or even__magicical data conversions or transformations.____To this end I still use R&R for DOS because it allows me to__set paper options to 0 line top and bottom margins, 0 column left__and right margins, 1 line of page length and a page width as__needed. The settings are saved with the report for print to__ascii file. I get pure batch transactions. The output file__has the first record on line 1 col 1 and continues straight thru__to the end with no page break lines and no padding blank lines__below the last record. The Windows versions always save and use__the printer options as found on the page setup dialog box.____Really now, who wants an ascii export file with margins. I could__see a request for this maybe only 1% of the time. And there is no__way to override the settings. I have even tried using the generic__text printer with custom paper setup. It workes to a point. I__still get blank lines padding the bottom of the file and if I__transport the report to another machine I better have the generic__text printer set up on it or else. Now come on, the generic text__printer is part of windows not R&R so none of the settings really__stick with the report if transported.____In the meantime, I found that creating reports of this type in__the DOS version and then using report converter to go from__DOS .RP1 file to Windows .RRW file, the converted file retains__original DOS page settings. It works great until the first time__you accidentally or purposefully resave the report at which time__it picks up the current windows page setup settings and fouls the__required output file.____With this discovery, I found that with a hex editor I could__patch (patch not cure since again any resave of the report__reverts the margins to page setup parameters) any .RRW file__back to 0 margins and 1 line page length. While editing the__.RRW file with the hex editor, I change the locations containing__the 4 margins to hex 00 meaning no margins all around, change__the page length to hex 2b 00 meaning 1 line page length, and change__the width to hex ce 18 which seems to give me the maximum width of__25 inches that R&R allows.____The enhancement I would like to see is that in the text export__dialog box (the one that comes up when you click on file, then__export, then text, then edit) that another option be added to __the text file options already present there. The current dialog box__has quite properly 2 options for character set and 2 options __for carriage returns. The additional and distinct option would__be something to the effect of "Ingore saved page settings". When__this option is checked and checked should probably be the default,__the report runs the export taking into account all the parameters__of that dialog box but additionally uses the above mentioned__page setup values to override the saved page setup values.__ __I would really appreciate your considering this enhancement and __hopefully as part of a 10.x patch package. The report structure__stays the same. Only if the option is checked you would at__runtime replace the 6 saved page setup parameters in memory__with the set of fixed overrides or what your development staff__deems best that would yield the same results.______Regards,__A Loyal User....__

[kfleming]

This issue has indeed come up quite a few times.__I like your idea of adding a new choice to the export box and will see what we can do to make this happen.____Kathleen__R&R Support

[Frank_Fragomeni_(Guest)]

Thank you Kathleen. I not only appreciate your quick response__to my rather lenghty post but also your positive attitude towards__my suggestion.____If you can please make it happen as soon as possible. Just try__producing a bank ACH file or other such batch transaction file__from Windows R&R without such an option. DOS R&R versions do__it for me all the time and easily. And to top it off, one would__be released from the last vestiges of DOS platform apps.__Especially, newbies who don^t know anything but the GUI interface.____Thanks, thanks, thanks....__

[wfm050]

I think Frank has a great idea. I too have used R&R since the early DOS days and at some point began writing applications to create batch transaction files to go between disparate systems. Having this feature would mean less coding and a much easier to maintain way of creating batch files.____Frank, thank you for the suggestion and Kathleen, thank you for your receptiveness of it.__

[Frank_Fragomeni_(Guest)]

>This issue has indeed come up quite a few times. __>I like your idea of adding a new choice to the export box __>and will see what we can do to make this happen. __>__>Kathleen __>R&R Support ______Re: TOPIC 96 of this discussion forum____Kathleen,____I just got an e-mail from Liveware Pub about step-up to V10 . This comes just 7 months after purchasing v10. Now I need to come up with another $100 to step up. It seems a bit steep coming so close on the heels of the original release of v10 but it seems that it may be worth it from what I^ve been reading.____HOWEVER, please tell me (since I can^t find it documented anywhere in the release literature) that you^ve added to this version the enhancement that I and many others have asked for and to which you gave the above response in regard to TOPIC 96 of this discussion area.____Please tell me its there. You don^t know how important it is to export to an simple ascii file without page formatting. All windows versions of R&R export to ascii like it was printing on invisible, underlying paper. So some of us still have to use DOS versions when all we want is ascii with no top,bottom,left or right margins etc. Please tell me its so with v10 . I really hope you came through for all of us who need this.____Regards,__Frank...__

[kfleming]

I am afraid that this one did not make it into 10+.____Kathleen__R&R Support

[Frank_Fragomeni_(Guest)]

Kathy,____From v8 to v9 to v10 to v10+ and still not there. I beginning to believe that we^ll never see this simple yet very useful modification to R&R export. Or it^ll probabley cost another hundred for it. I don^t mean to sound grumpy but I headed in that direction. As I said, I^m a long time user of R&R, and with any windows version of it I can^t create a ascii interface file to upload to a mainframe or produce an bank ACH file or whatever else in this vein. The export always has the margins of hardcopy. So I continue to fall back to the DOS versions and thereby limited to xbase.____Maybe, you can get it to show up as a free download in a couple of months like v10+.01 or something.____Now I^m starting to beg....__Frank__

[kfleming]

You can use Export to Text Data in V10 to create a variety of ASCII file output formats. The requirement is that all of the fields you wish to export need to be on a single band line but what you get is pure clean output without any pagination.____Kathleen__R&R Support

[Cliff_Wiernik]

That option is useless. The export works only with a single line of data to be exported. As indicated in the previous posts, for items like ACH files, There are report header, section header, body, section footer and summary lines. In addition, the report has to be padded to a multiple of 10 lines with lines containing all 9999999999^s. Exporting in txt file format with v5/6 DOS works great. This is not the data export you indicate or myself or the other user^s request. ____I think most users would be willing to pay a nominal per user runtime cost if it would result in needed programming features being implemented.

[Frank_Fragomeni_(Guest)]

Kathy,____ I^m glad to see quite a few other users in this forum and other forums agree with me as to the importance of this enhancement. And as enhancements go, this would seem to require only little programtic changes, if what I stated in my very first post holds true.____ It seems that every windows version of an application including R&R just does 1) more of whatever it can to do within customary window call routines, 2) gives more to the casual user at the cost of bloating the software with more than the casual or any other user could possibly ever use or learn effectively, 3) keeps taking away from power users that which they easily had under so called primitive DOS to interogate databases, massage and transform data, create interface files of specified record layout to move data to other applications or mid to large range system platforms, and 4) create business required files as the ACH example which is only one of many such file that I personally have to create and still rely on DOS R&R. I have actually heard of users who generate the various file records from their windows report writer and then use windows cut and paste facility to put the various files into the one logically required file. Now that^s not only a step backward but also truly primitive.____ I know I^m going on here and I mentioned most of this in my first post, but we^ve been waiting through enough windows versions of R&R for this enhancement. And the line of users arguing for the same seems to be growing behind me all on its own. Please, see what you can seriously do about this and please no more workarounds. We already have at least three if not more workarounds but what we want in a built in solution.____Regards,__And Hoping to stay loyal to R&R....__Frank____