How To Add A Font To The Report Writer
Collect!'s Report Writer ships with several predefined fonts
that you can select when creating reports and letters. Reports
and letters shipped with Collect! have been designed in simple
and effective styles, using a basic list of font sizes and types.
It is also possible to use your own favorite fonts in the letters
and reports that you design
You can add your own font choices to the list of Printer Control Codes
or simply specify your own font in the Report Body itself. We will
discuss each of these methods in this topic.
Please be aware that the fonts that you choose may
result in a change in the spacing and column line-up of
pre-designed reports. You may have to adjust some of the fields
and text to format your report or add formatting symbols. Please
see How To Format Text Fields and Text Variables for more
information.
The two methods for adding fonts to the Report Writer are:
- Adding a font to the list of Printer Control Codes
- Setting a font with the @FONT command
Adding A Font To The List Of Printer Control Codes
The Printer Control Codes list has a complete set of codes for
each type of printing that is supported by Collect! - DC, Ink Jet,
Laser and HTML. Since each type of printing has its own set of
fonts, you must add your font to the list of each type of printing
that you want to do. This example will demonstrate adding the
the font to DC. This assumes that your Printer Setup is set
to " Print via device context."
1. Select Print from the top menu bar and then select
Settings, Printer Control Codes.
2. When the list of Printer Control Codes is displayed, maximize
the list so that you can see all the columns.
3. Look at the column labeled "Printer" and ensure that you are in
the DC section of the Printer Control Codes list. Scroll down to
K and M. These are fonts that are "Not Used." You can use them
for your own fonts.
4. Click on K to open the Printer Control Code form for this font.
5. In the 'Name' field, enter a name that defines this font for you.
6. In the 'On' field, enter the actual name of the font and its size.
Please examine an existing font to see how this is done. Below is
an example. Notice the way it is typed and the use of quotes and
other symbols. You must enter your font the same way. To do this,
it is necessary to know the actual name and size of the font that
you want to use.
The FONT FACE (TYPE) and SIZE that you choose must
be already installed on the computer you are printing from.
Examples:
<font face="Arial Narrow" size="18">
<font face="Copperplate Gothic" size="24">
7. Leave the 'Off' field empty.
8. Choose 'DC' from the 'Printer' drop-down list.
9. Click the OK button. You should be returned to the list of codes.
Notice your new code in the list.
Now you can use your new code in a report or letter. You will use
the code @K and it will print in the font face that you have chosen.
Print a sample report and examine the formatting and position of text.
Adjust if necessary to suit your needs.
Set A Font Using The Font Command
The @FONT command may used for DC printing, that is, whenever
you are set to "Print to Device Context." You can use this command
to simply call a font right in your Report Body. Any font that is installed
on your computer will be recognized.
SYNTAX:
@FONT({font-family},{font-size})
(font-family} - Do not use quotes even if there are spaces in the
font-family name.
{font-size} - This is the height of the font in standard DC command
measurements of 100/inch.
Example:
@FONT(Lucida console,22)
The @FONT command is not case-sensitive. You can
write @Font or @font and that will work too.
Do not use quotes even if there are spaces in the font-family name.
The second argument is the height of the font in standard DC
command measurements of 100/inch.
The font you set will stay in effect until you change it or end the
report.
You can also use the standard Printer Control Codes for fonts
in the same report. So you could set one font for part of the
report and then call another font for a different part of your
report. Each font command stays in effect until you call another
font command.
Whenever you set a font or printing characteristic, it
must be turned off or it will carry over to the next report or letter
that you print. It is always a good practice to explicitly declare,
in the Report Options, a Printer Initialization and
Printer Termination setting for each report or letter that you use.
Font Command With Variables
You can also set the font using @FONT with variables.
Example:
@varFace* = "AR Berkley"
@varSize# = 22
@FONT(@varFace,@varSize)
Font Attributes
All font attributes such as BOLD, UNDERLINED, CENTERED
and other commands are recognized normally when you set
the font with @FONT. It simply changes all the output to the
font you have specified including any other formatting you have
set already in the report.
Summary
In addition to the predefined fonts shipped with Collect!, you can
use your own favorite fonts in the letters and reports that you
design You can add your own font choices to the list of
Printer Control Codes or simply specify your own font in the
Report Body itself.
Please be aware that the fonts that you choose
may result in a change in the spacing and column line-up of
pre-designed reports. You may have to adjust some of the
fields and text to format your report or add formatting symbols.
See Also
- How To Control Font Attributes
- How To Format Text Fields and Text Variables
- Report Topics Index for a list of all report topics
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