Re: [sqr-users] reading a word doc

[Ray Ontko <rayo@ontko.com>]

Noah,

If I understand correctly, you want:

1) to be able to create templates using MS Word possibly containing 
graphics and save them to a file that can be read by SQR,
2) have your application allow the user to select a template and a data set,
3) have SQR apply each row of a data set to the template file and 
produce Postscript output to send to a printer.

It would be helpful to know:

1) whether you're running SQR on a Windows server, Unix server (Solaris, 
AIX, HP-UX, etc.), or something else.
2) what version of SQR you're running
3) what format the graphics are that you want to include (.eps, .gif, 
.jpg, or what).

Ray

Jamie Harris wrote:
> Noah, 
>
> I tend to agree with the others here - this is extraordinarily
> difficult to do all in one program.  
>
> Here's what I'd do if I absolutely had to do it without requiring any
> user interaction:
>
> 1.  Make a word macro in my template documents that does the mail merge
> function (from a specific text file that your SQR creates) automatically
> upon startup.
> 2.  In your SQR, create the file you need to print your letter from and
> as the last step use 'call system using' to issue a "start" command (if
> your app. server is a Windows environment) to cause Word to open your
> document and perform the mail-merge.  "Start" treats it's parameter as
> if you double-clicked it, so you'd say 'start c:\templates\letters.doc'
> for example and that document would open.
>
> The downside there is that you'll need to install Microsoft Word on
> your app. server for this to work.   Also if two people are running the
> same letter at once, they'll conflict with each other - no easy way
> around that unless you can pass command-line parameters into a Word
> macro somehow.   You can ease that a little by making the file name
> different for each letter template used (make the text file name the
> same as the letter template or something).   If you have Peoplesoft 8.9
> you can also set the process up so that only one person can run it at
> once - a second person has to wait until the first is done.  That would
> help with your concurrency issue too.  
>
> If you don't have Peoplesoft or your app. server runs on some other OS
> than Windows this idea won't work at all.  It may not work even if you
> do have those environments.  
>
>
>
> Seriously, though, it's a lot easier to make a word macro and give it
> to the users, they can right-click the file, save it somewhere specific,
> run the macro on it, etc.  It's not that much farther away from them
> choosing which letter they want and running the SQR.  
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
> James Harris
> Enterprise Application Analyst/Programmer
> Information Technology Division
> Frederick Community College 
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
>   
>>>> Noah Panayotis <npanayotis@yahoo.com> 1/14/2007 11:16 PM >>>
>>>>         
> My compelling reason for not using Word is because we are trying to
> create a production program that would generate the letters at run time.
> This is not a one time deal.  Based on the users selection criteria,
> I'll need to select the specific letter template to generate the letter
> add the mailing address info as well as generate a report to be sent
> along with the letter. I will need to do all this in one program using
> sqr. So you see I really could not use WORD to do what I need to be
> done. 
>    
>   Thanks,
>   N.P
>
> George Jansen <GJANSEN@aflcio.org> wrote:
>   Do you have a compelling reason not to use the built-in mail merge
> feature of Word? It certainly strikes me as the easiest answer.
>
>
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