Packslip Multiple Pages

[John B]

I have a pack slip, which has a sub-report with item info. When there is item
info that goes longer than the sub-reports length, it moves everything else
on the page down. This sub-report has to stay this width and length to fit
this info on our packslips. I would like to able to have the extra items go
onto the next page for the packslip. Any help on figuring this out would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks.

John

 

[Evi]

Does it help if you set the Can Grow and Can Shrink Property of the section
that contains the subreport to No?
Evi

 

[John B]

I had to turn them off originally when I created the report. With them on,
they moved my other fields around that exist below the sub-report.

John

 

[Evi]

Having tried this on a dummy database, I can see how difficult this really
necessary procedure is. It'll be needed for all sorts of things, like
putting invoices onto pre-printed sheets or for insuring that the list of
items has a neat box around them on the first page so I bet that there is a
solution out there.

I thought I'd got a solution to this but perhaps someone else can supply the
missing link.

What we'll do is to provide a field inwhich groups your records in groups
of 5 (that's supposing that the pack slip will hold 5 rows of data before it
ought to go onto a new page - this can be adapted to any number).

We'll call your Packslip's Primary Key field InvoiceID, your query is called
QryPackslip and the items on your packslip have the Primary Keyfield ItemID
First we'll have a Counter field in the query to sequentially number the
Qury:
MyCounter=Dcount("[InvoiceID]","QryPackslip","[InvoiceID]<=" & [InvoiceID])
Then a field to group it in groups of 5.
MyGroup=(MyCounter + 5 - 1) \ 5

(note that the \ is a backsloping one, not the usual foreward slope)
The field will now say 11111,22222, 33333,44444, 55555, 66666 etc

Your packslip report must, presumably, have ForceNewPage for the InvoiceID
footer set to After Section

Your subreport is linked to the Main report by Invoice ID

Group by this MyGroup field in your subreport giving it a Footer.
Set the footer's Force New Page to After Section so that it sticks to 5
records to a page

Now just as I could taste success!!!!

It breaks up after 5 records alright BUT
on the first 'page' of each Invoice record, the subreport doesn't appear at
all, just neat little groups of 5 on the subsequent pages.

Why oh why!!!

I tried using Repeat Section in the Main report so that at least I could
start printing on the second page but it just got stuck in a loop and had to
be broken out of.

I'm sure there is some combination of forcing new pages and keeping groups
together that will do it, but what is it?
Evi

 

[Evi]

Do the continuation pages have to be positioned in the same place as the
first page of a set of slips ie does each 'page' have to be identical?
If not, then lose the Report Header. Put controls which ought to go under
the subreport on the main report into a page footer. (Sum and Counts will
have to be replaced by aggregate funtcions as I haven't been able to make
this work with any controls in group footers in the subreport.
Put both the main report's controls and the subreport into the InvoiceID
Footer (lets say your main report is called Invoice and your sub is called
Items).

Don't use any Keep Together grouping or Force New Page Property in the
InvoiceID footer on the Main report.

Instead make the combined height of the Page
Footer, InvoiceID Footer and Page Header tall enough to fill a page. Some
experimenting will be needed to get this right). If you make them too short,
then the different invoices will run into each other, too tall, and you'll
get an extra page. Use the Counter and

This approach, however, allows the items in the continuation sheets to slide
to the top of the page in subsequent pages so this would be no use they have
to remain in the same place as they do for the first page.

If this latter is the case, put the Invoice controls into the Page Header
and make the InvoiceID footer just tall enough to hold the Subreport items.
It takes some twiddling with these heights to get it looking right.

The bottom of the page header controls the position of the Subreports items
on the continuation pages.

The next stage will be to make controls invisible if they aren't needed on
the continuation pages.

Evi.

Having tried this on a dummy database, I can see how difficult this really
necessary procedure is. It'll be needed for all sorts of things, like
putting invoices onto pre-printed sheets or for insuring that the list of
items has a neat box around them on the first page so I bet that there is a
solution out there.

I thought I'd got a solution to this but perhaps someone else can supply the
missing link.

What we'll do is to provide a field inwhich groups your records in groups
of 5 (that's supposing that the pack slip will hold 5 rows of data before it
ought to go onto a new page - this can be adapted to any number).

We'll call your Packslip's Primary Key field InvoiceID, your query is called
QryPackslip and the items on your packslip have the Primary Keyfield ItemID
First we'll have a Counter field in the query to sequentially number the
Qury:
MyCounter=Dcount("[InvoiceID]","QryPackslip","[InvoiceID]<=" & [InvoiceID])
Then a field to group it in groups of 5.
MyGroup=(MyCounter + 5 - 1) \ 5

(note that the \ is a backsloping one, not the usual foreward slope)
The field will now say 11111,22222, 33333,44444, 55555, 66666 etc

Your packslip report must, presumably, have ForceNewPage for the InvoiceID
footer set to After Section

Your subreport is linked to the Main report by Invoice ID

Group by this MyGroup field in your subreport giving it a Footer.
Set the footer's Force New Page to After Section so that it sticks to 5
records to a page

Now just as I could taste success!!!!

It breaks up after 5 records alright BUT
on the first 'page' of each Invoice record, the subreport doesn't appear at
all, just neat little groups of 5 on the subsequent pages.

Why oh why!!!

I tried using Repeat Section in the Main report so that at least I could
start printing on the second page but it just got stuck in a loop and had to
be broken out of.

I'm sure there is some combination of forcing new pages and keeping groups
together that will do it, but what is it?
Evi

I had to turn them off originally when I created the report. With them on,
they moved my other fields around that exist below the sub-report.

John

there

is

to

fit