report appearance change on different computer

[Karl H]

Hi,
I have a report that works great on one computer running Access 2003, but
when I open the same mdb file on my laptop, running the same version of
Access, the report looks very different, with data not appearing correctly
sized in text boxes.

I have done a "repair" on Access, and done an update on the web, but no
change.
Any ideas why there should be a difference?
Thank you,
Karl

 

[Al Campagna]

Karl,
The first this I suspect is that you may not have the same fonts installed on the
laptop as you have on your PC. Windows will try to find a "compatible" font, but this may
not be exact.
Also, since reports are displayed under the control of whatever default printer is
selected, there may be a difference between the two PCs.
Could you dock your laptop, and run the app through your PC printer to see if there's
any difference in the appearance?
--
hth
Al Campagna . Candia Computer Consulting . Candia, NH USA
Microsoft Access MVP
http://home.comcast.net/~cccsolutions

"Find a job that you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."

 

[Marshall Barton]

I have a report that works great on one computer running Access 2003, but
when I open the same mdb file on my laptop, running the same version of
Access, the report looks very different, with data not appearing correctly
sized in text boxes.

Reports are formatted to meet the specifications of the
printer (driver).

Check if the report uses a specific printer identified in
the report's report's design or the systems Default Printer
and compare that to the printer on your other machine. The
problem may be as simple as a different magnification
setting or available print space (minimum margins) or they
might have vastly different font processing.

 

[Karl H]

Thank you, I'll check into this! What about if I make this into an
application using package wizard? I alway thought the application had the
font's and not the printers. Will the functionality of this software be
dependent on the presence or absence of the specific font on the end-user
computer?

Karl

 

[Marshall Barton]

I should have mentioned the Font issue. Teach me to assume
the obvious. You can not assume a font will be present on
any machine and this can be a disaster. Since I ran into
this many years ago, I only use the Arial and Times Roman
fonts. There was one case with a user that was in love with
weird fonts and had deleted all the normal fonts so we had
to reinstall the needed ones from the system CDs.

 

[Karl H]

Very good to know--thank you very much!
Karl

I should have mentioned the Font issue. Teach me to assume
the obvious. You can not assume a font will be present on
any machine and this can be a disaster. Since I ran into
this many years ago, I only use the Arial and Times Roman
fonts. There was one case with a user that was in love with
weird fonts and had deleted all the normal fonts so we had
to reinstall the needed ones from the system CDs.
--
Marsh
MVP [MS Access]

Thank you, I'll check into this! What about if I make this into an
application using package wizard? I alway thought the application had the
font's and not the printers. Will the functionality of this software be
dependent on the presence or absence of the specific font on the end-user
computer?

 

[lionelm]

Are we saying that we can not design a database report in one computer and
view
it in another computer with a different printer?

How do Access Developers design applications and deliver them their clients?
I am pretty sure their clients have different printers.

Is there anything in report property that can be changed so that it is
printer independent?

Thanks a lot for any suggestions

 

[John Spencer]

You design reports to print to the DEFAULT printer and not to a specific
printer. Most (not all) printers can work with .5 inch margins on the
top, left, and right. Most printers can also work with a .5 inch margin
on the bottom, but some (mostly inkjets) need a bit more for a bottom
margin.

I usually design reports with a .5 inch margin on all sides. If my
user's printer cannot handle a .5 inch margin on the bottom it almost
never causes a problem in the layout.

'====================================================
John Spencer
Access MVP 2002-2005, 2007-2008
Center for Health Program Development and Management
University of Maryland Baltimore County
'====================================================

 

[Marshall Barton]

When you design a report, choose property settings that are
likely to work on the vast majority of printers, The
general rules I follow are to set the margins big enough for
all your users' printers and select fonts that exist on all
user machines.

Several popular printers require .7" on at least one edge. I
have had a user run out and get a new printer without any
thought if its specs will deal with their documents'
settings (including, but not limited to your reports) and
blame Access when their new printer requires a ,75" margin.
Bottom line is that printers are not interchangeable
hardware and their selection is not a thoughtless or
whimsical exercise.

If you use fonts that are not available on all your users'
systems then Windows will make a guess at an "equivalent"
font from those that do exist on the system. The Windows
chosen font will definitely have different font metrics that
may very well not fit in your report's text boxes or may
need a different number of pages.

There is also the issue of many printer having various
"front panel" option settings that can make a mess of just
about any document.