41
©2002-2016, Ido Millet, ido@MilletSoftware.com
Page 96
Interweaving Burst Printouts From Multiple Reports
Imagine that you need to burst a report such that each group results in a check printed on special
paper using Landscape orientation followed by supporting documentation using Portrait
orientation on another type of paper. Or perhaps you need to burst 3 different reports (sales,
commissions, and product returns) to sales representatives and you want the output to be sorted
by report output within Sales Rep (rather than by Sales Rep within report output).
The After_Burst_Batch command line argument allows you to insert batch file operations after
each successful export burst step (and waiting for that batch file to complete processing).
You can embed within the command lines inside the batch file field/formula names just as you
can within the Visual CUT 3
rd
tab options. Visual CUT substitutes the appropriate values (those
associated with the current processing cycle) for these field/formula names before launching the
batch file processing. This allows synchronized interweaving of group bursting printouts
from multiple reports without the limitations of subreports (subreports don’t support
different paper trays, different paper orientations, and nested subreports).
For example, using the following scheduling string (or batch file):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"C:\Program Files\Visual CUT\Visual CUT.exe"
-e
"C:\Program Files\Visual
CUT\Visual_CUT.rpt" "Printer_Burst_Only:\\PS\Laser1"
"After_Burst_Batch:C:\VC_Prod_Type.bat"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
would cause Visual CUT to:
1. Start processing the Visual CUT.rpt and burst the first group value ("Competition")
2. Before bursting the next group value ("Mountain"), Visual CUT looks into the
VC_Prod_Type.bat file to see if recognized fields/formula names should be temporarily
replaced with dynamic values.
Parm1:{Product_Type.Product Type Name} is then replaced with Parm1:Competition
3. The dynamic/temporary copy of the batch file is then triggered for processing, causing a
secondary instance of Visual CUT to process the After-Bursting request.
4. Visual CUT then resumes the cycle with the next group value ("Mountain")
NOTE: in cases where paper tray choices within the reports don't seem to be honored during the
processing, I recommend you add the same Printer to your Windows setup a 2
nd
time with a
different name and a different paper tray as the default. Then set each report to use the
printer "clone" that has the desired tray as the default.