This chapter contains the following topics:
You add a new printer to the system and define the print properties using the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Printers (P98616) application. You define printers for use by a specific user ID, user role, or for all users. You have the option of associating printers with:
A specific report.
A specific version of a report.
All reports.
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environments
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne reporting incorporates printing properties to determine the format of the report output.
This section contains the following topics:
Understanding Designated Printers.
Understanding the Initialize Logical Printer Name System Function.
Understanding Paper Types.
Understanding Exporting to CSV.
Understanding OSA Interfaces.
Setting Print Properties in RDA.
The system administrator defines the default printer to be used with all batch processes. The printer is associated with a user ID, user role or with *PUBLIC, a default value that includes all users. The printer also can be associated with a specific JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environment. The printer is associated with a batch application, a batch version, or *ALL (a default value that includes all batch applications or all batch versions for a specific batch application.)
A printer associated with a user ID overrides a printer associated with a specific user role. A printer associated with a specific user role overrides a printer associated with *PUBLIC and a specific batch process. You can override these printer associations by selecting a printer using Print Setup on the File menu in RDA. The printer that you select in RDA is stored in the print specifications, causing the report to always print to the printer that you defined unless overridden at runtime.
When defining a printer in RDA, consider the hierarchy that the system uses to determine the printer that is used at runtime. Assuming there is no user-defined override at runtime, the system looks for the printer defined in RDA, if no printer is defined, the system uses the default printer defined in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Printer Application (P98616.)
You can use the Do Initialize Printer event to specify a printer to be used by the system when the batch application processes. The Do Initialize Printer event is a report-level event located on the File menu. Using this event, you can print the same report to different printers based on criteria that you define. The event rules located on this event are the first event rules processed at runtime. The event rules are also processed each time a subsystem trigger record is processed. The Initialize Logical Printer Name system function resolves and validates the printer name that you pass to it. The batch engine uses the printer name, if valid, to obtain a printer device context. Portions of this device context can be overridden when the appropriate settings in the report specifications are set.
The Initialize Logical Printer Name system function is ignored if placed on any event other than the Do Initialize Printer event. If you place this system function on a different event, the system generates a message in the jdedebug log.
When defining the paper type for reports, you can select from predefined paper sizes or you can enter custom paper dimensions. The standard predefined selections available in P98616 are:
A4
Legal
Letter
You must define one of these selections as the default paper type. You can override the default paper type from Print Setup in RDA.
The paper types defined in P98616 are stored in the Paper Definition (F986162) table. RDA inherits the paper size from this table. Additional paper types are defined for use in RDA using P98616. This table shows some examples of additional paper types:
| Paper Type | Size (uom) |
|---|---|
| Tabloid | 11 x 17 in |
| A3 | 297 x 420 mm |
| B4 (JIS) | 250 x 354 mm |
You can use a selection of different units of measurement to define custom paper sizes in P98616. The minimum definable width in inches is two inches, and the maximum is 21 inches. The minimum definable height in inches is two inches and the maximum is 24 inches. In RDA, a report developer can define custom paper sizes from the Print Setup form.
CSV files are used to output tabular data. In addition to viewing the report in a CSV file, you can manipulate the report data after the report finishes processing. To view report data in a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or Lotus 123, select the export to a CSV option. You can select the CSV option using these methods, each with a different result:
In RDA for the report template.
Use this option to ensure that the report is output to a CSV file every time any of the associated batch versions are run.
Select a report template and in RDA, select the Export to CSV option in Print Setup.
The Export to CSV option is selected by the system at runtime. When a report template is defined to export to CSV for every instance, you can clear the Export to CSV option at runtime if you do not want the batch version to export to a CSV file for a single submission.
Use this option to ensure that the report is output to a CSV file every time this specific batch version is run.
Select a batch version and in RDA, select the Export to CSV option in Print Setup. The batch version specifications will include information to export the output to a CSV file.
The Export to CSV option is selected by the system at runtime. When a batch version is defined to export to CSV for every instance, you can clear the Export to CSV option at runtime if you do not want the batch version to export to a CSV file for a single submission.
Use this option to output batch versions to a CSV file for a single submission only.
When running batch versions locally, select the Export to CSV option to submit the batch version.
When running batch versions on the server, select Export to CSV (Comma Delimited) on the Document Setup tab of the Printer Selection form.
Before exporting report data to CSV, you should review the report and follow these recommendations:
| Recommendation | Description |
|---|---|
| Set the horizontal grid alignment to 52 and select the snap to grid option. | The default column width in spreadsheet programs is equivalent to 52 units in RDA. For best results, use this grid guideline so that each column included in the report template is equal to a column in the spreadsheet program. |
| Ensure that no fields of the report overlap. | If a data field overlaps into the next column, the data in the spreadsheet displays in discrete columns. You can wrap the text in a cell after the data is exported to the spreadsheet. Delete unused columns in the spreadsheet and reformat information as needed. |
| Align data fields vertically. | If data fields are not aligned vertically, they display in separate rows in the spreadsheet. If more than one data field with the same vertical and horizontal alignment displays in a column, only one of these fields displays in the CSV file. The first field output during the export process occupies the cell in the spreadsheet. |
| Format dates properly. | Spreadsheet programs typically use the same date format used in the report. |
| Use the Auto Format feature. | After the report is exported cleanly, use the Auto Format feature in the spreadsheet program to further format the report. |
| Countries that use a comma as a decimal marker. | In these countries, the decimal separator is recognized as a comma when the report exports. Tabs are stripped out instead of commas and a tab-separated file with a .txt extension is created.
The information transfers as flat text, so totaling columns display only text. You must then set up totaling in the spreadsheet program. |
When you export batch versions to CSV:
A CSV file is created in the PrintQueue directory.
A PDF file is created in the PrintQueue directory.
The CSV file is displayed by a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or Lotus 123, which launches automatically when you run the batch version locally.
When you run the batch version on a server, select View CSV from the Submitted Job Search form to launch the spreadsheet application and view the file. Only single spacing and portrait orientation is supported for CSV files. Drill-down links are ignored in CSV generation.
The Export to CSV option recognizes when the decimal separator is a comma, and rather than creating a comma delimited CSV file, it creates a tab-separated file with a .txt extension that can be opened in Notepad. To create a CSV file when the comma is a decimal separator, make the following changes in the jde.ini.
[UBE] prtCSVExtension=.csv PRTCSVSeparator=,
Other file extensions and separators can be used by changing the jde.ini settings.
Reports that are processed on the enterprise server use the settings in the jde.ini of the enterprise server rather then the workstation jde.ini. Therefore, when making the above jde.ini setting changes, they need to be made on both the workstation and enterprise server.
You can select to output reports to third-party software programs using OSA. OSA interfaces enable the third-party program to process and format the data concurrently with the processing of a UBE.
When you design a report in RDA, you can override the default printer settings configured in the Printer Application (P98616) to print the report. To print a report from RDA, you can do the following:
Define printers
Select paper types
Export to CSV
From EnterpriseOne Life Cycle Tools menu, select Report Management (GH9111), Report Design Aid.
From the File menu, select and open a report template that is checked out.
From the File menu, select Print Setup.
On the Print Setup form, click the browse button immediately following the Printer Name field.
On the Printer Search & Select form, select the printer to use for the report, and then click Select.
A report developer can define a custom paper type in RDA. The page type setting in RDA is a visual guide only and has no effect on the page type of the report that you submit unless you select the Custom option in the Printer Setup form. If you do not select the Custom option, your report processes using the default printer setup. When you select the Custom option, the custom definitions that you set up in RDA override the definitions that are set up in P98616. Selecting the Custom option ensures the report always processes using the custom page type. If you do not select the Custom option, the page type processes using the default page type in the report specifications entered in P98616, even though you defined a different page type.
In RDA, select Print Setup from the File menu to access the Print Setup form.
Select a predefined paper type from the drop-down list in the Size field.
If an appropriate paper type is not available, select Custom and indicate the paper width and height.
Before you export a report to CSV from RDA, verify that no columns or fields in the report overlap. Move any overlapping columns or fields.
In RDA, select Print Setup from the File menu to access the Print Setup form.
Under OneWorld Printer, select Export to CSV, and then click OK.
If prompted to automatically set the grid size, click OK; otherwise, do the following:
From the Layout menu, select Grid Alignment.
On the Alignment Grid form, set the horizontal spacing to 52.
Select the Snap to Grid option, and then click OK.
The system applies these settings to the entire report.