Hipótesis específicas

The reports design and labels design screens handle system variables for you. When you create a report (CREATE/MODIFY REPORT) or label (CREATE/MODIFY LABEL), you can store the changed system variable nitions to a binary print form file. This file normally has the same name as the report or label, with the file extension

dBASE IV activates this print form file when you next modify the report or label, or when you select Use print form from the Print Menu. The REPORT FORM command, however, does not automatically activate the print form. You must determine print settings prior to issuing REPORT FORM by setting _pform equal to the print form filename, or by making changes to individual system variables.

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LANGUAGE REFERENCE

Commands

B

D ^In

Commands

displays the value of one or more expressions. roughly translates to: is or "What is the value or, simply, "Print

Syntax

expression 1 [PICTURE expC [FUNCTION function list [AT expN

[STYLE font number expression 2

Usage

If SET PRINT is ON, the output of the command is sent to the printer.

The single question mark command issues a carriage return and line feed before displaying the results of the expression list. The double question mark does not.

displays the expression list starting at the current cursor or printer position.

You can enter as many expressions and clauses as will fit in the 1024-character command line.

Options

The PICTURE or FUNCTION, AT, and STYLE options let you customize the appearance of printed reports.

PICTURE templates and functions format the output. All the templates work with the command. See the @ command for a description of templates.

Six functions that work with the command handle long fields, which are fields whose contents exceed the PICTURE template, and short fields, which are fields whose contents do not completely fill up the PICTURE template.

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LANGUAGE REFERENCE 2-1

Two of these functions, H and V, are available only for use with the command. Precede these functions with the FUNCTION or PICTURE key-word, as shown under below.

@ H lets the field stretch horizontally to accommodate data.

@ V n lets the field stretch vertically to accommodate data.

n is the maximum number of columns or rows in the field display.

Using the V or H function, you can modify the height or width of the display.

The H function stretches long fields horizontally to the right, pushing ahead any text on the same line. It shrinks short fields to the left, also pulling other text on the same line to the left. It will not pull other text on the line, how-ever, if a column is specified with the AT option. For word wrapping to work with the H function, the system memory variable must be set to true

The V function stretches long fields vertically down the page, in colum-nar fashion.

You can limit how far a field stretches by indicating the number of columns allowed for the field. Any additional characters will be truncated.

Without the n the field will grow to accommodate its entire contents.

If the command line ends with a comma, the first line of any vertically-stretching fields will output, but subsequent lines of the vertical field are kept internally and are not output until either a RETURN, ENDPRINTJOB, or (single or double question mark command line not ending with a comma) is encountered. This allows you to output many fields across a line (as for a wide-carriage printer) with several commands, and to control when to output the second and subsequent lines of each vertically-stretching field.

If you specify the H and V functions, the field width is fixed by the tem-plate, and extra characters are The field height defaults to one line.

The other four functions align short fields, and can also be used with the @ command.

@ B Left-aligns text within a field.

@ I Centers text within a field.

@ J Right-aligns text within a field.

@ T Trims leading and trailing blanks from a field.

Short fields contain text that does not completely fill the defined PICTURE template. If you want to trim a field before aligning it, list the T function along with one of the other three functions. If you specify no alignment, strings are left-aligned and numbers right-aligned.

2-2 COMMANDS

The command also supports two other functions, $ and L. The $ func-tion displays a floating currency symbol before or after the amount. If SET CURRENCY is LEFT, the symbol displays just before the amount. If SET CURRENCY is RIGHT, it displays just after the amount. The L function dis-plays a short field with leading zeros.

AT specifies the column at which the expression displays. Use this option to print columns of text which must line up, regardless of the length of printed text to the left of the column.

STYLE prints the text in various styles, such as bold or italic. Depending upon your monitor, STYLE may not change the output displayed on the screen, but will affect the printed output. The STYLE clause can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of the

The allowed letters are:

B — bold I — italic U — underline

R — raised (superscript) L — lowered (subscript) The allowed numbers are 1 through

The numbers correspond to fonts that you have previously defined in Config.db, using the PRINTER setting (see Chapter 6,

dBASE

You may combine different styles, and print different text on the same line in different styles (see below).

You can also use the command, and the system memory variables and to change typestyles. In general, use with its STYLE option to change typestyles of individual text items, to change typestyles on a broader basis within a document, and _pscode and _pecode to define the overall typestyle for a document. (See Chapter 5 for informa-tion on the system memory variables.)

Tips

without an expression displays a blank line, and can be used to skip a line in the output. To single- or double-space the output, however, use the

system memory variable.

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LANGUAGE REFERENCE 2-3