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FileMaker Pro 8 introduced the much welcomed new feature “Print to PDF”. With version 9 comes a further refinement which enables users to append information to an existing PDF file.
One application of this could be a report that involves data from several different formats (ie: sub summaries or lists), from various layouts, or from subsets of records that otherwise could not be formed in one layout or output. With a little creativity a single report can now be compiled using this new feature.
- PDF file appearance is based on the layout that it was created from.
- You can save data to a PDF in all modes except FIND mode.
- You can create a form or template with boxes or underlines.
- You can assign a password creating an encrypted file.
- You can have the file automatically open once it is created.
- You can automatically attach the PDF to an email.
To learn more see Issue #29
Append To PDF
This new feature can only be accessed in the following ways:
- Method 1 – From the Button Setup Dialog
- In layout mode, choose any layout object and define it as a button by selecting ‘Button Setup’ from the ‘Format’ menu.
(See Figure #1)
- In layout mode, choose any layout object and define it as a button by selecting ‘Button Setup’ from the ‘Format’ menu.
Figure #1: Here you have the option of choosing to ‘Append to existing PDF’.
- Method 2 – From the Edit Script Dialog
- In the ‘Edit Script’ window, use the ‘Save Records As PDF’ script step. (See Figure #2)
Figure#2: Here are the same options as in the previous dialog.
(Click image for a larger view)
Targeting a specific PDF file is made easy by using a script variable in which a file’s name and path can be specified. You would do this in the ‘Specify Output File’ dialog box by adding the variable name. (See Figure #3)
Figure#3
In this case the script may look something like the following example in Figure #4:
Figure#4 (Click Image for Larger View)
It should be pointed out that these two methods are the only way to access the ‘Append’ feature. It is not available when you simply choose,
File > Save/Send Records As PDF.
If a button or a script is not provided to the user then they will only have the choice of overwriting the existing PDF, which may not yield the desired result.
The ‘Append To PDF’ feature in FileMaker 9 provides a means of creating more comprehensive, professional looking reports and other outputs, that was not available in previous versions.
