Emailing Reports

[dkellgren]

We are currently using ActivePDF server to convert our 9.1D Report Builder reports to a .pdf format so we can email reports.

For several (unimportant to this topic) reasons, we want to find another solution. Is anyone successfully emailing RB reports?

Running them to a file isn't good enough - we need to preserve the graphics, fonts, lines, etc.

Running 9.1D on a Citrix Metaframe server. DB is UNIX, but all apps are GUI.

Please, please, please help!

TIA

 

[Crittar]

I don't know if this thought would help:

If you output the reports to a file could you write something in Progress that would take the report as an input file and convert them to html format and then send via smtpmail?

 

[Dawn M]

I've written code for my company to e-mail documents created using the OptioDCS software.

When user requests the document (client side), the request is sent to AppServer to process.

The document is generated, using both Progress (to pull the data) and OptioDCS (to create the document overlay), and then sent to a UNIX file.

To e-mail them, I use PCL2PDF from Visual Software to convert the document file into a pdf. Finally, I use a series of UNIX commands and shell scripts to prep it and attach it to an e-mail for the UNIX command "sendmail" to e-mail.

It works like a champ and the users love it.

Are you looking for something like this?

 

[dkellgren]

We don't have the "AppServer" product. The email side is no problem, it's getting it into a standard format that the receipients can read.

I'll have to look in to OptioDCS... not sure what that is.

I've written code for my company to e-mail documents created using the OptioDCS software.

When user requests the document (client side), the request is sent to AppServer to process.

The document is generated, using both Progress (to pull the data) and OptioDCS (to create the document overlay), and then sent to a UNIX file.

To e-mail them, I use PCL2PDF from Visual Software to convert the document file into a pdf. Finally, I use a series of UNIX commands and shell scripts to prep it and attach it to an e-mail for the UNIX command "sendmail" to e-mail.

It works like a champ and the users love it.

Are you looking for something like this?

 

[dkellgren]

No - I would lose all my original formatting.

I don't know if this thought would help:

If you output the reports to a file could you write something in Progress that would take the report as an input file and convert them to html format and then send via smtpmail?

 

[Dawn M]

OptioDCS is basically software that allows you to merge a .prn file created in something like Word with data, generated by Progress.

Doesn't the .pdf format do what you want it to do (ie, preserve the graphics, fonts, etc)?

Along with "formatted" documents, we convert basic reports to .pdf and it doesn't change the "formatting" (though, we don't have any graphics in our reports).

 

[CraigS]

Don't know if this helps...

I don't use RB but rather CorVu... perhaps this method may help or it may be what you already do. Not knowing what the "issues" are that you have, I will suggest it anyway.

I use CorVu scheduler to create and save a report (graphics, lines and all) as a postscript file. If RB will allow you to do this (?) then this method will work for you also.

I leave Acrobat Distiller running on a server with the 'Watched Folder' feature set to watch the destination folder of the CorVu report. As soon as CorVu creates the PS, Distiller turns it into a PDF.

I then use progress 8.3B code to pick up the file and email to the recipients list. The only problem I have with this method is when I want to run the progress code in the background (as explained in a different thread).

If you think this method may help you and you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Regards
Craig Stephenson
IT Business Support
Capilano Honey Limited
Qld Australia
c.stephenson@capilano.com.au