Re: mailmerge

Forwarding to list...

Lawyerless Solutions wrote:

> Inserting a '-' as the second parameter causes a Command Line Option
> error: "unknown option" with the same end result..
> ==================
> tAt 09:26 PM 12/7/2005, Lawyerless Solutions wrote:
>
>> Here's what puzzles me most at this point: I have used Abiword with
>> success in production since I first discovered the product about two
>> months ago. (I originally looked for an alternative to Wordpad
>> mainly because I needed a word processing product that included the
>> ability to force page breaks.) In document creation and printing,
>> Abiword doesn't ask me to identify a printer, whether run straight
>> from XP or a DOS command line. So when in merge mode, why does
>> Abiword even need me to pass a printer parameter at all? If I
>> couldn't get Abiword to print at all, I would better understand the
>> possibility of having to add PDFCreator or whatever. But the problem
>> cannot be my printer or my platform interface to it, because Abiword
>> prints just fine, except when attempting merging. Why can't Abiword
>> send out a print stream created from a merge of two sources in the
>> same way it sends print output coming from a single file source? Why
>> even have that second parameter in the merge call sequence? I've
>> been creating software one way or another for over 42 years (I'm fast
>> approaching my 65th birthday), but maybe I'm missing something here.
>> Please advise.
>> ======================
>> At 11:46 AM 12/7/2005, you wrote:
>>
>>> Make sure that HPLJ is the long name of the printer. Also, try
>>> PDFCreator - if any printer works, it will. The .ps (PostScript)
>>> output option is only available on Unix (without PDFCreator), sorry
>>> for any confusion.
>>>
>>> I will give this a shot myself with PDFCreator when I get the chance
>>> unless I hear back that it worked.
>>>
>>> Ryan
>>>
>>> PS. Press "Reply All" next time to send a copy back to the list, so
>>> that it may be archived to help other users.
>>> Lawyerless Solutions wrote:
>>>
>>>> I appreciate your prompt reply, but no matter what I try, nothing
>>>> goes from Abiword to my printer (HP Laserjet). At your suggestion
>>>> I have changed the second parameter to: -p HPLJ ..where HPLJ is
>>>> the PrinterName recorded in Control Panel. Everything from every
>>>> application prints properly, and that includes Abiword output from
>>>> other than mailmerge.
>>>> As to printing to files, the Abiword mailmerge description mentions
>>>> printing to files including the numbering scheme (starting with 0)
>>>> for "one .ps file for every set of values. . ." However, I don't
>>>> wish to belabor the point, because my only intent that is
>>>> absolutely necessary is simply to print directly to the printer.
>>>> Can you somehow provide me with, or point me to, a sample or
>>>> printout of an actual merged result printing? I have checked and
>>>> rechecked to make sure that the .csv and .abw files going into the
>>>> printmerge are properly referenced and internally correct.
>>>> Any suggestions from anyone would be most appreciated. - Les
>>>> ===================
>>>> ,At 09:28 PM 12/6/2005, you wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> sum1_lists@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Lawyerless Solutions wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Having spent significant parts of two days attempting to the
>>>>>>> merge and print phase of mailmerge to produce output, I
>>>>>>> reluctantly must give up and ask for your help.
>>>>>>> As far as I can tell, I have correctly created the data source
>>>>>>> (divlist.csv saved as plain text) and the document template
>>>>>>> (intro.abw). These were done via Windows XP GUI. For the
>>>>>>> merge/print, I created a DOS batch file that included the
>>>>>>> following command to execute Abiword:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> start lawyerless\abisuite2\abiword\bin\abiword.exe -m
>>>>>>> divlist.csv p out.txt intro.abw
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Nothing happens output-wise. The problem as I see it, unless a
>>>>>>> bug exists, must be in the way the second parameter is coded.
>>>>>>> Please explain more clearly the second sentence of the third
>>>>>>> paragraph under "Printing the merged result" in the mailmerge
>>>>>>> documentation, especially the last clause of that sentence:
>>>>>>> "...all the usual potential values for -p work, if you want to
>>>>>>> print directly to your printer or filter or anything else."
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It seems like you're trying to print to a file, which I don't
>>>>>> believe will work. The -p switch is expecting a printer name (as
>>>>>> reported in the control panel), so you'd have to use something like:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> abiword.exe -m divlist.csv -p PrinterName intro.abw
>>>>>>
>>>>>> or, if you're using the default printer:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> abiword.exe -m divlist.csv -p - intro.abw
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Now, if you do indeed want to print to a file instead of a
>>>>>> printer, you may have to set up a special PCL or postscript
>>>>>> printer in Windows. Is that your intent?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Please note that if you install PDFCreator, from
>>>>> http://sf.net/projects/pdfcreator/ , it creates a "virtual
>>>>> printer" that can be used to merge print to PDF.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Ryan Pavlik
>>>>> AbiWord Win32 Platform Maintainer
>>>>> www.abisource.com
>>>>>
>>>>> "Optimism is the father that leads to achievement." - Helen Keller
>>>>>
>>>>> -----------------------------------------------
>>>>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to
>>>>> abiword-user-request@abisource.com with the word
>>>>> unsubscribe in the message body.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ryan Pavlik
>>> AbiWord Win32 Platform Maintainer
>>> www.abisource.com
>>>
>>> "Optimism is the father that leads to achievement." - Helen Keller
>>>
>>> -----------------------------------------------
>>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to
>>> abiword-user-request@abisource.com with the word
>>> unsubscribe in the message body.
>>
>

-- 
Ryan Pavlik
AbiWord Win32 Platform Maintainer
www.abisource.com
"Optimism is the father that leads to achievement." - Helen Keller
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