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Trouble-Shooting Guide 
Why are some characters missing or cut off
when I print reports or forms? (Or you may be getting double lines
when the print preview shows single lines, or boxes or circles may
not appear on the printed copy, etc. In other words, the print
preview shows objects that do not appear on the printed copy or are
in some way distorted.)
The printer driver attached to the form is not
completely compatible with the printer you are printing to. Check
the selected printer driver by examining the parent form's
properties. Click on to view these.
Has the correct brand and model been selected?
You should always try to run the exact brand and model. Even
similar but different printer models may have significant printing
differences.
Another issue to keep in mind is that sometimes
newer printer drivers may contain more bugs than earlier versions.
Try printing the form using an earlier model (but same brand)
printer driver. Does the form now print correctly? It may print
correctly in some areas but then have new problems. If this is the
case report the problem to the print driver manufacturer or see if
"patches" or later versions of the problem print driver can be
obtained.
I am getting the message "the
printer attached to xxx.sty is no longer available. The default
printer has been selected." I've checked inside the form and the
printer is set to my printer so why am I getting this message?
This means that the form was originally created
on another system with a printer driver you do not have access to.
This is not normally a problem as Visual Builder will automatically
use the default printer driver as specified on your system. In some
cases a form may have been created for a printer that has a larger
printed page then the printer you are using. You may have to move
print objects within the grid area of the form if this is the
case.
To prevent this message from occurring each time
you access the form, load the form into the forms editor and press
the save button. This will save the form with the new printer
driver attached to it.
Why isn't the alignment on my print preview
exactly the same as my printed copy? In particular, fonts seem to
be slightly off their correct positions or appear wider or shorter
on paper.
Visual Builder depends on and is limited by the
font scaling technology built into Windows. Which, sadly, is not
always particularly accurate in its representation of the true
width of fonts when displaying them onto a video screen. (Microsoft
made a conscious decision to sacrifice true accuracy for rendering
the most readable fonts on screen.) Higher resolution video cards will be more
accurate. You can also experiment with different zoom levels to see
which level gives you the best matching paper and screen
representation. Unfortunately it is often necessary to "tweak" the
positions of the fonts on your form once you have completed its
overall layout.
Why do my columns of data overprint each
other on the page?
The most common reason for overprinting is when a
field is unintentionally anchored to a margin. Objects (such as
fields) that anchored to margins are carried onto each page. This
can result in new information being printed over the top of old
information. You will know if you have this problem if the first
page of printing is okay, but subsequent pages have overprinted
text.
To fix this problem decrease the bounding area of the
anchor
margins. Or turn them off completely if you do not
require them. This can be done by setting the left and right
margins of the form to 0.
Visual Builder seems stuck on printing the
same page over and over again.
Check to ensure that you do not have more than
one body section accidentally copied onto your form, with no fields
specified in the additional body section or sections. From the
editor menu select Edit|Body Management. Delete any redundant body
objects from your form.
Visual Builder becomes very sluggish or
hangs after I load a picture.
The picture file may be too large or complex.
Remember that Windows prints graphic files very slowly. It is
usually not practical to include large, complex graphical files on
forms or reports. Use a paint program to reduce the size (if
possible) and the number of colours used in the graphical image.
Two colour (monochrome) graphics will produce the best results.
Colour
images should be limited to 16 colours where possible.
Why doesn't my subtotal appear on my last
group?
If you have the Keep with Previous option set for your grand
total, this will overwrite the last subtotal. Untick this option
for the first grand total.
Why do I get 'A heading in body 1 is
aligned with a column that no longer exists' or similar type of
message?
You have deleted a field column but not the group that was assigned
to that column. Select Body Properties, click on the Groups &
Totals tab button and remove the group that no longer applies. If
you're not sure which one no longer applies, inspect each group. If
the Align With edit box is blank, then remove that
group.
Why won't my bar code reader recognise the bar codes I
print?
The two main things to check are:
1. Is your bar code reader capable of recognising the bar code
symbology you are using? Virtually no bar code reader can recognise
all the different types of bar code formats offered by Visual
Builder. If you are printing, for example, Code 128 bar codes, is
your reader capable of recognising them? If so, have you then
"switched on" recognition of this format? Refer to your bar code
reader instruction manual for information on how to switch on
recognition of different bar code symbologies.
Keep in mind also that turning on recognition of some symbologies
may make it impossible for the bar code reader to recognise other
symbologies. Try deactivating recognition of all sympologies except
for the one you are trying to get the reader to recognise.
2. Are you printing the bar code with the required parameters? For
example, if you are printing Code 93 bar codes, do you require a
checksum code to be included?
If you are not sure, experimentation with settings may be required
in order to get your scanner to recognise your printed
bar codes.
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