
    GUN has three primary print functions, all of
  which are output of the Inventory database. For
  this print to work correctly care must be taken
  with the database input. The date fields must be
  in YR/MO/DY format, so January 1, 1991 would be
  91/01/01. The manufacturers field must be the same
  for each manufacturer, so if L.C. Smith is
  abbreviated to Smith, all L.C. Smith entries must
  be Smith or the various reports will not sort
  correctly.


  EACH OF THE REPORTS MUST BE PRINTED SEPARATELY.


    The five reports are Current Inventory,
  Purchases, Sales, By Month and By Manufacturer.
  The menu will ask for an "X" to print the given
  report, the beginning and ending dates, header
  information ( name, address, etc.), and an output
  file. If a mistake is made, simply Backspace and
  reenter the correct data. After the information is
  entered, the system will ask if all the
  information is correct. If so, <Enter> will
  continue or <Escape> will allow editing of the
  choices. The system will then prompt the user to
  <Enter> to print to a printer or <Space Bar> to
  print to the selected output file.

    Currently, all print is portrait (upright)
  versus landscape (sideways) and all compressed
  ( little print, 17 characters per inch ). The
  default is currently Epson, so if a laser is used,
  Epson emulation will have to be selected.

    This is a rudimentary, very basic report
  mechanism, and is not meant to be an end-all print
  generation. Print inventory reports is an
  accomodation, not the primary focus. In other
  words, fancy print takes a lot of development time
  for relatively little reward.


  PRINTING IMAGES

    To print pictures in catalogs, etc., it is
  best to use Ventura Publisher or a similar
  "desk-top publishing" package. To simply make
  prints for other reasons, the suggested solution
  is a commercial product called Pizazz Plus
  ( by Application Techniques, 10 Lomar Park Dr.,
  Tepporrell, MA  (508) 433-5201 ) will allow the
  user to print any screen to any printer type.
  This product sells for about $ 75.

    If the code can be negotiated to incorporate
  image printing, GUN will incorporate this
  capability into a future upgrade / enhancement.

