Print Output Options XML - to Physical File

  

DEVELOPER

This option enables you to send a report output to a physical file on a server in XML or PDF format (if a XML transform is used). The formatting of the output, as defined in the report function, is ignored.

  1. Click on the Function Definition Properties icon.

  2. Click on the Spooler tab.

  3. In the Output Type field, select the XML - to Physical File option.

The formatting of the output, as defined in the report function, is ignored.

Item

Description

Output Type

Select the XML- to Physical File option.

XML Transform

Enter the name of the XSL file which transforms the XML into "human-readable" documents. The XSL files must be stored on the server in the directory specified by the environment variable PROIV_XSL (or in the default /xsl directory) if they are to be found at runtime. The PROIV_XSL environment variable is set in the pro4v[n].ini file.

For example for a PROIV Windows installation, the pro4v[n].ini file entry is as follows:

[ENVIRONMENT]

PROIV_XSL=&$@~PROPATH\..\xsl

If the XML Transform fields are left empty, the raw XML is created.

File Name

Enter the name of the physical file which is output to the server. The field is limited to 80 characters, accepts free text, and has no validation.

For example, entering myreport.pdf in the field will send the report to a physical file called myreport.pdf to the server. You can also enter a physical path of where you want the output to be placed on the server. If the file already exists on the server it will be overwritten by the new output and no warning appears.

If the physical path is not specified, the location of the output file is defined in different ways on different platforms.

For example, on Microsoft Windows the destination is set by the following environment variables: PROPRINTPATH, PROPRINT and PROTEMP. (They are checked in that order.) If these are empty, the current directory is used.

On Unix platforms, the file output destination is configured in the startup script. If it is not set in the script, the current directory is used. For example, if a startup script logs on to a machine called 'fred', then the pdf files are created in fred’s home directory (/home/fred). If the startup script executes 'cd' command, the pdf files are created in that location assuming the permissions in that location allow the Unix logon to create files in the directory.

Alternate Tag Names

If no XML tag names are specified in the report definition, the PROIV generates generic tag names. Checking this box tells PROIV to use a different standard for the generic tag names.

Explicit Tag Names Only

Limits the XML output to those data elements that have explicitly defined XML tag names. This enables an existing PROIV report to be easily made to run in both XML mode and normal mode, with only the required elements output as XML.

Output Source Attribute

Outputs the source of the element as an attribute in the XML tag.

Don’t Indent Output

Normally, the XML output will be indented, to show nesting. Checking this turns the indenting off. It is important to note that this will have no impact on PDF printing.

Suppress Sequence Nos

This field is only displayed if the Output Type is XML. It is specifically suppresses the Sequence attribute for XML output. The attribute is automatically generated on all record elements and suppressing it for XML output ensures that the output can be used for other purposes such as versioning and differencing.

 

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Topic ID: 500310