Print an envelope using bare minimum xprint statements

[Paul Purvis]

Michael,

If the printing was not for first class mail and few envelopes per day , i would think about it. I would probably mess that up and have bigger problems with the Post Office. We do a lot of in house mailing about 30,000 per month on another system that does the postnet bar codes automatically. Yes that printer cost some big bucks too, i think 5 or 10 thousand, and it does help reduce the cost of mailing with a discount at the post office.
We had problems with the ink smearing on that printer at one time and yes the POST OFFICE was not too happy about that.
The OKIDATA dot matrix printers rarely even get the ribbon changed, if you know what i mean, i ask them to change them twice a month! Plus seeing some cheap envelopes used, the print is not high quality because of the overlapping of paper on the back of the envelope is dead center of the envelope, making the paper not to smooth where the address is printed on the front.

Thanks Michael for pointing that out, i did see some code on that on the forum.

Ok a few changes where made, but no INI file yet, just perfecting what i have to get the ball rolling on using the program.

I convert all text to uppercase, because the post office wants that and i do not want any mistakes with users type mixed characters. A mixed case is coming and i am glad to see PB put in a MCASE$ function to do that, so i do not have to use my home brewed function.

I increased the font by 1 size, because, MY POSTMAN CANNOT READ and they are all getting older.
ps, nobody can ready my hand writting either.

i added under

CASE %WM_INITDIALOG
     ' Initialization handler

this

 DIALOG SEND CBHNDL, %WM_CHANGEUISTATE, MAKLNG(%UIS_CLEAR, %UISF_HIDEACCEL), 0

because i could not see the few shortcuts until i pressed the ALT key.
did not even know show shortcuts where not showing on program startup until today on our computers.

Changed "From Clipboard" to "Import Clipboard" so user can hold down the ALT key and press I P Y to print envelope quickly with hands.
give me a few seconds because i just thought of that and put it in and i have to update the files and listing above.

ok all done now updating.
i will not change that posting again unless i find a mistake.

[Michael Mattias]

Well, Ok, suggestions...

Since you have graphic capability, why not print a postnet bar code while you are at it (optional of course)?

[Paul Purvis]

Exactly Mike, and i found a few small things not doing exactly as i would of liked it to.
I wish that program i had created on logging proxy+ would of never been put in the source code section first to allow for some discussion, even if it where only me.

I have seen several discussions on envelope printing but nothing that appears to satisfy all needs. You would think with using windows drivers only you could, or it might just be me not knowing the how to. I have put off printing with windows drivers as long as i could, time to bite the bullet.

I am starting to believe the word standard is about as practical as the phrase "common sense". I do not believe in the phrase "common sense".

On envelope printing, i do not see how you can get by without having the user make adjustments to perfect printing locations on paper for different printers.

Mike, adjustable settings is probably the only way to go for each printer, which means an ini file to me.

And Mike, FYI, in the USA, the US Postal Office wants all capital letters on addresses and they only want to see the addressing on the last two lines with no periods or special characters

1. the delivery point
2 the city state zip

And years ago they wanted to force everybody(businesses) to have the zip+4 and postnet bar codes printed on the envelope. Maybe they should understand that is why we pay first class mail, for them to do some work.

[Mike Doty]

Perhaps he wanted suggestions or this is not the final copy.

[Michael Mattias]

Source Code belongs in Source Code Forum?

Sure, I'm just a country bumpkin from flyover country, but when I look for source code I look in the Source Code Forum.

[Mike Doty]

This is just some brainstorming.
I wish there were premade business forms using XPRINT.

TYPE AddressType
  TheName        AS ASCIIZ * 61
  Addr1          AS ASCIIZ * 31
  Addr2          AS ASCIIZ * 31
  City           AS ASCIIZ * 31
  STATE          AS ASCIIZ * 3
  ZIP            AS ASCIIZ* 11
  DefaultPrinter AS LONG
  ChoosePrinter  AS LONG
  PrinterName    AS ASCIIZ * 31
  TopMargin      AS LONG
  LeftMargin     AS LONG
END TYPE
 
FUNCTION PBMAIN () AS LONG
 
  LOCAL a AS AddressType
 
  a.TheName   = "Heidi Klume"
  a.addr1     = "12345 Eastmont Drive"
  a.addr2     = "Suite 44"
  a.city      = "Beverly Hills"
  a.state     = "CA"
  a.zip       = "12345-6789"
  a.DefaultPrinter = 0
  a.ChoosePrinter = 1
  a.TopMargin =  10
  a.LeftMargin = 33
 
  PrintEnvelope A
 
END FUNCTION
 
FUNCTION PrintEnvelope(AddressInfo AS AddressType) AS LONG
 
  LOCAL LineNumber AS LONG
  LOCAL sfonttemp AS STRING
  LOCAL ifonttemp AS LONG
  IF AddressInfo.DefaultPrinter THEN
       XPRINT ATTACH DEFAULT
  ELSEIF AddressInfo.ChoosePrinter THEN
    XPRINT ATTACH CHOOSE
  ELSEIF LEN(AddressInfo.PrinterName) THEN
    XPRINT ATTACH AddressInfo.PrinterName
  ELSE
    ? "Destination was not specified"
    EXIT FUNCTION
  END IF
  IF ERR <> 0 OR LEN(XPRINT$) <1 THEN ? "Unable to allocate printer":EXIT FUNCTION
  FONT NEW sfonttemp,11,0,1,1,0 TO ifonttemp
  IF ifonttemp THEN XPRINT SET FONT ifonttemp ELSE ? "font unknown":EXIT FUNCTION
  FOR LineNumber = 1 TO AddressInfo.TopMargin:XPRINT :NEXT
  XPRINT SPACE$(AddressInfo.LeftMargin) + AddressInfo.TheName
  XPRINT SPACE$(AddressInfo.LeftMargin) + AddressInfo.Addr1
  IF LEN(AddressInfo.Addr2) THEN 
    XPRINT SPACE$(AddressInfo.LeftMargin) + AddressInfo.Addr2
  END IF
  XPRINT SPACE$(AddressInfo.LeftMargin)                + _
                AddressInfo.City               + ", " + _
                AddressInfo.State              + "  " + _
                AddressInfo.Zip
  XPRINT FORMFEED
  XPRINT CLOSE
 
END FUNCTION

[Paul Purvis]

this program will capture text from the clipboard, meaning an name and address.
It will do a little cleaning of the name and zip code line
The printout goes to a predetermined printer, we are using a printer named "XXenvelope". If you do not like that one you can patch the envprint.exe and put your own printer name in it.
This is the first time i have programmed using a windows printer driver, so that is why it is so simple, but is going to work for me.
An ini file will be used if it exist with the next version.
We have OKIDATA 320 printers and i wanted this program to work with those and it does, but there has been little testing but it should work fine.
The program ask you to confirm the print job before it prints.
A nice little ini file to help this program along would be nice.
If you do not have a printer named XXenvelope this program will still run, just not print. Some people might use this program to clean up an address then copy it back to the clipboard for another program to use.
You can code the function cleansetextbox to do your dirty cleaning of the address for your special reasons.

'envprint.bas
'compiled with powerbasic
'pbwin ver 9.01
'program is designed to copy and paste an address
'then print it out to a predetermined designated printer
'
'i am not good with printing in a windows enviroment
'i leave that headache for you
'see the XPRINT statments for adjusting print spacing and
'see FONT NEW for creating a font



#PBFORMS CREATED V1.51
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' The first line in this file is a PB/Forms metastatement.
' It should ALWAYS be the first line of the file. Other
' PB/Forms metastatements are placed at the beginning and
' end of "Named Blocks" of code that should be edited
' with PBForms only. Do not manually edit or delete these
' metastatements or PB/Forms will not be able to reread
' the file correctly.  See the PB/Forms documentation for
' more information.
' Named blocks begin like this:    #PBFORMS BEGIN ...
' Named blocks end like this:      #PBFORMS END ...
' Other PB/Forms metastatements such as:
'     #PBFORMS DECLARATIONS
' are used by PB/Forms to insert additional code.
' Feel free to make changes anywhere else in the file.
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#COMPILE EXE
#DIM ALL

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** Includes **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#PBFORMS BEGIN INCLUDES
#IF NOT %DEF(%WINAPI)
    #INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"
#ENDIF
#INCLUDE "PBForms.INC"
#PBFORMS END INCLUDES
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** Constants **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#PBFORMS BEGIN CONSTANTS
%IDD_DIALOG1  =  101
%IDC_TEXTBOX1 = 999
%IDC_BUTTON1  = 1001
%IDC_BUTTON2  = 1002
%IDC_BUTTON3  = 1003
%IDC_BUTTON4  = 1004
%IDC_BUTTON5  = 1005
%IDC_BUTTON6  = 1006

#PBFORMS END CONSTANTS

GLOBAL gstextbox AS STRING
GLOBAL gstextboxold AS STRING
GLOBAL gstemp AS STRING
GLOBAL gltemp AS LONG
GLOBAL gltemp2 AS LONG
GLOBAL hDlg   AS DWORD


'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** Declarations **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DECLARE CALLBACK FUNCTION ShowDIALOG1Proc()
DECLARE FUNCTION ShowDIALOG1(BYVAL hParent AS DWORD) AS LONG

FUNCTION printenvelope() AS LONG
   LOCAL I AS LONG
   LOCAL J AS LONG
   LOCAL atemp AS STRING
   LOCAL sfonttemp AS STRING
   LOCAL ifonttemp AS LONG
   LOCAL sprintername AS STRING
   sprintername="XXenvelope                                           "
   sprintername=TRIM$(sprintername)
   j=PARSECOUNT(gstextbox,$CRLF)
   DIM  a(1 TO j) AS STRING
   PARSE gstextbox,a(),$CRLF

   XPRINT ATTACH sprintername,"Envelope using envprint.exe"
   IF XPRINT$="" THEN
     MSGBOX ("There has to exist a windows printer named "+$CRLF+sprintername+$CRLF+" for this program to print to.")
   EXIT FUNCTION
   END IF

   FONT NEW sfonttemp,12,0,1,1,0 TO ifonttemp  'this is a fixed font, see FONT NEW for details

   REM below starting on the 11 line using the above font
   REM then spacing over 33 spaces before printing
   XPRINT SET FONT ifonttemp
   FOR i=1 TO 10
       XPRINT
   NEXT i
      FOR i=1 TO j
     gstemp= SPACE$(33)+A(i)
     XPRINT  gstemp
   NEXT i
   XPRINT FORMFEED
   XPRINT CLOSE

   CONTROL SET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1, ""
   gstextboxold=gstextbox
   END FUNCTION

FUNCTION cleansetextbox() AS LONG
    gstextboxold=gstextbox
    gstextbox=TRIM$(gstextbox)
    gstextbox=UCASE$(gstextbox):    REM convert the text to uppercase if desired in the cleanse process
    gltemp=INSTR(UCASE$(gstextbox)," ZIP ")
    IF gltemp THEN
       gstextbox=LEFT$(gstextbox,gltemp)+RIGHT$(gstextbox,LEN(gstextbox)-gltemp-4)
    END IF
    REM remove extra blank lines and any spaces prior and after any CRLF
    WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, " "+$CRLF)
    REPLACE " "+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
    WEND
    WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, $CRLF+" ")
    REPLACE $CRLF+" " WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
    WEND
    WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, $CRLF+$CRLF)
    REPLACE $CRLF+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
    WEND
    IF gstextbox=$CRLF THEN gstextbox=""
    REM CRLF from the beginning of the textbox if it exist
    IF LEN(gstextbox)>1 THEN
      IF LEFT$(gstextbox,2)=$CRLF THEN
         gstextbox=RIGHT$(gstextbox,LEN(gstextbox)-2)
      END IF
    END IF
    gltemp=INSTR(gstextbox,$CRLF)
    IF gltemp AND INSTR(LEFT$(gstextbox,gltemp-1),",") THEN
        gstemp=LEFT$(gstextbox,gltemp-1)
        gltemp=INSTR(-1,gstemp,",")
        gstemp=RIGHT$(gstemp,LEN(gstemp)-gltemp)+" "+LEFT$(gstemp,gltemp-1)
        gltemp=INSTR(gstextbox,$CRLF)
        gstextbox=TRIM$(gstemp)+RIGHT$(gstextbox,LEN(gstextbox)-gltemp+1)
    END IF

END FUNCTION

#PBFORMS DECLARATIONS
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** Main Application Entry Point **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION PBMAIN()
    gstextbox=""
    ShowDIALOG1 %HWND_DESKTOP
END FUNCTION
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** CallBacks **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALLBACK FUNCTION ShowDIALOG1Proc()

    SELECT CASE AS LONG CBMSG
        CASE %WM_INITDIALOG
            ' Initialization handler
            DIALOG SEND CBHNDL, %WM_CHANGEUISTATE, MAKLNG(%UIS_CLEAR, %UISF_HIDEACCEL), 0
            CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1

          CASE %WM_NCACTIVATE
            STATIC hWndSaveFocus AS DWORD
            IF ISFALSE CBWPARAM THEN
                ' Save control focus
                hWndSaveFocus = GetFocus()
            ELSEIF hWndSaveFocus THEN
                ' Restore control focus
                SetFocus(hWndSaveFocus)
                hWndSaveFocus = 0
            END IF

        CASE %WM_COMMAND
            ' Process control notifications
            SELECT CASE AS LONG CBCTL
                CASE %IDC_TEXTBOX1

                CASE %IDC_BUTTON1
                REM  print the text from textbox1
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                         CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstextbox
                         gstextbox=TRIM$(gstextbox)
                         gstextbox=UCASE$(gstextbox):    REM convert the text to uppercase if desired in the printing process

                         REM remove the word " zip " if it exist on any line
                         gltemp=INSTR(UCASE$(gstextbox)," ZIP ")
                         IF gltemp THEN
                             gstextbox=LEFT$(gstextbox,gltemp)+RIGHT$(gstextbox,LEN(gstextbox)-gltemp-4)
                         END IF
                         REM remove extra blank lines and any spaces prior and after any CRLF
                         WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, " "+$CRLF)
                         REPLACE " "+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                         WEND
                         WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, $CRLF+" ")
                         REPLACE $CRLF+" " WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                         WEND
                         WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, $CRLF+$CRLF)
                         REPLACE $CRLF+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                         WEND
                         IF gstextbox=$CRLF THEN gstextbox=""
                         REM CRLF from the beginning of the textbox if it exist
                          IF LEN(gstextbox)>1 THEN
                             IF LEFT$(gstextbox,2)=$CRLF THEN
                                 gstextbox=RIGHT$(gstextbox,LEN(gstextbox)-2)
                             END IF
                         END IF
                         IF gstextbox<>"" THEN
                            gltemp=MSGBOX (gstextbox, %MB_YESNO OR %MB_DEFBUTTON2,"Confirm print")
                            IF gltemp=6 THEN printenvelope()
                         END IF
                    END IF
                    CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1

                 CASE %IDC_BUTTON2
                 REM clear the text in textbox1
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                         CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstextbox
                         WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, " "+$CRLF)
                           REPLACE " "+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                           REPLACE $CRLF+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                         WEND
                         WHILE INSTR(gstextbox, $CRLF+$CRLF)
                           REPLACE $CRLF+$CRLF WITH $CRLF IN gstextbox
                         WEND
                         IF gstextbox=$CRLF THEN gstextbox=""
                         IF gstextbox<>"" THEN gstextboxold=gstextbox
                         CONTROL SET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1, ""
                    END IF
                    CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1

                  CASE %IDC_BUTTON3
                  REM cleanse the text in textbox1
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                         CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstextbox
                         IF TRIM$(gstextbox)<>"" THEN cleansetextbox()
                         CONTROL SET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1,gstextbox
                    END IF
                    CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1

                  CASE %IDC_BUTTON4
                  REM undo
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                        CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstemp
                        gstextbox=gstextboxold
                        gstextboxold=gstemp
                        CONTROL SET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1, gstextbox
                        CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1
                    END IF

                   CASE %IDC_BUTTON5
                   REM send text to clipboard
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                    CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstemp
                    IF gstemp<>"" THEN
                      FOR gltemp=1& TO 100&
                        CLIPBOARD RESET, gltemp2
                        IF gltemp2 THEN EXIT FOR
                        SLEEP 20
                      NEXT gltemp
                      FOR gltemp=1 TO 100&
                        CLIPBOARD SET TEXT gstemp,gltemp2
                        IF gltemp2 THEN EXIT FOR
                       SLEEP 30
                      NEXT gltemp
                      CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1
                    END IF
                    END IF

                   CASE %IDC_BUTTON6
                   REM get text from clipboard
                    IF CBCTLMSG = %BN_CLICKED OR CBCTLMSG = 1 THEN
                    FOR gltemp=1 TO 100&
                      CLIPBOARD GET TEXT gstemp,gltemp2
                      IF gltemp2 THEN EXIT FOR
                      SLEEP 30
                    NEXT gltemp
                    IF gltemp2 THEN
                      CONTROL GET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1 TO gstextboxold
                      gstextbox=gstemp
                      cleansetextbox()
                      CONTROL SET TEXT HDLG,%IDC_TEXTBOX1, gstextbox
                      CONTROL SET FOCUS hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1
                    END IF
                    END IF
         END SELECT
    END SELECT
END FUNCTION
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'   ** Dialogs **
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION ShowDIALOG1(BYVAL hParent AS DWORD) AS LONG
    LOCAL lRslt  AS LONG

#PBFORMS BEGIN DIALOG %IDD_DIALOG1->->
   ' LOCAL hDlg   AS DWORD
    LOCAL hFont1 AS DWORD

    DIALOG NEW hParent, "Envelope print", 70, 70, 331, 88, %WS_POPUP OR _
        %WS_BORDER OR %WS_DLGFRAME OR %WS_SYSMENU OR %WS_MINIMIZEBOX OR _
        %WS_CLIPSIBLINGS OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %DS_MODALFRAME OR %DS_3DLOOK OR _
        %DS_NOFAILCREATE OR %DS_SETFONT, %WS_EX_CONTROLPARENT OR %WS_EX_LEFT _
         OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING OR %WS_EX_RIGHTSCROLLBAR, TO hDlg
    CONTROL ADD TEXTBOX, hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1, "", 0, 3, 330, 60, %WS_CHILD OR _
        %WS_VISIBLE OR %WS_TABSTOP OR %ES_LEFT OR %ES_MULTILINE OR _
        %ES_WANTRETURN, %WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE OR %WS_EX_LEFT OR _
        %WS_EX_LTRREADING OR %WS_EX_RIGHTSCROLLBAR
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON1, "&Print", 112, 65, 100, 22, _
        %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %WS_TABSTOP OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER _
        OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON2, "&Clear", 304, 70, 26, 15, _
        %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %WS_TABSTOP OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON3, "Cleanse", 62, 70, 35, 15,_
         %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON4, "Undo", 274, 70, 26, 15,_
          %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON5, "To clipboard", 224, 70, 44, 15,_
           %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING
    CONTROL ADD BUTTON,  hDlg, %IDC_BUTTON6, "&Import clipboard", 2, 70, 55, 15,_
            %WS_CHILD OR %WS_VISIBLE OR %BS_TEXT OR %BS_PUSHBUTTON OR %BS_CENTER OR %BS_VCENTER, %WS_EX_LEFT OR %WS_EX_LTRREADING


    hFont1 = PBFormsMakeFont("Courier", 10, 400, %FALSE, %FALSE, %FALSE, _
        %ANSI_CHARSET)

    CONTROL SEND hDlg, %IDC_TEXTBOX1, %WM_SETFONT, hFont1, 0

#PBFORMS END DIALOG
    DIALOG SHOW MODAL hDlg, CALL ShowDIALOG1Proc TO lRslt

#PBFORMS BEGIN CLEANUP %IDD_DIALOG1
    DeleteObject hFont1
#PBFORMS END CLEANUP

    FUNCTION = lRslt
END FUNCTION
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------