What Ever Happened to The Paperless Office? According to Wikipedia, “The paperless office is now considered to be a philosophy to work with minimal paper and convert all forms of documentation to a digital form. ...[with] motivators including productivity gains, costs savings, space saving, the need to share information and reduced environmental impact.” FileMaker Pro can help you to reduce paper output by saving reports to PDF.

You can download this file from http://www.ulearnit.com.au/dl/photolib.zip. Open the file with FileMaker Pro 9. The database is a Photo Library containing images, locations and categories. Each image has a title, location, comment, image web link and one or more categories.

There are four image reports—Image (name) List, Image Grid, Images by Location and Images by Category. A text button is provided for each report at the top of the layout. Test the reports. Each produces a PDF file that you can name and save.

Open Scripts -> ScriptMaker... and open the Print Image Title List script. It is a simple script that goes to the report layout, sorts the records, previews the report, then saves it as a PDF and returns to the original layout. The other report scripts have a similar format.

Each script produces a separate file. Can we combine multiple reports in one file? FileMaker Pro 9 added a new option in the Save Records as PDF script step—Append to existing PDF. If a PDF with the specified name already exists, the new report will be appended to the end of that file.

Open each of the four report scripts in ScriptMaker, select the Save Records as PDF step and turn on the Append to existing PDF option. Close and save all scripts.

Click the Image List button. Save and view the file then close it. Click the Image Grid button. Enter the same file name as the previous report. The Image Grid pages have been added to the existing Image List. Now you have a single PDF with a contents page and images on the following pages.

You can have any number of reports compiled in any order when they are set to append to an existing PDF. The Append to PDF feature is very useful when compiling a report where the same records need to be analysed and displayed in different ways. Electronic reports can be filed or emailed and may avoid the need for printing at all.

This article was supplied by uLearnIT. See our FileMaker Pro training course schedule at www.ulearnit.com.au/

UlearnIT Training Workshops

uLearnIT offers training courses for all users from beginners through to experienced developers. Courses are all hands-on and presented by David Head, a FileMaker Authorised Trainer and FileMaker Certified Developer

Choose from the following FileMaker Pro courses:

Using FileMaker Pro

Using FileMaker Pro is a one-day course that teaches the basics of using and creating databases in FileMaker Pro.

Building Solutions in FileMaker Pro

This two-day course covers topics in building relational database. Suitable for individuals with some experience in FileMaker Pro development who want to learn more about building solid FileMaker solutions.

FileMaker Pro System Development

This two-day course introduces the skills required to develop systems in FileMaker Pro that go beyond the single user solution and consider wider issues of network access and good database structure. Suitable for individuals with some experience in FileMaker Pro development who want to learn more about building solid FileMaker solutions.

FileMaker Server, Connectivity and Web Publishing

This two-day course covers the setup and configuration of a FileMaker Server, connecting to external SQL data sources and the skills required to take FileMaker databases to the web.

Download course outlines, check the current schedule and enrol online at the uLearnIT website www.ulearnit.com.au/

Get 30 Days of Free Online Video Training with VTC

FileMaker online video training is the fast, easy way to learn FileMaker Pro 9 at your own pace. Get 30 days of FREE access when you download a trial of FileMaker Pro 9. You'll have the opportunity to view many FileMaker videos ranging from how to create fields to PHP development. Get started with FileMaker Pro 9 today!

Learn More: www.filemakertrial.com/vtcpromo/