Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

[clafean]

I have a report that is grouped on first letter of the last name so that the printed report can go into a binder. The problem is, if the last page in the group is not even (or the first page in the group is not odd), I have to add a blank page to get the alphabetical tabs to work with the printout. I currently go through the pdf and manually insert the blank pages, which is both time consuming and error prone.

Does anyone have a way to add a page break (and therefore a blank page only when needed. I can't even find a simple way to test for odd/even number (though I am sure there is a way- mod maybe...)

Any help would be appreciated.

Chuck

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

mod(pageno(),2) will yield 1 for odd numbered pages, 0 for even numbered pages. I believe you can place a page break in a conditional object.

[clafean]

Re: Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

Thanks Stan. I had already figured out the odd/even detection, and it works for everything but the page break in the conditional object... unless I am doing it wrong. When I place the page break in the conditional object- it stretches beyond the boundaries of the conditional object and moves outside of it. :(

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

See if the next to last post in this thread is of any assistance.

https://www.alphasoftware.com/alphaf...nal+page+break

[clafean]

Re: Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

Stan, that's it, thanks!

For any others:

Hi all,

Well folks, it *can* be done. Recto-verso pagination can be controlled--within limits.

Why should we care? When we print to one side only it doesn't matter. However, printing duplex, if we have a report with multiple sections (grouping levels) and we want to separate the sections with tabbed dividers then when a new section (group) begins on the reverse side of the page, then it will come before rather than after the tab.

A simple example would be an address book. Lots of the time these books have tabs which combine letters: AB; CD; EF; GH.... You don't want "A", "C", "E", "G" etc. to start on the reverse (verso) side of the page. I won't detail the process by which I was able to force a new group every second letter. The group is called "Tab".

Luckily the verso sides have even page numbers and the report generator has a system variable which holds the page number. In other words, generating the condition is no problem. (We all knew this already.) Use the mod function with a denominator of 2. Recto gives a mod of 1. Verso yields 0.

Previous contributions have established what *doesn't* work and I won't reiterate all that except to recall that the obvious method--a page break on a condional object is a no go.

It would be great if a page break object accepted a conditional expression but it doesn't. However, the break's property sheet has a "break optionally" checkbox. Look in the manual and you'll find that it is intended to keep memo fields from being split by a page break. If the field is too big to fit it is shifted to the next page. This sparse documentation meant I had to do a bit of experimentation.

Here is what to do:
-In group properties, on the region tab, make sure "start group on a new page" is checked.
-Create a group footer. In its properties, check "allow shrink" and "keep together on a page."
-Insert a page break object at the very top of the footer. Open its properties and check "optionally break."
-Insert a conditional object right after the break. In its properties be sure to check "allow shrink."
-Using the mod function create two conditions, even and odd. Leave the layer for the odd condition blank.
-Put a couple of text objects on the "even" layer of the conditional object. Place one at the top and one at the bottom to prevent the conditional object from contracting at print time. The contents of the text doesn't matter; it will never print.
-The required size of the conditional object depends on your page length. It must be big enough to not fit on a page with anything else but must not take more that a page by itself.

Here is what happens:
-If a group finishes on the reverse side, the page condition is "odd" so the group footer is empty, and it shrinks, so there is nothing to print. The next group starts on the next page which is recto so you're fine.
-If a group finishes on the recto page, the "even" condition is true, the footer is too big to fit, the conditional page break kicks in and the conditional object moves to the next page. But now the page number is odd so what "prints" on that page is the "odd" or empty layer of the conditional object. (This was a happy surprise!) My report has the page number in the page footer section and this confirms what is happening.

I hope this is useful to someone else because it took a hell of a long time to discover.

All the best,
Bill

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Variable add a blank page / Testing for Odd/Even Pages in a report

Oldie but a goodie.