Creating Reports

[Julie Kimmel]

Hello Cloverleafers,

I am trying to write some reports (requisitions) out of Cloverleaf….as a first, rough draft idea, I am having Cloverleaf write a message to a file and then calling an application (windows or web) to read from that file and create a crystal report and print it to a selected printer.

This will work, I am sure…but it sure seems like it will be slow…does any one know of a better way to create reports based off of messages through Cloverleaf?

The back ground on this is that a lab wants all of our requisitions divided into individual reqs per lab order. Electronically this is easy through Cloverleaf, but the hard copies are the problem.

Any ideas would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Julie Kimmel

Topic

[Nathan Martin]

Some Crystal program is probably just as good a way to generate and print a report as any.

I’ve been looking around for solutions to the printing problem as well.  Here are some options I’ve thought about implementing, but I’d be glad to hear of a “good” method that someone is using in practice.

* Simple fixed-font text reports from any scripting or programming tool, maybe even an HRL format.

* Generate HTML files, print with browser automation or HTML converter.

* Postscript templates, filled in by your own program.

* See: troff or TeX

* XML-FO (take a look at apache.org’s FOP)

* MS Word mail-merge template and COM automation.

* OpenOffice.Org (or StarOffice) scripted mail merge and print.

* Scripted spreadsheet applications (similar to scripted word processor)

* Scripted database report (once the data is in the database you could use any reporting tool)

* Make PDF’s with API of your choosing.  Print with ghostscript???

* Buy (or find an open source) package that is designed for generating and printing reports programatically.  (See any trade magazine or search on sourceforge.)

* Hire a company who’s sole purpose is to reformat data into nicely printed output, labels, forms, wristbands, etc.

Hope this gives somebody some good ideas.

[Chris Brossette]

We take hl7 messages and create a formatted file that is then sent to a printer.  We are on AIX & QDX 5.2 if you would like an example…we have a lookup table that pulls the room from the message to determine the printer destination…

Call me if you would like to discuss this….

Chris Brossette

MS Baptist Health Systems

601.968.1462

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