Re: Unix Oracle Reports 6i + barcodes

Hi there,

I do not have an answer to your question, but i do have a question of my own: how are you using these PostScript report files? Just for printing?

The reason i ask is because my company makes commercial software (available on Windows, AIX, Solaris and HP-UX) that batch converts PostScript files to a bunch of other file formats, such as XML-standard SVG, formatted ASCII text, WMF for MS Office use and TIFF/GIF raster images. While we already have a number of Oracle users/developers amongst our customers, i am reading this newsgroup to gain a more solid understanding of where and how you guys need to use the reports you create. So any insight you can give me, on the newsgroup or via email, would be greatly appreciated.

thx,

Jeroen Dekker

--
Square One - The Graphics Connection
http://www.square1.nl/index.htm
jeroen_at_square1.nl


Daniel Koehne wrote:



> My company wants to be able to produce Oracle reports (postscript


> files) that include barcodes (type barcode 39 to start with).

>

> On my Windows2000 Professional pc it is easy to produce these reports.

>

> But getting these same reports to run correctly on our AIX 4.3.3 Unix

> servers is no easy task.

>

> None of our AIX machines have graphics cards installed (i.e. they have

> no graphics capability). So Oracle says to run the Oracle report on

> the AIX machine but set the DISPLAY environment variable to point to

> another machine that it running a X server. In my tests, this other

> machine has been a Red Hat 7.1 workstation.

>

> Test1. Generate simple barcode reports on Windows machine (i.e. select

> 1234 from dual and set font to be barcode). In the reports builder

> (rwbld60) the font is called "barcode39a (Western)"--I do not know

> where the western part is coming from. Not copy the rdf file from my

> Windows machine to my AIX server. Install the Postscript version of my

> barcode font on my Linux workstation (install is successfuly because I

> can select this font from the Linux verison of Notepad--ALTHOUGH the

> font name is "barcode39a" and not "barcode39a Western" as on my

> Windows machine). Now I run the report on the AIX server with the

> DISPLAY environment variable pointed at my Linux server. Unfortunately

> when the report runs I do not get any barcode.

>

> Test 2. Log into AIX server from Linux machine. Set DISPLAY

> environment variable to point to Linux machine and run reports builder

> (rwbld60). In this case I am unable to select a barcode font from the

> reports builder font selection box. I am not sure where this font

> information is coming from. Does anyone know where this font

> information is coming from--the AIX or Linux machine?

>

> As an aside, Oracle (on Metalink) has notes describing a complicated

> way of getting barcodes into reports--basically find and replace one

> font with a barcode font. I have yet to try this because it looks

> complocated and assumes that you do not have the barcode font for your

> Unix machine.

>

> Does anyone have any experience with Oracle Reports 6i, barcodes and

> remote X servers?

>

> Thanks for any help,

>    Daniel