[LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...

[Peter Wetzig]

G'day again ...

Having a go is the most important thing Mel.   It's hard to feel what
experience level people have from the list, but experience only comes with
"having a go".

Feel free to reply to the list until together, we get this to work.

Make your second copy of Logic, and play about in there.  That way if you
make a mistake you haven't clobbered your real log.  When you feel
confident, make the changes in your real log.

The Command editing window is a bit tricky to use.  After the first few
times you get to know its quirks.  Any clicks, anywhere, out side the
editing window will close it.  The Command Window is part of the Foxpro
system, rather than Logic.  You may find editing in Windows Notepad easier,
and simply use the Command Window to COMPILE the program for use by Logic.
Just start Notepad from the windows menus, type the lines and save the file
into the main Logic directory with the correct file name ... XXX.PRG or
whatever.

To check out how the Command window works ...

Close all the windows in Logic ... log forms and all. Maximize the Logic
window. In the Logic menus at the top click on Tools and slide the mouse
down to Advanced and then across to Database commands.

The Command Window opens.  Resize the little window inside the bigger window
and move it all to one side ... make it tall and thin, enough so you can see
what you are doing and see the rest of the desktop.

Then, click in the little window below any thing you see there, type ...

MODIFY COMMAND MGRDXCC.PRG ... MODIFY FILE is also correct.

The editing window should open.  Remember clicking anywhere out side this
window will close it.  If you made changes a "save file" dialogue will
appear, and may be behind other windows.  But if you have a clean desktop
you should see it.

Type the program lines ...

GETPREFIXINFO(log.VIA,log.QSO_DATE)
RETURN MAKE_TAG("MDXCC:",PREFIX.DXCC_PFX)

... and close the editing window.

You should be back in the command window ... type ...

COMPILE MGRDXCC.PRG

You should see little unless you made a typing error in the two line
program.  If you do see an error message edit the file again and remove the
errors.

To check out Notepad ...

Start Notepad from Start, All Programs, Accessories, NOTEDPAD.

Type the program lines and File, Save the material to your Logic directory.

Then you need to start the Command Window above, but now you only need to
COMPILE MGRDXCC.PRG.  Repeat if you see any errors.

Now we need to create some data for the program to work on.

Open the log Form  USERIFIELDS.
Click on + to add a new record.
Type a call sign in the VIA field
Type a call sign in the CALL field and press TAB.

You should see MDXCC:<dxcc> appear in the USERFIELDS.

If you see errors, double check your work and reply to this list of
necessary.

Peter VK4IU

-----Original Message-----
From: mel martin [mailto:ve2dc at videotron.ca] 
Sent: Friday, 8 December 2006 8:24 AM
To: 'Peter Wetzig'
Subject: RE: [LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...

I tried but I didn't get very far!. When I type the MODIFY command an
editing window doesn't open. Any ideas? Assume nothing... I've never used
FoxPro... So something obvious to you might not be obvious to me...

Thanks Peter.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: logic-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
> [mailto:logic-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Wetzig
> Sent: December 5, 2006 16:40
> To: LOGic at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: RE: [LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...
> 
> 
> OK.
> 
> I guess I balance the hand sort after the cards are printed, 
> against all this effort to get a fully automatic sort 
> working, remembering that the coding etc needs to be carried 
> forward with each version of Logic.
> 
> So, now you need to create userfields for each of these items 
> not already in the log.  Then you need to index the data on 
> these fields BEFORE you print, assuming you use ONE QSO per 
> card or label.
> 
> Will VIA do for QSL manager?  I'm not sure how you work out 
> "call area" programmatically, but could be entered manually.
> 
> The pfx_info_demo report shows how to lookup info from the 
> prefix file during the report, but after the sort order has 
> been determined. I use it to lookup info on VIA during a 
> report.  We can use the same technique here.
> 
> For each LOG form you can COPY to other fields values based 
> on items in the QSO.  It's a little bit "chicken and egg" ... 
> place the managers call in the VIA field, and when one tabs 
> out of the CALL field, the values are populated into the QSO.  
> 
> One has to use a two step process, hence a small program is 
> needed.  One can use a program wherever an "expression" is needed.
> 
> Use the COMMAND window.
> 
> MODIFY FILE MGRDXCC.PRG
> Enter the following two lines
> GETPREFIXINFO(log.VIA,log.QSO_DATE)
> RETURN MAKE_TAG("MDXCC:",PREFIX.DXCC_PFX)
> Close the window and in the COMMANDS window enter
> COMPILE MGRDXCC.PRG
> 
> Then in the log form under LOG, SETUP, COPY from Prefix 
> table, add a new entry for USERFIELDS, MGRDXCC().
> 
> Now when you make an entry in the Log, complete the call 
> field and the VIA field for the manager.  After the VIA field 
> is complete, return to the CALL field and press TAB, the rest 
> of the log form is completed as per the COPY from Prefix 
> table.  Do this with the USERFIELDS log form open to see how 
> it all works.
> 
> When you have all that together, you can create a new custom 
> index in a report using the Index TAB and using an expression like 
> QSL Method / TAG_VAL("MDXCC:",USERFIELDS) /Call area (of 
> manager) / call / band / mode.
> 
> To try out this stuff on a copy of your LOGIC installation.  
> To do that, copy your whole LOGIC directory and sub 
> directories to a new directory on your hard drive.  Then, 
> make a shortcut, or double click on the LOGIC.EXE in
> that directory.   That way you won't break your "production" 
> system mucking
> about with things like this.  When it works, make the same 
> mods to your production system.
> 
> Hope it all helps.
> 
> Peter
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mel martin [mailto:ve2dc at videotron.ca] 
> Sent: Tuesday, 5 December 2006 9:26 PM
> To: 'Peter Wetzig'; dh at hosenose.com
> Subject: RE: [LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to reply in detail Peter...
> 
> However, it's not that complicated...
> 
> Reply to a few points...
> 
> English collating sequence is sufficient for QSLing...
> Other programs do a better job in this regard than Logic... 
> i.e. DX4Win...
> 
> The sort required for routing of cards via bureau or QSL 
> service is quite
> simple: QSL Method / DXCC (of manager) / Call area (of 
> manager) / call / band / mode... It's not perfect, but it's 
> almost correct and requires very little manual collating. 
> It's not really necessary to sort by manager for direct cards 
> but it doesn't hurt. In most cases it's not necessary to sort 
> by method as one would normally batch print cards by method.
> 
> The tricky part, and where I need Dennis' help, is to extract 
> DXCC of the manager...
> 
> I actually think this would be sufficlently useful that it 
> should be part of the program and shouldn't require "tricks" 
> or user programming. Compared to the work done to enable 
> custom QSL cards and such, this would be an almost trivial 
> undertaking.
> 
> Using a computer to print the cards then collating them by 
> hand just doeesn't make sense ;-)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Peter Wetzig [mailto:pwetzig at bigpond.com]
> > Sent: December 5, 2006 04:45
> > To: ve2dc at videotron.ca
> > Subject: RE: [LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...
> > 
> > 
> > Hi Mel,
> > 
> > You have several questions here.
> > 
> > Card order.
> > 
> > I am in the similar position as you ... back to amateur radio
> > after and extended absence and I need to process a few 
> > thousand QSL cards.
> > 
> > The short answer is that there is no "sort order" in Logic,
> > or any other software, that will sort the QSL output for your 
> > cards in the order you want.  The closest you can get is 
> > "DXCC" order, or "prefix" order, or "call" order, and each of 
> > those is a simple a standard "alphabetical" sequence.
> > 
> > The fundamental problem is that we want to print several
> > thousand cards at once, in two separate sort orders, by call 
> > and band, and this "special" QSL bureau order
> > 
> > After some analysis, I decided collation by hand of cards in
> > call order was simpler. My solution has been to limit the 
> > cards/labels printed to a subset of QSOs, say all the JAs or 
> > all for DXCC=W etc, using the filter in the report definition 
> > dialogue, ... enough cards to justify sending them away. That 
> > way, re-sequencing the cards a little is not too difficult.  
> > Doing one set a month fits between my family commitments 
> quite nicely.
> > 
> > Codes for QSL_Sent/Received.
> > 
> > You need to define a "user field".  See my notes from some
> > years ago on George K3GV'a web site - 
> > http://www.qsl.net/k3gv/logictipsandtricks.html on pages 34 
> > and following.  User fields and the details of using then 
> > have changed a bit since those days, so a read of the current 
> > Help files would be a good idea as well.  George's effort in 
> > collating material about Logic have given us all a good 
> > single source of information.
> > 
> > Remember, "blank" is also a value.  For example, ff the value
> > is blank it must have gone via the bureau, else if D, then it 
> > went direct.
> > 
> > 
> > The long answer concerns the "collating sequence" used by
> > software.  We humans call it "alphabetical" order ... but 
> > whose alphabet ... there are quite a few to choose from when 
> > all the languages around the world are considered.  The 
> > collating sequence defines the order of single characters in 
> > the alphabet, and all software includes these standard 
> > ordering capabilities.  What we need is an order based on 
> > seta of three or so characters, determined by a QSL bureau 
> > somewhere ... Canada wants one order, USA another, VK WIA 
> > another.  I know of no software that will do such a thing 
> > without specific prior design work to accomplish the order.  
> > Certainly Logic, straight out of the box, is not configured 
> > to accomplish the order we want.  I know of no other logging, 
> > or QSL printing software, that does this.
> > 
> > The need to have a different order for each QSL bureau or
> > service makes the problem almost intractable.  It makes "hand 
> > sorting" groups of cards printed in "call" order look like a 
> > simpler task.
> > 
> > I considered, and rejected, an idea of creating a copy of the
> > prefix table in Logic, and adding "sort" codes to the 
> > prefixes needing a special order, and using a program lookup 
> > of this code and including it as a "user field" in each QSO.
> > 
> > I considered, and also rejected, the idea of using the CSV
> > export facility in each report ... at the bottom left of the 
> > report dialogue. I put all my cards through a Canon iX4000 
> > printer, and print multiple QSOs per card, and multiple cards 
> > per sheet.  Hence I need one sequence for the QSOs, which is 
> > hard coded into the Logic "multiple QSO", QSL card reports, 
> > and another sequence to actually print the cards in the order 
> > for delivery to the QSL bureau.  I found that the Logic CSV 
> > report export produces a text file with a line for every QSO 
> > that was about to be printed in the report in the correct 
> > order for multiple QSOs.  That really doesn't help much as 
> > one would still need to process that file with a program that 
> > included the special orders for each QSL bureau.  Again, hand 
> > collation of groups of cards is a simpler option.
> > 
> > I added to the standard report design, and print on the backs
> > of all my cards.  I include some data for me, DXCC, PFX, 
> > sequence number etc, in small pint on the back of the card.  
> > That helps me in collating the cards by hand.
> > 
> > Peter VK4IU
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: logic-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> > [mailto:logic-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> > On Behalf Of mel martin
> > Sent: Sunday, 3 December 2006 10:58 PM
> > To: dh at hosenose.com; 'LOGic Reflector'
> > Subject: [LOGic] QSL Printing... Looking for ideas...
> > 
> > Finally decided to catch up on my bureau printing... (4 years
> > overdue so cards will in the thousands) And Logic seems to be 
> > missing some things one would need to do it efficiently...
> > 
> > 1. There has to be a way to indicate the QSL method. X,R,F
> > isn't sufficient. One would need at least the following... B 
> > - Bureau, D - Direct, S - QSL service. Perhaps a separate 
> > field that defaults as indicated in item 3.
> > 
> > 2. There needs to be a way to sort cards such that QSL
> > manager cards are in the correct sequence for managers... The 
> > card should be sorted depending on the Bureau of the manager. 
> > I'm not sure how to do this.
> > 
> > 3. If I accomplish item 1, I need a way to default to B if
> > there is an ARRL bureau and D if not.. I'm not sure how this 
> > can be done...
> > 
> > What I want to do is print Bureau cards sorted correctly for
> > the QSL bureau... Which is an issue for the USA because the 
> > call areas need to be together... Same in Canada... 
> > VE2,VA2,CF2 before VA3,VE3,CF3 and only print Bureau cards. 
> > Then print Direct cards by DXCC. And if one were using a QSL 
> > service, they also should be sorted appropriately.
> > 
> > Does any of this make sense? Can it be done with a user field
> > or does the program need changes? Ors is there a method I 
> > haven't discovered yet?
> > 
> > Thanks
> > Mel...
> > 
> > VE2DC
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > LOGic mailing list
> > LOGic at mailman.qth.net http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/logic
> > 
> 
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