Re: 4D Forums no longer accessible -- too many redirects

2017-07-30 Thread Robert McKeever via 4D_Tech 
Tim:

Tried the steps. I got tangled up in the migration as I can not remember my 
very old password. Now what?

> On Jul 27, 2017, at 10:09 AM, Timothy Penner via 4D_Tech 
> <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Jeff,
> 
>> Is there a new way to access forums.4d.fr?
> 
> forums.4d.com is the new way.
> 
> Forums.4d.fr should automatically redirect to forums.4d.com, but maybe that 
> is the issue... can you try forums.4d.com instead of .fr ?
> 
> If the page loads then you should the following text at the top (unless you 
> are already logged in with the global login system):
> 
> 
> New! 4D forum is now using SSO, the same as other 4D websites (Taow, 
> livedoc,..). A user authenticated through one of the 4D portals will then 
> automatically be connected on forums.4D.com.
> 
> We strongly encourage existing forum users to use the "Sign in" link to start 
> their account migration.
> 
> Please note that the previous forum authentication will only be available 
> until September, 15th.
> 
> New forum users need to create a 4D account and use the “sign in” link on 
> forums.4D.com
> 
> 
> Here is a direct link to login page referenced in the banner, please try 
> using this to start the migration process:
> https://account.4d.com/4DACTION/webAccount_Login?country=US&returnURL=http://forums.4d.com/MyHome/EN/
> 
> What may help with the process is to -
> 1) sign out of both the forums and account.4d.com
> 2) while signed out, go to forums.4d.com and click the sign in link that 
> takes you here: 
> https://account.4d.com/4DACTION/webAccount_Login?country=US&returnURL=http://forums.4d.com/MyHome/EN/
> 3) Sign in with your normal 4D store account
> 4) you will redirected back to forums and be presented a migration page with 
> the option of linking to an existing forums account
> 5) if you have an existing 4D forums account, type in the login credentials 
> on the migration page to link the old forums account with the global login 
> system
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Tim PENNER
> 
> 
> 
> **
> 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
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_
Bob McKeever  http://www.mswl.com 
McKeever's Software Wizardry
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
bobmckee...@mac.com




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Re: Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Kirk Brooks via 4D_Tech 
Ken,
Post about what you decide to do.

BTW - I looked at a couple of the vendors I mentioned not sending PDFs -
they were generated by NetSuite. Just saying.

On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 4:10 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech <
4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:

> Hi Kirk,
>
> Yes, this helps immensely! Time to start prototyping.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ken
>
> On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 4:41 PM, Kirk Brooks via 4D_Tech <
> 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Ken,
> > I've got some experience with this sort of thing and have a number of
> > thoughts and suggestions - in no particular order.
> >
> > Before starting I'm assuming we can be certain all invoices to be
> processed
> > are already reviewed and OKed by a human somewhere.
> >
> > #1) the PDFs. Potential for huge headaches. We get invoices from several
> > vendors by email which are simply emails with the invoice data. There's
> no
> > rule that says "invoice" = PDF. You could render a very nice html
> document
> > for the invoice along with a perfectly serviceable text representation
> and
> > be done with it. The crucial parts are the customer/vendor, date, invoice
> > number, terms, and amount. Maybe the PO. If that's on a piece of paper
> it's
> > an invoice. The rest makes it look nice.
> >
> > If you don't do that use a scheme for producing PDFs that doesn't depend
> on
> > a print driver. Rule out MS PDF printer, PDFCreator et al. Spend the $$
> and
> > get Rob Laveaux's plugin or download the presentation from a couple of
> > years ago on making your own in native 4D (I did this) but you must have
> > something that runs in code without OS print resources.
> >
> > #2) dedicated email account. I really recommend your client have an
> account
> > only the database will use. Humans can check it but create a special one
> > for 4D.
> >
> > #3) I like having two tables for these operations: [Email_que] and
> > [Email_log]. You could use one table with a status flag too, this is my
> > personal pref. I build the emails into a record in the que. Once they are
> > all ready I loop through those records and send them. You can link these
> > back to the specific invoice to provide a good audit trail.
> >
> > If they send successfully I move that info to the log (I don't bother
> > saving things like the attachments but you may want to) and delete the
> > record. If it doesn't go I log the error in the Email_que and after some
> > number of attempts it falls out of the loop. Most common is a bad email
> > address but it can be other things.
> >
> > A real key I found is to really break the operation in its discrete
> parts.
> > So building the email record is totally complete before dealing with
> > sending. Building the invoice document is totally separate from anything
> > else. The email loop is only dealing with sending (or not) an email.
> Makes
> > life much easier.
> >
> > You mention doing batches and this fits right into that. You after the
> > sending loop you can report the errors or simply add them to the print
> que.
> >
> > You can get more sophisticated by having your app check the mail box. I
> > wouldn't worry with that right away but pretty soon it may be worthwhile.
> >
> > The other thing this will bring up is customers being able to pay on
> line.
> > If you all haven't looked at that yet this may start the conversation.
> >
> > Does this help?
> >
> > On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 1:07 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech <
> > 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
> >
> > > A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200
> > individual
> > > invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations,
> > or a
> > > direction in which to head would be most appreciated!
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Kirk Brooks
> > San Francisco, CA
> > ===
> >
> > *The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
> > nothing.*
> >
> > *- Edmund Burke*
> > **
> > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
> > FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
> > Archive:  http://lists.4d.com/archives.html
> > Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
> > Unsub:  mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com
> > **
> >
> **
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>



-- 
Kirk Brooks
San Francisco, CA
===

*The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing.*

*- Edmund Burke*
**
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Re: Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech 
Hi Kirk,

Yes, this helps immensely! Time to start prototyping.

Thanks,

Ken

On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 4:41 PM, Kirk Brooks via 4D_Tech <
4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:

> Hi Ken,
> I've got some experience with this sort of thing and have a number of
> thoughts and suggestions - in no particular order.
>
> Before starting I'm assuming we can be certain all invoices to be processed
> are already reviewed and OKed by a human somewhere.
>
> #1) the PDFs. Potential for huge headaches. We get invoices from several
> vendors by email which are simply emails with the invoice data. There's no
> rule that says "invoice" = PDF. You could render a very nice html document
> for the invoice along with a perfectly serviceable text representation and
> be done with it. The crucial parts are the customer/vendor, date, invoice
> number, terms, and amount. Maybe the PO. If that's on a piece of paper it's
> an invoice. The rest makes it look nice.
>
> If you don't do that use a scheme for producing PDFs that doesn't depend on
> a print driver. Rule out MS PDF printer, PDFCreator et al. Spend the $$ and
> get Rob Laveaux's plugin or download the presentation from a couple of
> years ago on making your own in native 4D (I did this) but you must have
> something that runs in code without OS print resources.
>
> #2) dedicated email account. I really recommend your client have an account
> only the database will use. Humans can check it but create a special one
> for 4D.
>
> #3) I like having two tables for these operations: [Email_que] and
> [Email_log]. You could use one table with a status flag too, this is my
> personal pref. I build the emails into a record in the que. Once they are
> all ready I loop through those records and send them. You can link these
> back to the specific invoice to provide a good audit trail.
>
> If they send successfully I move that info to the log (I don't bother
> saving things like the attachments but you may want to) and delete the
> record. If it doesn't go I log the error in the Email_que and after some
> number of attempts it falls out of the loop. Most common is a bad email
> address but it can be other things.
>
> A real key I found is to really break the operation in its discrete parts.
> So building the email record is totally complete before dealing with
> sending. Building the invoice document is totally separate from anything
> else. The email loop is only dealing with sending (or not) an email. Makes
> life much easier.
>
> You mention doing batches and this fits right into that. You after the
> sending loop you can report the errors or simply add them to the print que.
>
> You can get more sophisticated by having your app check the mail box. I
> wouldn't worry with that right away but pretty soon it may be worthwhile.
>
> The other thing this will bring up is customers being able to pay on line.
> If you all haven't looked at that yet this may start the conversation.
>
> Does this help?
>
> On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 1:07 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech <
> 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
>
> > A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200
> individual
> > invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations,
> or a
> > direction in which to head would be most appreciated!
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Kirk Brooks
> San Francisco, CA
> ===
>
> *The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
> nothing.*
>
> *- Edmund Burke*
> **
> 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
> FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
> Archive:  http://lists.4d.com/archives.html
> Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
> Unsub:  mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com
> **
>
**
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Re: Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech 
Robert,

Thanks much! This will help.

Ken

On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 4:23 PM, Robert McKeever via 4D_Tech <
4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:

> Ken:
>
> 1. Get a copy of PDFCreator 1.7.3 for Windows. if you can’t find one, let
> me know and I’ll send you a copy. I could also dig out code for assigning
> the printer to PDF Creator with file naming, etc.
>
> 2. You will probably have to run 2 ‘print’ passes, one for the batch PDF,
> the other for individual PDF’s or hard copy.
>
> 3. Have 4D email the individual PDF’s.
>
> > On Jul 30, 2017, at 1:07 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech <
> 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I have a very mature application for a high-precision welding operation.
> I
> > had written the original app back in 1984 using SMART (a DOS Database
> App).
> > I re-wrote this app in 4D at the beginning of 2015. The "conversion" went
> > smoothly and there are no known issues. It is presently on 4D v15 and I'm
> > presently migrating it to v16 R3. It is a small system (Windows Server
> 2012
> > R2, Windows 10 Pro workstations, 4-users).
> >
> > My customer has asked me to add some functionality. Presently, one of the
> > functions creates and prints a batch of Invoices. This function just
> prints
> > two-sets of Invoices - one-set is filed and one-set is snail-mailed. Many
> > of their customers want to receive the Invoices via email. In
> anticipation
> > of this, when I did the re-write I added two fields to the "customer"
> table
> > "email address" (text) and "email invoice" (boolean). While there are
> > trivial and highly manual ways to do this, they would like to automate
> > (completely, if possible) the process. In an ideal world, the function
> > would:
> >
> >   - Create a complete set of an Invoice Batch as PDF. This could be
> >   individual PDF documents for each invoice or one large PDF document
> >   containing all the invoices in the batch. This would be saved to the
> server
> >   and would be my customer's file-copy.
> >   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is
> true,
> >   create a PDF document of the Invoice and email it to the address in
> >   the "email address" field.
> >   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is
> >   false, create a physical printout to be snail-mailed.
> >
> >
> > A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200
> individual
> > invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations,
> or a
> > direction in which to head would be most appreciated!
> >
> > Ken Geiger
> > Dolores, CO
> > 4D Developer since 1991
> > **
> > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
> > FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
> > Archive:  http://lists.4d.com/archives.html
> > Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
> > Unsub:  mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com
> > **
>
> _
> Bob McKeever  http://www.mswl.com <
> http://www.mswl.com/>
> McKeever's Software Wizardry
> Port Coquitlam, B.C.
> bobmckee...@mac.com
>
>
>
>
> **
> 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
> FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
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> Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
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Re: Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Kirk Brooks via 4D_Tech 
Hi Ken,
I've got some experience with this sort of thing and have a number of
thoughts and suggestions - in no particular order.

Before starting I'm assuming we can be certain all invoices to be processed
are already reviewed and OKed by a human somewhere.

#1) the PDFs. Potential for huge headaches. We get invoices from several
vendors by email which are simply emails with the invoice data. There's no
rule that says "invoice" = PDF. You could render a very nice html document
for the invoice along with a perfectly serviceable text representation and
be done with it. The crucial parts are the customer/vendor, date, invoice
number, terms, and amount. Maybe the PO. If that's on a piece of paper it's
an invoice. The rest makes it look nice.

If you don't do that use a scheme for producing PDFs that doesn't depend on
a print driver. Rule out MS PDF printer, PDFCreator et al. Spend the $$ and
get Rob Laveaux's plugin or download the presentation from a couple of
years ago on making your own in native 4D (I did this) but you must have
something that runs in code without OS print resources.

#2) dedicated email account. I really recommend your client have an account
only the database will use. Humans can check it but create a special one
for 4D.

#3) I like having two tables for these operations: [Email_que] and
[Email_log]. You could use one table with a status flag too, this is my
personal pref. I build the emails into a record in the que. Once they are
all ready I loop through those records and send them. You can link these
back to the specific invoice to provide a good audit trail.

If they send successfully I move that info to the log (I don't bother
saving things like the attachments but you may want to) and delete the
record. If it doesn't go I log the error in the Email_que and after some
number of attempts it falls out of the loop. Most common is a bad email
address but it can be other things.

A real key I found is to really break the operation in its discrete parts.
So building the email record is totally complete before dealing with
sending. Building the invoice document is totally separate from anything
else. The email loop is only dealing with sending (or not) an email. Makes
life much easier.

You mention doing batches and this fits right into that. You after the
sending loop you can report the errors or simply add them to the print que.

You can get more sophisticated by having your app check the mail box. I
wouldn't worry with that right away but pretty soon it may be worthwhile.

The other thing this will bring up is customers being able to pay on line.
If you all haven't looked at that yet this may start the conversation.

Does this help?

On Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 1:07 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech <
4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:

> A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200 individual
> invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations, or a
> direction in which to head would be most appreciated!
>
>


-- 
Kirk Brooks
San Francisco, CA
===

*The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing.*

*- Edmund Burke*
**
4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
Archive:  http://lists.4d.com/archives.html
Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
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Re: Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Robert McKeever via 4D_Tech 
Ken:

1. Get a copy of PDFCreator 1.7.3 for Windows. if you can’t find one, let me 
know and I’ll send you a copy. I could also dig out code for assigning the 
printer to PDF Creator with file naming, etc.

2. You will probably have to run 2 ‘print’ passes, one for the batch PDF, the 
other for individual PDF’s or hard copy.

3. Have 4D email the individual PDF’s.

> On Jul 30, 2017, at 1:07 PM, Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech 
> <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> I have a very mature application for a high-precision welding operation. I
> had written the original app back in 1984 using SMART (a DOS Database App).
> I re-wrote this app in 4D at the beginning of 2015. The "conversion" went
> smoothly and there are no known issues. It is presently on 4D v15 and I'm
> presently migrating it to v16 R3. It is a small system (Windows Server 2012
> R2, Windows 10 Pro workstations, 4-users).
> 
> My customer has asked me to add some functionality. Presently, one of the
> functions creates and prints a batch of Invoices. This function just prints
> two-sets of Invoices - one-set is filed and one-set is snail-mailed. Many
> of their customers want to receive the Invoices via email. In anticipation
> of this, when I did the re-write I added two fields to the "customer" table
> "email address" (text) and "email invoice" (boolean). While there are
> trivial and highly manual ways to do this, they would like to automate
> (completely, if possible) the process. In an ideal world, the function
> would:
> 
>   - Create a complete set of an Invoice Batch as PDF. This could be
>   individual PDF documents for each invoice or one large PDF document
>   containing all the invoices in the batch. This would be saved to the server
>   and would be my customer's file-copy.
>   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is true,
>   create a PDF document of the Invoice and email it to the address in
>   the "email address" field.
>   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is
>   false, create a physical printout to be snail-mailed.
> 
> 
> A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200 individual
> invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations, or a
> direction in which to head would be most appreciated!
> 
> Ken Geiger
> Dolores, CO
> 4D Developer since 1991
> **
> 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG)
> FAQ:  http://lists.4d.com/faqnug.html
> Archive:  http://lists.4d.com/archives.html
> Options: http://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech
> Unsub:  mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com
> **

_
Bob McKeever  http://www.mswl.com 
McKeever's Software Wizardry
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
bobmckee...@mac.com




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Recommendations?

2017-07-30 Thread Kenneth Geiger via 4D_Tech 
Hi All,

I have a very mature application for a high-precision welding operation. I
had written the original app back in 1984 using SMART (a DOS Database App).
I re-wrote this app in 4D at the beginning of 2015. The "conversion" went
smoothly and there are no known issues. It is presently on 4D v15 and I'm
presently migrating it to v16 R3. It is a small system (Windows Server 2012
R2, Windows 10 Pro workstations, 4-users).

My customer has asked me to add some functionality. Presently, one of the
functions creates and prints a batch of Invoices. This function just prints
two-sets of Invoices - one-set is filed and one-set is snail-mailed. Many
of their customers want to receive the Invoices via email. In anticipation
of this, when I did the re-write I added two fields to the "customer" table
"email address" (text) and "email invoice" (boolean). While there are
trivial and highly manual ways to do this, they would like to automate
(completely, if possible) the process. In an ideal world, the function
would:

   - Create a complete set of an Invoice Batch as PDF. This could be
   individual PDF documents for each invoice or one large PDF document
   containing all the invoices in the batch. This would be saved to the server
   and would be my customer's file-copy.
   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is true,
   create a PDF document of the Invoice and email it to the address in
   the "email address" field.
   - For each Invoice where the bool field in the related customer is
   false, create a physical printout to be snail-mailed.


A typical batch of invoices (run monthly) is between 100 and 200 individual
invoices. Any recommended plugins and/or suggestions, recommendations, or a
direction in which to head would be most appreciated!

Ken Geiger
Dolores, CO
4D Developer since 1991
**
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