For Sale
Arg…I feel like I just sold my soul or something. For those of you who care, I finally hopped on the bandwagon and joined TheFaceBook. Yes, let the online stalking begin…
And while I’m on the subject of soul selling, I need some help with the following: I have a Crystal Report that needs to be emailed or faxed on a daily basis. Now if the report needs to be emailed, I need to first convert it to an Adobe Acrobat file and then email it. I’ve got the faxing and email part all programmed out. But I’m beating my head against the wall trying to figure out how to convert the report to PDF using Visual Basic. As always, there are a few ways to do it programically and none of them are simple. Just about all of the ways work, they just require some sort of user intervention. Blasted users…blasted code…blasted Adobe…
And to top it all off…Adobe has a nice little package called a SDK that tells you how do all of this. Sounds great right? Yeah, until Arch Nemesis #3 strikes. In order to download that little jewel, you need to join their developer network for a small fee of $199 (basic membership) or $999 (premium membership). I think that’s called extortion. Needless to say, I’ve been working on this for about 12 hours and I’m just spinning my tires in the mud. So I’m going to work on this for a few more before I throw in the towel to Adobe and cry like a little girl. Thankfully this is work related so I don’t have to foot the bill. I should have also mentioned that this project was assigned to me yesterday and it has to be completed by Jan 3…which is our New Year’s holiday.
I love my job.
So if anyone out there knows how to do any of that, please let me know. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope…
*** Update ***
Just to see what my options were, I checked out the Adobe deal. Ummm…yeah…you have to submit an application and it takes 3-5 days to process it. Then they’ll let you know if you are worthy. That means you have to grovel before they even consider taking your money. Scratch that option. Looks like its going to be done the hard way.
*** End ***
*** Update v2***
Wow, talk about an interesting turn of events. After mucho internet searching, it actually turns out that Crystal Reports has a built-in export to PDF function. The mind boggling thing is that its not mentioned in any of the manuals (printed or online) or on the list of export options within the program. It can only be used from Visual Basic and only documented in the dark annals of online tech support. Those sneaky rat monkeys! At any rate, a funny rate at that, the whole process only ended up being five lines of code. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. Maybe a little of both…
For you non-computer literate peoples, the solution was this: Blah blah blah, blah blah, Blah blah blah blah blah blah.
*** End v2***
How it Works: The Computer. Two books from 1971 and 1979.
Shave your feet.
The Guide to Shooting Rubberbands.
404-Baby Not Found
- Posted by Joshua at 09:52 am
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I'm currently living in Tallahassee, FL where I am a senior in the Computer Science program at FSU and a C# web developer for a local software company.
Well, I’ll be! You have finally sold out and joined the rest of us on thefacebook. Way to go. You held out longer than I did.
As for those spinning tires, hopefully someone will come along with a virtual tractor to pull you out of the ceptic tank that is your project. Gosh that sounds familiar.
I have to offer is to wish you good luck, since I have absolutely no technical skills. So, Good Luck!
Ok. Fine. I’ll conform and sign up too. thefacebook.
Also, after watching you stare at code and start giggling last night, I’m glad that you figured it out. I was beginning to worry about you. Last night was two nights in a row that you ended up staring at computer code. I can’t let you do that again, at least not this week.
I calculated something out for you. If you worked 12 hour on your little VB PDF thing, and you hypothetically make $15 and hour, your cost was approximately $180. For a mere $19 more, you could have joined the developer network, giving you yet another group to add to The FaceBook, additional privileges from being a member, and probably a cool card and name tag. Plus your head probably wouldn’t be pounding so hard. Then again, what would you have posted on your website today?
Remember:
Programmers, being human, are liable to make mistakes. Computers, being machines, occasionally develop some fault or other. Either way, the final result is not of much use. (p.48, “How it works…The Computer†1971 and 1979 editions).
I refuse to conform…mainly because the schools that i’ve been to aren’t supported on thefacebook so therefore confirming why i should not conform. noncomformists rawk!!!
You may find it interesting to check some relevant pages about debt consolidation
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You may find it interesting to check some relevant pages about debt consolidation
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