[reportlab-users] simultaneous output of pdf and bmp possible ?

[Andy Robinson]

>> Can you explain what you mean by 'forms'?
> I expected that question. A form in German medical institutions is a 
> preprinted piece of paper with a fixed layout printed on it. One needs to use 
> these and print on them.

Just like British banks and hospitals.  Presumably many exist already so 
you want to 'trace over them' and 'fill them in' later.

> a) tell reportlab to output text and store it in some pdf. send it to the 
> printer via python system calls - works but is not very elegant
> pros: cross platform, pdf for storage in database
> cons : no user feedback (no pdf viewing apart short of callling acrobat ) , no 
> use of the printing frameworks (chose printer etc...)
If you are GPL (are you?), XPDF can give you a good viewer.


> Almost but we don't use webforms as of now but rather collect data from the 
> database plus some user input via wxpython. As a top notch solution the form 
> should be displayed on screen with some sort of interactive overlay. But for 
> the time being we might as well design gui dialogs to gather the user's input

> I totally understand that you need a buisness model. I chose to go open source 
> because I am a doctor. So I don't have to eran money with GNUmed. Lucky me.

> one possible solution but involves lots of system calls to acroread and kind 
> of feels wrong. In my environment speed is essential. It's not like we have a 
> day to create business reports. You wnat your prescription now (printed that 
> is)

Yes, I agree.  In the forms solution we have done, we have a separate 
model for keeping the 'questionnaire' - the schema for the information 
we wish to gather.  An engine processes that to render a multistep web 
wizard, which broadly corresponds to the paper form but may have more 
help, less small print, and other differences.  Other layout templates 
can take the result of that and make a PDF.  But there is not always a 
1-1 correspondence between 'business process' and 'form'; many 
questionnaires can result in a pack of documents.  So I think a custom 
GUI (or web interface) is a very good way to go.

If you'd like a guided tour of our webeforms framework I can send you 
some links privately.


>>> of.
>> That's "ReportLab 3000" which pretty much exists in my head and I dare
>> not give you a target date.  Well, maybe 2008!
> That close ! That sound like a release well before GNUmed !
OK, we can probably help then ;-)

- Andy