Classic VA FileMan API

Form Document Print Introduction (^DIWF)

The entry points in ^DIWF are designed to use the contents of a word processing field as a target document into which data can be inserted at print time. The data may come from another VA FileMan file (the "source" file) or be provided by the user interactively at the time the document is printed. A file (the "document" file or "target" file) containing a word processing type field is first selected and then an entry from that file. The word processing text in that entry is then used as a form with which to print output from any other file.

The word processing text used will typically include windows into which data from the source file automatically gets inserted by DIWF. Word processing windows are expressions framed by vertical bars (|). Thus, if a word processing document contains |NAME| somewhere within it, DIWF will try to pick the NAME field (if there is one) out of the source file. Any non-multiple field label or computed expression can be used within a |-window.

If:

1. an expression within the |-window cannot be evaluated, and
   
   
2. the output of DIWF is being sent to a different terminal than the one used to call up the output,

then the user will be asked to type in a value for the window, for each data entry printed. Thus, the word processing text used as a target document might include the window |SALUTATION|, where SALUTATION is not a valid field name in the source file. When DIWF encounters this window, and fails to find a SALUTATION field in the source file, it will ask the user to enter SALUTATION text which then immediately gets incorporated into the output in place of that window.

NOTE: If there is a possibility that the output will be queued, you must ensure that all windows can be evaluated, since in a queued or tasked job, there can be no user interaction.

Reviewed/Updated: March 8, 2007