printing format issue in this unknown name C64 database

[newTIboyRob]

So in my quest to find at least 1 decent and complete database program that is both SD2IEC friendly and has the features I was looking for, I came the closest thus far (and I am coming towards the end of my journey out of utter frustration) with the one I will mention here. I can't recall its origins or history as I had renamed the disk image, but I do remember at the time that there was no manual or literature for it. So, Rob, you iz on yer own. Yikes. Luckily, it was pretty intuitive, except for this crazy print format screen and concept I am hoping someone can explain here.

 

I started with 2 simple records with the re-occurring field titles on the left. When it first asks, you can set the field length from 1-60, (I chose 40 to allow more records), and L or R justify (no C). I found L better than R, which is a disaster.

 

ARTIST: PINK FLOYD

 

ALBUM: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

 

LOC: SEC P, ROW 1

 

COMM: 1973 CLASSIC

 

and then entered PINK FLOYD THE WALL, SEC P, ROW 2, 1979 MASTERPIECE respectively for the field data after those re-occurring field titles.

If you go to the (E) dit screen for a single record and select (P) rint, it allows you first to check the print format as shown in the first picture. That photo basically makes sense to me, as I interpret it saying that it's printing all the fields in their entirety from left to right. Indeed I had success with the print to paper of the first record just as 1 left justified block printing of all 4 fields just as appears in the record, titles and all, albeit double spaced. (Would have liked single or the option for either.) But this is for each individual record printing.

 

Now what if you wanted to print the whole file, all its records, in one shot?  Pretty common thing.  I was able to get both records to print out, but not what I was looking for with it. So here's where it got confusing to me....

Selecting (P)rint from the main menu first shows you the bizarre-to-me default print format page in the photo below. By pressing C and then pressing return, I found it was assigning an unchangeable line length of 163 for the 4 fields (but a later changeable LINES/PAGE), and with the default printout set to COLUMNS (not lines) of 1,42,83,124 respectively.  As you can imagine, the printout of the default had turned out wacky. 

 

 

 

I thought, ok, I will change those COLUMN defaults above now to 1,41,81,121 thinking at least it would match the format in the first photo. (Again, I couldn't change line Length, but notice the field lengths of 40.) But when it printed with those new values, I got:

 

PINK FLOYD                                                                DARK SIDE OF THE MOON  (the D in DARK at 41) 

SEC P, ROW 1                                                              1973 CLASSIC

PINK FLOYD                                                                 THE WALL

SEC P, ROW 2                                                               1979 MASTERPIECE

 

 

one giant snake wrapping around, and notice how those changes to 1,41,81,121 wrapped around and printed what is field 3's data directly underneath field 1 ... how can I get field 2's data to be directly under field 1?  Unfortunately (at least to me) and also intriguing is that this global record printing also removed the field titles when it dumps. I would have liked those in there. As you probably guess, what I was looking for was a straight dump of the file's entire 2 records shooting down the left side of the screen in succession, just as it appears in the beginning of this thread and just as had occurred with/from the individual record page print, which kept the titles in.

 

Does anyone know what's going on here with this print format page and what lotto numbers we need to plug in to achieve what I am looking for output-wise above, or do we conclude that this program perhaps just can't print the field titles and multiple records globally like I am looking for with it? (Would be surprising and 2 major shortcomings of an otherwise decent program in my opinion if that is the case.)

 

But if you understand something here that I don't format/number-wise and can offer some number changes for the above, maybe it can print straight down the page on the left side for those 2 blocks of records instead of the snake wrap around continuance printing after all. Worst case scenario if we can't solve this riddle after a little play is that I print each record individually from the edit page... but just not as good especially if the file was of considerable length, as I'd have to bring each record up, print, bring up the next, print etc instead of 1 P press for the global output.

 

Edited August 31 by newTIboyRob