AppleWorks: Printing Forms from the Database or Word Processor

Some Appleworks printing jobs have a page length less than 11 inches for continuous tractor-feed envelopes or mailing labels.

With data base documents, most users define the page length from the printer options menu in each "Print a report" format (OA-O) of the database document that contains the label text.
Follow these steps:

1. Choose the data base document you want to print.

2. Press OA-P, choose a label report format, and then press OA-O. You're now in the Printer Options Menu.

a. Type PL (Paper Length). Enter a value equal to the vertical length, in inches, of a single form. Many labels are 1.0, 1.5, or 3.5 inches high; Appleworks accepts all these values as paper lengths.

b. Set the options PH (Print Header) and OM (Omit Line) to NO by typing the two letter code until the option reads NO.

With word processor documents, however, there are a few additional parameterss you must control in order to produce acceptable results when printing continuous forms:

(1) automatic top and bottom margins
(2) form feeds.

Unless you take care to control these two parameters properly, the printer will usually produce documents that are either badly printed or altogether blank.

To avoid these problems, do the following:

1. Choose the word processor document you want to print.

2. Press the OA-O. This gets you to the Printer Options Menu.

a. Type PL (Paper Length). Type a single form's vertical length in inches. Many labels are 1.0, 1.5, or 3.5 inches high; Appleworks accepts these values as page lengths.

b. Make sure the Top and Bottom Margins are zero.

3. From the main menu, select item number 5, "Other Activities". This selection will display a menu with 7 items.

4. Select item number 7, "Specify information about your printer(s)". This displays a menu entitled "Printer Information".

5. Under the heading "Change printer specifications" you will find one or two printer names. Select the name of the printer you want to use.

6. Change item number 2 ("Accepts top-of-page commands") to NO.

AppleWorks will now print using the page length you defined in the printer options menu.
Published Date: Feb 18, 2012