IMPLEMENTED - Print to PDF and default printer in one step

[pault]

It would be nice to choose more printer outputs in Clarity Integration window during printing. For example if I want print out chromatogram on my default laser printer and also print chromatogram to the PDF I have to do in two steps. I have seen this in other software options/settings for printing to print simultaneously to printer, XLS, screen, etc. It can save time.

Internal issue tracking ID: 35220

[Daniel Mentlik]

Dear Tomas,
the feature is, in some respects, already present in Clarity. The behavior can be accomplished from:
- several checkboxes available in the PostRun Setting dialog (available through the Setting - Postrun command from the Instrument window) allow to perform the desired actions after the Single Analysis has ended
- the same functionality can be achieved when measuring from the Sequence, using the appropriate columns in the Sequence table. Some of these columns are hidden by default, but can be viewed by using the Setup Columns command from the context menu of the Sequence table.

Both of these actions are done automatically and are not probably what you need as the chromatograms has to be inspected before they are printed, but there is one other option, in the Batch dialog. After the chromatogram is inspected and saved (and maybe after this is done for all chromatograms from the same sequence), you may open the Batch dialog (using the Analysis - Batch command), select the whole sequence or only the selected chromatograms and perform the actions you want to be made with them.

Adding the desired function (e.g. "Print chromatogram to pdf and to local printer") would most probably help you, but we do not have other option in the Chromatogram window than to put this command to the menu and, after a short while, I'm quite sure that someone else would need a "Print chromatogram to pdf and export it as an excel sheet" command, and then another... and as the combinations are quite plenty, I do not believe this is the way to take. On the other hand, outside of the Chromatogram window, this functionality is already prepared.

Would the Batch operation help you in your goal? Or are you already using it and search for another solution?

[pault]

Dear Daniel,
thanks for you reply. Postrun command is not usable for me, as you wrote due to inspection and manual integration of each sample. Batch of all samples in the sequence is better solution and it works well. But there is two reasons why I don't want to use batch of all sequence. The first is, that I have long sequences (50-100 samples) usually saved one sequence file per each day. And if I evaluate first half of samples in sequence I need PDF files to report. Then I evaluate second half of samples in sequence and I need other PDF reports. Then I need to reprocess all samples in the sequence with batch command again. After this I have some dilutions of samples in the same saquence - batch again. It is quite time consuming to reprocess all samples in the sequence. And it is also time consuming with another way - selecting each new samples in the batch dialog to make PDF. The second reason is that I use another file name format for measured samples and another file name for evaluated and inspected samples. Batch sequence command is processing origin uninspected files.

My idea was use easy and universal printing dialog, where you can select outputs whatever you want like: printer, PDF, XLS, TXT, etc. Easy selection could be done by checkboxes. These user options could be stored (saved) in method file for next use of print dialog or in another file. Please, see attached picture with edited dialog.

[Daniel Mentlik]

Dear Tomas,
I understand your needs, but I still think it will be faster to use the Batch dialog. You see, when you would like to print those 50 sample reports from the chromatogram window after the inspection, you have to manually invoke the Print command fifty times. On the other hand, Using the Batch dialog, you may open it once (after the evaluation and inspection of the files is finished), select only the files you want to inspect (only chromatograms, not the whole sequence) and print the reports in one go. This way, the renamed files will be used for the print, not the original ones - no need to reprocess the whole sequence. The setting of the Batch dialog should look similar to this:

Then the reports would behave similar to the ones in the chromatogram window, the files will be closed after each single chromatogram printing if the Overlay is switched off in the Chromatogram window, or the summary report will be done if it is not.

I understand how you would like the Print dialog to look like, but unfortunately, it has two obstacles to make it look so.
The first one is, which set of checkboxes you would like it to contain? I am certain that your set of checkboxes would be unique to any other user's set, and there is definitely not enough space to have them all in the dialog.
The other reason is more severe - the dialog for printing is not created by Clarity, but is rather Windows-based. Modifying it will not be that simple as to add a checkbox or two to Clarity... so, after all, I do not think we will want to implement it. The suggestion was discussed, but not supported much.

[pault]

Dear Daniel. I respect your suggested ways for printing PDF and I understand the obstacles with creating universal printing dialog. I will be little bit more playing with great Clarity functionalities. I did not mentioned in my last post, that I adjust Y-axis range before I send the chromatogram to the printer. That is important for our clients to have well focused all chromatograms. I guess that axes range is not saved with chromatogram. Is it right? If I use batch printing to PDF, all chromatogram axes will be adjusted as in chromatogram window. Scaling to largest peak or 2nd, 3rd maximum peak doesn't work as I need. That is another reason why I cannot use batch PDF report printing.

Thank you concerning my questions.
Best Regard, Tomas

[Ivan Vins]

Will be a new command/icon Perform Postrun in Chromatogram Window acceptable as a solution? It will perform the actions set in the Settings/Postrun... (with exeption of Open Chromatogram and Open Calibration). Alternatively the settings could be stored for the Chromatogram window separately - using the command will invoke the dialog, using the icon will perform the actions directly.

[Zdenek Telicka]

In the Chromatogram window you can use the File - Perform PostRun menu command in which you can print the results both to a printer and PDF. Function is available from Clarity 4.0