In addition to the EZTYP/EZVUE print preview utility as described previously, under A-Shell/Windows there are several possibilities for previewing report files using third-party graphical tools.

The simplest approach, since it uses only components which come with Windows or with A-Shell, and which works well as long as your report file consists only of plain text, is to view it in a browser. You can create a pseudo-printer, which will wrap the report file with the necessary HTML codes for fixed-pitch display and launch the browser to display it, by setting up the following printer init file:

COMMAND=SBX:HTMLP

The HTMLP.SBX (and BASIC source) files are included in the [7,376] directory of the standard release. Just copy HTMLP.SBX to BAS: to use it. See Printer Configuration for further details on the COMMAND statement and on printer configuration in general.

Another approach, which works with any kind of report, including ones with embedded graphics and/or GDI directives, is to print to the well-known Acrobat PDF Writer from (Adobe.. It will create a PDF file from any Windows report, which you can then view with the free Acrobat Reader. This is a bit overkill just for a print preview, and involves the expense of purchasing the Acrobat PDF Writer, but if you already have it, this might make sense.

Yet another option is to obtain a printer driver that only creates a preview. One that we have tried that works well is the NED Image Printer from Northeast Data Corp. The free version displays a small nag message, but you can purchase a full license for a nominal amount. It works more quickly and directly than does Acrobat to give you a graphic view of what the printer output would look like, without having to create an intermediate file.