textarea fields --> export to ms word --> word is stretch

[Steve]

"Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com> wrote in message
| Hi,
|
| I have fields from textareas.
|
| With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by using
| header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.
|
| But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.
|
| the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS word all
| the way
|
| how to over come that?
|
| I've tried different wrap attributes.

hard to say without looking at the code you're using.

are you on a windows server? are you creating a com ms word doc object and
putting the text in that way? or, are you creating a standard text file and
calling it word (i.e. someDoc.doc or setting the header for the browser as
an ms word doc)?

if on windows, i'd go the com route and remove any soft-returns that may be
in the text. then, i'd use word's om to format the boundries, color, font,
etc. of the text as it should appear in word. what is word's om? the easiest
way to get what you need is to open word, record a macro, type and format
some text the way you want it to look as if it were really your output, stop
recording your macro. from there, just edit the macro. you will see the
source code and see all the methods/properties you will need to know and
work with. problem solved.

if not on windows, i'd get a good conversion tool, and even think about
using xml/xslt as an abstraction layer. that combination will allow you not
only to convert to word but to pdf and others as well.

anyway, hth.

 

[Toby A Inkster]

With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by using
header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.

The PHP header() function does no such thing -- it simply sends an HTTP
header. You might be able to use an HTTP header to convince a browser to
open a plain text file in Word, but the file is not really a Word file.

Similarly, I'd guess you could use the same trick to send an HTML file to
Word instead of sending a plain text file. So just add a few HTML tags
into your output and Word's heuristics ought to auto-detect that it's
HTML, and do line wrapping.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me ~ http://tobyinkster.co.uk/contact
Geek of ~ HTML/SQL/Perl/PHP/Python*/Apache/Linux

* = I'm getting there!

 

[shimmyshack]

"Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com> wrote in message
| Hi,
|
| I have fields from textareas.
|
| With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by using
| header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.
|
| But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.
|
| the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS word
all
| the way
|
| how to over come that?
|
| I've tried different wrap attributes.

hard to say without looking at the code you're using.

are you on a windows server? are you creating a com ms word doc object and
putting the text in that way? or, are you creating a standard text file
and
calling it word (i.e. someDoc.doc or setting the header for the browser as
an ms word doc)?

if on windows, i'd go the com route and remove any soft-returns that may
be
in the text. then, i'd use word's om to format the boundries, color, font,
etc. of the text as it should appear in word. what is word's om? the
easiest
way to get what you need is to open word, record a macro, type and format
some text the way you want it to look as if it were really your output,
stop
recording your macro. from there, just edit the macro. you will see the
source code and see all the methods/properties you will need to know and
work with. problem solved.

if not on windows, i'd get a good conversion tool, and even think about
using xml/xslt as an abstraction layer. that combination will allow you
not
only to convert to word but to pdf and others as well.

anyway, hth.

Thanks Steve.

Let me explain further:

I have a form which has textareas and allows user inputs which saves to
mysql database.

The administrator is able to view these textarea inputs by clicking a
button. This button will pull out these information and generate a word
document.

Problem is that when word documents are generated, the text in these word
documents are stretchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh till the very extreme
right end.

These texts in the word doc are the data that is keyed in by end users via
the textarea.

It seems that the generated word doc is not able to capture the linebreaks
within the textarea.

Pls advise.

Thanks


----------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------
color]

you can simply exchange the \n style line breaks from the textarea to
\r style line breaks or \r\n style.

However to immediately create word docs with absolutely minimal
memory, and no need to start up a COM instance of word, just create a
word doc and style it as you wish the admin to see, then put some text
in the place where the textarea text will be. Put something easy to
spot like ************_______********
then save as RTF, open in text edito and swap the
************______******** for {$TEXT}
then start the whole page off using
<?php $rtf = <<<RTF
and end it with
RTF;

this then you save as rtfdoc.php
and now you just take the textarea as $TEXT and set the header content
type msword, and include rtfdoc.php and echo it
if you serve the stream gzipped it will come out much smaller than an
actual word doc.
the whole thing works immediately and of course is rendered in word
just the same as a doc.
It works on linux server too, and can be opened in all version of
word, openoffice wordpad whatever.

just a thought for the future

 

[Steve]

| On 3 Mar, 16:25, "Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com>
| wrote:
| >
| > | >
| >
| >
| >
| >
| > > "Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com> wrote in message
| > >| > > | Hi,
| > > |
| > > | I have fields from textareas.
| > > |
| > > | With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by
using
| > > | header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.
| > > |
| > > | But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.
| > > |
| > > | the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS
word
| > > all
| > > | the way
| > > |
| > > | how to over come that?
| > > |
| > > | I've tried different wrap attributes.
| >
| > > hard to say without looking at the code you're using.
| >
| > > are you on a windows server? are you creating a com ms word doc object
and
| > > putting the text in that way? or, are you creating a standard text
file
| > > and
| > > calling it word (i.e. someDoc.doc or setting the header for the
browser as
| > > an ms word doc)?
| >
| > > if on windows, i'd go the com route and remove any soft-returns that
may
| > > be
| > > in the text. then, i'd use word's om to format the boundries, color,
font,
| > > etc. of the text as it should appear in word. what is word's om? the
| > > easiest
| > > way to get what you need is to open word, record a macro, type and
format
| > > some text the way you want it to look as if it were really your
output,
| > > stop
| > > recording your macro. from there, just edit the macro. you will see
the
| > > source code and see all the methods/properties you will need to know
and
| > > work with. problem solved.
| >
| > > if not on windows, i'd get a good conversion tool, and even think
about
| > > using xml/xslt as an abstraction layer. that combination will allow
you
| > > not
| > > only to convert to word but to pdf and others as well.
| >
| > > anyway, hth.
| >
| > Thanks Steve.
| >
| > Let me explain further:
| >
| > I have a form which has textareas and allows user inputs which saves to
| > mysql database.
| >
| > The administrator is able to view these textarea inputs by clicking a
| > button. This button will pull out these information and generate a word
| > document.
| >
| > Problem is that when word documents are generated, the text in these
word
| > documents are stretchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh till the very extreme
| > right end.
| >
| > These texts in the word doc are the data that is keyed in by end users
via
| > the textarea.
| >
| > It seems that the generated word doc is not able to capture the
linebreaks
| > within the textarea.
| >
| > Pls advise.
| >
| > Thanks
| >
| >
| > ----------------------------------------------------------
| >
| > ----------------------------------------------------------
| > http://www.usenet.com
|
| you can simply exchange the \n style line breaks from the textarea to
| \r style line breaks or \r\n style.
|
| However to immediately create word docs with absolutely minimal
| memory, and no need to start up a COM instance of word, just create a
| word doc and style it as you wish the admin to see, then put some text
| in the place where the textarea text will be. Put something easy to
| spot like ************_______********
| then save as RTF, open in text edito and swap the
| ************______******** for {$TEXT}
| then start the whole page off using
| <?php $rtf = <<<RTF
| and end it with
| RTF;
|
| this then you save as rtfdoc.php
| and now you just take the textarea as $TEXT and set the header content
| type msword, and include rtfdoc.php and echo it
| if you serve the stream gzipped it will come out much smaller than an
| actual word doc.
| the whole thing works immediately and of course is rendered in word
| just the same as a doc.
| It works on linux server too, and can be opened in all version of
| word, openoffice wordpad whatever.
|
| just a thought for the future


that's a great thought...i suppose a replace is much easier to do and not
platform dependent.

 

[shimmyshack]

| On 3 Mar, 16:25, "Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com>| wrote:

| >
| >| >
| >
| >
| >
| >
| > > "Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com> wrote in message
| > >| > > | Hi,
| > > |
| > > | I have fields from textareas.
| > > |
| > > | With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by
using
| > > | header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.
| > > |
| > > | But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.
| > > |
| > > | the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS
word
| > > all
| > > | the way
| > > |
| > > | how to over come that?
| > > |
| > > | I've tried different wrap attributes.
| >
| > > hard to say without looking at the code you're using.
| >
| > > are you on a windows server? are you creating a com ms word doc object
and
| > > putting the text in that way? or, are you creating a standard text
file
| > > and
| > > calling it word (i.e. someDoc.doc or setting the header for the
browser as
| > > an ms word doc)?
| >
| > > if on windows, i'd go the com route and remove any soft-returns that
may
| > > be
| > > in the text. then, i'd use word's om to format the boundries, color,
font,
| > > etc. of the text as it should appear in word. what is word's om? the
| > > easiest
| > > way to get what you need is to open word, record a macro, type and
format
| > > some text the way you want it to look as if it were really your
output,
| > > stop
| > > recording your macro. from there, just edit the macro. you will see
the
| > > source code and see all the methods/properties you will need to know
and
| > > work with. problem solved.
| >
| > > if not on windows, i'd get a good conversion tool, and even think
about
| > > using xml/xslt as an abstraction layer. that combination will allow
you
| > > not
| > > only to convert to word but to pdf and others as well.
| >
| > > anyway, hth.
| >
| > Thanks Steve.
| >
| > Let me explain further:
| >
| > I have a form which has textareas and allows user inputs which saves to
| > mysql database.
| >
| > The administrator is able to view these textarea inputs by clicking a
| > button. This button will pull out these information and generate a word
| > document.
| >
| > Problem is that when word documents are generated, the text in these
word
| > documents are stretchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh till the very extreme
| > right end.
| >
| > These texts in the word doc are the data that is keyed in by end users
via
| > the textarea.
| >
| > It seems that the generated word doc is not able to capture the
linebreaks
| > within the textarea.
| >
| > Pls advise.
| >
| > Thanks
| >
| >
| > ----------------------------------------------------------
| >
| > ----------------------------------------------------------
| > http://www.usenet.com
|
| you can simply exchange the \n style line breaks from the textarea to
| \r style line breaks or \r\n style.
|
| However to immediately create word docs with absolutely minimal
| memory, and no need to start up a COM instance of word, just create a
| word doc and style it as you wish the admin to see, then put some text
| in the place where the textarea text will be. Put something easy to
| spot like ************_______********
| then save as RTF, open in text edito and swap the
| ************______******** for {$TEXT}
| then start the whole page off using
| <?php $rtf = <<<RTF
| and end it with
| RTF;
|
| this then you save as rtfdoc.php
| and now you just take the textarea as $TEXT and set the header content
| type msword, and include rtfdoc.php and echo it
| if you serve the stream gzipped it will come out much smaller than an
| actual word doc.
| the whole thing works immediately and of course is rendered in word
| just the same as a doc.
| It works on linux server too, and can be opened in all version of
| word, openoffice wordpad whatever.
|
| just a thought for the future

that's a great thought...i suppose a replace is much easier to do and not
platform dependent.

yes, you can make really show stopping docs this way in 0.1secs! The
only thing that complicates this method is when you have a multipage
document, or start inserting hyperlinks - you have to know or be
prepared to stare at the raw RTF source for a bit to work out where
the page break is and what commands can be used to insert that link
(but RTF is an open format after M$ released it), looping round adding
content finishing off with "continued..." if it isn't quite the end of
the doc.
The real show stopper is embedded images, this is where using the
binary word format wins because the included image can be binary too,
in an RTF the image has to be base64 encoded which makes the byte
count for the image much bigger of course - rather annoying, gzipping
helps but it doesn't quite work, particularly for 1MB images - forget
that!
For those interested this method is the same for open office
documents, just make your OO doc, unzip the files to a directory, and
use the contents.xml as the strings you will replace an array of
output text into, then zip the whole thing up on the fly and serve as
an sxw, again it is super quick and platform independent.
I feel like I am advocating the use of a upsidedown underwater pencil,
but if you find yourself on unix with no access to office with a
server license...

 

[Eric Layman]

Hi,

I have fields from textareas.

With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by using
header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.

But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.

the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS word all
the way

how to over come that?

I've tried different wrap attributes.

 

[Eric Layman]

"Eric Layman" <namyalcire[at no spam]gmail.com> wrote in message
| Hi,
|
| I have fields from textareas.
|
| With a click of a button, php is able to grab these fields and by using
| header(), convert the output to Ms Word doc.
|
| But the outcome of the word doc doesn't wrap the text in textarea.
|
| the result is one very veyr long string of text which stretch MS word
all
| the way
|
| how to over come that?
|
| I've tried different wrap attributes.

hard to say without looking at the code you're using.

are you on a windows server? are you creating a com ms word doc object and
putting the text in that way? or, are you creating a standard text file
and
calling it word (i.e. someDoc.doc or setting the header for the browser as
an ms word doc)?

if on windows, i'd go the com route and remove any soft-returns that may
be
in the text. then, i'd use word's om to format the boundries, color, font,
etc. of the text as it should appear in word. what is word's om? the
easiest
way to get what you need is to open word, record a macro, type and format
some text the way you want it to look as if it were really your output,
stop
recording your macro. from there, just edit the macro. you will see the
source code and see all the methods/properties you will need to know and
work with. problem solved.

if not on windows, i'd get a good conversion tool, and even think about
using xml/xslt as an abstraction layer. that combination will allow you
not
only to convert to word but to pdf and others as well.

anyway, hth.

Thanks Steve.

Let me explain further:

I have a form which has textareas and allows user inputs which saves to
mysql database.

The administrator is able to view these textarea inputs by clicking a
button. This button will pull out these information and generate a word
document.

Problem is that when word documents are generated, the text in these word
documents are stretchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh till the very extreme
right end.

These texts in the word doc are the data that is keyed in by end users via
the textarea.

It seems that the generated word doc is not able to capture the linebreaks
within the textarea.

Pls advise.

Thanks