Pagination with dynamically changing page length (dynamic page breaks?)

[Ed Jay]

I generate a DHTML page (a medical report) with dynamically generated text
based on user input (answers to questions). The page length changes
dynamically. I desire that when the page is printed and reaches a specific
length, it terminates printing that page, prints a page number, and then
begins to print the next page using the same header and format as the
previous page. The page uses no tables or paragraph elements, only CSS.
IOW, I can't count rows or <pelements as every pagination script I've
found does. In fact, every pagination script I've encountered is used only
for non-dynamic page lengths.

So, how do I dynamically set page breaks?

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods, or direction for me?
--
Ed Jay (remove 'M' to respond by email)

[Jack]

Ed Jay wrote:

I generate a DHTML page (a medical report) with dynamically generated text
based on user input (answers to questions). The page length changes
dynamically. I desire that when the page is printed and reaches a specific
length, it terminates printing that page, prints a page number, and then
begins to print the next page using the same header and format as the
previous page. The page uses no tables or paragraph elements, only CSS.
IOW, I can't count rows or <pelements as every pagination script I've
found does. In fact, every pagination script I've encountered is used only
for non-dynamic page lengths.

So, how do I dynamically set page breaks?

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods, or direction for me?

XSLT + XSL:FO?

--
Jack.
http://www.jackpot.uk.net/

[Ed Jay]

Jack scribed:

>Ed Jay wrote:

>I generate a DHTML page (a medical report) with dynamically generated text
based on user input (answers to questions). The page length changes
dynamically. I desire that when the page is printed and reaches a specific
length, it terminates printing that page, prints a page number, and then
begins to print the next page using the same header and format as the
previous page. The page uses no tables or paragraph elements, only CSS.
IOW, I can't count rows or <pelements as every pagination script I've
found does. In fact, every pagination script I've encountered is used only
for non-dynamic page lengths.

So, how do I dynamically set page breaks?

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods, or direction for me?

XSLT + XSL:FO?

Ummm...huh?

I'm very green at this stuff, so please bear with me and elucidate.
Thanks.
--
Ed Jay (remove 'M' to respond by email)

[Jack]

Ed Jay wrote:

Jack scribed:

>Ed Jay wrote:

>>I generate a DHTML page (a medical report) with dynamically
generated text based on user input (answers to questions). The
page length changes dynamically. I desire that when the page is
printed and reaches a specific length, it terminates printing
that page, prints a page number, and then begins to print the
next page using the same header and format as the previous page.
The page uses no tables or paragraph elements, only CSS. IOW, I
can't count rows or <pelements as every pagination script I've
found does. In fact, every pagination script I've encountered is
used only for non-dynamic page lengths.

So, how do I dynamically set page breaks?

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods, or direction for me?

XSLT + XSL:FO?

Ummm...huh?

I'm very green at this stuff, so please bear with me and elucidate.
Thanks.

XSLT is XSL Transformations: a language for transforming XML documents
into something else - usually another XML document with a different
structure, but sometimes the output is something else entirely.

XSL:FO is a derivative of XSLT designed for the purpose of formatting
XML documents for display or print. It can handle pagination quite well.
The "FO" stands for "Formatting Objects". XSL:FO can be used for
producing HTML or PDF out-of-the-box, and can produce other output
formats if a developer is willing to expend the necessary effort.

These two technologies together are referred to by W3C as "XSL", or XML
Stlylesheet Language. Both XSLT stylesheets andd XSL:FO stylesheets are
XML documents.

In both cases, the input documents have to be XML (unless you are bold
enough to step out with XSL V2.0, which is not yet quite a ratified
standard, but which can deal quite well with input documents that are
not XML). If your input documents aren't XML, then perhaps you can
convert them to XML easily; if you can't, and if XMLV2 isn't consistent
with your requirements, then the direction I'm pointing you in probably
isn't going to work for you.

It's not clear to me what "stuff" it is that you consider you are "green
at". XSLT and XSL:FO both involve quite a steep learning-curve for most
people, so perhaps the suggestions/pointers I gave were unsuitable for
you, if you are quite green in general. Googling those terms will
provide you with more information, and then you can judge for yourself
whether those technologies are ones that you can work with.
--
Jack.
http://www.jackpot.uk.net/

[Ed Jay]

Jack scribed:

>Ed Jay wrote:

>Jack scribed:

>>Ed Jay wrote:
I generate a DHTML page (a medical report) with dynamically
generated text based on user input (answers to questions). The
page length changes dynamically. I desire that when the page is
printed and reaches a specific length, it terminates printing
that page, prints a page number, and then begins to print the
next page using the same header and format as the previous page.
The page uses no tables or paragraph elements, only CSS. IOW, I
can't count rows or <pelements as every pagination script I've
found does. In fact, every pagination script I've encountered is
used only for non-dynamic page lengths.

So, how do I dynamically set page breaks?

Does anyone have any suggestions, methods, or direction for me?
XSLT + XSL:FO?

Ummm...huh?

I'm very green at this stuff, so please bear with me and elucidate.
Thanks.

XSLT is XSL Transformations: a language for transforming XML documents
into something else - usually another XML document with a different
structure, but sometimes the output is something else entirely.

XSL:FO is a derivative of XSLT designed for the purpose of formatting
XML documents for display or print. It can handle pagination quite well.
The "FO" stands for "Formatting Objects". XSL:FO can be used for
producing HTML or PDF out-of-the-box, and can produce other output
formats if a developer is willing to expend the necessary effort.

These two technologies together are referred to by W3C as "XSL", or XML
Stlylesheet Language. Both XSLT stylesheets andd XSL:FO stylesheets are
XML documents.

In both cases, the input documents have to be XML (unless you are bold
enough to step out with XSL V2.0, which is not yet quite a ratified
standard, but which can deal quite well with input documents that are
not XML). If your input documents aren't XML, then perhaps you can
convert them to XML easily; if you can't, and if XMLV2 isn't consistent
with your requirements, then the direction I'm pointing you in probably
isn't going to work for you.

It's not clear to me what "stuff" it is that you consider you are "green
at". XSLT and XSL:FO both involve quite a steep learning-curve for most
people, so perhaps the suggestions/pointers I gave were unsuitable for
you, if you are quite green in general. Googling those terms will
provide you with more information, and then you can judge for yourself
whether those technologies are ones that you can work with.

Thanks, Jack. I'm fairly green at CSS, in general.

Off to googling. Thanks, again.
--
Ed Jay (remove 'M' to respond by email)