PDF Print Merging
Breeders Assistant can 'print merge' data from your database with any external PDF document, printing the merged result in a single step.
Perhaps the main use of this is BA's printing of show entry and registration forms. Because we can print-merge using an external PDF docuent, this can be done using genuine PDF forms from the various registries. The result - you can get an authentic form printed - but you don't have to manually fill it in.
How does BA know where to place the data on the forms? By configuring the layout of the various boxes, checkmarks etc. into BA. We supply BA complete with the knowledge of the layout of many standard forms. And in many cases we include the PDF forms themselves with the product - many thanks to those registries and organizations that have given us permission to do so.
But the really neat thing is - you're not restricted to using forms for which we have pre-setup the layout. You can customize BA to print onto most PDF forms - placing more or less any field you want from the database at any place you want on the form. E.g. if you're using BA to run a breed club's records, and the club has its own forms available as PDF's, then you can get BA to 'print merge' them with data in the club's BA database.
Many forms include a mixture of fields that map cleanly onto fields in the BA database - name, address etc. - but others do not e.g. credit card details. Such fields can either be left blank, OR you can customize BA to ask you at print time what is to be put in those fields. And this is completely configurable - so the merged output can be a combination of both data taken from database fields & data you've entered when prompted at print time.
This is an extraordinarily powerful feature for anyone who needs to produce custom forms with automated merge-printing.
