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Technical FAQ


Some of the topics covered below are applicable to more than one TPL product. We have put the product name(s) to which the discussion applies in parentheses at the beginning of each topic. 

Bullet I would like to remove the vertical lines between table columns, from just below the horizontal line at the top of the heading to just above the rule at the bottom of the table. In the horizontal rules within the heading, I sometimes want to have a space between categories. Other times, I want solid lines. Can I do all of these things?
Bullet How can I replace the values in some table cells with a character string that is right-aligned in the cells?
Bullet Can I control the order of display for both footnotes and notes using a FOOTNOTE SEQUENCE statement?
Bullet Why are some of my format statements being applied to the wrong tables?
Bullet Can I reduce the font size for the data values in a single table of a multi-table job?
Bullet I am getting a column total with the label TOTAL (all upper case) and I want it to be "Total". How can I do this?
Bullet My table has a value 31.2500 that is rounding to 31.2 with a mask of 99.9. Why is it rounding down to 31.2 when I expect it to round up to 31.3?
Bullet

How can I call the Windows version of TPL from another Windows program?

BulletI am trying to use a special character as a footnote symbol using \nnn. Why is the wrong character coming out in the table?
Bullet I have tables created in PostScript format. How can I put them into a Microsoft Word document?
Bullet I have a PostScript table that uses the Dingbats font for some of the footnote symbols. I entered the symbols using the character codes shown in the TPL Tables manual for the Dingbats font. Since my recent change to a new computer and version of Windows, the Dingbat symbols do not display correctly in my table. What happened?
Bullet I know that I can view a PostScript table file by starting up TED and then opening the file for display as a PostScript Table. I would also like to associate the PostScript file suffix (.ps and/or .eps) with TED in Windows so that I can double-click on the name in a file list to start up TED and open the PostScript table file automatically. Can I do this?


(TPL Tables) I would like to remove the vertical lines between table columns, from just below the horizontal line at the top of the heading to just above the rule at the bottom of the table. In the horizontal rules within the heading, I sometimes want to have a space between categories. Other times, I want solid lines. Can I do all of these things?

Yes. As you have probably noted already, the DELETE DOWN RULE statement removes vertical rules between table columns, but it only does part of what you want. It removes the vertical rules in the data part of the table, but not in the heading. 

To get everything you want, use the statement REPLACE DIVIDE CHARACTER instead. The options are: 

1. REPLACE DIVIDE CHARACTER WITH ' '; 
(where the character in quotes is a blank) 

This statement replaces the column dividers from the top of the heading to the bottom of the table with the character in quotes, in this case a blank. The horizontal lines in the heading are "broken" with a blank at any point where the column divider passes through the heading. 

2. REPLACE DIVIDE CHARACTER WITH ' ' EXCEPT ZERO; 

This statement works the same as the previous one, but gives a solid horizontal line at the bottom of the heading. 

3. REPLACE DIVIDE CHARACTER WITH ''; 
(where there is no character between the quotes) 

With this statement, the column dividers are replaced with blanks, but the horizontal lines in the heading are solid lines. 
 
 

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(TPL Tables) How can I replace the values in some table cells with a character string that is right-aligned in the cells? I tried to do it with a REPLACE MASK statement, but the character string was centered in the cells.

You can't do this with a normal MASK, because the alignment specification won't apply if the MASK contains only a character string. For example, if you say: 

   FOR ROWS 2 TO 6, COLUMN 3: 
       REPLACE MASK WITH '--' RIGHT; 

the specification of RIGHT will be ignored and the character string '--' will be centered in the cells. 

The solution is to replace the mask with TEXT. This will cause the character string to be formatted like a label and the alignment will work the way you want it to. Simply insert the word TEXT in front of the character string as follows: 

   FOR ROWS 2 TO 6, COLUMN 3: 
       REPLACE MASK WITH TEXT '--' RIGHT; 

For more information, see "Replacing Masks with Text" in the REPLACE MASK section of the Format chapter in the TPL Tables manual. 

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(TPL Tables) I have a collection of footnotes and notes to be displayed at the end of a table. Can I control the order of display for both footnotes and notes using a FOOTNOTE SEQUENCE statement?

Yes, both footnotes and notes can be listed in a FOOTNOTE SEQUENCE statement. For the following footnotes and notes, the footnotes "dental" and "df" will be assigned footnote symbols "1" and "2". At the end of the table, they will be displayed ahead of the note called "src". 

   set footnote dental text 'Participants who elected dental coverage only.'; 

   set footnote df text 'Data collected for the month of March.'; 

   set note src text 'Source: Department of Health.'; 

If we want the note "src" to preceed the numbered footnotes, we can list the order we want using a FOOTNOTE SEQUENCE statement that references both the footnotes and the notes in the desired order: 

   footnote sequence src df dental; 

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(TPL Tables & TPL Report) I have several tables in my job. Why are some of my format statements being applied to the wrong tables?

A typical, more specific example of this question would be:

In my first table, I requested a column width of 15, but the third column is too narrow. What's wrong?

This problem often occurs because of a misunderstanding of how FOR clauses work in a format request -- or, if you know how they work, you can still make a mistake. A FOR clause applies to the statements that follow it until there is another FOR clause. Then, if the later FOR clause is followed by statements that can override statements in the earlier FOR clause, they will take precedence. 

For example: 

   FOR TABLE 1: COLUMN WIDTH = 15; 

   FOR TABLE 3: STUB WIDTH = 10; 
        COLUMN WIDTH = 12; 
        FOR COLUMN 3: COLUMN WIDTH = 7; 

As a result of these format statements, the third column will have a column width of 7 in all tables. Why? Because the last statement: 

   FOR COLUMN 3: COLUMN WIDTH = 7; 

has no table specification. Thus, it applies to the third column of all tables, including TABLE 1. 

We can tell by the way that the user indented the statement that it was intended to apply only to the third table, but the indentation has no effect on the result. 

How to fix it? Include the table specification in the statement to limit it to the third table. Then the sequence of statements will be: 

   FOR TABLE 1: COLUMN WIDTH = 15; 

   FOR TABLE 3: STUB WIDTH = 10; 
        COLUMN WIDTH = 12; 
   FOR TABLE 3, COLUMN 3: COLUMN WIDTH = 7; 

Tips for Preventing this Problem

1. DO NOT indent FOR clauses. As noted above, the indentation has no effect on the result, but it makes it look like it will. It also makes it harder to find problems when the results are not what you intended. 

2. DO indent the statements that go with a particular FOR clause to show where they will be applied. 

3. If you are adding a statement with a FOR clause and you are uncertain about the scope of a statement, add enough qualification in the FOR clause to be sure that it will be limited to the correct place. 

4. If you have a problem similar to the example above and you can't find it in your format request, check to see if you have any %INCLUDE statements in the format request. Sometimes, statements with FOR clauses are "hidden" in included files. 

5. When people call us for help on problems of this type, the most common cause is a statement with a FOR clause that specifies certain columns, as shown in the example above. Other possible causes to look for are FOR clauses that reference only specific wafers, rows, variables, conditions or table cells. Also, there are some statements that apply to a whole request or table and cannot be limited more precisely with a FOR clause. These are noted in the "Level" section of each format statement in the manuals. 

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(TPL Tables & TPL Report) I'm producing several tables in my job and running in PostScript mode. I want to use the same overall format for all of the tables -- same fonts, same column widths, etc. -- but in one of the tables, the data values are substantially bigger than in the rest and won't quite fit in the columns. I don't want to make the columns wider in this table. Can I reduce the font size for the data values so that the values will fit, but the rest of the table style will still match my other tables?

Yes. As you probably know, there is no FONT statement that applies specifically to data cells, so the DEFAULT FONT is normally used for the data values in all tables. You cannot specify a different default font for different tables. Instead, to change the font for the data values in a specific table, you can use the format statement: 

   REPLACE MASK FONT WITH font-name font-size; 

This statement lets you change the font in the data cells without disturbing any other mask specifications you may be using in the table. For example: 

   DEFAULT FONT = H 10; 
   FOOTNOTE TEXT FONT = H 8; 
   FOOTNOTE SYMBOL FONT = H 8; 
   TITLE FONT = HB 12; 
   COLUMN WIDTH = 8; 

   FOR TABLE 5: REPLACE MASK FONT WITH H 9; 

The first statements set the fonts and column width for all tables. Then we replace the mask font for fifth table only, reducing the size to 9 for that table. 

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I am getting a column total with the label TOTAL (all upper case) and I want it to be "Total". How can I do this?

The TOTAL label is coming from the following Define statement in your table request.

Define tot_attempts on place;
total if all;

Since total is not in quotes, it is a name that is used as a label. All names are converted to upper case whereas labels can have upper and lower case letters. There are multiple ways to get "Total" instead of TOTAL.

1. Change the Define statement to have a "Total" label instead of a name.

Define tot_attempts on place;
"Total" if all;

2. In place of tot_attempts, use the built-in variable named Total. It has a label of "Total" and gives the same result as a Define catergory of All.

3. Make tot_attempts be a Label variable instead of a Define.

LABEL tot_attempts "Total";

A Label variable gives the same results as the built-in variable named Total, but you can give it the label of your choice.

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My table has a value 31.2500 that is rounding to 31.2 with a mask of 99.9. Why is it rounding down to 31.2 when I expect it to round up to 31.3?

The default rounding rule in TPL, called "round even" or "round-to-even", is part of the IEEE and ANSI standards for binary and floating point arithmetic. Rather than always being rounded up, the number 5 followed only by 0's is rounded up or down depending on the digit to the left of the 5. If the digit to the left of the 5 is even, it rounds down. If the digit to the left is odd, it rounds up. (A blank to the left is considered to be a zero and thus even.) Since the value 31.2500 has the even number 2 to the left of the 5, the value is rounded down to 31.2. A value such as 3.7500 has the odd number 7 to the left of the 5, so the value is rounded up to 3.8.

Beginning with Version 5.2 of TPL, you have the option of rounding up. You choose the rounding method in profile.tpl. See the ROUND Format statement for details.


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How can I call the Windows version of TPL from another Windows program?

TPL is a collection of C programs. It is not available as a .DLL or ActiveX component. However, it is easy to use the Windows version of TPL as part of another Microsoft Windows program. TPL can be run completely in the background so that there is no evidence on the screen that TPL is being used. The sample C code shows one way this may be done.

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I am trying to use a special character as a footnote symbol using \nnn. Why is the wrong character coming out in the table?

This question is often asked in the context of the long dash character. For example, with the Windows version of TPL, it might be displayed as a D with a horizontal line bisecting the vertical line of the D or, with the UNIX version of TPL, it might be displayed as a + or - sign.

Beginning with Version 5 of TPL Tables, the character codes for some special characters were changed to fit Windows and other standards. Please see Appendix J in the TPL Tables Manual for the current character sets and guidance on which to use. If you do not already have the Manual, you can download it from our Download page.

If you are using the Windows version of TPL, you can also find the character sets in the TPL Help section "Notes on Character Sets and Codepages".

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I have tables created in PostScript format. How can I put them into a Microsoft Word document?

First, export the table(s) as EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files. You can do this interactively from Ted by going to File then Export. Other ways of exporting EPS files are described in the user manual. If the table(s) in your tables.ps file have more than one page, each page will be put in a separate EPS file. Each of these can be inserted in a page of the Word document.

The specific details on how the insertion works will vary depending on the version of Word you are using. Following are the instructions for two different versions of Word.

Word 2002:

Go to Insert then Picture then From File.

Select an EPS file.

The file will be inserted in the document and you will see a rough screen preview of the result. If you print the document, it will look nice.

Word 2000:

Do the same as above, except that there is no screen preview -- only a box that shows how much space the table is taking up. Also, when printing, the table will only show up if you print to a PostScript printer.

In either case, regardless of which version of Word you are using, if you have Adobe Acrobat Distiller, you can create a PDF from Word. In Word 2002, when Acrobat Distiller is installed, Acrobat options are added in a drop-down menu at the top of the screen. You may also have Distiller available as a Printer, so with either version of Word, you can go to File then Print and select Acrobat Distiller as the printer to create a PDF.

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I have a PostScript table that uses the Dingbats font for some of the footnote symbols. I entered the symbols using the character codes shown in the TPL Tables manual for the Dingbats font. Since my recent change to a new computer and version of Windows, the Dingbat symbols do not display correctly in my table. What happened?

You need to have the ITC Zapf Dingbats font installed on your new computer. You may not have the font file, or you may have it but not have it installed. Sometimes, it's provided with other software, for example Adobe PageMaker or Adobe Acrobat, but may not be automatically installed.

To begin, try searching your computer for:

zd*.pfm

If you find this file, the full file name will have several _ characters in place of the *.

You can install the font by going to Control Panel. Then select Fonts. In Fonts, go to File, then Install New Font. Browse to the location of the font file and select it.

zd*.pfm is the PostScript version of the font. If your search for zd*.pfm fails to find anything, you can try searching for zd*.ttf to see if you have the True Type version. If not, you can purchase a license for either version of the font and download it from the web at the Adobe or Linotype sites and possibly others. True Type fonts can be installed from Control Panel as described above.

Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/
Linotype site: http://www.linotype.com/

Note: ITC Zapf Dingbats is a registered trademark of International Typeface Corporation.



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I know that I can view a PostScript table file by starting up TED and then opening the file for display as a PostScript Table. I would also like to associate the PostScript file suffix (.ps and/or .eps) with TED in Windows so that I can double-click on the name in a file list to start up TED and open the PostScript table file automatically. Can I do this?

Yes, you can do this, although the exact instructions vary somewhat depending on which version of Windows you are using. The PDF winfileassoc.pdf contains instructions for Windows 2000 and Windows XP.



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