When using a custom column field, the field displays correctly in Manager itself as well as in a third party pdf printer program, but when using Manager’s Pdf creation button the column width changes to a huge size and makes the description column very narrow.
Makes no difference whether using default or custom theme. See pictures.
Manager view - correct look
Pdf view - not correct
Can this problem be fixed, because I am unable to use the Wty column field (custom field) due to this bug.
It is not a bug. It is how the PDF generator incorporated within Manager’s bundle is designed. The program is not WYSIWYG. You will notice none of the column widths is identical between versions.
Yes, you have explained why it’s not working. My question is how to make it work properly as otherwise there is no point in having a custom column on documents feature if there is no way to fix column widths problems when creating a pdf which is usually how the customer sees the document.
I would imagine that Manager could be updated to force custom columns to a set width or something as it obviously gets the width of the unit price and quantity fairly accurate.
If this can’t be done, then the custom columns feature cannot be used for the reasons displayed in picture above.
I think you are stretching things to say the feature cannot be used. You can use an external PDF generator via the Print button to get exactly what you see onscreen.
No you can’t, because using external 3rd party PDF generators come with their own different formatting problems and issues which is the reason why I opted to go for Manager’s internal pdf creation functionality.
It will not be possible to support dozens of different PDF generator programs which is why you and the developer should be encouraging people to use Manager’s internal PDF Generator. That way only one program needs to be supported.
But Manager needs to be updated to ensure that custom column widths can be set by the user as presumably there are column widths set within the program for other default columns.
Anyway the developer can see what he can do, as I would imagine it is a relatively simple programming fix.
None need to be supported by Manager. They function directly through your operating system. Every OS I know about either has a built-in print-to-PDF capability or supports 3rd party PDF printer drivers.
It is in the ideas section already, see
Thanks. I will have to delete the custom field then. If that idea has been in the ideas category for two years, it is unlikely to be implemented any time soon. I can’t use the custom field on printed documents until this bug has been fixed.
You keep repeating this, @dalacor. But it isn’t true. You only need to be willing to generate your documents by creating PDFs through the Print button, which you refuse to do. Then you can obtain the layout you see on screen instead of the one created by the internal PDF generator.
I am not saying it would not be more convenient to have WYSIWYG behavior. But saying something cannot be done and you must give up your use of custom fields is wrong.
No it is you that is not listening. Yes I can print using a third party generator, but this is not foolproof either. When you use third party generators you get different formatting issues which cannot be resolved either. So I can use a 3rd party generator to fix the custom field width problem but will end up with issues like the font or colours not appearing correctly etc etc.
I don’t expect the developer to enable Manager to work consistently in output with a dozen different 3rd party pdf generators - all I am asking is that the internal pdf generator works with custom column fields seeing as both custom fields and the internal pdf generator are both part of Manager program
I have the exact same issue with this PDF unit column, waited a few year now still not fixed and although I would much prefer to use a units column, I have had to ignore this and instead type a note line into the item description to indicate units … which looks amateurish
Yes it is immensely annoying. I like Manager very much, apart from this issue of things being developed - like the custom fields, but not completed properly. The custom fields is a great idea, but useless if using in column format on printed documents.
Hopefully this problem will eventually be fixed. At the moment, I have to put the warranty in the description field.
That’s kind of harsh. If you give it some thought, it’s not really that bad. Yes, there’s still a lot of room for improvement for custom fields, but you have to acknowledge that the custom fields are above what the average accounting package offers and at this price point, it’s the best I have seen so far.
The PDF printer also needs room for improvement and I have spent at least 2 days fiddling around trying to fix column widths and I gave up. But I learned to live with it now because it’s not like customers would refuse paying the invoice because of it.
Perhaps a bit harsh. I personally am a very big fan of Manager. I think it is actually a very well designed product, logically laid out, simple and consistent to use and is very reliable. Despite my complaints, it is actually a very good product. It is probably why it is so immensely frustrating as the program has such potential.
It is just let down badly by features being implemented, but never quite finished (like this custom field on printed document idea) or with essential user efficiency improvements sitting in the ideas category for years on end.
Soon I am planning to implement an API to connect Manager to my helpdesk system. One of the things the API will have to implement is the implementation of Status of quotes, purchase orders and sales orders because this feature request is essential for a proper sales funnel. Yet it has been sitting in the ideas category for years and in point of fact when I first started using the program in 2015 - the status of quotes and orders was my first feature request.
The fact that 5 years later, this feature (which is present on every other accounting program I am aware of) is still to be implemented is enormously frustrating as it does hamper work flow. So I will have to implement this via the API on the helpdesk so that my clients will know what quotes are still outstanding etc.
