Printing and theme issue

1

First a BIG thankyou to the developer for such an amazing piece of software. Ive been using manager since 2014 just for basic invoice issuing and has worked great up to version 16.xx. Ive since changed to a Mac from windows PC and have the latest version 17.10.77 installed on Mac OS High Sierra and having the following issues which Ive searched on this forum and apparently there is no real fix yet.

  1. When i try to print an invoice, program crashes, no scaling selected, just default settings. Yes pdf works which opens another app and then have to navigate to print from there which works.

  2. My second issue im facing with latest version is I like the default theme but the name of who im making my invoice out to does not fit in standard DL sized windowed envelopes and apparently the option to edit the default theme has been removed. Yes Ive created another them with correct sizing but i can set that to apply to all invoices.

My situation is that I create approximately 400 invoices every 3 months and update them as part payments come in and print updated invoices accordingly. As you can imagine to have to manually change the theme on each invoice and then pdf it and then print it from an external program for 400 invoices adds hours of processing time.

So dearest developer, please, is there any way we can either
a: edit the default theme
b: make custom theme apply to all issued invoices and all future invoices
c: switch to a pre theme version of manager (this would be ideal for me as older pre them versions did absolutely everything I required so if you can pm me a download link to a prior version 15 or 16 that would be awesome!)
Thanks again!

2

Can you please post a screenshot of any error messages that appear? I’m using macOS Sierra (not High Sierra) and haven’t noticed any issues - but the error will help to diagnose the problem.

It would be worthwhile checking the following as well:

  • Are you using any custom themes?
  • Do you have any unusual characters in the client details / invoice description / etc?

I noticed this issue as well :slight_smile: A custom theme can be used to adjust this to fit, which solved the problem for me.

Unfortunately not. See my post here, requesting exactly that:

I can understand that. Part of why many users are advocating for the ability to set a custom theme as the default. It may be a possibility in the future, we’ll have to wait and see.

However, as a side note, if you aren’t already importing transactions for your bank account using a bank statement, you should consider this – in combination with bank rules, and the fact that you’re dealing with part payments for 400+ invoices each quarter, it could save you hours of logging payments manually.

https://www.manager.io/guides/9243 Set up bank rules
https://www.manager.io/guides/9240 Import bank statement

Keep in mind that you should never open a business with an older version of Manager. Once it has been opened with a newer version, it is converted one-way to only work with that version and above. This is a side effect of automatically converting businesses to work with new features as they become available.

If you decide to revert to a previous version, make sure that you use a backup that was created for that version, rather than your current business file. This will prevent accidental data loss.

3

I am running macOS 10.12.6 and Manager v17.10.82. This problem does not occur. Nor did it occur at Manager v17.10.73. So you have some other issue. Any error messages will point toward the problem, which may be caused by unusual or hidden characters in your invoices.

Sales invoices should not be updated as partial payments are received, if that is what you really meant. An invoice viewed or printed after proper application of partial payments will show the amount credited and a reduced balance due. But if you want to send customers updates on their accounts you should use a Customer Statement.

4

Thanks for your quick replies, much appreciated.

Ive updated to 17.10.82 and also running macos 10.12.6 on latest model 15 inch macbookpro.

only characters I had in the invoice were + - $ I have removed all these and still same issue.

error log

Process: Manager [2140]
Path: /Applications/Manager.app/Contents/MacOS/Manager
Identifier: io.manager
Version: 1.0.0 (1)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: ??? [1]
Responsible: Manager [2140]
User ID: 501

Date/Time: 2017-11-08 07:46:46.848 +1100
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.12.6 (16G1036)
Report Version: 12
Anonymous UUID: i

Sleep/Wake UUID:

Time Awake Since Boot: 30000 seconds
Time Since Wake: 150 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread: 0 tid_307 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000018
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

There is alot more detail but not sure if it contains sensitive info would rather pm it to you Tut if possible.

5

No, I definitely do not want you to send anything to me by PM. I’m a user like you, not the developer. I can assure you, though, that virtually every printing problem reported gets traced back to something the user is doing, not to a bug in Manager.

So let’s look at the input. Can you post a screen shot of the complete edit screen of an invoice that gives you this problem?

You also asked in your original post about editing the default theme. You cannot edit it any longer, for fear that inexperienced programmers would permanently botch the only theme known to work. But you can copy its code from the Themes web page and install it as a new theme, making changes to it that way by editing the new theme.

Finally, @ShaneAU warned you about opening files touched by newer versions in older versions. He did not specifically tell you that there is no support for superseded versions, so I will. There is no such support. The entire structure of the database has changed since 2016, several times. When you update, the program automatically converts your database to the new format without action on your part. That’s why there is no going back.

6

39 am
39 am2380Ă—1446 171 KB

Thanks for the info Tut. I still have an older database file so i will be fine if I can get my hands on an earlier build. Attached is screenshot as requested as well as my print screen.

47 am
47 am1500Ă—882 119 KB

7

Nothing obvious jumps out. So let’s explore a little further:

  1. When you defined the non-inventory items by which you are billing, did you copy and paste from a word processing or spreadsheet document? These documents generally include invisible characters for formatting. If those non-inventory items were defined any way except by typing directly into Manager, edit them by typing directly. Then edit the sales invoice to select them again. (Click the X by right end of the line item to delete the old entry entirely first.) See if the problem persists.

  2. You’ve made it all the way to the macOS print dialog box. When exactly does the program “crash?” Is it when you hit the Print button in the print dialog box?

  3. Your printer is sending you a low toner warning. What happens if you replenish the toner?

  4. Can you find any sales invoices that do not crash the program? If so, examine their inputs carefully to see how they differ from those that cause problems.

8

  1. entered directly into manager. i even tried creating a new invoice with no inventory items just adding text and same issue.

  2. it crashes right after i press print on the print dialogue box.

  3. replaced toner, same issue

  4. All invoices crash it including new ones with no information in them.

9

Last two ideas:

  1. Can you possibly gain access to another printer? If so, does the problem occur with all printers or only the one you currently have selected?

  2. From the print dialog box, what happens if you go to the PDF dropdown in the lower left corner and save the file as a PDF file to your desktop? This will be using the operating system’s PDF generator rather than Manager’s. It also follows through the print cycle one step further, but without engaging your actual printer.

@ShaneAU, you should be awake. Do any of these experiments give you any ideas?

10

  1. Will try on my home printer tonight.

  2. Same thing happens when I click save as pdf from drop down box in print dialogue. Beachball for 1 second then crash.

This is a weird one, may just have to resort to clicking on pdf the printing from a pdf program.

11

Some thoughts:

  1. @Shadzta - If PDF works but Print does not, it indicates that Manager’s internal PDF generator is working fine, at least. It sounds like you can click on the PDF button, save it to your desktop, then open it and print without issue? Please confirm which app you’re using to open the PDF file - is it the built-in Preview app?

  2. Since both @Tut and I are running Sierra, and not High Sierra, we haven’t ruled out a problem with High Sierra just yet. I should be able to upgrade mine to High Sierra within a day or two, so that’s another direction we can take, if we’re unable to resolve this sooner. High Sierra brought with it some significant file system changes, but we don’t have enough information to know if that is causing the issue.

  3. While I’m doubtful that a different printer will help, because it looks more like a software than hardware issue to me, it’s definitely worth a try (just to rule it out) so I’m looking forward to your response on that one. Perhaps it’s the printer driver…

I think we just need to stab in the dark at a few things until we isolate the problem. Looks like Tut and you have gone through several different possibilities already.

14

Thanks @ShaneAU

  1. When i click the pdf button it automatically opens in my default adobe acrobat dc and i click print from there no problem. I can print fine from every other app on my mac including office, adobe apps.

I’ll let you know how I go with another printer.

15

I just finished installing macOS v10.13.1 (High Sierra) and testing with Manager v17.10.82. This crash-upon-printing problem does not occur. So the issue does not appear to be with Manager.

16

@Shadzta - Can you also try opening the PDF in the Safari browser?

Use PDF button in Manager > Save to Desktop > Right Click on PDF file → Open With > Safari

I wonder if it’s an issue with the web element in Manager rendering the PDF… for the purposes of printing. Not sure if there’s a better way to test this than above, though.

17

@lubos, I think we’ve run out of ideas. The only thing @ShaneAU and I have been able to come up with via PMs is that the new Apple File System in High Sierra has something to do with this. @Shadzta has a new MacBook, so a SSD. I have a HDD, so I believe High Sierra would not have installed AFS on my machine. I think this is a problem yo will have to look at.

18

I don’t think we’ve been able to say that with certainty, but it is certainly a theory at this point. I will upgrade my Macbook (2016 model, just before they added the touch bar) and will see what happens.

19

I didn’t mean to imply we’d identified the problem, only that this was the only idea we had left.

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20

I’ve just upgraded my Macbook, and I am using the new APFS file system:

image

Alas, printing using both the Print and PDF buttons works perfectly fine. So we are no closer to solving this mystery.

And I just realised that you aren’t actually using High Sierra, you’re only using Sierra (the one released beforehand). I think we’ve been going on a wild goose chase with this one! :smiley:

macOS High Sierra is 10.13.xx

… back to the drawing board. Not sure what else to suggest Shadzta, sorry.

21

@Shadzta, what was the result with the other printer?

22

@Shadzta Print button probably won’t be fixed. The issue is outside of Manager. When you click Print button, Manager will simply pass the command onto underlying Mac libraries. It’s possible this issue will eventually resolve on its own as Mac gets regular updates too.

This is why Manager has PDF button so there is more control over the PDF generation process. If PDF button would be broken, it’s something I’d be definitely looking at in detail.

As for windowed envelopes, this will require some HTML customization to default theme but it’s relatively simple customization. When you look at the default theme here: Free Accounting Software | Manager

Find the lines which say:

<td>
  <div><b>{{ recipient.name }}</b> {{ recipient.code }}</div>
  <div>{{ recipient.address | newline_to_br }}</div>
  <div>{{ recipient.identifier }}</div>
</td>

All you have to do is replace the first line which says:

<td>

with:

<td style="padding-left: 20px; padding-top: 10px">

This will move recipient details 20px to the right and 10px to the bottom. Adjust these numbers as required until the address fits your envelope window exactly.

As for default theme, something is brewing up to resolve this issue too.

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