How can I get height of text block?

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Keith G Hicks

I have a client that I wrote an MS Access app for quite a few years ago
where they need to know the height in inches of a block of text for billing
their customers. The MS Access app opens Word in the background, makes some
settings (font, font size, margins, etc.) and gets the height. It's all
worked quite well for 3 or 4 years.

However, the whole thing is going to be redone for use in browsers in
asp.net with vb.net. We want to eliminate the need to use Word for this. I'd
like to write a function in vb.net for this. The whole thing is going to be
run on both Windows and Mac machines. I found some info here:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Languages/.NET/ASP.NET/Q_2182000
8.html

but I'm not sure it's the correct approach. I was hoping someone
could point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

Keith
 
Keith G Hicks said:
I have a client that I wrote an MS Access app for quite a few years
ago where they need to know the height in inches of a block of text
for billing their customers. The MS Access app opens Word in the
background, makes some settings (font, font size, margins, etc.) and
gets the height. It's all worked quite well for 3 or 4 years.

However, the whole thing is going to be redone for use in browsers
in asp.net with vb.net. We want to eliminate the need to use Word
for this. I'd like to write a function in vb.net for this. The whole
thing is going to be run on both Windows and Mac machines. I found
some info here:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Languages/.NET/ASP.NET/Q_2182000
8.html
Click to expand...

Login required. Anyway, the size of the text on which device on which
machine using which dpi settings and which font do you want to
calculate? I won't be able to give an ASP.Net specific answer but I
think the questions must be asked first.
but I'm not sure it's the correct approach. I was hoping someone
could point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...


Armin
 
If you scroll down to the bottom end of the page in that URL, you'll see
answers. Login is only required for the "expert's" answers. There are other
answers that anyone can see below all the advertising. I'm not a subscriber
either and I get answers from there quite often.

Also, I should have mentioned that the font and other settings are specific
to get the length. It's not dependent on what the text comes in as. In the
Word code we're using now, I set the font to Arial 7, single spaced, 0
spacing before and after paragraphs, text width is set to 1.5 inches by
setting page size and margins. Then I can get the exact height of the text
in inches. That's pretty much wath I need to do in vb.net but without Word.
Height will be based on the same settings font, text width and paragraph
settings. In this respect it's a bit different than the question the user
had on the URL I included.

Keith
 
why not solve the real problem ... why do they need the 'hieght' of a text
block? I assume it is for reporting and not 'Your text hiegh is 2.4 inches'
.... are you dynamically changing a report, margins, locations ... based on
this hieght? Answer that question first, and design accordingly.

Otherwise, I am not sure how you would/could go about this ... build an
label set to auto size ... fill it with text ... adjust the width ... get
the hight?

Jeff.
 
*WRONG* ASSUMPTION!
I STATED THE *REAL* PROBLEM.
I NEED THE HEIGHT OF THE BLOCK OF TEXT.
IT'S FOR A NEWSPAPER (not that I should have to say that really).
THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW MANY INCHES TALL THE TEXT IS FOR EACH ADVERTISEMENT
WHEN SET TO ARIAL 7 POINT, ETC.
IT'S FOR BILLING PURPOSES.

Keith
 
thanks for pointing that out ...

webservice ... use same logic you have today ... install word on the web
server ... if you have control of installations on the web server.

or use the approach outlined in the noted document ... again, wrap it up in
a webservice.

Jeff.
 
Keith G Hicks said:
I set the font to Arial 7, single spaced, 0
Click to expand...

Ummm.. isn't the height = 7 points? (=7/72" inch = 0,0972 inches)

Sry, no more time ATM.


Armin
 
I have a client that I wrote an MS Access app for quite a few years ago
where they need to know the height in inches of a block of text for billing
Click to expand...

Hi there,

I once did this. We had an application which sized the object
containing some text too small. So the text was out of bound. I
calculated the size of the text and adjusted the size of the object.
You can do this using API calls.

http://www.filesite.org/viewtopic.php?t=1319&highlight=

Michael
 
Should not run Word from server. I was originally going to do that but
everything I read says that's a very bad thing to do. Apparently all sorts
of problems occur. There's even a page on the MS website where they say that
this should not be done as Word is not designed to be run from the server. I
don't remember where that is but they strongly advise against it.
 
Keith G Hicks said:
Ummmm.... yes, but what's your point????
Click to expand...

My point is that "7 points" is the answer to your question in the
subject. Forget this as you can have multiple lines.


You wrote:
"IT'S FOR A NEWSPAPER (not that I should have to say that really).
THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW MANY INCHES TALL THE TEXT IS FOR EACH
ADVERTISEMENT WHEN SET TO ARIAL 7 POINT, ETC."


In order to be able to answer your question you would have to know how
*exactly* the composition system works and how it processes text. You'd
have to *immitate* it exactly to get the real height of your text. I
know this problem from my 13+ years never-ending project including phone
book creation: only the composition system knows the height of the
output text. We couldn't use Word for this even if we used the same Font
and other settings because it can still differ from what the CS does.


Armin
 
Accuracy is not as big an issue here as what I expect you had to deal with
on your project. They price ads based on 1.5" tall sections. 1.5" is one
price, 3" is another, and so on. If an ad were to measure 1.51" in the code
I wrote it would be billed as a 3" ad. Now if that ad really printed up in
the newspaper as a 1.5" ad they would have of course been overbilled a bit.
However, like I said, it's not super critical. Sometimes it works the other
way around. And in addtion they make billing corrections for other things as
well. It all evens out in the end. Sometimes they're overbilled a fraction
and sometimes underbilled. The other problem is that the calculations are
done on Windows machines but all the publishing is done on Macs. That
obviuosly throws things off a bit too. We knew from the start that it
woulnd't be perfect but it's close enough that everyone's been happy with it
for sevearl years now. We just need to get the same concept working without
using Word. If we're off by a percent or less eitehr way for any given
notice, it's ok.
 
Keith G Hicks said:
Accuracy is not as big an issue here as what I expect you had to
deal with on your project. They price ads based on 1.5" tall
sections. 1.5" is one price, 3" is another, and so on. If an ad were
to measure 1.51" in the code I wrote it would be billed as a 3" ad.
Now if that ad really printed up in the newspaper as a 1.5" ad they
would have of course been overbilled a bit. However, like I said,
it's not super critical. Sometimes it works the other way around.
And in addtion they make billing corrections for other things as
well. It all evens out in the end. Sometimes they're overbilled a
fraction and sometimes underbilled. The other problem is that the
calculations are done on Windows machines but all the publishing is
done on Macs. That obviuosly throws things off a bit too. We knew
from the start that it woulnd't be perfect but it's close enough
that everyone's been happy with it for sevearl years now. We just
need to get the same concept working without using Word. If we're
off by a percent or less eitehr way for any given notice, it's ok.
Click to expand...

I have no doubts that this is all true. However, my point is still the
same as in my first reply: The actual size depends on many things. Well,
we have Graphics objects to measure text. How can we create one? A
Graphics object is a kind of wrapper to a Win32 device context. As the
name says, it refers to a device. A printer device? The screen (device)?
If you have a Winforms application, you can simply use
g=WhateverControl.CreateGraphics, do g.measuretext and there it is. I
have no other clue how to do it. If it's a web project, I don't know if
you have access to a "screen device" because everything runs in the web
server's account. Have read something about window stations and desktops
but you should better ask someone who has more experience in this.

..... Docs say: "When a noninteractive process such as a service
application attempts to connect and no window station exists for the
process logon session, the system attempts to create a window station
and desktop for the session." I read it that you can use
"Graphics.FromHwnd(Intptr.Zero)" to create a graphics object even from
within a service, then use g.measurestring.

Sry, maybe a little confusing from me today.


Armin
 
Agreed. In the bad old days, every so often a user would ring me and say "all
my MS Word fonts have disappeared!!"

Usually the problem was they'd switched to a printer (e.g. a dot matrix
printer) that didn't support truetype fonts. MS Word would then show you what
the document would look like on that printer, and you wouldn't be able to
change fonts because the printer wouldn't support them.

You can only measure the size of text if you know what you are
displaying/printing it on.
 
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