In the Window Color Options dialog, there are three color selectors for Background, Frame, and Title Bar. Only the Background setting has any effect in Helix 6.

The Frame color selection has not worked since the release of Mac OS 8 (and possibly earlier).

The Title Bar color selection only works with the Rounded window type, which is not supported by Mac OS X and was eliminated with the release of Helix 6.0.

The question has been asked: when a post icon is attached to a view in the ‘On Print’ column, when does the posting actually take place? This is important to know when considering the effects of a write-locked record or other problems (e.g: paper jams) that prevents the print job from completing.

First, a word about templates. In Helix a (page layout) template can be designed as a single page or a span of multiple pages, each with a distinct layout. Multiple page templates (described in section 8.1.11 of The Helix Reference) can be identified by the presence of page boundary lines in the layout area. In the case of a template designed to print multiple, distinct pages, each group of pages is considered one ‘Template Page’ — not to be confused with a single page template that prints multiple copies of the same page.

In Helix 6.1, post icons attached to the ‘On Print’ column occur one ‘Template Page’ at a time. This is straightforward in the case of a single page template: print page 1, post record(s) on page 1, print page 2, post record(s) on page 2, etc.

But in the case of multiple page templates, it is important to understand that no records are posted until the entire template page has printed. So, in the case of a two page template the order of events would be: print page 1, print page 2 (the first pass through the template is now complete), post record(s) on pages 1 & 2, print page 3, print page 4 (the second pass through the template is now complete), post record(s) on pages 3 & 4, etc.

Together with the new specification for printing page ranges, it is possible to print pages that do not post, and to post pages that do not print. Consider a page template that spans two physical pages. Posting will not occur until the template page (both pages) completes. If you specify a print range of ‘1 to 1’ then the template page will not complete and no posting will occur. Conversely, if you specify a print range of ‘2 to 2’ then the template page will appear as complete (the 2nd page of the 2 page template having printed) and the posting will occur for both pages on the template.

Because of these situations, and because it is impossible to predict physical printing failures once the print job has spooled, it is our general recommendation that Post on Print not be used. Consider printing as a first step and then using Post All to mark the records as printed.

The term ‘Print’ in this discussion refers to the process of sending the data from Helix to the printer driver. Paper jams, low ink, etc. can all interfere with the physical aspect of printing the pages. Once the page is sent from Helix, it is assumed that the printer will successfully print the page.

For multiple page templates, this is different from prior versions which posted each physical page as it printed.