Easytrieve Report Page Numbers

Pagination Parameters

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REPORT PAY-RPT LINESIZE 132 PAGESIZE 60 TITLESKIP 2
  TITLE 01 'ACME PAYROLL REGISTER'
  TITLE 02 'RUN DATE' RUN-DATE
  TITLE 03 'PAGE' + PAGE-FIELD
  LINE 01 EMPNO EMPNAME GROSS
  CONTROL DEPT

PAGESIZE sets lines per page; LINESIZE sets characters per line. PAGE-FIELD represents a working storage field assigned from report page function in TITLE processing or BEFORE-LINE—exact function name varies by release; consult report functions index and verify on your compiler listing. Pattern: literal PAGE plus dynamic field beats embedding static numbers.

PAGESIZE Line Budget

Report Page Functions

Report functions chapter documents routines returning current page number and sometimes line number within page—use in TITLE, LINE, BEFORE-LINE, BEFORE-BREAK when pagination-aware logic is needed. Assign function result to W-type field in report procedure then reference field on TITLE for formatting with MASK. Do not call report functions expecting meaningful values in JOB body before first PRINT to that report—writer context may not exist yet.

TITLE Page Number Patterns

Right-aligned page number: TITLE 03 RUN-DATE left literals, page field right via spacing literals or padded assignment in INIT-REPORT procedure. Page X of Y requires both page and total-pages functions if release provides total page estimate—some releases approximate; verify whether total pages is known only after report completes. Operational reports often settle on Page N only.

CONTROL RENUM Reset

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REPORT REGION-RPT PAGESIZE 58
  TITLE 01 'REGIONAL PAYROLL'
  TITLE 02 'REGION' REGION-NAME '  PAGE' PAGE-FIELD
  LINE 01 EMPNO GROSS
  CONTROL REGION RENUM DEPT
  SUM GROSS

When REGION changes, RENUM on REGION ejects and sets next page number to 1. DEPT breaks within region continue incrementing page numbers until next region. Distribution teams mailing each region separately appreciate RENUM—each envelope starts at Page 1. Without RENUM, page numbers continue monotonically across regions—fine for single bound volume, confusing for per-region packets.

NEWPAGE Without RENUM

CONTROL NEWPAGE alone starts fresh page after break but preserves ascending page count—page 47 follows page 46 after region break. Choose NEWPAGE when visual separation matters but global page index must remain for legal exhibit numbering.

Testing Pagination

1. Reduce PAGESIZE to 15 in test—force multiple pages with few detail records.
2. Verify TITLE 03 page field increments on page 2 and 3.
3. Trigger REGION RENUM—confirm next region shows Page 1.
4. Add TITLE lines and observe earlier eject—heading height matters.
5. Compare SKIP 2 versus SKIP 0 effect on page breaks per hundred records.

Common Page Number Mistakes

• Literal Page 1 in TITLE on all pages.
• Ignoring TITLE block height in PAGESIZE planning.
• RENUM on low-level DEPT—unwanted restart every department.
• Page function in JOB logic before PRINT—stale or zero values.
• PAGESIZE incompatible with printer—operations override causes wrap.

Explain It Like I'm Five

Page numbers are the page corner on your coloring book. The report robot draws pictures until the page is full, then flips to a new sheet and writes the next number in the corner. If you glue Page 1 sticker on every sheet yourself, every page lies. RENUM is starting the corner numbers over at 1 when you begin a brand-new chapter book inside the same binder.

Exercises

1. Write TITLE with literal PAGE plus placeholder field for dynamic number.
2. Explain PAGESIZE versus LINESIZE in one sentence each.
3. When use RENUM versus NEWPAGE only?
4. List four line consumers that trigger page eject.
5. Describe bug when TITLE says Page 1 on page 5.