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PDF locks up application

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    PDF locks up application

    I know this is an old problem and I've read through other threads that covered it but I'm wondering if others are having the same problem and if anyone found a better solution than having to enter the user's system and manually change things?

    The past solution, by Michael Humby and several others, involved deleting the OneNote printer/driver (MS Office) and the AlphaFivePrinterV4. Then re-installing AlphaFivePrinterV4 and assigning the port to NUL: and ...
    In short, not a process you want to throw at potential customers.

    Ideally, would like to figure out a means of determining whether or not OneNote is on the user's system and deal with it in the background.

    Comments or suggestions?

    Thanks
    Mike W
    __________________________
    "I rebel in at least small things to express to the world that I have not completely surrendered"

    #2
    Re: PDF locks up application

    You can use UI_PRINTERS_GET() to see if a particular print driver is installed.
    There can be only one.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: PDF locks up application

      Mike

      I've started getting this same issue as of yesterday.

      Did you find a solution?

      Comment


        #4
        Re: PDF locks up application

        when checking my pdf and saving a new report to pdf( I hardly ever did this) I got this error after the file was saved with 0 bytes and adobe tried to open it.

        I have followed Michael's advice and deleted just about all printers that might have any kind of interference.

        Dave Mason
        [email protected]
        Skype is dave.mason46

        Comment


          #5
          Re: PDF locks up application

          I have experiences this before.

          There maybe several issues:

          Test the report itself. I found that when there is an error with the report usually pdf is 0 bytes.


          This may not be the case for you.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: PDF locks up application

            It is not in my case. Pretty simple one field and a small text amount.
            Dave Mason
            [email protected]
            Skype is dave.mason46

            Comment


              #7
              Re: PDF locks up application

              From Cal Locklin:
              Amyuni Printer
              This printer can be difficult to install in V10 / Windows 7. (None of this info is in the Help files.)
              First try shutting down A5 and running the DhtmlEdit.msi program in the A5 executables folder. Restart A5 after running this program.

              If that doesn't work....

              From DAVE in the U.K.:

              Try this........

              1, Temporarily turn Windows 'User Account Control' OFF and reboot.
              2, If the AlphaFivePrinterV4 is in the Windows 'Devices and printers' panel, delete it.
              3, Run Alpha5 and print to a pdf answering yes to the driver install prompt - The pdf print may still fail!
              4, The AlphaFivePrinterV4 printer now appears in the 'Devices and Printers' panel - Looking at the printer properties on the 'Ports' tab, create a new 'Local Port' called 'NULL' and make sure it is selected as the active port. If the port already exists just select it.
              5, Delete any jobs waiting to print then reboot.
              6, Try Alpha5 pdf printing again, it should work!
              7, Turn the 'User Account Control' back on again.

              And

              From Michael Humby:

              First go to Windows 7 'Start' and type 'Services' then run the Services, you should see a list, scroll down then focus on 'Print Spooler' then upper left 'Restart the service' now continue with the following:

              1) Make sure that you are logged in as a Windows user with administrator rights.
              2) Select Control Panel, and click Printers.
              3) Right-click the Alpha Five Printer icon and choose 'Printer Properties'
              4) Select the Ports tab, then click the Add Port... button.
              5) Select Local Port and click the New Port... button.
              6) Enter NUL: for the new port name and click OK. Close the Printer Ports window.
              7) Ensure that the NUL: port is selected in the Ports list.
              8) Select the Advanced tab.
              9) Select the Spool print documents radio button to make the options below clickable.
              10) Clear (uncheck) the box labeled Enable advanced printing features.
              11) Select the Print directly to printer radio button again.
              12) Click the Apply button, and then click OK.

              13) Check the list of current jobs and delete all. If they can't be deleted, shut down the computer and restart it.

              And from martincole:

              The new MS "One Note" is an issue, regardless of OS or Alpha version. I have been removing the OneNote printer, and resetting the port for the alpha4printer.

              Thanks Stan. That at least allows me to alert the users it pertains to, as opposed to having to make a global warning that might scare off others who wouldn't have an issue anyway. Now I have to figure out how to do the above procedures without having to get the users involved.
              Mike W
              __________________________
              "I rebel in at least small things to express to the world that I have not completely surrendered"

              Comment


                #8
                Re: PDF locks up application

                What might help a lot here is if someone who encounters the problem could run ui_printers_get() both while they are having the problem and after the problem is solved.

                I suspect that while the OneNote printer is causing an issue the A5 printer will not show "on NUL:" as it should when properly installed.

                I don't have OneNote in my copy of MS Office so another question I haven't been able to answer is -- What happens if OneNote is uninstalled, the A5 printer is installed and verified as working, then OneNote is reinstalled? Does OneNote mess up A5 again? Does OneNote not work? Or, do both A5 and OneNote work correctly?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: PDF locks up application

                  I don't know how to help here much, but?
                  on my win 8 laptop as it was done from the start it converts and opens. On my winXP machine, it does not. I get a 0byte pdf that is reported as a bad file. I will post those results later when I am at the computer.

                  dim xxx as c
                  xxx = ui_printers_get()

                  ?xxx
                  = Microsoft XPS Document Writer on Ne00:
                  Fax on Ne01:
                  Broderbund PDF Converter on NUL:
                  Amyuni Document Converter on NUL:
                  AlphaFivePrinterV4p5 on NUL:
                  \\MORRISPC\EPSON NX410 Series on Ne03:
                  \\DAVE1\Okidata ML 320 Turbo/D (IBM) on Ne02:

                  Dave Mason
                  [email protected]
                  Skype is dave.mason46

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: PDF locks up application

                    Originally posted by DaveM View Post
                    I don't know how to help here much, but?
                    on my win 8 laptop as it was done from the start it converts and opens. On my winXP machine, it does not. I get a 0byte pdf that is reported as a bad file. I will post those results later when I am at the computer.
                    I'm afraid I can't help much with your issue, Dave. But it's obviously not a OneNote issue. Did you try running the DhtmlEdit.msi program in the A5 executables folder? (I have no idea what the program does and it doesn't sound like it should fix a PDF problem but it's on my list of 'things to do when the PDF fails' for some reason - maybe even by mistake.)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: PDF locks up application

                      Thanks for the thought!

                      DhtmlEdit.msi won't run on this computer - it says it was designed for Vista

                      This is what I get on my desktop with xp3
                      dim sss as c
                      sss= UI_PRINTERS_GET()

                      ?sss
                      = Okidata320T on Ne00:
                      Microsoft XPS Document Writer on Ne01:
                      Microsoft Office Document Image Writer on Ne02:
                      FaxTalk Communicator on Ne03:
                      Fax on Ne04:
                      EPSON Stylus Photo RX620 Series on Ne05:
                      Amyuni Document Converter on LPT1:
                      AlphaFivePrinterV4p5 on LPT1:
                      \\morrispc\EPSON NX410 Series on Ne06:
                      Oh well, I don't print with pdf anyhow. It was a hopeful for the okidata, but I have Crystal reports that solved the problem.
                      Dave Mason
                      [email protected]
                      Skype is dave.mason46

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: PDF locks up application

                        Dave,

                        Read the post above from Mike Wilson. Your Amyuni and AlphaFivePrinter are not set to NUL: (like on your win 8 system) This will usually fix your problem.
                        Bill Griffin
                        Parkell, Inc

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: PDF locks up application

                          Bill, you were correct. I had redone the whole thing and never checked that.
                          After changing to nul
                          Dave Mason
                          [email protected]
                          Skype is dave.mason46

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: PDF locks up application

                            Dave,

                            did you follow Michael Humby's whole procedure? Do you have MS OneNote installed?
                            Bill Griffin
                            Parkell, Inc

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: PDF locks up application

                              Never had one note on anything I remember and yes I followed it including all reinstalls of alpha, printers and some more.
                              Dave Mason
                              [email protected]
                              Skype is dave.mason46

                              Comment

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