Network Printing Issue

[cdibi]

I finally got my database up and running (A4 -> A5v9 Conversion) and everything is working perfect except the printing. I am running a 3 user network using the runtime version. The printer is connected to one of the machines via a USB port. The 2 machines not connected to the printer work fine, but the machine connected to the printer will not print because the path is different. The 2 machines are seeing the printer through a network path (\\desktop1\printer1) where the connected machine is seeing (\printer1). How do I get around this. I tried adding the printer again to the connected machine as a network printer but that does not work. Any suggestions?

A a side note I have a push button script on a form that prints a report automatically without any other user input. I don't want the user to be involved with selecting the printer.

[Keith Hubert]

Re: Network Printing Issue

Hi Chris,

Have you named the printer and path in your application? Just let it be the default.

To prevent the user seing the printer selection dialog box, uncheck the Display Print/Preview prompt at runtime?

[cdibi]

Re: Network Printing Issue

I have unchecked the prompt user box previously. The path to the printer is named, but the paths in reality are different which is causing the problem. The computer with the printer sees it as a local printer while the other machine sees it with a network path.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Network Printing Issue

Can you make the shared printer the default for all machines and then make that setting in the layout to be printed? (default printer)

Then it shouldn't matter what the path is.

[cdibi]

Re: Network Printing Issue

Unfortunately I can't. The printer that is printing this report is loaded with 3 part carbonless forms as it is printing work orders. Therefore I have to make sure that it is only being used for that report. All other documents will go to another printer with plain white paper.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Network Printing Issue

Chris, I don't have experience with this but this might be a case where your script needs to use

REPORT.PRINTER_OVERRIDE()

to set the desired printer depending upon which workstation the script is running on.

-- tom

[Ed Barley]

Re: Network Printing Issue

Hi Chris,

You might save yourself some hair on this one.

Went through this a few years back.

1. Will the impact printer work on a little print server?
2. Do you have a old computer laying around doing nothing, you could control it with Remote Desktop Connection, and not use a monitor, etc.. install the impact printer on it, and use it as just a print server?

As you found out the path will mess you up. Alpha likes the print driver in Windows Printers and Faxes to read exactly the same(same spelling and spaces). especially for the Alpha reports of course.

I can't remember(don't think this will work) if you share the printer on the machine it is connected to. Rename all the share names to be alike, in each computer. Make sure all the driver names in Windows Printers and Faxes are identical. Then point Alpha Report to it. Pretty sure Alpha will give you the printer name with ne01 or ne 02 etc. after it, so this probably will still not work.

I had to revert to my 1. and 2. above. Lot less frustration. That way all the machines see the same share and driver name in Windows.

Ed

[Tom Henkel]

Re: Network Printing Issue

We have a situation where workers can request files from one of 2 different file rooms in the building. What we do is to print a "request" form on a specific printer (not the default) even though the report is set to default. We use the printer override.

Here is a sample of the code:

on error goto errors2
'vcprinter should never be blank Code makes sure we dont send of a blank request

[COLOR="red"]'***************************************************
'  Below are the names of the printers as they are shared on the network. 
' the printers need to be defined on each machine as well
'*****************************************************[/COLOR]
IF FLOR="3" .and. close3<>"X" THEN
	[COLOR="Red"]vcprinter = "FileRoom3"[/COLOR]  
  elseif FLOR="4"
	[COLOR="red"]vcprinter = "FileRoom4"[/COLOR]
  elseif FLOR ="3" .and. close3 = "X"
  	[COLOR="red"]vcprinter = "FileRoom4" [/COLOR] 'print 3rd floor requests to 4th floor when 3 is closed
  else
	ui_msg_box(aa.bcbss.agency+" File Room System","No Valid File Room Printer Specified, "+chr(13)+"File Room "+FLOR +" Specified - Cannot Print Request")
  	end
end if

a5_previous_printer_name=ui_printer_default_get()
delete options
dim options as p
options.dummy=1
options_text=<<%str%
<papersize="Letter 8 1/2 x 11 in">

%str%
property_from_string(options,options_text)
delete options.dummy
delete oldOptions
dim oldOptions as p
oldOptions.dummy = 1
old_printer_name = report.Printer_override(a5_previous_printer_name,options,oldOptions)
delete oldOptions.dummy

on error goto errors2 'if they cannot communicate with the printer will error, and this restores the default if so
temp=ui_printers_get()
'Select the correct printer name this should work for any OS
ans = alltrim(*for_each(foo,if((vcprinter $ word(temp,*counter(),crlf())),word(temp,*counter(),crlf()),""),temp))
if ans =""
ui_msg_box("ERROR","No printer named")
end
end if 
if w_count(ans,crlf())>1
ui_msg_box("ERROR","Duplicate printer names print job will be canceled")
end
end if
:report.printer_override(ans)
:Report.Print("Case Request [email protected]",query.filter,query.order)
'after printing we must reset the printer back to the way it was when we started
:report.printer_override("")

'make sure they get back to Case # index
dbh1.index_primary_put("case1")

  
' ****  Tell them where to go...   ******
IF FLOR="3" .and. close3 <>"X" THEN 
	sent_to = "Your Request has been Printed in the 3rd Floor Fileroom"+CHR(13)+"Please allow sufficient time for the file to be pulled."
  ELSEIF FLOR="4"
	sent_to = "Your Request has been Printed in the 4th Floor Fileroom"+CHR(13)+"Please allow sufficient time for the file to be pulled."
  elseif FLOR ="3" .and. close3 = "X"
  	sent_to = "Your 3rd Floor Request has been Printed in the 4th Floor Fileroom"+CHR(13)+"Please allow sufficient time for the file to be pulled."	
  ELSE
	ui_msg_box(aa.bcbss.agency+" File Room System","No Valid File Room Printer Specified, "+chr(13)+"File Room "+FLOR +" Specified - Cannot Print Request")
  	end
END IF

ui_msg_box(aa.bcbss.agency+" File Request", sent_to, 64)
end

I hope this helps.

Tom

[cdibi]

Re: Network Printing Issue

The problem is that these are not printers connected to the network directly. They are attached to individual computers via USB cables. Therefore the name is different because of the path.

[Tom Henkel]

Re: Network Printing Issue

The only option there is that you need to identify the individual computers, and modify the code to use the proper path depending on where you are coming from.

Put some sort of tag file on the machines. It should only be that the machine that uses the USB port would be different.

if file_exists("c:\tag.txt")     'tag file on machine with the printer
    printerpath = "local printer"  'however it is designated locally
  else
    printerpath = "remote printer"  ' you would need to use the proper share name here
end if

Tom

[Raymond Lyons]

Re: Network Printing Issue

No need for a tag file. Just use API_GETMACHINENAME() [Presuming that in a network they all have to have different names!]. This is how I set up all workstations in a network to use whatever printer is most convenient for a particular type of print job. One user is set to use 1st floor printer A, Tray 3 for a printout whereas another user would be set to use 2nd floor printer B, Tray 2 for the same job. All this using printer_override() reading a table of settings for each machine in the network (I have a routine for setting up each computer for each type of job--B/W letterhead, Color Letterhead, legal size paper, labels, etc.). Then each print job on a button or menu item specifies the type of job, e.g., legal size paper, and automatically sends the job to the proper printer, tray, etc. and it could be different for each computer. If the print button or menu item does not specify this, the job just goes to the default printer for the machine, or to whatever the layout might specify (printer_override() overrides everything else).

Raymond Lyons.