Printer Default

[AccessHawaii]

Does anyone know any easy way to set user's print properties instead of going to each user's machine and setting them manually? For example, I have departments that all want their print settings the same. If there is a way that I can just select group of people and set all their properties the same, it would make life so much easier.

 

[AccessHawaii]

Ok, Really, really need help here. The database is set up on a network and I just went and set the printer settings for one department now everyone is set to that 1 printer. How can I set the printer settings for individual computers and not have it effect everyone else when they print a report? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

 

[MinusM]

if you are using Access reports you can set the report to a Specific printer
But it has its own limitations as you can guess.
If the users are logging on to a domain, you can have Roaming profile On for the users. Copy from a Template user profile to the profile path of the new user.
But then also you will lose the existing profiles of the users
I haven't yet found a way to copy just the printer settings to a new profile. Printhood folder doesn't help at all. if anybody has an answer will be really helpful

 

[Uriel365]

I do this exact same thing but use the Access Security logon name to identify which usrs they are and to set there default printer when printing a report. Its a bit a pain to set up but once done it works like a charm.

Paul

 

[AccessHawaii]

So you're saying that I have to login as them to set the printer? I tried logging into one of their computers under my login and changed the printer settings and what happened was that the printer settings ended up being changed for everyone, which I didn't want to happen. I know theres a relatively easy way to do it, even though it's time consuming but I haven't done in it in so long, I can't remember how to set it.

 

[Uriel365]

No you are able to set the reports printer on the fly so to speak. I use access security to see which user it is and then set the printer for the report based on this information e.g

JBloggs = CanonPrinter

 

[markphsd]

If you look up printer settings in the microsft web site there is a mdb that shows how to set printdev settings programmatically.

You can also do a search on here. I don't have the link right now, but i posted it a while back

Mark P.

Bleh

 

[jiqjaq]

If you're on Windows 2000 or XP, everyone shares the same printer drivers for networked printers, but each user can set their own set of "user preferences" for each printer. These are in addition to the system wide defaults, which everyone will use if they haven't set their preference.

On Win 95 or NT there's only one set of defaults, the system ones. You can specify settings when you print a file/report, but you can't change the printer defaults without changing them for everyone.

Your best bet is to set the reports to use the Default Printer rather than a specific printer. You can store a name for a default printer in a table, for each user if necessary.

Before you print the reports, save the user's current default. Set the user's default printer to the corresponding printer value in the table and then print the reports. When you're done, set the user's default back to the original value.

 

[markphsd]

jiqjaq

that's a good way.. a good start. but.. with my work peope use specific printers because of the paper and contracts involved. Some printers only print out contracts with preprinted material. if you save printer settings in a table the user doesn't have to set printers everytime. it saves on errors.


Mark P.

Bleh

 

[jiqjaq]

markphsd,

Yes you can always use DevMode. I, unfortunately, have to use it quite a bit. Aside from understanding all the different code structures for the settings, much of the documentation provided by MS is not quite correct and not every printer driver follows all the rules all the time.

The biggest drawback of using DevMode on the report itself is that you can't change a setting without opening the report in design view. If you're in design view, your mdb is multiuser, has lots of reports and is on the network, you can't have more than one user running a specific report at a time.

Even in Access XP the provided routines don't work the way they should. Many of the bits in the DevMode after the first section, for things like stapling & punching, get dropped, so you can't change them at all.

Before Win 2000 we had to have multiple copies of most every report in the mdb, each with different printer settings, or copy a report and change the settings on that copy, deleting it when done. Now we try to set the reports to default and change the settings the users default printer to match what we want in the report - instead of changing them on the report.

We have about 50 different printers, mostly Canons and HPs, on 3 different servers at various sites. Even printers of the same model don't always use the same driver; just like code, they have version releases. Some printers run PCL, others Postscript, some both.

In theory, every printer uses the first section of the DevMode (listed in the code examples) for the same purposes. For example, duplexing has a flag and specific long value address. Canon IR8500 PCL drivers use this address but the Canon IR8500 Postscript does not. It's the same physical printer but it can use different drivers.