Printing .prn files in Windows XP

[Ronald McElvain]

On 9/10/03, the following reply was posted in response to
a similar inquiry:
Subject: Re: Printing a prn file
From: "Tali Roth [MSFT]" <talir at
online.microsoft.com> Sent: 9/10/2003 10:10:44 AM
Hi,
Try opening a command prompt (Start->Run, then type cmd).

In the command prompt, type
Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

Where Filename is the full path to the file, PCName is
the name of your
computer, and SharedPrinterName is the share name of your
printer (your
printer must be shared).

This will print the file.

Regards,

--
Tali Roth
Microsoft Printing, Imaging and Fax Team

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG. The file in
question is "NVIDIA corporation.prn" Entering anything
other than just PRN as the filename gets me nothing, but
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer
yields "The syntax of the command is incorrect."
Please be as specific as possible in your clarification.
Thank-you. Ron

 

[Lem]

On 9/10/03, the following reply was posted in response to
a similar inquiry:
Subject: Re: Printing a prn file
From: "Tali Roth [MSFT]" <talir at
online.microsoft.com> Sent: 9/10/2003 10:10:44 AM
Hi,
Try opening a command prompt (Start->Run, then type cmd).

In the command prompt, type
Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

Where Filename is the full path to the file, PCName is
the name of your
computer, and SharedPrinterName is the share name of your
printer (your
printer must be shared).

This will print the file.

Regards,

--
Tali Roth
Microsoft Printing, Imaging and Fax Team

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG. The file in
question is "NVIDIA corporation.prn" Entering anything
other than just PRN as the filename gets me nothing, but
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer
yields "The syntax of the command is incorrect."
Please be as specific as possible in your clarification.
Thank-you. Ron

First of all, some of the difficulty here may come from email wrapping
command lines.

Moreover, the command you give:

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer

isn't the same as the example you quoted:

Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

although the ">" might work in lieu of the copy command, where did you
get the rest of it?

See MVP Bruce Sanders' article at
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/printfromdos.htm [especially if you're
trying to print to a local USB printer; map the USB printer to lpt2 as
described and substitute lpt2 in the copy command under "option 1"
below], or ...

Let's start over. You want to print a file named Nvidia
corporation.prn. Let's say, for sake of example, that this file is
located in C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\.

Now, do you want to print to a printer that's attached to the parallel
port of the computer in which the file is located [option 1] or to a
printer that's located on a networked computer other than the box that
has the file [option 2]?

Option 1
from a command prompt
copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn" lpt1 /b

The quotes may not be necessary, but can't hurt. There is a space
before and after lpt1. The parameter /b indicates to the copy command
that a binary file is to be copied.

Option 2
I can't verify this here, because I don't have a printer connected to
another networked PC, but the syntax of the command should be (all on
one line):

copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn"
\\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME /b

In your example, do you have a PC named "hp"? Probably not. That's
probably the printer itself. You need to specify the name of the
computer to which the printer is attached, For example: RonNo2 or
Upstairs. Second, is "printer" the name you entered when you set up the
sharing of the printer in question? Could be, but most people usually
use the brand and type, e.g. hp1218. Just limit your printer sharename
to 12 characters or less and no special characters.

 

[Lem]

On 9/10/03, the following reply was posted in response to
a similar inquiry:
Subject: Re: Printing a prn file
From: "Tali Roth [MSFT]" <talir at
online.microsoft.com> Sent: 9/10/2003 10:10:44 AM
Hi,
Try opening a command prompt (Start->Run, then type cmd).

In the command prompt, type
Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

Where Filename is the full path to the file, PCName is
the name of your
computer, and SharedPrinterName is the share name of your
printer (your
printer must be shared).

This will print the file.

Regards,

--
Tali Roth
Microsoft Printing, Imaging and Fax Team

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG. The file in
question is "NVIDIA corporation.prn" Entering anything
other than just PRN as the filename gets me nothing, but
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer
yields "The syntax of the command is incorrect."
Please be as specific as possible in your clarification.
Thank-you. Ron

First of all, some of the difficulty here may come from email wrapping
command lines.

Moreover, the command you give:

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer

isn't the same as the example you quoted:

Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

although the ">" might work in lieu of the copy command, where did you
get the rest of it?

See MVP Bruce Sanders' article at
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/printfromdos.htm [especially if you're
trying to print to a local USB printer; map the USB printer to lpt2 as
described and substitute lpt2 in the copy command under "option 1"
below], or ...

Let's start over. You want to print a file named Nvidia
corporation.prn. Let's say, for sake of example, that this file is
located in C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\.

Now, do you want to print to a printer that's attached to the parallel
port of the computer in which the file is located [option 1] or to a
printer that's located on a networked computer other than the box that
has the file [option 2]?

Option 1
from a command prompt
copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn" lpt1 /b

The quotes may not be necessary, but can't hurt. There is a space
before and after lpt1. The parameter /b indicates to the copy command
that a binary file is to be copied.

Option 2
I can't verify this here, because I don't have a printer connected to
another networked PC, but the syntax of the command should be (all on
one line):

copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn"
\\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME /b

In your example, do you have a PC named "hp"? Probably not. That's
probably the printer itself. You need to specify the name of the
computer to which the printer is attached, For example: RonNo2 or
Upstairs. Second, is "printer" the name you entered when you set up the
sharing of the printer in question? Could be, but most people usually
use the brand and type, e.g. hp1218. Just limit your printer sharename
to 12 characters or less and no special characters.

After re-reading Bruce Sanders' article myself, I've concluded that my
"option 2" above is probably wrong, and that one should map the shared
printer to a port that DOS knows about, like lpt2 or lpt3, using the "net
use" command. For example:
net use lpt3: \\Morpheus\hplaserj
where the computer name [with initial cap] is Morpheus
and the printer share name is hplaserj
Option 2 then becomes the same as option one, with the substitution of lpt3
for lpt1.

To further quote Bruce: "If you add "/persistent:yes" to the net use
command, the mapping of the network printer to the emulated LPT1 port will
be permanent; it will persist over logons and system restarts."

 

[Ron]

-----Original Message-----

On 9/10/03, the following reply was posted in response to
a similar inquiry:
Subject: Re: Printing a prn file
From: "Tali Roth [MSFT]" <talir at
online.microsoft.com> Sent: 9/10/2003 10:10:44 AM
Hi,
Try opening a command prompt (Start->Run, then type cmd).

In the command prompt, type
Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

Where Filename is the full path to the file, PCName is
the name of your
computer, and SharedPrinterName is the share name of your
printer (your
printer must be shared).

This will print the file.

Regards,

--
Tali Roth
Microsoft Printing, Imaging and Fax Team

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG. The file in
question is "NVIDIA corporation.prn" Entering anything
other than just PRN as the filename gets me nothing, but
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer
yields "The syntax of the command is incorrect."
Please be as specific as possible in your clarification.
Thank-you. Ron

First of all, some of the difficulty here may come from email wrapping
command lines.

Moreover, the command you give:

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>PRN \\hp\Printer

isn't the same as the example you quoted:

Copy FILENAME \\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME

although the ">" might work in lieu of the copy command, where did you
get the rest of it?

See MVP Bruce Sanders' article at
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/printfromdos.htm [especially if you're
trying to print to a local USB printer; map the USB printer to lpt2 as
described and substitute lpt2 in the copy command under "option 1"
below], or ...

Let's start over. You want to print a file named Nvidia
corporation.prn. Let's say, for sake of example, that this file is
located in C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\.

Now, do you want to print to a printer that's attached to the parallel
port of the computer in which the file is located [option 1] or to a
printer that's located on a networked computer other than the box that
has the file [option 2]?

Option 1
from a command prompt
copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn" lpt1 /b

The quotes may not be necessary, but can't hurt. There is a space
before and after lpt1. The parameter /b indicates to the copy command
that a binary file is to be copied.

Option 2
I can't verify this here, because I don't have a printer connected to
another networked PC, but the syntax of the command should be (all on
one line):

copy "c:\documents and settings\owner\nvidia corporation.prn"
\\PCNAME\SHAREDPRINTERNAME /b

In your example, do you have a PC named "hp"? Probably not. That's
probably the printer itself. You need to specify the name of the
computer to which the printer is attached, For example: RonNo2 or
Upstairs. Second, is "printer" the name you entered when you set up the
sharing of the printer in question? Could be, but most people usually
use the brand and type, e.g. hp1218. Just limit your printer sharename
to 12 characters or less and no special characters.

After re-reading Bruce Sanders' article myself, I've concluded that my
"option 2" above is probably wrong, and that one should map the shared
printer to a port that DOS knows about, like lpt2 or lpt3, using the "net
use" command. For example:
net use lpt3: \\Morpheus\hplaserj
where the computer name [with initial cap] is Morpheus
and the printer share name is hplaserj
Option 2 then becomes the same as option one, with the substitution of lpt3
for lpt1.

To further quote Bruce: "If you add "/persistent:yes" to the net use
command, the mapping of the network printer to the emulated LPT1 port will
be permanent; it will persist over logons and system restarts."


.
First, thanks for you help.

"Opening" the Command Prompt gives me by
default: "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>"
Accordingly, I moved the file in question to that
location.
After the ">" I ENTERED "Copy PRN \\hp\Printer"
I neglected the inclusion of "Copy" in my first Post and
yes, my "PCNAME" IS "hp" [per System Properties/Computer
Name] and my "SHAREDPRINTERNAME" IS "Printer" [per
Epson...Properties/Sharing/Share name].
As for the "FILENAME," I have tried entering: "NVIDIA
corporation.prn" without results. Entering just
the "PRN" was somewhat random on my part, but the only
entry acted on, even if I only got "The syntax of the
command is incorrect."
Does this help you, help me?
You also asked if I want to print to a printer attached
to the parallel port of the computer in which the file is
located and the answer is yes.
I think I have covered your questions, but if I don't
make myself clear, just let me know how I can be more
specific. Again, thanks, Ron