Print to file option

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Not all printers have a "Print to File" option. One way around this is to use
a Virtual Printer (VP). There are two that I know of that can be used as your
printer of choice: Microsoft XPS Document Writer and Microsoft Office
Document Writer. The XPS DW creates an *.xps file that can be viewed via IE.
Office's DW creates an *.mdi file that can be viewed using Office, IE and few
other programs. Once selected as the printer of choice, they both use a "Save
as" type of popup to get the filename and path to save the file to.

If neither of these VPs are currently available on your system, they can be
activated. For the either, you can install a General -> "General / Text Only"
printer via the Add Printer Wizard. When selecting the port, select either
Microsoft XPS Document Writer or the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer.
If this doesn't work it usually means these have previously been installed
and then deleted. If this is the case, you need to either Update Windows to
recover Microsoft XPS Document Writer and/or Update or "Detect and Repair" MS
Office to recover the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer. Another way to
recover these VPs is to install a printer and manipulate its properties.
Install a printer using one of the ports desired and a printer NOT on your
system. Then in the newly created printer, change the name and driver used to
the desired printer and match the name.

I tried all of the above and had no problems with XP Pro and Office 2003. I
can only assume these installation ways will work with other XPs and Office's.
 
rmpete said:
How do I set up the print to file option?
Thanks
Click to expand...

1. To get a plain text file:
Install a "Generic/Text Only" Printer using Control Panel - Printers
and Faxes - Add a printer. Right-click on the icon for this printer,
select Properties and go to the Ports tab. Select "File" as the port
for this printer. The resulting file will contain no graphics,
specified fonts, or other formatting such as bold, underlines, etc.

2. To get a file of the printer data output for a specific printer
(usable only with a printer of that specific make and model):
Install a printer of the desired type if it is not already installed.
Right-click on the icon for this printer, select Properties and go to
the Ports tab. Select "File" as the port for this printer.

Some application programs have an option that allows a report to be
produced as a file, typically an RTF (Rich Text Format) or Microsoft
Word document but other file formats are sometimes also used. These
options are unique to those specific programs and generally cannot be
added to a program that does not have them.

Hope this explains the situation.

Good luck





Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
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