prn file

[Kevin]

Hi,

I have tried to give up printing hard copies for every document, I may or
may not need, and sometime it is easier to select "Print to File" as an
option to save documents. However, somewhere along the line, my computer
quit printing "PRN.files."

Now when I enter the "PRINT" command at the DOS Prompt, and hit enter it
says that it is printing the file.

This is my theory, but have not had the chance to prove or disprove it. The
Dos Prompt is sending information to the "Printer Port," and the computer is
doing what it is suppose too. However, my new printer only connect, via USB,
and so I am out of luck, because USB drivers do not support "Print to File"
commands.

Please help me confirm this theory. I still have my LP1 printer someplace,
but that would be a hassle to have to dig it out. It would be better, if I
could just check something, and wa - la prn.files would print at the Dos
Prompt with my USB printer.

Adding this so you will know, yes the printer does print all other docoments.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Rey Santos]

Printing a .PRN file
http://askbobrankin.com/printing_a_prn_file.html

 

[C.Joseph S. Drayton]

Hi,

I have tried to give up printing hard copies for every document, I
may or may not need, and sometime it is easier to select "Print to
File" as an option to save documents. However, somewhere along the
line, my computer quit printing "PRN.files."

Now when I enter the "PRINT" command at the DOS Prompt, and hit enter
it says that it is printing the file.

This is my theory, but have not had the chance to prove or disprove
it. The Dos Prompt is sending information to the "Printer Port," and
the computer is doing what it is suppose too. However, my new
printer only connect, via USB, and so I am out of luck, because USB
drivers do not support "Print to File" commands.

Please help me confirm this theory. I still have my LP1 printer
someplace, but that would be a hassle to have to dig it out. It
would be better, if I could just check something, and wa - la
prn.files would print at the Dos Prompt with my USB printer.

Adding this so you will know, yes the printer does print all other
docoments.

Thanks,

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

For Printing, I use PaperLess Printer. It is free for non-commercial
use and reasonably priced for commercial use. The app will let you
print to;

1) PDF
2) HTML
3) RTF
4) JPG
5) XLS
6) BMP

I have PaperLess Printer set up as my default printer and use it all
the time. Its great also for when I want to save a web page including
images but don't want a bunch of extra files and directories on my
computer. I also scan all important documents, then print them as a JPG
and save them in my personal database as BLOBs.
--

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services
Web site: http://csdcs.tlerma.com/
E-mail: (e-mail address removed)

 

[Kevin]

Hy Ray,

Thanks for the information! I have not yet been able to make the command
line which he give to print these prn.files, with a USB printer to work.

I am able to get to the correct directory, I then enter in the command Copy
/B TMP.PRN \\computer_name\printer_share_name and then the file name. I hit
entere, and the computer says: the system cannot find file specified.

Do you have any suggestion?

Thanks
Kevin,

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi,

I have tried to give up printing hard copies for every document, I may or
may not need, and sometime it is easier to select "Print to File" as an
option to save documents. However, somewhere along the line, my computer
quit printing "PRN.files."

Now when I enter the "PRINT" command at the DOS Prompt, and hit enter it
says that it is printing the file.

This is my theory, but have not had the chance to prove or disprove it. The
Dos Prompt is sending information to the "Printer Port," and the computer is
doing what it is suppose too. However, my new printer only connect, via USB,
and so I am out of luck, because USB drivers do not support "Print to File"
commands.

Please help me confirm this theory. I still have my LP1 printer someplace,
but that would be a hassle to have to dig it out. It would be better, if I
could just check something, and wa - la prn.files would print at the Dos
Prompt with my USB printer.

To print to a USB printer from DOS:

Set up the printer as a shared printer
Enter NET USE LPT1: \\computername\sharedprintername
Then use the COPY command with LPT1: instead

 

[V Green]

Kevin:

You ARE aware that unless it's a TEXT ONLY printer driver
that created the .PRN files, that they will ONLY print on the
same EXACT printer that was in use when you create them?

..PRN files are useless gobbledygook to everything except
the printer they are designed for...they are a "printer bitmap"
file if you will. You can't print an Epson .PRN file on a Canon,
for example.

What's likely happening when you send your .PRN file to the
new, different printer is that it does not understand it (due to a
lack of a device-specific "header") and ignores it.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hy Ray,

Thanks for the information! I have not yet been able to make the command
line which he give to print these prn.files, with a USB printer to work.

I am able to get to the correct directory, I then enter in the command
Copy
/B TMP.PRN \\computer_name\printer_share_name and then the file name. I
hit
entere, and the computer says: the system cannot find file specified.

That might indicate that the DOS layer you are using isn't seeing the
network shares. You may have to map them explicitly using the Net Use
command.

You can also install the printer driver locally, and point it to file.

There are DOS2USB redirectors.

But why are you using a command prompt for this? If you want electronic
versions, consider a PDF writer. Acrobat and other PDF writers are
virtual printers that are independent of the installed physical printers.

The problem you'll run into is that if you can't get the physical printer
you are currently using, your PRN copy may be of no value.

HTH
-pk

 

[Rey Santos]

<< I am able to get to the correct directory, I then enter in the command Copy
/B TMP.PRN \\computer_name\printer_share_name and then the file name. I hit
entere, and the computer says: the system cannot find file specified.


You may have missed something. Read again.

This
then here's the command to use. (Substitute your actual print file name for
TMP.PRN below.)

COPY /B TMP.PRN \\computer_name\printer_share_name

 

[Twayne]

Hi,

I have tried to give up printing hard copies for every document, I
may or may not need, and sometime it is easier to select "Print to
File" as an option to save documents. However, somewhere along the
line, my computer quit printing "PRN.files."

Now when I enter the "PRINT" command at the DOS Prompt, and hit enter
it says that it is printing the file.

This is my theory, but have not had the chance to prove or disprove
it. The Dos Prompt is sending information to the "Printer Port," and
the computer is doing what it is suppose too. However, my new
printer only connect, via USB, and so I am out of luck, because USB
drivers do not support "Print to File" commands.

Please help me confirm this theory. I still have my LP1 printer
someplace, but that would be a hassle to have to dig it out. It
would be better, if I could just check something, and wa - la
prn.files would print at the Dos Prompt with my USB printer.

Adding this so you will know, yes the printer does print all other
docoments.

Thanks,

Kevin

Did you change printer drives so it's pointing them to the correct
printer? Sounds like not.

--

Regards,

Twayne

OO0 is a GREAT MS Office replacement
www.openoffice.org

Please respond to the newsgroup, not to
my e-mail, so that all may benefit. I do not
always respond to newsgroup e-mails.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks Rey,

What I was doing wrong; I was thinking that the TMP.PRN was some type of
temporary directory or some temporary place the file was being sent, and then
to printer. So I was putting the file name at the end, instead of replacing
the TMP.PRN with the actual file name: as february.prn.

I may be wrong and I will have to go back and look, but none of the
instruction say anything about putting the file name in the TMP.PRN location.
I guess whoever wrote the instruction or command assumed I knew it had to go
in that location, in the command line.

Kevin,