suppress printing of something

[Guest]

I'm trying to set up a document to ask whether a graphic should be printed
each time it is sent to print. I've seen other documents that will ask
whether to suppress the filename in the footer, but I can't figure out how
it's done or if the same method would work for a graphic. I can have the
grapic in line with text if that would help it work.

Anybody know where I can start on this? I imagine it'll involve macros,
which I'm a beginner at, but I'm pretty adventurous and willing to give
macros more complicated than I've dealt with a go.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

I think you have to set up print options to do this. Go to File> Print>
"Options" button. Uncheck "Drawing Objects" in the "Include with Document"
section.
I don't know if a prompt can be set up to remind each user when they're
printing, whether they want to include graphics or not.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Melissa. That does seem to accomplish what I need. However, it is not
easy enough for the people who will ultimately be using the document. I'd
have to walk them through it each and every time. I'll keep looking to see if
I can find something idiot-proof.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Here's something a little easier on the users, although certainly not
idiot-proof. ("Nothing is idiot-proof because idiots are so ingenious!")

Insert an ASK field in the document (preferably as a template) -- anywhere
in the body text is ok. In the Insert > Field dialog, select ASK, enter a
name for it, enter the prompt you want, and enter the letter Y as the
default value (and check the box next to "Default"). You'll get an invisible
field in the document, but you can see the field code if you press Alt+F9.
It might look like this:

{ASK PrintPicture "Print the picture?" \d Y}

What this does is create a bookmark named PrintPicture (or whatever you call
it) inside the invisible field. Whenever the field is updated, it will show
a box with the question, and an edit area for the user to enter a response.
The default response will be Y. Whatever is in the edit area when the user
clicks the OK button will become the value of the bookmark.

Next you need a field that displays the picture when the value of the ASK
bookmark is Y, and displays nothing when the value is anything except Y. To
make this, type the following line at the position where you want the
picture to appear (if you used a different name for the ASK field, use that
name here):

IF PrintPicture = Y

Type a space after the Y and then use Insert > Picture > From File to put
your picture in-line at the end of the line. Next, select just the word
PrintPicture and press Ctrl+F9. That makes it into a field whose value is
the value of the PrintPicture bookmark. Finally, select the whole line
including the picture, and press Ctrl+F9 again. Then press F9 to update the
field.

There's one more piece to this, and it's one you can't control directly.
Each user has to have the "Update fields" box checked in the Tools > Options

Print dialog. Some users may already have it checked, and others won't;

you'll have to ask them to make sure it's checked.

Now, when someone prints the document, the ASK box will pop up with the Y
already in place. If they just click OK, the document will print with the
picture. If they change the edit area at all (delete the Y, type a space,
type N, type "yes, please", etc.) the document will print without the
picture.

There are some other non-idiot-proof aspects to this: (a) If you select the
entire paragraph containing the ASK field and delete it, the ASK field will
also be deleted and the picture will never appear. (b) If the cursor is in
the ASK field's text area and you press Enter, it makes a new line in the
text area. To answer the question, you have to use the mouse to click OK, or
tab to the OK button and press Enter. (c) If the field containing the
picture is in the header/footer, it doesn't automatically update when you
print.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jay, that's just the sort of solution I was looking for. I'd rigged up
something similar myself, but it didn't work.

Unfortunately, I'm having the same problem with yours: no matter what the
"Update fields" box in Tools>Options>Print is set to do, I don't get a prompt
when I print.

I've been annoyed by this for some time because I'd love my TOCs to update
upon printing so I don't keep forgetting to do it by hand. But no go. It was
the same story with the last version of Word I had as well. Perhaps there's a
second setting somewhere that influences this that I have set wrong?

Anyway, thanks a lot for putting that idea together for me. I really
appreciate it.

 

[Jay Freedman]

I don't know of any other setting that could override the "Update fields"
option on print (except for the unlikely possibility that you have a
FilePrint macro that's forcing Word to ignore it). That option has always
worked for me.

If you select the paragraph containing the ASK field and press F9, does that
work?

 

[Guest]

The message does pop up if I press F9, but thinking that my coworkers will
remember to do that would be just plain foolishness. Especially since
everything ends up needing to be done on a tight deadline, which always
increases forgetfulness.

Just for kicks, I tried the file on the computers of a couple of coworkers
to see if the problem was just with my computer, and the ASK form didn't
automatically open on those either. There must be something overriding that
setting. I know the company has some custom print macros (which I never use)
that are installed on all the machines, so maybe one of those has messed up
our "update fields" option as you suggested.