Word 2003 resetting default printer

G

Guest

I'm having the problem I've seen others report here; I use three different
printers (2 hardware, 1 software PDF creator), and whenever I use one of the
non-default printers for two or three print jobs from inside Word, it resets
the system default printer to the one I'm using temporarily. Word 2000 never
did this. Neither does Wordperfect. Firefox keeps the last printer used as
its own, internal default printer, but it doesn't change the system default
printer. Why does Microsoft have to assail us with these infuriating bugs?

Graham, I've seen your macro toolbar workaround, and it's not what I need
for this situation. I need to know if there's some way to keep Word from
resetting the default printer, which it has no business doing. I'm on SP2 of
Office 2003. Have any of the hotfixes issued since SP2 addressed this problem?

RB
 
G

Graham Mayor

Word has always retained the last used printer setting - the *Active*
Printer - until Word is closed (which will mean closing Outlook also if you
have Word as your e-mail editor) It should not change the Windows *default*
printer. The macro solution that you dismiss will return the *active*
printer to what it was before the print job.
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<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
G

Guest

Graham,

I'm not "dismissing" the macro solution lightly, or because I'm too lazy to
copy the macros you've so kindly provided. The fact is, there's something
wrong here. I don't have a situation where Word keeps the last used printer
setting during a session, which would be fine with me. (And I don't use
Outlook, BTW.) The problem is that when I close Word, then go to another
application, I discover (sometimes too late) that Word has changed the system
default printer. That's why the macros don't solve my problem. The change of
setting affects more than Word or Office programs; it affects all my
programs.

The other thing is that different printers have different font metrics, and
if the default printer has been changed without my knowledge, and I'm doing
some final formatting, I might be dealing with misleading font metrics
onscreen.

For instance, I use 3 centered em-dashes as a marker for "section" changes
in my final copies -- not Word section boundaries, but places in the text
where I want the thought to break. My default printer is a black-and-white
laser printer. With that driver active, the 3 centered em-dashes print (and
show onscreen) as a single short line, which is what I want. The inkjet which
I use as a temporary printer -- for printing markups in color -- prints them
as 3 separate em-dashes. There are other differences as well. Text lines
break in different places, and so on.

The same difficulties arise in other programs. What I am now forced to do,
which I never had to do in all the years I used Word 2000, is double-check
which printer is active whenever I try to print in any program I'm using.

Since you say Word shouldn't be changing the default system printer, it must
be a bug. Am I the only one experiencing the problem? I assume Microsoft will
continue servicing and updating Word 2003 for a while longer, even though
they've come out with 2007. Is there any way of converting this thread to a
"notify Microsoft" thread, so they are aware of it?

Maybe the bug only happens with certain printers. My inkjet is an Epson
2000P, and my laser is a Brother MFC-7820N.
 
G

Graham Mayor

If it is a bug, I had not come across it. Nor do I think that 'notifying
Microsoft' via this forum will achieve anything.

Since checking this out I have noticed that if you set the active printer by
macro - eg

ActivePrinter = "HP LaserJet 4050 Series PCL"

This changes the default printer. I cannot recall this happening previously.

Changing the active printer via the file > print dialog doesn't change the
default printer. Do you or your fellow users use macros to change the active
printer? If so, then whether or not this is a bug you could set the
ActivePrinter command to point to the correct default printer in an autoopen
and autonew macro in the document template or normal.dot in your profile.
You wouldn't then get tripped up by someone else's settings.

The macros on my web site that change the activeprinter for a print task
record the current printer before printing to the required printer, then
change it back to what it had been before. If your fellow users are using
macros that change the active printer then they could be modified to achieve
this.


--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
G

Guest

Graham,

I work alone. I don't have any "fellow users," so no one else is doing
anything that could cause this. FWIW, I don't mind going into the printer
dialogue when I print; in fact, I never use the printer icon on the main
toolbar, since I work with such long documents. I'd be sending 300 pages to
the printer with every print job. I usually print one or two, or several
pages, per job. Even when I print an entire manuscript I have to go into the
dialogue to change some printer settings -- toner saver, that sort of thing.
So the issue for me is not having a one-button way to select the active
printer. Since I'm already in the printer dialogue I can easily select the
printer I want to use. The issue is simply one of what happens when Word
changes the system default printer behind my back.

Richard
 
G

Graham Mayor

The only other possibilities that I can think of are adverse interaction
from a third party add-in or a minor corruption of the normal.dot template.
Check whether the problem still exists if you start Word in its safe mode -
hold CTRL whilst starting Word. If not, then see
http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm then
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
G

Guest

Graham,

I don't use any third-party add-ins. I've opened Word in Safe Mode, and I've
tried the Winword /a command line load. I won't say they have no effect. This
is not something that happens consistently, which is what makes it maddening.
It happens some sessions and not others. I read both papers on the links you
provided, and those don't describe any problems I'm having. I'll just keep my
eye on it, try Safe Mode again the next time it happens, maybe build a new
Normal.dot from scratch (not easy; I have a lot of non-built in Styles).

Thanks for giving it your best, as always.

Richard
 
G

Graham Mayor

You can use the organizer to copy your styles etc from an old renamed
normal.dot to a new clean one. Word will create that when you rename the old
suspect one.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
G

Guest

Graham, I set up a registry audit for the key that handles the default
printer. I let it run for several weeks, and checked the audit results every
time the default printer got changed on me. The culprit is definitely Word
2003. Here is one of the entries from the security event log:

=================
Event Type: Success Audit
Event Source: Security
Event Category: Object Access
Event ID: 560
Date: 3/11/2007
Time: 6:09:44 PM
User: RBEESON\Richard Beeson
Computer: RBEESON
Description:
Object Open:
Object Server: Security
Object Type: Key
Object
Name: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-4113303836-3277439761-1653462319-1004\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
Handle ID: 300
Operation ID: {0,712789}
Process ID: 3996
Image File Name: D:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE
Primary User Name: Richard Beeson
Primary Domain: RBEESON
Primary Logon ID: (0x0,0x13F96)
Client User Name: -
Client Domain: -
Client Logon ID: -
Accesses: READ_CONTROL
Query key value
Set key value
Create sub-key
Enumerate sub-keys
Notify about changes to keys

Privileges: -
Restricted Sid Count: 0


For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

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