Restore Print Setup

[Salesman0Gil]

Has Filemaker came out with a fix for the Print Setup script step that retains the printer information, if you are using two different printers?

[Mandu]

I think you and I are asking the same question, but I wanted to make sure. (I'm running FM 8.0 on Windows 2000)

I developed a solution on one computer (A) and deployed it on another (. Computer B is attached to an HP inkjet. Once the solution was installed, I used File > Printer Setup... > Properties to set up a custom set of printing parameters. But the solution doesn't remember these settings from launch to launch.

Is there any way to make those settings stick?

Chap

[Salesman0Gil]

Bascially yes it is the same problem.

Mine is even easier. I use the Printsetup script step, and have the restore settings boxed checked. Not only does it not keep the settings, but changes the settings in the script.

[JustMe]

I've got the same problem ;)

[Mandu]

Well, shoot. That sucks!

Any idea if it's fixed in FM9?

[natemclain]

I'm having the exact same issue with FMP8.5 & 9. Although mine will retain the actual printer, just not the paper size(or label size in this case). It doesn't matter if you select it in Scriptmaker Print Setup or not it won't retain the setting. Very frustrating!

N

[Mandu]

I went to the Filemaker Customer Support page and searched for "print setup" and got a few hits that seemed relevant. Unfortunately they seem to claim they cleared up these problems in FMP8 :

It's frustrating, all right. Actually it defeats the objective of my application, which was to be an idiot-proof invoice generator. I can't expect my users to operate a Print Setup dialog box when they can barely grasp clicking and hitting tab. "Properties"?

[jmkimmel]

Did you set up the printers/settings that keep magically coming up before sharing the file(s) on filemaker server? I don't know this for sure, but it might be remembering things that were set as a local user and then reverting to those each time you log in to use the file.

There are many other things that do behave that way with FileMaker, such as global fields, so these might behave that way also.

Can anyone say authoritatively one way or the other?

[Salesman0Gil]

I added my scripts after I served it.

The printers are now local on the computer.

I even went as far as to create a single script for each printer, and the script only contains the print setup scirpt step.

I've tinkered wiht this problem for a couple of years, and still have never found resolution.

Intresting item though, the print setup step, acts different on different computers. And no it does not always default to a local printer, some times it changes to a network printer. I've also seen where the script is calling for the default printer on the local computer, and picks a different printer.

[Ranger John]

I'm so glad to hear that others are having these problems. We (my net spec and I) were promised by our FM rep that our printing problems would be solved in FM9. We just upgraded, and the problems are all still there - with a few new ones.

I have hundreds of scripts with the Print (Restore) script step in them.

The Macs perform the scripts flawlessly, allowing users to dynamically choose whichever printer they want to print to, networked or local.

The Windows machines are all over the board. Most will completely ignore the printer selected by the user and send the page to the default printer. And (new to FM9), sometimes this printout is Black and White + Yellow???

On machines that can select printers other than their default, when they print to a Dymo, the script grabs their default printer's paper size (8.5 x 11), despite the fact that the Print Setup (Restore; No Dialog) clearly changes the paper size to the label size (and that probing into the print dialog verifies the appropriate size during the script).

I'm getting ready to sell this database to other organizations, and I can't promise them that they'll be able to successfully print anything from it. This is a nightmare!

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[GTNman]

i concur, this needs to be fixed asap.

Edited August 21, 2007 by Guest

[aholtzapfel]

I have just found this problem in my system. a script intended to print to a label printer works in 8.0v3 but in 8.5v2 or 9 it retains the printer but the paper size (reguardless of what is selected in the page setup) is 8 1/2 X 11.

Does anyone know anything about this issue?

[grumbachr]

I've just discovered this problem. I've got to be able to print to a variety of printers and I really don't want FM changing the default printer.

Anyone with a work around?

[Macfreq]

I'm having a similar issue that appeared last week. I have since confirmed my printer settings in the Print Setup script steps to default to the local printer and Letter size page size, but my reports insist on printing to the page size of the receipt printer that used on one of the PCs on the network.

If I restart FileMaker the page size is reset to letter but it eventually changes back to the reciept paper size, eventhough the PC with the recipt printer has been printing for hours.

I was hoping the Print Setup step with Restore would actually work before printing Report, but it doesn't anymore. This is VERY frustrating for my client.

Any help would be great. This is only for the Windows systems, the Macs are doing fine.

[aholtzapfel]

What version of Filemaker are your clients using? 8 and 8.5/9.0 behave differant. (I'm guessing 8, not sure recient printer would work with 8.5/9.)

But windows has a few issues that are similar. Some easily fixed. Some not.

Before I get into any of them. Do your Clients need to change their printer while using FM?

[Vaughan]

"If I restart FileMaker the page size is reset to letter but it eventually changes back to the reciept paper size, eventhough the PC with the recipt printer has been printing for hours.

I was hoping the Print Setup step with Restore would actually work before printing Report, but it doesn't anymore. This is VERY frustrating for my client."

I'd guess that either:

1) somewhere there is a script that is changing the page setup to a stored value, the receipt paper size; or

2) you have file corruption.

[aholtzapfel]

3)the printer name is over 30 charecters and filemaker is having trouble dealing with it.

I know there are a few other issues as well depending on what you need it to do (print only to one printer? use multiple printers? Does it have to be done without dialog? with dialog?)

[Hunnyman]

We run FM 8.5 and we only ever use A4 paper size in all printers (HP Laserjets of various sorts)on a 5 user network. Just recently, immediately after launch in the morning, we notice that several different databases have reset to a default paper size value of "Letter". We change this back to A4 using the properties tab from the print command and everything is fine for the rest of the day for that database on that workstation, but the problem returns the next morning. All printer properties in Windows Control Panel are set to A4, no scripts are run before we detect the problem each morning. We have cut all printer names down to less than 12 characters. Also, workstations which did not have the problem a few weeks ago, now seem to have become "infected". Any suggestions where FM is getting the "Letter" default from?

[dvalley]

We have a script to print a document to Adobe PDF (not FileMaker's PDF function). If you have the printer setup show the dialog box, the script works perfectly. If you have it run without dialog, the document is sent to the default printer (in this case, a Laserjet 4050), but requesting prepunched paper from the manual tray. This is not the default for the printer, not is it mentioned in the script.

I have other issues with print setups not being held when duplexing or when printing letter size documents and having a label page setup come out (despite the page setup in the script). FMP 6 never did this!!

[aholtzapfel]

We have a script to print a document to Adobe PDF (not FileMaker's PDF function). If you have the printer setup show the dialog box, the script works perfectly. If you have it run without dialog, the document is sent to the default printer (in this case, a Laserjet 4050)!!

This is the way printers settings behave in FM8+

print setup (without dialog) will send stuff to your default printer(or I should say "to the printer that was the defualt when the FM app opened"), If done with dialog it will pull the settings stored in the script, if the printer is avalible. I have worked around this by running an external script that changes the default printer for filemaker by changing the registry entry. (the page set-up with/out dialog will then set FM Files printer to the printer in the registry.) If you don't need to use more than one printer, Set your system defualt to the one you want, open filemaker, and do all your page setups w/o dialog. If you need more than one, you need to do your page-setups with dialog or use a work around (Like rewriting the reg. entry for it).

..., but requesting prepunched paper from the manual tray. This is not the default for the printer, not is it mentioned in the script.

I have other issues with print setups not being held when duplexing or when printing letter size documents and having a label page setup come out (despite the page setup in the script). FMP 6 never did this!!

This problem, page set-up not holding the correct paper size, is new to 8.5 and still true in 9. I havn't figured out why it does this, I'd call it a bug, and I have yet to find any work around.

[dvalley]

This is not encouraging. I think I can do a work around for our duplexing issue. (the page setup calls for duplex with two pages per side, without dialog, we get duplex, one page per side.) If I add a global date field and script a "run once" page setup (with dialog), set the date to today and compare to current date next run. if yes, skip script. Once the page setup is set, it is usually good for the day. It should work.

Those with multiple printers are not going to be happy.

[aholtzapfel]

I think I can do a work around for our duplexing issue. (the page setup calls for duplex with two pages per side, without dialog, we get duplex, one page per side.)

Let me know if that works. It is my experience that a page setup with dialog in a script will not change the defualt in the file. In order to do that a user must do it manualy from the menu. (I could be wrong, it has been awhile since I have worked on these issues and never have fully understood this behavior.)

[dvalley]

I had to wait a day for the computer to cycle, but I tried the script addition (if(g_date <> Get (Currentdate)); use print setup with dialog. then set g_date to get(currentdate). The next time the script runs, the dates will be equal and the script skips the setup. The setup seems to hold (but had defaulted during restart. Only the first run of the day triggers the setup.

This works on a dedicated printer, but should work for multiples as well. I have not tested that yet.

[bcooney]

Well, this bug has bit me bigtime. I have a distributed runtime app that has all reports setup for portrait, 100%. I took a chance and put Print Restores in (not Print Setup, since we're always Portrait 100%). Because I have no way of knowing what the ultimate printer will be, I was hoping it would work.

I give the user a Print Setup from the File menu, and tell them to "set that," hoping that'll become the "file's default" and all would be ok.

Some reports are printing landscape...for no apparent reason. Any suggestions, beside showing a Print dialog at every print. There's a routine that prints 5 reports with one Print button click, and I don't want to give them 5 Print dialogs.

THIS IS AN OLD BUG AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED IN FM9! :)

[natemclain]

Anyone know if this has been addressed in 9.0v3?

[IEW]

No. Try this, put a 3 second delay after your print setup script. I have done this and it seems to help.

FM needs to get a handle on this, it has always been a problem.

[holographl]

I went through this many months ago.

We converted from 5.5 to 8. In 5.5 we had an automated system that chooses between 5 different printers depending on what was being printed. Worked great in 5.5, even got it to work in 8.

Then someone automatically upgraded to 8.5 and everything broke. Had to rewrite the entire thing almost overnight.

Tried changing printers with batch files and Visual Basic, no luck. They were not consistent. The only way I could get it to work was to create one file for each printer and move all the layouts for each printer to each file. For example: PrintFile1.fp7 only printed to the HP4350 and only letter size layouts were allowed. The print setup and print script steps are only set for that one printer ever.

So to do the same process as in 5.5 I had to create 5 new files each set to one printer then add copies of all the existing layouts to the 5 new files.

The process now moves the data to each new file as needed and prints only a one particular format from that file.

If you don't do this exactly the system will not work.

Now I have the same issue with a section that prints a label and a piece of paper. If you print the paper first then the label does not print correctly. If you print the label first then the paper prints areas the size of the label on multiple pages.

Unless I can find a fix I'll have to rewrite that one also.