Control printing option thru scripts

[DannA]

Can print options be changed within scripts?

Say a user hits a button to print report A in 4 copies...

I know how to "choose" Report-A, but i don't where to "script" the number of copies or the report layout(portrait, landscape). Can i also control the paper tray selection??

Thanks

--Dan

[StevenB]

Dan,

Using the Print Setup [Restore] line in your print script will do what you're looking for.

In order for it to work you need to manually go through the steps of setting up the printer and printing what your layout.

Start with the Print Setup in the File menu. Select your printer, select your paper source and set the orientation of the page to portrait or landscape.

Now select Print in the File menu. When you are presented with the dialog box - set the number of copies, select All or the specific pages you want to print and click OK.

Now open Scriptmaker and go to your script that controls the printing. Edit the script and make sure you have the Print Setup script step with the Restore option checked. (It's up to you if you want to select Perform without dialog. If you do, they won't see the dialog box, and there's less chance of any setting getting changed.)

The next script step should be Print. (Again it's up to you if want to do this without a dialog box.)

Now click on OK to save the script. You be prompted with a window that asks you about Keeping or Replacing the Print Setup information. Click on Replace so that the script stores the setup and print options you just used. Then click OK.

That should save the setup for you. If you have other layouts to print differently, go through these steps to save the different setups.

Remember, you can only save one print setup in a script.

Hope this helps.

Steven B

[ October 26, 2001: Message edited by: StevenB ]

[BobWeaver]

I'm not sure that the number of copies or the tray selection will be remembered. It certainly isn't on my printer. It depends on the printer driver.

I've gotten around this limitation on postscript printers by swapping modified PPD files using applescript. I posted some info about this last week in this forum in reply to a question about forcing the printer to use the manual feed slot.

[DannA]

Thanks for the replies, i was away for a bit...

I tried to use the print setup, it worked OK for the tray and the page layout but did not remember the number of copies.

(i use a Brother HL1270 printer by the way)

my FM runs on a pc so i'm not sure about the PPD files and applescript...

for now i created a loop in my script that basicaly prints 4 times the same page (which gives 4 copies for my NCR paper)

Question: if iuse apple script does my FM solution become limited to running on a MAC only or can i still use it on a pc??

Thanks

--Dan

[Ocean West]

Is your report a single layout report or is it a sub summary report?

if it is the former you might consider making your body part about 3 pages long and duplicate the contents 4 times keeping in with in the page brakes.

This way you only need to print the form once, but then you need pre colliated paper, if it's going on NCR.

Just a thought.

[DannA]

That is a thought!!!

Would it make printing faster?

ie: 1 print request of 4 pages instead of 4 print rquests of 1 page.

Thanks, i will try that.

--Dan