How to Change the Default Printer Via Code

[fotojock]

I have a Foxpro Win program on my network that prints to a label printer.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each time a job is sent to that printer, a page eject occurs on my Windows DEFAULT printer.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've tried everything to eliminate the eject, but to no avail.<br><br>I wonder if there's a command I could call (or some value I could modify) from inside my program to automatically change the Windows default printer on the fly (invisibly to my operators).&nbsp;&nbsp;If I could, I would switch the default to a dummy printer (LPT3), print my labels, then switch it back, in hopes of eliminating that pesky page eject.&nbsp;&nbsp;Must I modify WIN.INI or some other file on the fly or is there a command that switches the default printer?

 

[Visitor]

WIN.INI contains info for the default printer, but I don't think changing that value on the fly will work.&nbsp;&nbsp;I believe any changes in WIN.INI (or SYSTEM.INI) would require a Windows restart to go into effect.

 

[MiggyD]

Does this extra page ejecting happen with all jobs sent to the printer by other programs? or just Foxpro?&nbsp;&nbsp;If it's just with Foxpro then it's probably in the Foxpro coding.<br><br>Did you try to change the SPOOL settings?&nbsp;&nbsp;ex: from EMF to RAW or DISABLE BI-DIRECTIONAL SUPPORT FOR THIS PRINTER instead of enabling it or START PRINTING AFTER LAST PAGE?<br><br>Did you check the printer's DETAILS tab and checked out the page seperator?<br> <p> <br><a href=mailto: > </a><br><a href= > </a><br>If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around, does it make sound? Its not the sound that matters, but the silence it leaves behind.

 

[jmartin]

What Network Operating System do you have?<br>If that is Novell Netware and you are using Clients for Netware (Netware`s clients , of course) as a default starting session, there is an option in login script that enables/disables some functions related with printer, such as printing a banner, add an extra page and a carriage return. Check that.<br>

 

[fotojock]

Thanks for the tips, but still no answer yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've tried different settings for SPOOL and Novell, but no help.&nbsp;&nbsp;It does only happen in my Foxpro printer calls when I'm bypassing the Windows driver and either printing directly to LPT1 or doing a Novell CAPTURE to print on a network printer as if it were LPT1.&nbsp;&nbsp;The problem doesn't exist when I use a Windows driver, but for this project, the driver won't do the job, so I'm stuck with my page eject, it seems.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since it happens when writing directly to LPT1, that leaves Novell off the hook, I think.&nbsp;&nbsp;Foxpro must be causing this behind the code somewhere since I have no code that addresses the default printer in my routine.&nbsp;&nbsp;Guess this is what I get for using old DOS commands from within a Windows program . . . just too confusing for Foxpro & Windows to handle.<br><br>Think you're right about WIN.INI changes needing a reboot to take effect.&nbsp;&nbsp;That would have been an easy solution.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is not the first time that I've wished for a &quot;change the default printer&quot; command, but maybe it's just not possible.

 

[jmartin]

I have read you have a Novell network system. Are you using Netware Clients on your Pc?? If so I have notice that exist an option that always adds and extra page (first page) when we want to print, this is the ´banner´. In this page is include some information, as well as user name who sends the job and a little more data. Is this kind of page you see on your printer??. If so disable it. If isnt I noticed that some printers had a ´internal link´ with others applications that results in tasks that we dont want, such as: registering software, some limitations, etc. What kind of printer do you have??<br>

 

[fotojock]

It's not the banner page.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've tested this with the Novell Network off and am piping codes directly to a specialized label printer on LPT1 (from within a Foxpro Windows program).&nbsp;&nbsp;The Windows &quot;default&quot; printer (a laser) still prints a blank page even under this situation.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think Foxpro and Windows have gotten confused with my unusual printing technique.&nbsp;&nbsp;So I've decided the blank page is a problem I can live with, however I now have a new problem with printer errors (printer offline, etc) causing a GDF with my Foxpro program.&nbsp;&nbsp;So it seems I'm off to the Foxpro Forum for a different solution.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thanks!