Default printer office 2003

[wc2]

Just redirect the LPT port to a shared printer

[xoggoth]

There you are, VBA in template, what did I tell you? I take all the credit, details are beneath executive sorts like me.

[sleekit]

First post despite being a lurker for some time. Hello. I have no excuse and I offer shamefaced apologies all round.

Anyway - you can do this with macros, using AutoExec and AutoExit, which fire at startup and close of word.

In the default template (normal.dot) add a general declaration to hold the 'real' default printer. Then create AutoExec and AutoExit to handle setting the new default and swapping back to the original respectively. Will look something like this:

Public strStartupPrinter As String
Sub AutoExec()
    ' Save current default for later
    strStartupPrinter = Application.ActivePrinter
    ' Set new default printer
    Application.ActivePrinter = "CutePDF Writer"
End Sub

Sub AutoExit()
' Revert to previous
    Application.ActivePrinter = strStartupPrinter
End Sub

Worth pointing out activeprinter does seem to set the windows default printer, so if the application using the dongle is up and running at the same time as word then, um, this might actually be no use whatsoever!

Still, HTH

[ASB]

Get a PDF printer driver and set it to default.

Leave the existing printer attached for your dongle.

Tried all that. The problem is the dongle only works if I have a default printer which is connected to LPT1.

(Still if I will keep running 20 year old Dos cobol compilers.........)

[Moscow Mule]

Firstly I don't actually have a printer. Secondly the dongle doesn't work unless there is a printer configured as Generic/Text only configured on POS1.

Hence I think I'm banjaxed.

Get a PDF printer driver and set it to default.

Leave the existing printer attached for your dongle.

[ASB]

ok - I'm assuming your printer is connected to lpt1: then? If on USB then no issue
Assuming you can still print to it, why not share the printeron your PC and then attach to the shared version - which you set as default. Suspect this won't work though - the dongle will block it
Otherwise take the easy route and use one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-USB-Pa.../dp/B00008A92O

Firstly I don't actually have a printer. Secondly the dongle doesn't work unless there is a printer configured as Generic/Text only configured on POS1.

Hence I think I'm banjaxed.

[dmini]

ok - I'm assuming your printer is connected to lpt1: then? If on USB then no issue
Assuming you can still print to it, why not share the printeron your PC and then attach to the shared version - which you set as default. Suspect this won't work though - the dongle will block it
Otherwise take the easy route and use one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-USB-Pa.../dp/B00008A92O

[BoredBloke]

In Xp I thought it was just

Start

Printers and faxes

Then use the right mouse button on the one you wanted and select set as default.

For about £20 from scan you can get a cheap print server meaning, if you have a router you can avoid having to print to your LPT1 port on your computer.

[TheBigYinJames]

Certainly a good idea, but when I was searching MSDN it seemed to suggest that one of the things you couldn't do was change the printer.

You might be able to do it in WSH, have it run at startup.

[ASB]

Not sure of the details but possibly you could define a document template using VBA to set the required printer on open. Not much use for new docs of course.

Or maybe you could use addins in same way, an addin can be just a document/worksheet etc with some vba in the open event. Quite how you run an addin when you open word, excel etc I am not sure.

Mr Vagueness

Certainly a good idea, but when I was searching MSDN it seemed to suggest that one of the things you couldn't do was change the printer.

[ASB]

MS products (and every Windows product I've used, come to think of it) use the MS Windows default printer.

Yeas I know, but I've just got this nagging feeling that there was a way to do it but my old notebook is long gone.

The actual problem is that some software I use access the parallel port through LPT1. There is a hardware dongle there and this needs to respond in an appropriate manner. This means I have to have a default printer of generic/text only since that's the only way I can get the dongle protected software to run.

Of course this means that all my word docs only offer me the font from the default printer - i.e. device font; so I have to go print and then set the printer to "image writing" or whatever it is. It wouldn't be so annoying if it would at least have the decency to remember I'd done that between edits.

Bah.

[xoggoth]

Not sure of the details but possibly you could define a document template using VBA to set the required printer on open. Not much use for new docs of course.

Or maybe you could use addins in same way, an addin can be just a document/worksheet etc with some vba in the open event. Quite how you run an addin when you open word, excel etc I am not sure.

Mr Vagueness

[dmini]

MS products (and every Windows product I've used, come to think of it) use the MS Windows default printer.

[Platypus]

I need to set a different default printer for office applications that the normal default printer. I can't find a way to do this. Any ideas ?

(Response Deleted - I didn't read the Q properly)

[ASB]

I need to set a different default printer for office applications that the normal default printer. I can't find a way to do this. Any ideas ?