Print to File is also used within accounting software to enable printing of reports to files of several types, usually text or spreadsheet files. In this case it has no printer codes and can be opened and reviewed or re-printed later. Most people now just print to pdf files for this purpose.
John
May 24, 2011 1:28 PM
About 15 years ago I used Print-to-File frequently when setting up printers to print on preprinted forms. Looking at actual code sent to the printer - and a copy of the printers communication protocol - facilitated finding exactly what needed to be tweaked to get a correct output.
Now, I generally print both form and content at the same time onto blank paper.
sVen
May 24, 2011 2:36 PM
I like CutePDF, but prefer doPDF. Maybe just because it's the first one I used, and I trust it. Just another option. I run it on 64 bit.
Digital Artist
May 24, 2011 3:01 PM
I love these articles about the obsolete stuff. It is hard to believe that I have been playing with computers so long now that I get nostalgic about things like the memory of my old Panasonic dot matrix printer sounding like a grinding wheel sharpening an axe.
David
May 24, 2011 11:36 PM
Oh no! The dinosaur DNA in me has finally appeared. Back in the good old bad old days, I worked on some of the early CAD systems that had very limited printing ability to more common printers (we typically used more specialised plotters such a couple of monolithic XEROX plan printers). Also, doing file transfers to many clients was impracticable as the files were too big to fit on one disk and inevitably, one of the spanned floppies would fail at the client's. So, we used to create print files using the drivers available on the CAD software that matched available printers at our clients. That would fit on one floppy that could be stuck in the shirt pocket and hand delivered.
When .pdf software became available it was inevitable we'd go down that path and the internet was coming down the turnpike too.
These days engineering offices just email or ftp the files to the client and IF they want a hard copy, their CAD software has drivers for every printer under the sun.
Bill Nelson
May 25, 2011 12:28 AM
Just one comment on the error message that you included. Every time I see a similar message, "An unknown error has occurred....", it makes me wonder if there are any "A known error has occurred..." messages? If it was known, it couldn't exactly be classified as an error, could it?
John.
May 25, 2011 3:24 AM
When one of Leo's article is worthy of adding to my 'tech info' folder I just 'print to file' without the need to kill another tree by making an unnecessary hardcopy. John. :-)
I'll reiterate that a "print to PDF" solution is more portable for this situation. The resulting files are significantly more likely to work as you change computers, printers and whatever else over time.
28-May-2011
Norman
May 25, 2011 6:40 AM
Leo,
I teach a monthly Windows class for members of our senior computer club. (I'm 71). Some of your hints are beyond the capabilities of our members, however, many would be perfect to pass along. I want to know if I can have permission to pass the hints to class members, giving you credit for the hint when I do.
Thanks in advance.
Norman Miller
Depends on what you mean by "hint" :-). You can certainly share your knowledge, share links to my articles and the like. About the only thing that would technically be a violation of my copyright is if you were to print my full articles and distribute them independant of my web site.
28-May-2011
James
May 26, 2011 5:01 AM
Printing to pdf (I use CutePDF) is also useful for:
1. Storing a web page, rather than having another folder created with all its files. (though it seems there are other ways of dealing with this)
2. Printing only one page of what might otherwise be more pages than one wants to.
Bruce Snider
May 30, 2011 2:04 PM
Great answer. I always wondered what that was. But you've now piqued my curiosity about another item when you write, "Finally, a use for the "Microsoft XPS Document Writer"." As I only have one printer connected, why do I see the "Document writer" listed as choice of printers? What is it and how do I use it?
As I understand it, XPS is Microsoft's attempt to come up with a PDF competitor. In otherwords it's the same idea as print to PDF, but it prints to the less compatible XPS format.
Comments Page 2
Read the article that everyone's commenting on.
May 24, 2011 11:32 AM
Print to File is also used within accounting software to enable printing of reports to files of several types, usually text or spreadsheet files. In this case it has no printer codes and can be opened and reviewed or re-printed later. Most people now just print to pdf files for this purpose.
May 24, 2011 1:28 PM
About 15 years ago I used Print-to-File frequently when setting up printers to print on preprinted forms. Looking at actual code sent to the printer - and a copy of the printers communication protocol - facilitated finding exactly what needed to be tweaked to get a correct output.
Now, I generally print both form and content at the same time onto blank paper.
May 24, 2011 2:36 PM
I like CutePDF, but prefer doPDF. Maybe just because it's the first one I used, and I trust it. Just another option. I run it on 64 bit.
May 24, 2011 3:01 PM
I love these articles about the obsolete stuff. It is hard to believe that I have been playing with computers so long now that I get nostalgic about things like the memory of my old Panasonic dot matrix printer sounding like a grinding wheel sharpening an axe.
May 24, 2011 11:36 PM
Oh no! The dinosaur DNA in me has finally appeared. Back in the good old bad old days, I worked on some of the early CAD systems that had very limited printing ability to more common printers (we typically used more specialised plotters such a couple of monolithic XEROX plan printers). Also, doing file transfers to many clients was impracticable as the files were too big to fit on one disk and inevitably, one of the spanned floppies would fail at the client's. So, we used to create print files using the drivers available on the CAD software that matched available printers at our clients. That would fit on one floppy that could be stuck in the shirt pocket and hand delivered.
When .pdf software became available it was inevitable we'd go down that path and the internet was coming down the turnpike too.
These days engineering offices just email or ftp the files to the client and IF they want a hard copy, their CAD software has drivers for every printer under the sun.
May 25, 2011 12:28 AM
Just one comment on the error message that you included. Every time I see a similar message, "An unknown error has occurred....", it makes me wonder if there are any "A known error has occurred..." messages? If it was known, it couldn't exactly be classified as an error, could it?
May 25, 2011 3:24 AM
When one of Leo's article is worthy of adding to my 'tech info' folder I just 'print to file' without the need to kill another tree by making an unnecessary hardcopy. John. :-)
28-May-2011
May 25, 2011 6:40 AM
Leo,
I teach a monthly Windows class for members of our senior computer club. (I'm 71). Some of your hints are beyond the capabilities of our members, however, many would be perfect to pass along. I want to know if I can have permission to pass the hints to class members, giving you credit for the hint when I do.
Thanks in advance.
Norman Miller
28-May-2011
May 26, 2011 5:01 AM
Printing to pdf (I use CutePDF) is also useful for:
1. Storing a web page, rather than having another folder created with all its files. (though it seems there are other ways of dealing with this)
2. Printing only one page of what might otherwise be more pages than one wants to.
May 30, 2011 2:04 PM
Great answer. I always wondered what that was. But you've now piqued my curiosity about another item when you write, "Finally, a use for the "Microsoft XPS Document Writer"." As I only have one printer connected, why do I see the "Document writer" listed as choice of printers? What is it and how do I use it?
02-Jun-2011
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