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How do I set a default printer for a specific program?

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8 replies

by krisspike131

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I have two printers at my office, one of which is stocked with forms. I would like to print with the program that fills out the forms without having to switch printers every time I open the program. Please advise. (windows XP) thanks.

8 replies

by voldar

create a batch file that contains the following :

- one line with a command to setup the desired printer by default;
- one line with the command that starts the application.

Then, you rename this batchfile whith the name of the program you want to use and instruct the user to click on this file to open the application.

The command to setup a printer by default is as follows :
RUNDLL32 PRINTUI.DLL,PrintUIEntry /y /n "printer"
("printer" is the name of the printer you want to set by default)
You may try to use this command in the shortcut of the application, placed before the command that starts the application. It should work too, but I did not try it.

P.S. This is a trick I used a lot in a Citrix environment.

by krisspike131

The file extension is what is holding me back I think. It is a r2w file so I need to open it with a certain program. I copied the target info from the shortcut but it says it cannot find the target. I need to know the command to tell it what to open it with. Thanks for the help so far

by voldar

something :
- copy the source target from the shortcut and put it in a cmd prompt. Do you get the same error? If so, add in front of it the command "start". It should be like :
c:\>start "C:\...source target..."

by seanferd

If that is the form extension, it needs to be associated with the application which opens it.

by seanferd

in the shortcut to the application, not the shortcut to the file. In the case that will work, you need to open the app with the modified shortcut, then load the appropriate r2w file.

I'll see if there is another way to force the printer. Are these printers connected directly to the XP machine, or over a network? If a network, is it a domain, or workgroup? Is it XP Pro or Home edition?

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