How to have the option of which page to print?

[R32chaos]

Hello kind helpers;

I have made a shortcut menu to pop up when in reports. This customized shortcut menu consists of "Print" and "Page Setup" items (among other commands).
Problem is; when Print is clicked on, it rushes out all pages to the printer without giving the option to print specific pages. When I use the keyboard and use "Ctrl+P" then it does give the option. No matter what I do under page setup, this problem persists.

How can I make the shortcut menu Print command do the same as "Ctrl+P" and keep from wasting paper when I may only want 1 specific page to print?

The reports are Pop-up and Modal enabled...It is in a shared database and I want to control what menu commands they have access to, therefore, the need for a customized shortcut menu...

Thank you!

 

[gemma-the-husky]

file print will give you usual page selection options

or preview first, then print from that

 

[R32chaos]

file print will give you usual page selection options

or preview first, then print from that

Thank you, I appreciate the response, however, this will not work. File Print is not an option as the database does not allow any part of the default menu-bar to show. It is Popup and Modal enabled for all its forms and reports. I temporarily removed popup and modal and tried File Print; that too will not work

The shortcut menu I have specifically created for reports has all the pertinent commands including "page setup" and "print". The print dialog does not open through the print command I have created in this shortcut menu, instead it shoots the entire printout directly to the printer. The dialog only opens if user uses the keyboard; Ctrl + P... I am trying to find a solution to this.

Again, thanks...I would very much appreciate a different solution where the shortcut menu's print command will effectively open a print dialog instead of sending it all to the printer automatically and wasting paper.

 

[gemma-the-husky]

show the report in preview, rather than printing - you can right click the report and get some print options, including send to, so you can email it

 

[R32chaos]

show the report in preview, rather than printing - you can right click the report and get some print options, including send to, so you can email it

Thanks but yes the report is being shown in preview. It does preview properly, then user right clicks on it and views several options such as exporting it to Excel, Word, or Snapview. when the Print option is chosen it simply does not show a dialog for choosing specific pages etc, it just sends it out to the printer and then we have to race each other to turn off the printer...

Thank you...

 

[gemma-the-husky]

when i right click a preview report, i get print ..., and this opens the full print dialog box.
can you add print ... (ie with the eliipses) to your short cut menu

 

[R32chaos]

when i right click a preview report, i get print ..., and this opens the full print dialog box.
can you add print ... (ie with the eliipses) to your short cut menu

Thanks for your continued help
That's exactly what I have done; i have made a custom shortcut menu specifically for reports. When viewing the report; a user can either maximize the report or right click to view the shortcut menu, all other options are disabled. In this shortcut menu I have placed "Print" (&Print...) as well as "Page Setup". For whatever reason clicking the print button does not popup the dialog, while manually pressing "Ctrl" + "P" keys on keyboard will make it popup. Odd, cause Ctrl+P is a keyboard shortcut for the Print command!?!?!?.

In my other databases this was equally sporadic; in some reports it would popup the dialog and other it did not. I want to once-and-for-all figure out this strange phenomenon.

There has to be a logical reason behind it, some type of setting or something so that the user can rely on the print command of the shortcut menu instead of telling them to learn keyboard shortcuts...most of them are elderly and I dont want to stress them with complications...Thank you

 

[thatlem]

Another option is to add a button on the pop-up and link to report, print preview. Then you when you select print, you can select the pages you wish to print. Make sure you select Print and not QuickPrint. There is a difference and QuickPrint will only print all pages.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I think the issue is that the Access designers assumed that you would use print preview if you wanted to select specific pages to print. How would you know what page to print if you hadn't seen the report first? makes sense to me so I always use preview when the users need an option or give them both buttons so they can decide when they're printing whether then need control or not. In that case I use an option group with Preview, and Print as choices and default to the one they say they want most often.

 

[R32chaos]

Another option is to add a button on the pop-up and link to report, print preview. Then you when you select print, you can select the pages you wish to print. Make sure you select Print and not QuickPrint. There is a difference and QuickPrint will only print all pages.

Thank you but the report already becomes visible in PrintPreview. It can have 1200 pages; I want the user to choose print from the custom shortcut menu I have assigned to this report and for the dialog box to open...I have not been able to find the difference between QuickPrint and Print. Both Print commands, whether from the default "File" menu or shortcut I created, are the same thing
with the same result. Is there anyway I can write a macro or create a custom command which performs the act of Ctrl + P???...I apprecite your input though

 

[R32chaos]

I think the issue is that the Access designers assumed that you would use print preview if you wanted to select specific pages to print. How would you know what page to print if you hadn't seen the report first? makes sense to me so I always use preview when the users need an option or give them both buttons so they can decide when they're printing whether then need control or not. In that case I use an option group with Preview, and Print as choices and default to the one they say they want most often.

As I explained in reply to thatlem, it just isnt working like it should, for whatever reason the dialogbox will simply not open, no matter how and which direction I try to use menu command of PRINT. It only opens when I use CTRL+P from the keyboard. U see a macro can also be assigned to the shortcut menu; is there anyway to assign the command "CTRL+P" to a macro?

Regards...Martin

 

[thatlem]

Here is an option. Take the print icon off the short-menu taskbar and add the print preview from the customize list (make sure to pull the one which indicates "Office/menu..." when you hover). When uses select this icon it will pull into print preview and have a big printer icon on the ribbon. When they select the print icon, it will open into the dialogue box.

I know it seems a bit micky mouse, but it works. The other option is that the print icon on the short menu taskbar has a down arrow which will give options of print or print preview, though am not sure if can default one vs the other. Seems like right now it's defaulted to print. Wonder if there is a way to default code the icon. That's a bit out of my comfort zone, so am no additional help there.

 

[R32chaos]

Here is an option. Take the print icon off the short-menu taskbar and add the print preview from the customize list (make sure to pull the one which indicates "Office/menu..." when you hover). When uses select this icon it will pull into print preview and have a big printer icon on the ribbon. When they select the print icon, it will open into the dialogue box.

I know it seems a bit micky mouse, but it works. The other option is that the print icon on the short menu taskbar has a down arrow which will give options of print or print preview, though am not sure if can default one vs the other. Seems like right now it's defaulted to print. Wonder if there is a way to default code the icon. That's a bit out of my comfort zone, so am no additional help there.

Again thanks for trying to help but positively could not duplicate what you have suggested...I do know that the following command will cause the dialog box to open:
DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdPrint

However, I want the print preview to occur, after that I want the user to be strictly limited in choosing the shortcut (right click) menu only which I have developed. In this menu I want to create a command/Icon to which the aforementioned command can be tied. That command will cause the dialog box to open. The print icon you have suggested will not do the same function, it will just shoot the entire report to the printer without any warnings.
Furthermore, I could not figure out at all what you meant by:
"Take the print icon off the short-menu taskbar and add the print preview from the customize list (make sure to pull the one which indicates "Office/menu..." when you hover)."
again, thanks for trying to help...

Regards, Martin

 

[sdawson]

I use the following simple following module for all my printing.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

Public strDocName As String 'Report
Public strCriteria As String


Sub stdPrint()


DoCmd.OpenReport strDocName, acPreview, , strCriteria
DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdPrint
DoCmd.Close acReport, strDocName


End Sub


--------------------------------

I just set the report name and criteria as normal and call up the stdPrint module.
This gives the full functionality of the standard MS print screen.

 

[gemma-the-husky]

a final thought

are you absolutley sure you are putting the correct print option into your shortcut menu

perhaps you are adding print, rather than print... with the ellipses


------------
edited

right, ive had a play (access 97)

the printer icon on the normal toolbar just prints to the default printer
the print... (ctrl-p) item in the file menu opens the printer dialog

the normal shortcut toolbar associated with the print preview is the ctrl-p button

but the extra button in the toolbox that customizes menus just seems to give the print to default printer functionality
and a couldnt see an extea button that gives the entire print dialog functionality
(maybe you could add a custom userdefined button, and call the menu option that gives the print... functionality)

------
but can you not just let the users have the normal print preview - and not give them a special menu - that way they can save as, and email from the right click menu

 

[thatlem]

What version of Access are you running?

 

[R32chaos]

What version of Access are you running?

...thanks thatlem; I am using 2002 version of Access...

...to gema-the-husky; Thank you for pointing this out but I failed to see a Print icon with an ellipse symbol or even ellipses...unless you meant "Print...". Now, I do recall that carelessly creating a shortcut menu and dragging a "Print" icon into it may not have the "..."s towards the end and will not show the dialog box. That was a couple years ago and the version I was using was 2003. This time around, there does not seem to be any difference between the "Print..." or the "Print", in fact, I cant even locate any other "Print" icon from the command list available when customizing a menu...

...and to sdawson; let me not get too over enthusiastic but it seems creating a new module and using the code you have suggested might have done the trick!! I cant thank you enough!!!!

Afterward I held down the CTRL key and dragged the "Print..." icon from the default File Menu into my shortcut menu (not using the CTRL key will remove the icon from default File Menu)

To everyone who has helped me so generously; God Speed!!!

I hope I can pay you back with something valuable myself

Regards,
Martin

 

[thatlem]

That explains it - was referencing Access 2007.

Good luck with the fix