[ale] Likely OT: print to usable file in WinXP

Wed Jul 9 10:48:02 EDT 2014

Yeah, my interpretation of his statement "something usable like .pdf"
was that he wanted something that could be rendered and utilized away
from a printer (e.g. read on a laptop, phone, tablet, etc.)  If that
wasn't the case then a delayed print mechanism like you wrote is exactly
what's needed.  It's just generating the raw print code that gets piped
to a printer later.  But PDF being a portable format implies use cases
other than just printers.

I like the GSWriter method, though.  I may have to try it and see how it
works compared to CutePDFWriter (which I installed on one Win7 system).
 IT at work provides PDFredirect Pro for all the Windows machines.

The best use for a PDF print service that I've ever encountered is for
filling out PDF forms that somehow have security set up to prevent
saving the form data (Georgia Department of Revenue, I'm looking at you
and your Form 500).  In those cases I fill out the PDF and then print to
PDF.  I can't change the data anymore but at least I have a PDF with the
data present.  Sometimes I print the PDF later (to mail in) but a lot of
times I email or fax it so it's nice to have the finished form saved in
case the first transmission is lost.

On 2014-07-09 07:30, Lightner, Jeff wrote:
> What I wrote only prints to the printer AFTER the print "file" is dragged to the bat file shortcut on the desktop.   I often use this to create print files when at home then do the actual print of the files after I've returned to the office.   The only time one has to print directly to the printer is BEFORE the first "print to file" is selected just because it will then know what codes to put in 
> 
> He did mention PDF but didn't actually say he needed something portable.   I did mention a PDF solution using ghostscript.   However, since the time I was looking for this my need was simply to do the delayed print later I posted the solution I've used for several years as it does not require installation of any additional software (or drivers) and might suit his actual need as well.   You are correct that it would NOT suit his need if he is looking for a file he can move from one system to another to print to various printers.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Alex Carver
> Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2014 9:28 AM
> To: ale at ale.org
> Subject: Re: [ale] Likely OT: print to usable file in WinXP
> 
> But that's printing to a printer.  Ken wants to print directly to a file (PDF or other suitable, transportable format) by utilizing the Windows printing subsystem and leave it as that transportable file without sending to a printer.
> 
> 
> There is one way to do it without installing any other software and that is to install an Apple LaserWriter printer driver, set it to print to file, and just print with that.  It will generate straight PostScript that can be used later for any conversion.
> 
> On 2014-07-09 05:52, Lightner, Jeff wrote:
>> When I'd researched this some time ago I did find things like the following for using Ghostscript to print to PDF.  There were others as well.
>> https://www.stat.tamu.edu/~henrik/GSWriter/GSWriter.html
>>
>> However, the main reason I'd looked for that was because I couldn't figure out how to print the files I'd created by selecting the "print to file" option in most applications.   Further reading revealed the issue is that the print file created by such applications is actually formatting the document to print to the printer you had last used.    Given that I did the following (on XP and still do on Windows 7):
>> 1)  Printed something to the printer I intended to use.
>> 2)  Created a batch file called something like "printer.bat" with contents:
>> :loop
>> @echo Print %1
>> @copy /B %1 \\<printserver>\<printer> >nul
>> 3)  Create a shortcut to that file on my Windows desktop.
>>
>> Any time I print to a file I send it to a file (usually with suffix .prn due to old habits but it doesn't require that).
>> I can then drag the file from my Windows explorer to the shortcut on my desktop and it will print to the printer.
>>
>> Prior to having to use a shared printer from print server I had a local printer at my desk and my notes for that say:
>>
>> To print to my local IP printer I had to go into Properties of the printer in
>> Windows then select "Sharing" tab.   There I clicked on "Share this printer"
>> and set Share name to <localprintername>.   (Previously it had "Do not Share this
>> printer" selected.)  I also deselected "List in the directory" box.
>>
>> Then from Command Prompt I was able to do the following:
>>   copy /B file.prn \\<windowsXPlaptopName>\<localprintername>
>>
>> Presumably you could use that same local setup in the above bat file but I'd lost my local printer long before I setup that bat file.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Ken Cochran
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 10:22 PM
>> To: ale at ale.org
>> Subject: [ale] Likely OT: print to usable file in WinXP
>>
>> (Sorry for the OT but I don't really know where else to ask.  {sigh})
>>
>> Hey folks, how can I print-to-file (to something usable like
>> .pdf) in the WindowsXP print dialog?  Looks like what I need is some kind of "virtual" printer driver/pgm.  Would prefer something F/OSS of course (hopefully for safety's sake - no mal/adware, etc.).  What do you folks recommend and/or recommend against?
>>
>> Many thanks, -kc
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