OL98: Outlook Does Not Print Forms as Expected

• Microsoft Outlook 98

SYMPTOMS

You want to print a Microsoft Outlook 98 form in a specific format, but there doesn't appear to be a way to do this.

CAUSE

Outlook can only print forms with the options that are available in the Print window. For programmers, the Outlook object model does not provide additional ways of directly changing the print format of a form.

MORE INFORMATION

IMPORTANT: This article requires knowledge of creating custom Outlook forms and using Visual Basic Scripting Edition. It provides a basic example of how to begin implementing a solution and will most likely require considerable customization to suit a specific need. If you do not have a background in programming and implementing a custom solution, you may wish to seek the assistance of a Solution Provider. For more information on how to contact a Microsoft Solution Provider, please consult the Knowledge Base article listed in the References section of this article.

The following methods provide an overview of possible approaches you can use to solve this problem. These approaches should be evaluated based on factors such as:

• Whether you are using a custom form or would consider using one to enable additional functionality.



• Whether you need a custom print format or just want to print the form exactly as it appears on the screen.



• Your programming background. If you are familiar with Visual Basic-type programming, you could develop a solution yourself. If not, you may want to obtain the services of a developer who could provide the solution for you.

Method 1: Use ALT+PRINT SCREEN

1. With the Outlook form currently displayed, press ALT+PRINT SCREEN. You will not see or hear anything happen.



2. Switch to or start Word.



3. Make sure you have a new document open.
   
   NOTE: You may want to reduce the margins of the document to allow more room for the image to fit on the page.



4. On the Edit menu, click Paste.



5. Resize the image as appropriate:
   1. Click the image once to select it.
   
   
   
   2. Click the Format menu, and then click Picture.
   
   
   
   3. Click the Size page of Format Picture.
   
   
   
   4. On the Size tab, Set the Height and Width of the picture.
   
   
   



6. To print the document on the File menu, click Print.

Method 2: Use VBScript To Automate the ALT+PRINT SCREEN Method

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

1. On the Tools menu, click Forms and click Design This Form. Click the (P.2) page of the form.



2. On the Form menu, click Control Toolbox. Drag a CommandButton control onto the P.2 page of the form. Right-click the control and then click Properties. On the Display tab, set the Name to cmdPrint and the Caption to Print. Click OK and then close the Control ToolBox.



3. On the Form menu, click View Code. Enter the following VBScript code into the Script Editor and then close the Script Editor:

   
       Sub cmdPrint_Click()
         Set oWordApp = CreateObject("Word.Application")
         If oWordApp Is Nothing Then
            MsgBox "Couldn't start Word."
         Else
            Dim oWordApp
            Dim oWordDoc
            Dim oBMs
            Dim bolPrintBackground
   
            ' Open a new document
            Set oDoc = oWordApp.Documents.Add
   
            ' Set a page setup object variable
            Set oPS = oDoc.PageSetup
   
            ' Reduce the margins to .5" (36 points)
            oPS.TopMargin = 36
            oPS.BottomMargin = 36
            oPS.LeftMargin = 36
            oPS.RightMargin = 36
   
            ' Paste in the screen shot
            oWordApp.Selection.Paste
   
            ' Center the screen shot
            Const wdAlignParagraphCenter = 1
            oDoc.Paragraphs(1).Alignment=wdAlignParagraphCenter
   
            ' Get the current Word setting for background printing
            bolPrintBackground = oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground
   
            ' Turn background printing off
            oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground = False
   
            ' Print the Word document
            oDoc.PrintOut
   
            ' Restore previous setting
            oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground = bolPrintBackground
   
            ' Close and don't save changes to the document
            Const wdDoNotSaveChanges = 0
            oDoc.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
   
            ' Close the Word instance
            oWordApp.Quit
   
            ' Clean up
            Set oPS = Nothing
            Set oDoc = Nothing
            Set oWordApp = Nothing
         End If
       End Sub 




4. On the Tools menu, click Forms and then click Publish Form. The window should default to storing the contact form in your contacts folder. Enter "Print Test" as the Display Name and then click Publish.



5. Close and do not save changes to the form.

1. On the Actions menu, click New Print Test.



2. Press ALT+PRINT SCREEN.



3. Click the P.2 page of the form and click Print.

Method 3: Generate a Custom Report

1. Open a new document in Word.



2. On the View menu, click Toolbars and then click Forms.



3. Click the Text Form Field button on the Forms toolbar to insert a form field. Press ENTER twice and then click the Text Form Field button again to insert a second form field. Note that the form fields have default bookmark names of Text1 and Text2.



4. Click the Protect Form button on the Forms toolbar to protect the template.



5. On the File menu, click Save As. Change the Save As Type setting to Word Template, change the Save In setting to C:\, enter MyForm as the name of the template and click Save.



6. Close the template.

1. Open a new, default contact form. On the Tools menu, click Forms and then click Design This Form. Click the (P.2) page of the form.



2. On the Form menu, click Control Toolbox. Drag a CommandButton control onto the P.2 page of the form. Right-click the control and then click Properties. On the Display tab set the Name to cmdPrint and the Caption to Print. Click OK and then close the Control ToolBox.



3. On the Form menu, click View Code. Enter the following VBScript code into the Script Editor and then close the Script Editor:

   
       Sub cmdPrint_Click()
         Set oWordApp = CreateObject("Word.Application")
         If oWordApp Is Nothing Then
            MsgBox "Couldn't start Word."
         Else
            Dim oWordApp
            Dim oWordDoc
            Dim bolPrintBackground
   
            ' Open a new document
            Set oDoc = oWordApp.Documents.Add("C:\MyForm.dot")
   
            ' Set the first bookmark to the contact's full name
            oDoc.FormFields("Text1").Result = CStr(Item.FullName)
   
            ' Set the second bookmark to the contact's birthday
            oDoc.FormFields("Text2").Result = CStr(Item.Birthday)
   
            ' If the form contains user-defined fields, you can use
            ' the following syntax to transfer the contents of a
            ' user-defined field (FieldName) to Word:
            ' strMyField = Item.UserProperties.Find("FieldName")
            ' oDoc.FormFields("Text3").Result = strMyField
   
            ' Get the current Word setting for background printing
            bolPrintBackground = oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground
   
            ' Turn background printing off
            oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground = False
   
            ' Print the Word document
            oDoc.PrintOut
   
            ' Restore previous setting
            oWordApp.Options.PrintBackground = bolPrintBackground
   
            ' Close and don't save changes to the document
            Const wdDoNotSaveChanges = 0
            oDoc.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
   
            ' Close the Word instance
            oWordApp.Quit
   
            ' Clean up
            Set oDoc = Nothing
            Set oWordApp = Nothing
         End If
       End Sub 




4. On the Tools menu, click Forms and then click Publish Form. The window should default to storing the contact form in your contacts folder. Enter "Send Fields" as the Display Name and then click Publish.



5. Close and do not save changes to the form we just created.

1. On the Actions menu, click New Send Fields.



2. Enter a full name for the contact and on the Details page of the form, enter a birthday.



3. Click the P.2 page of the form and click Print.

REFERENCES

For more information about creating solutions with Microsoft Outlook 98, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q180826 OL98: Resources for Custom Forms and Programming

Q182349 OL98: Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions

Additional query words: OutSol OutSol98

Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: July 29, 1999