ACC97: Can't Use PrtDevMode or PrtMip Property with MDE Files

ID: Q180281

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Access 97

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

SYMPTOMS

In an MDE file, you cannot use the PrtDevMode or PrtMip property to change printer information for forms and reports. If you try to modify printer information by programmatically using the PrtDevMode or PrtMip property, you may receive the following error message:

That command isn't available in an MDE database.

CAUSE

To modify printer information using the PrtDevMode or PrtMip property, the form or report must first be opened in Design view. However, forms, reports, and modules cannot be opened in Design mode within an MDE file.

RESOLUTION

Instead of creating MDE files, create a Microsoft Access database and add Microsoft Access Security to the database. Adding security to your Microsoft Access database (MDB) will prevent users from viewing the design of your forms, reports, modules, and so on.

IMPORTANT: This resolution assumes that you understand the Microsoft Access Security model.

If you use a Microsoft Access database that has been secured, you can use the CreateWorkspace method to create a session for the Administrator of the database while programmatically modifying printer information using PrtDevMode or PrtMip property.

For more information on Microsoft Access Security, see the following documentation:

Q148555 ACC95: MS Access 95 Security White Paper Available on MSL

Q132143 ACC: Overview of How to Secure a Microsoft Access Database

The following example uses the default Admin user as the Administrator of the Northwind database, and allows user Guest to open a report, change its marginal settings, and then preview the report.

CAUTION: Following the steps in this example will modify the sample database Northwind.mdb. You may want to back up the Northwind.mdb file and perform these steps on a copy of the database.

Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.

Create a module and type the following lines in the Declarations section:


       Option Explicit

       Type str_PRTMIP
          strRGB As String * 28
       End Type

       Type type_PRTMIP
          lngLeftMargin As Long
          lngTopMargin As Long
          lngRightMargin As Long
          lngBotMargin As Long
          lngDataOnly As Long
          lngWidth As Long
          lngHeight As Long
          lngDefaultSize As Long
          lngColumns As Long
          lngColumnSpacing As Long
          lngRowSpacing As Long
          lngItemLayout As Long
          lngFastPrint As Long
          lngDatasheet As Long
       End Type

Save and close the module.

Open a new form not based on any table or query in Design view.

Add a command button to the form.

Set the command button's OnClick property to the following event procedure:


       Private Sub Command0_Click()

       ' This example shows how to set report margins in a secured
       ' database.
       Dim wrkAdmin As Workspace
       Dim dbs As Database
       Dim ctrReports As Container
       Dim docReport As Document
       Dim PrtMipString As str_PRTMIP
       Dim PM As type_PRTMIP
       Dim Rpt As Report
       Dim strName As String

        strName = "Summary of Sales by Year"

       ' Create a new session and assign it to the database administrator.
       Set wrkAdmin = DBEngine.CreateWorkspace("AdminWorkspace", "Admin", _
         "Admin", dbUseJet)
       ' Be sure to change the path in this next line to match your path to
       ' Northwind.mdb.
       Set dbs = wrkAdmin.OpenDatabase("C:\Northwind.mdb", False)
       Set ctrReports = dbs.Containers!Reports
       Set docReport = ctrReports.Documents(strName)
       ' Give the Users group full permissions to this report.
       docReport.UserName = "Users"
       docReport.Permissions = dbSecFullAccess

       ' Close the session.
       wrkAdmin.Close

       ' Open the report in Design view and set the report object variable.
       DoCmd.Echo False
       DoCmd.OpenReport strName, acDesign

       Set Rpt = Reports(strName)
       ' Assign the reports current device information.
       PrtMipString.strRGB = Rpt.PrtMip

       ' Assign the device information into its various components.
       LSet PM = PrtMipString

       ' The new margin settings to be used are half inch.
       ' Note: The Summary of Sales by Year report has 1" margins by
       ' default.
       PM.lngLeftMargin = 0.5 * 1440
       PM.lngTopMargin = 0.5 * 1440
       PM.lngRightMargin = 0.5 * 1440
       PM.lngBotMargin = 0.5 * 1440

       ' Update the device information with the new settings.
       LSet PrtMipString = PM

       Rpt.PrtMip = PrtMipString.strRGB

      ' Close the design of the report, saving the changes,
      ' and then preview the report.
      DoCmd.Close acReport, strName, acSaveYes
      DoCmd.OpenReport strName, acViewPreview
      DoCmd.Echo True

      ' Re-create a new session, assigning it to the database
      ' administrator.
      Set wrkAdmin = DBEngine.CreateWorkspace("AdminWorkspace", "Admin", _
         "Admin", dbUseJet)
      ' Be sure to enter the correct path in this next line as well.
      Set dbs = wrkAdmin.OpenDatabase("C:\Northwind.mdb", False)
      Set ctrReports = dbs.Containers!Reports
      Set docReport = ctrReports.Documents(strName)

      ' Assign Read permissions for to this report back to the Users group.
      docReport.UserName = "Users"
      docReport.Permissions = dbSecReadSec

      ' Close the session.
      wrkAdmin.Close

      End Sub

Save the form as Form1 and close it.

Remove all permissions for the Users group for all objects.

Create a new user called Guest.

Assign the following permissions to the Guest user:

- Open/Run on the Current Database
- Read Data and Read Design on the Order Details table
- Read Data and Read Design on the Orders table
- Read Data and Read Design on the Order Subtotals query
- Read Data and Read Design on the Summary of Sale by Year query
- Open/Run on the Form1 form
- Open/Run, Read Design and Modify Design on the "Summary of Sales by Year" report

Assign the password "Admin" (without the quotation marks) to the Admin user.

Close and restart Microsoft Access.

Type "Guest" (without the quotation marks) as the logon name, and press ENTER.

Open the Form1 form in Form view, and click the command button. Note that the "Summary of Sales by Year" report displays in Print Preview with half inch margins.

NOTE: Because we have assigned only Open/Run permissions to the Form1 form, it is impossible for the user to open the form in Design view in order to discover what the Admin's password is. However, keep in mind that a properly secured database would never use the default Admin account as the administrator of a database.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Printer page setup properties such as PrtDevMode and PrtMip enable you to programmatically manipulate the printer information specified for Microsoft Access forms and reports. The PrtDevMode and PrtMip properties enable you to read a form or report's current printer settings as well as update the printer settings.

Unlike run-time applications, which allow the PrtDevMode and PrtMip properties to open forms and reports in Design view, MDE file formats do not allow forms and reports to be opened in Design view.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Repeat steps 1 through 7 in the "Resolution" section of this article.

Set the command button's OnClick property to the following event procedure:


      Dim PrtMipString As str_PRTMIP
      Dim PM As type_PRTMIP
      Dim rpt As Report
      Dim strName As String

      DoCmd.Echo False
      strName = "Summary of Sales by Year"

      DoCmd.OpenReport strName, acDesign
      Set rpt = Reports(strName)

      PrtMipString.strRGB = rpt.PrtMip
      LSet PM = PrtMipString

      PM.lngLeftMargin = 1 * 1440
      PM.lngTopMargin = 1 * 1440
      PM.lngRightMargin = 1 * 1440
      PM.lngBotMargin = 1 * 1440

      LSet PrtMipString = PM
      rpt.PrtMip = PrtMipString.strRGB

      DoCmd.Close acReport, strName, acSaveYes
      DoCmd.OpenReport strName, acViewPreview
      DoCmd.Echo True

Save the form as Form1 and open it in Form view. Note that you can preview the report without any errors.

Close the report and the form.

On the Tools menu, click Database Utilities, and then click Make MDE File, and save the Northwind database in an MDE format.

Open Northwind.mde and double-click the Form1 form to open it.

Click the command button. Note that you receive the following error message:

The expression On Click you entered as the event property setting
produced the following error: That command isn't available in an
MDE database.

The expression may not result in the name of a macro, the name of a
user-defined function, or [Event Procedure].

There may have been an error evaluating the function, event, or
macro.

REFERENCES

For more information about the PrtDevMode or PrtMip property, search the Help Index for "PrtDevMode Property" or "PrtMip Property", or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q163435 VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Additional query words: kbcode kbmacro vba


Keywords          : FmrProp PtrOpt 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999