DOCUMENT:Q274523  14-MAY-2002  [vbwin]
TITLE   :BUG: Print to File Fails to Request Output File Name
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER::4.0,5.0,6.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbCmnDlgPrint kbCtrl kbFileIO kbVBp400bug kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 k

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, versions 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, on platform(s):
    - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 
    - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 
    - Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, versions 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, on platform(s):
    - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 
    - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 
    - Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When the Print to File checkbox is selected in the Print dialog box, the dialog
box that allows an Output File Name to be specified is not displayed.

RESOLUTION
==========

There are three possible workarounds for this behavior:

 - Check the Flags property of the CommonDialog control to see if the Print to
   File checkbox is marked. If the checkbox is marked, you can create a text
   file (without printer codes) with the Visual Basic Open, Write, and Close
   commands.

 - Configure a local printer to print to the FILE: port. This local printer can
   be used when a Print to File operation is required.

 - Open the Printer Common Dialog with WIN32 API functions, such as PrintDlg or
   PageSetupDlg, instead of with the comdlg32.ocx file. You can then print with
   API calls instead of the Printer object. See the "References" section of this
   article for more information.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the
beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Steps to Reproduce Behavior
---------------------------

1. Start a new Visual Basic Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.

2. On the Project menu, select Components. In the Components dialog box, check
   the Microsoft Common Dialog Control component, and then click OK.

3. Add a CommonDialog control to Form1.

4. Add the following code to the General Declarations section of Form1:

   Private Sub Form_Click()
       Dim blnUseWorkaround As Boolean

       ' Uncomment the following line to examine a workaround
       'blnUseWorkaround = True

       CommonDialog1.ShowPrinter
       
       If blnUseWorkaround Then
           ' Test to see if the Print to File box is checked
           If (CommonDialog1.Flags And cdlPDPrintToFile) = cdlPDPrintToFile Then
               MsgBox "Create the Output file using the Open, Write, and Close commands"
           Else
               PrintText
           End If
       Else
           PrintText
       End If
   End Sub

   Sub PrintText()
       Printer.Print "Test Text"
       Printer.EndDoc
   End Sub

5. Press the F5 key to run the program.

6. Click on Form1, and note that the Print dialog box appears.

7. Check the Print to File checkbox.

8. Click OK on the Print dialog box, and note that the dialog box that requests
   an Output File Name is not displayed.

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information about using the WIN32 API functions for common dialog
boxes and printing, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Q175535 PRB: Printing Rotated Text with Visual Basic

   Q180645 FIX: Cannot Change Page Settings During Print Job

   Q173981 PRB: Behavior Differences of Print Dialog Box on Different Platforms

Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kbCmnDlgPrint kbCtrl kbFileIO kbVBp400bug kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbGrpDSVB kbDSupport kbOSWinME 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : :4.0,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

=============================================================================

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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2002.