OL2000: Outlook Does Not Print Forms as Expected

• Microsoft Outlook 2000

SYMPTOMS

You want to print an Outlook 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. While you can customize the Print Style settings using the various options Outlook provides in its user interface, you cannot alter the basic way that Outlook prints by using custom Print Styles.

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 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.
• Whether you have an adquate programming background. If you are familiar with Visual Basic-type programming, you could develop a solution. If not, you may want to obtain the services of a developer who can provide the solution.

Method 1: Use ALT+PRINT SCREEN

1. With the Outlook form 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. 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. On the Format menu, 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/mcsp/

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

1. On the Tools menu, point to 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 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, point to Forms and then click Publish Form. The default is to store the Contact form in your Contacts folder. Type 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, point to 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 Document Template, change the Save In setting to (C:), type MyForm as the name of the template and then click Save.



6. Close the template.

1. Open a new 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, point to Forms and then click Publish Form. The default is to store the Contact form in your Contacts folder. Type Send Fields as the Display Name and then click Publish.



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

Method 4: Use the XPrint Control or Add-in

Q238778 OL2000: General Information About the XPrint Control and Add-in

REFERENCES

For additional information about available resources and answers to commonly asked questions about Microsoft Outlook 2000 solutions, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q146636 OL2000: Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions

Additional query words: OutSol OutSol2000

Keywords : kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb