WD2000: How to Create a Macro to Change Printer or Fax Driver

ID: Q202017

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 2000

SUMMARY

This article contains a sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Sub procedure (macro) that allows you to send a document to a specific printer or fax device and then resets the printer to the original default.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft Support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

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

Sample Visual Basic Procedure


   Sub SwitchPrinter()
      Dim strActivePrinter As String
      ' Get active printer.
      strActivePrinter = Application.ActivePrinter
      ' Change to the Microsoft Fax printer driver.
      Application.ActivePrinter = "Microsoft Fax"
      ' Print the active document to Fax.
      ActiveDocument.PrintOut
      ' Change back to the default printer.
      Application.ActivePrinter = strActivePrinter
   End Sub

NOTE: If you run this macro and specify a printer that is not installed, the following error message appears:

Run-time error '5216': There is a printer error.

REFERENCES

For more information about creating Visual Basic for Applications macros, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type how to create a macro in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

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

ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
TITLE : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Additional query words: vb vba

Keywords : kbprg OffVBA kbmacroexample kbwordvba wd2000
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto