Recipe 5.4 Programmatically Change Printer Options

5.4.1 Problem

You've tried using SendKeys to change printing options in the File Setup Page dialog, but this really isn't satisfactory. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, depending on the circumstances and the printer driver that's loaded. Is there some way to modify printer options without using SendKeys?

5.4.2 Solution

Windows makes many of the printer driver settings available to applications, including the number of copies, page orientation, and page size. Starting with Access 2002, it's easy to retrieve and modify these values, using the Printer property of forms and reports. This solution focuses on the print settings features of the Printer object and demonstrates how to read and write values in the Printer object.

To be able to modify printer settings for reports or forms in your own applications, follow these steps:

Open the report in either preview or design view. (If you want to make your changes persistent, open the report in design view. If you want to apply changes for just this particular instance, open it in preview mode.)
Modify some of the properties of the Printer object provided by your form or report. For example, the sample form works with a small subset of the available printer-specific properties, using code like this:
```
DoCmd.OpenReport strReport, View:=acViewPreview
With Reports(strReport).Printer
    Me.txtCopies = .Copies
    Me.grpOrientation = .Orientation
    Me.grpPaperSize = .PaperSize
End With
```

When you're done working with the properties, write them back to the report's Printer object, using code like this (from the sample form):

strReport = Me.cboReportList
With Reports(strReport).Printer
    .Copies = Me.txtCopies
    .Orientation = Me.grpOrientation
    .PaperSize = Me.grpPaperSize
End With

For an example, load and run the form frmPrintSettings in 05-04.MDB. Figure 5-4 shows the sample form in action. This form allows you to choose a report from a combo box. Once you've made your choice, the form loads the report in preview mode and retrieves the number of copies, page size, and page orientation from the report's Printer property. You can change any of these values; once you click Save Settings, the form will write the values back to the report's Printer property and the changes will display immediately in the preview window.

Figure 5-4. frmPrintSettings shows print information for rptReport1

5.4.3 Discussion

Each form and report has a Printer property that holds a reference to a Printer object for that form or report. By setting the properties of a form/report's Printer object, you can control how the form/report will print. Table 5-2 lists the object's properties, along with their possible values. None of these properties is read-only. Table 5-3 shows a list of all the defined paper sizes. You can use one of these constants in the PaperSize property to set a new paper size. Table 5-4 shows possible values for the PaperBin property of the Printer object.

Table 5-2. Properties of the Printer object
Field name	Contains	Data type	Values
Orientation	Paper orientation	`AcPrintOrientation`	`acPRORLandscape` or `acPRORPortrait`
PaperSize	Size of the physical page to print on	`AcPrintPaperSize`	A value from Table 5-3 (depending on which paper sizes the printer supports)
Copies	If the printing device supports multiple copies, the number of copies to be printed	`Long`
PaperBin	Default bin from which paper is to be fed	`AcPrintPaperBin`	A value from Table 5-4
PrintQuality	Printer resolution	`AcPrintObjQuality`	`acPRPQDraft, acPRPQHigh, acPRPQLow, or acPRPQMedium`
ColorMode	Color usage, if the printer supports color printing	`AcPrintColor`	`acPRCMColor or acPRCMMonochrome`
Duplex	Duplex usage, if the printer supports duplex printing	`AcPrintDuplex`	`acPRDPHorizontal, acPRDPSimplex, or acPRDPVertical`

Table 5-3. Constants and descriptions for the PaperSize property
Constant	Value	Description
acPRPS10X14	16	10 x 14 in
acPRPS11X17	17	11 x 17 in
acPRPSA3	8	A3 (297 x 420 mm)
acPRPSA4	9	A4 (210 x 297 mm)
acPRPSA4SMALL	10	A4 Small (210 x 297 mm)
acPRPSA5	11	A5 (148 x 210 mm)
acPRPSB4	12	B4 (250 x 354 mm)
acPRPSB5	13	B5 (182 x 257 mm)
acPRPSCSHEET	24	C size sheet (17 x 22 in)
acPRPSDSHEET	25	D size sheet (22 x 34 in)
acPRPSEnv10	20	Envelope #10 (4.125 x 9.5 in)
acPRPSEnv11	21	Envelope #11 (4.5 x 10.375 in)
acPRPSEnv12	22	Envelope #12 (4.25 x 11 in)
acPRPSEnv14	23	Envelope #14 (5 x 11.5 in)
acPRPSEnv9	19	Envelope #9 (3.875 x 8.875 in)
acPRPSEnvB4	33	Envelope B4 (250 x 353 mm)
acPRPSEnvB5	34	Envelope B5 (176 x 250 mm
acPRPSEnvB6	35	Envelope B6 (176 x 125 mm)
acPRPSEnvC3	29	Envelope C3 (324 x 458 mm)
acPRPSEnvC4	30	Envelope C4 (229 x 324 mm)
acPRPSEnvC5	28	Envelope C5 (162 x 229 mm)
acPRPSEnvC6	31	Envelope C6 (114 x 162 mm)
acPRPSEnvC65	32	Envelope C65 (114 x 229 mm)
acPRPSEnvDL	27	Envelope DL (110 x 220 mm)
acPRPSEnvItaly	36	Envelope (110 x 230 mm)
acPRPSEnvMonarch	37	Envelope Monarch (3.875 x 7.5 in)
acPRPSEnvPersonal	38	6-3/4 Envelope (3.625 x 6.5 in)
acPRPSESheet	26	E size sheet (34 x 44 in)
acPRPSExecutive	7	Executive (7.25 x 10.5 in)
acPRPSFanfoldLglGerman	41	German Legal Fanfold (8.5 x 13 in)
acPRPSFanfoldStdGerman	40	German Std Fanfold (8.5 x 12 in)
acPRPSFanfoldUS	39	US Std Fanfold (14.875 x 11 in)
acPRPSFolio	14	Folio (8.5 x 13 in)
acPRPSLedger	4	Ledger (17 x 11 in)
acPRPSLegal	5	Legal (8.5 x 14 in)
acPRPSLetter	1	Letter (8.5 x 11 in)
acPRPSLetterSmall	2	Letter Small (8.5 x 11 in)
acPRPSNote	18	Note (8.5 x 11 in)
acPRPSQuarto	15	Quarto (215 x 275 mm)
acPRPSStatement	6	Statement (5.5 x 8.5 in)
acPRPSTabloid	3	Tabloid (11 x 17 in)
acPRPSUser	256	User-defined

Table 5-4. Constants and descriptions for the PaperBin property
Constant	Value	Description
acPRBNAuto	7	Automatic bin
acPRBNCassette	14	Cassette bin
acPRBNEnvelope	5	Envelope bin
acPRBNEnvManual	6	Envelope manual bin
acPRBNLargeCapacity	11	Large-capacity bin
acPRBNLargeFmt	10	Large-format bin
acPRBNLower	2	Lower bin
acPRBNManual	4	Manual bin
acPRBNMiddle	3	Middle bin
acPRBNSmallFmt	9	Small-format bin
acPRBNTractor	8	Tractor bin
acPRBNUpper	1	Upper bin
acPRBNFormSource	15	Form source

The sample form opens reports in preview mode and allows you to modify and view printer-specific properties, then print the report. If you want to modify the design properties for a report, you'll need to open it in design view, modifying the call to the DoCmd.OpenReport method in the code, like this:

DoCmd.OpenReport strReport, View:=acViewPreview

When you're done, save the report using code like this:

DoCmd.Close acReport, "YourReportName", acSaveYes

Although Access makes it easy to work with printer settings, the Printer object is missing some important features. For example, although you can select acPRPSUser for the PaperSize property, you cannot define your own sizes (making this option effectively useless).