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Q93658: WD97: How to Send Printer Escape Codes from a Word Document

Article: Q93658
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:97
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbprint kbdta word97 kbPrinting
Last Modified: 07-SEP-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows 
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SUMMARY
=======

In Word for Windows, you can use one of the following methods to send an
instruction, or printer escape sequence, to your printer:

- Insert a PRINT field in your document that contains the printer escape codes.
  Example:

  {PRINT "<printer instructions>"}

  -or-

- Type the printer escape sequence in your document and format it for a printer
  font.

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

There are limitations and drawbacks to each of these methods, depending on which
printer driver you use. Neither method is guaranteed to work with every
printer.

NOTE: PRINT fields do not work correctly in Word 97 on the Windows NT 4.0
platform. Items in the print field are not printed. To correct this problem,
install Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  

  Q172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1


Limitations of the PRINT Field
------------------------------

When you insert a PRINT field, Word calls an escape in the printer driver that
sends the printer instruction text to the printer. If the escape in the printer
driver malfunctions, the PRINT field may produce incorrect or no results.


NOTE: The PRINT field does not affect the page layout because Word treats a PRINT
field as a nonprinting character.

Limitations of Typing Printer Information Directly in Your Document
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When you type printer information directly in your document, Word treats the
escape sequence text as normal text. This means that Word incorporates the text
in your document page layout.

When you print the document, the printer interprets the escape sequence text as
printer instructions and does not print it. Your printer may misinterpret the
escape sequence if Word does not send the entire string contiguously. For
example, if you apply justified paragraph formatting, Word sends other
characters to adjust the line length, thereby changing the escape sequence
string.

For more information about the PRINT field, click the Index tab in Word Help,
type the following text

  " PRINT field " (without the quotation marks)

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Print Field" topic.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbprint kbdta word97 kbPrinting 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Issue type        : kbhowto
Solution Type     : kbfix

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