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Q136850: HOWTO: Connect Network Printers in Different Windows Platforms

Article: Q136850
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbprint kbdocerr kbPrinting kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600
Last Modified: 11-SEP-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, versions 3.0, 5.0, 6.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

The Visual FoxPro printer interface was designed to work smoothly across all
Windows platforms. However, differences among the printing architectures of the
three operating systems result in a few interface differences.

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

To establish network printer connections, use the Windows Print Manager under
Windows version 3.1x or Windows NT, or use the Printers icon under Windows 95.
The Printers icon is the only way to establish network printer connections when
running Visual FoxPro under Windows 95. However, the Printer Setup dialog box in
Visual FoxPro under the Windows 3.1x and Windows NT platforms also allows you to
establish network printer connections.

Running Visual FoxPro under Windows NT gives developers additional control over
network printer connections. A Windows NT network printer address of the form:
"[\\machine name\printer name]" can be substituted for the
"[WindowsPrinterName]" in the "SET PRINTER TO NAME [WindowsPrinterName]" syntax.
If the user is not currently connected to the specified network printer, a
connection will be established and, if necessary, Windows NT will automatically
download the appropriate printer driver to the user's workstation. Note that
this works only for correctly configured Windows NT printer servers working in
conjunction with Windows NT clients.

NOTE: The syntax "SET PRINTER TO NAME [WindowsPrinterName]", which is supported
under all three Windows platforms, allows you to set the current Visual FoxPro
printer from the list of currently installed printers in the registry or Win.ini
file.

NOTE: The online and printed documentation describing how to connect to a network
printer under Windows NT is incorrect. It is missing the "NAME" clause. It reads
SET PRINTER TO [\\machine name\printer name] when it should read: SET PRINTER TO
NAME [\\machine name\printer name].

In the Help file of Visual FoxPro 6.0, the command is correctly documented.

Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kbprint kbdocerr kbPrinting kbvfp300 kbvfp500 kbvfp600 
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP300 kbVFP500 kbVFP600
Issue type        : kbhowto

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