Printing Access Forms

  • Thread starter Thread starter elf
  • Start date Start date
E

elf

I know that elsewhere in this group it has been suggested that Access
form printing is ugly, and a report should be used instead. However, my
clients want an exact screen image to research entry problems, etc.
Moreover, their network admin refuses to use a 3rd party print screen
product, and "besides, your system always did this". Well, prior to
Access 2003, it did. I opened another form, pasted the current record
into it, and then did a print of that form, along with the user name and
date/time. The data will no longer paste into the second form.

So, even if ugly, how *do* I print the current screen? BTW, they don't
want to have to go to all the tremendous<g> effort of using
edit/select...print/selected. I need to intercept the printscreen key
and do the whole process in code if at all possible. I can select the
record OK, but then it won't allow accmdprint while carrying out a form
or report action.

TIA
 
elf said:
I know that elsewhere in this group it has been suggested that Access form
printing is ugly, and a report should be used instead. However, my clients
want an exact screen image to research entry problems, etc. Moreover, their
network admin refuses to use a 3rd party print screen product, and "besides,
your system always did this". Well, prior to Access 2003, it did. I opened
another form, pasted the current record into it, and then did a print of that
form, along with the user name and date/time. The data will no longer paste
into the second form.

So, even if ugly, how *do* I print the current screen? BTW, they don't want
to have to go to all the tremendous<g> effort of using
edit/select...print/selected. I need to intercept the printscreen key and do
the whole process in code if at all possible. I can select the record OK, but
then it won't allow accmdprint while carrying out a form or report action.
Click to expand...

You do know that you could create a report that looks exactly like the form
right? Just right-click the form and select "save as report". Otherwise
Alt-Print screen will capture the form image if you make the form a popup.
 
Well, since everyone seems to want take a bad solution and go with it...

Simply have your users hit the print-screen key. They can then fire up word,
and go edit->paste and the screen will appear....
Well, prior to Access 2003, it did. I opened another form, pasted the
current record into it, and then did a print of that form, along with the
user name and date/time. The data will no longer paste into the second
form.
Click to expand...

I don't know why the above will not work. I am not aware of any changes in
a2003 that would stop this process. On the other hand, using cut and paste
in a data processing environment is RATHER dangerous. A user can easily mess
up the cut, and you wind up pasting a old record. These kinds of processes
should not be allowed for any kind of serious applications or for data that
matters. To think that a dangerous and sloppy cut and paste approach is
preferred over someone making a nice report that looks like the screen, and
can be sent to the printer with one mouse click has to make one start
questioning the approach to general business practices here.

To print the current record to a report, and ONLY the current record, you
use:

me.refresh
docmd.OpenReport "yourReprot",acViewPreview,,"id = " & me!id

if you don't want to preview..and have it go right to the printer...then
use:

me.refresh
docmd.OpenReport "yourReprot",,,"id = " & me!id

I simply can't imagine a better solution then the above. So, just layout a
nice report with the fields and information you want..and use the above. It
is clean, simple and easy. You could try some ugly solution, but why not
save all that time and money? (you could use that extra money and give it to
the poor, or improve the bottom line of your company).
 
Back
Top