Print files getting stuck in the print queue

rbuser

We have a client with the following problem:

Using XP workstation, print a document to a network printer. The document
is added to the Windows print queue, but sits there without printing until
the following document is sent to the queue.

Printing to the same printer from other applications works fine. e.g.
printing a word document will go the queue and immediately print.

The problem does not occur with other clients or other printers.

Any ideas?

Roger Vellacott
Passfield Data Systems Ltd

nicocizik

Hi Roger,

We have not seen this issue before. Which version of ReportBuilder are you
using? Are you able to recreate it with other network printers or just the
one in question? Once the report finally prints, does it hang again if you
print another?

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Hi Nico,

ReportBuilder version is 10.07. We are using Firebird, with IBO, and the
3rd party TIB_Datasource component modified by me to work with the current
RB version. (but I can't see how data access components could affect this).

The printer is connected to the network via its own print-server.

This is the behaviour.

Print RB Doc 1 - nothing happens.
Print RB Doc 2 - Doc 1 starts printing.
Print RB Doc 3 - Doc 2 starts printing.
Print a Word document. Doc 3 prints, then Word document prints.

Client always prints from Print Preview.

I have tried destroying the RB form completely after each print, but this
does not solve it.

Is there any kind of "End print" method I can call?

Roger Vellacott
Passfield Data Systems Ltd

nicocizik

Hi Roger,

We have not seen this behavior before and we use network printers
exclusively. You're correct, the DB and connectivity probably does not have
anything to do with this issue. Have you tried printing to a different
network printer or a printer connected directly to the PC in question?

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

nardmoseley

Each time you print a report, a Windows print job is created - this is what
you see on the Windows print queue. There is a separate Windows API call to
start the job and another call to the end job.

Try adding RBuilder\Source to your Delphi library path and then trace
ppPrnDev.pas, the method TppPrinterDevice.EndJob. This method calls
Printer.EndDoc, which then calls Windows.EndDoc.




--
Nard Moseley
Digital Metaphors
www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

I verified that EndJob is being called by all the documents which were
involved - whether printing from the Preview, or printing direct. So this
seems not to be the problem. (We deploy packages, so I had to recompile a
number of RB bpls to get debugging to work).

The client reports that the problem has gone away for the moment, so I
intend to ignore the issue. The difference in behaviour between different
apps does indicate some kind of obscure problem, but as it only applies to
one client, and it is intermittent (it has happened twice in the past 6
weeks), we'll just hope for the best and assume it is a network/printer
driver problem.

Thanks for your, as usual, immediate and informative responses.

Roger Vellacott
Passfield Data Systems Ltd