filePro and Windows (was Re: Printers and Filepro)

[Brian K. White]

On 4/6/2012 10:04 AM, Kenneth Brody wrote:
> On 4/5/2012 7:35 PM, Brian K. White wrote:
>> On 4/5/2012 6:18 PM, Kenneth Brody wrote:
>>
>>> Unless there are solutions for Windows, rather than DOS, they don't
>>> apply here.
>>>
>>
>> They exactly apply.
>>
>> I know fp isn't technically a dos app, but the problem of printing, and
>> the solution, is the same.
>>
>> Print to file, then have a converter pick up the text file, render and
>> print it as graphics via gdi. You could use a batch file and notepad or
>> wordpad in the crudest form with no formatting or graphics.
>
> If that's the way they work, okay. The ones I saw in the past worked by
> capturing LPT1 output from a DOS program and then passing it along to
> Windows drivers, and those solutions don't work for Windows programs.
>
> However, if you want to go the "print to a file, and then have another
> program print it", why not just use the included FP2RTF configuration?
>

The site offers several methods, some that work by having a daemon watch 
a directory, some that work by providing a virtual printer file/pipe, 
some that work by providing a program you configure your app to run 
itself. Some that rely on one or more proprietary apps, some that rely 
on only 100% open source. Each of the several options has a mix of 
advantages and disadvantages, but there are several different recipes, 
and _all_ of them are usable from filepro.

And yes I mentioned that all these were on top of the RTF thing fp has 
already included for years.

So it's just a matter of investing a little time trying out the 
different approaches, picking one, customizing and repackaging it to 
make it as convenient as possible for filepro, and never have this 
complaint again.

My point was not merely to say "go here, use this" my point was to say 
solutions abound, one is even built in, and so there is very little 
excuse for complaining or claiming that fp doesn't print to windows 
printers.

-- 
bkw