XL2000: Incorrect Printer May Be Used When Printing from Macro (211801)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2000
This article was previously published under Q211801

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 2000, if you run a Visual Basic for Applications macro that prints a worksheet or a chart, the pages may be printed by the default printer instead of by the printer that you specified in the macro.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • The macro contains a line of code similar to the following: 
    ActiveSheet.PrintOut ActivePrinter:="My LaserPrinter"
    -and-

  • The printer name specified in the ActivePrinter argument is not valid.
For a printer name to be valid, it must be spelled exactly the same as one of the printers in the Printers dialog box.

WORKAROUND

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To work around this behavior, verify that the printer name specified in the ActivePrinter argument is spelled exactly the same as the printer name in the Printers dialog box.

For example, if the printer name in the Printers dialog box is "My Laser Printer," with spaces between each word, revise the line of code in the "Cause" section to the following: 
ActiveSheet.PrintOut ActivePrinter:="My Laser Printer"

MORE INFORMATION

To print with a printer other than the default printer, use either of the following methods:
  • Use Application.ActivePrinter to change the default printer; then, print and switch back to the original default printer. For example: 
    xOriginalPrinter = Application.ActivePrinter
Application.ActivePrinter = "My LaserPrinter"
ActiveSheet.PrintOut
Application.ActivePrinter = xOriginalPrinter
    -or-

  • Use the ActivePrinter argument to specify a different printer in the PrintOut command; for example: 
    ActiveSheet.PrintOut ActivePrinter:="My LaserPrinter"
If you use the first method and specify an invalid printer name, you receive the following error message:
Run-time error '1004': Application-defined or object-defined error
If you use the second method and specify an invalid printer name, you do not receive an error message. Instead, the pages are printed by the default printer. If the default printer is very busy or is the wrong type of printer (for example, it is not a color printer but you want to print in color), you may notice an issue of some sort.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/27/2003
Keywords:kbprb kbprint KB211801
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