Textmaker ignores default printer setting?

[wbrells]

Folks,

I have a TextMaker document that always needs to be printed using a certain printer. However, even if I set that to be the default printer, my document is printed (unless I change settings) using the printer that was last-selected under TextMaker. In other words, TextMaker does not see to take any notice of what printer has been selected as the default printer. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, DOES seem to recognize the default printer as expected.

Is this behavior of TextMaker "by design"? If so, is there some way have a given document automatically print on a particular printer?

Thanks,
Wayne

[wbrells]

Interestingly, PlanMaker DOES recognize the default printer, so the problem seems limited (so far, anyway) to TextMaker! If this is a "bug" I hope it can be fixed. Wayne

[SuperTech]

This is not a bug. TextMaker remembers the last printer, and most customers prefer it this way. Note that nowadays Windows offers an option to automatically make the most recently used printer the default printer, so it is moving in the same direction.

[wbrells]

It seems strange that TextMaker works differently from PlanMaker...

More importantly, because I'm trying to automate the printing of labels I really need a way to PROGRAMMATICALLY set the printer before issuing the print command. I was hoping that this code in my Python program would do the job:

win32print.SetDefaultPrinter('\\\\http://192.168.2.65:631\\DYMO_LabelWriter_330_Turbo')

This command does, indeed, change the default printer but does not change the printer for TextMaker. Short of manually selecting the DYMO printer each time before printing a label, can you suggest any approach to programmatically changing the TextMaker printer? (BTW I'm usually printing to a Laser Printer from TextMaker.)

Thanks for any suggestions, Wayne

[martin-k]

The only approach I could imagine is to use Python to write the desired printer string to tmw21config.ini and then start TextMaker. On launch, TextMaker will pick up the changed printer setting, but it won't read the INI file if it is already running.

[wbrells]

Martin,

Your suggestion SHOULD fix my problem since for other reasons I have to restart TextMaker each time I print a label. Thanks ever so much for your help!

Wayne

[Woody44]

This is not a bug. TextMaker remembers the last printer, and most customers prefer it this way. Note that nowadays Windows offers an option to automatically make the most recently used printer the default printer, so it is moving in the same direction.

Is this the finding of a large-scale, comprehensive survey of word processor users, or is this an off-the-cuff response?

With all due respect, I find it extremely annoying when a document tries to print to a device other than my default LaserJet if I have not specified printing to a different device. I don't know anyone who wants the system to constantly change the default printer. Perhaps American preferences and work habits are different from European preferences and work habits.

Given that there are opposing attitudes on this, wouldn't it be better to allow users to choose which way their software operates, rather than play Microsoft and impose your idea of what "best" on an unreceptive clientele? After all, you give us a choice between classic menus and the execrable ribbon mess that Microsoft foisted off on us in 2007 -- why not also allow us to decide if we want a default printer or not?

[wbrells]

I've been able to solve my printer problem by programmatically changing both Window's Default Printer AND the last-used printer saved in TextMaker's ini file. For some reason, changing just ONE of these settings doesn't always seem to change the printer that TextMaker uses when it starts up -- a mystery...

I'm now running into a similar problem when porting my programs over to a Linux Mint system. TextMaker does NOT seem to recognize the Default Printer setting, and the Linux-based TextMaker ini file does not seem to include any printer references!

Does anyone know where/how the Linux ("Debian") based version of TextMaker decides on what printer is to be used?

Many thanks, Wayne

[wbrells]

UPDATE: It appears that, under Linux, TextMaker uses the /home/username/SoftMaker/Settings/of21config.ini file to remember the default printer. Specifically, under section [SmoVer03PrinterDefault] there is the line SmoVer03PrinterDefault=nameofprinter. I will try changing this line programmatically to verify that it does, indeed, control what printer is being used when TextMaker starts up. I'll report results when I have them!

Wayne