FlexiPDF not printing to virtual printer

[Woody44]

This is actually about FlexiPDF 2019 version 2.1.0 for Windows, but this is the only forum area for FlexiPDF support. I have been trying to print to a PDF using the FlexiPDF virtual printer. I go through the motions, I select the paper size, I have the printer selection set for FlexiPDF. It should be good to go. When I click Print, the spinning circle appears for a moment, indicating that something started to happen -- and then the spinning circle disappears and the PDF is not created.

The result is the same whether I have the FlexiPDF program open and running, or if I am not running FlexiPDF when I try to "print."

[miguel-c]

Please check if the procedure below fixes the problem:

Question: When I print from an application to PDF using the FlexiPDF printer driver, nothing happens. No PDF file is created, and FlexiPDF is not launched. How can I fix this?

Answer: When you install FlexiPDF, a special printer driver for creating PDF files is installed in Microsoft Windows. The FlexiPDF setup program adds the program PrintDisp.exe to the list of Startup Apps and sets its status to Enabled. Unfortunately, some antivirus programs and system-optimization software set the status to Disabled, which prevents the FlexiPDF printer driver from working.

Fix this as follows:

Open the Windows Task Manager.
Switch to the Startup tab.
Select PrintDisp from the list and click the Activate button.
Reboot your computer.

[Woody44]

PrintDisp is enabled. It was not disabled.

The FlexiPDF virtual printer still does not "print."

[SuperTech]

Please completely uninstall FlexiPDF, restart your computer, install it again and then check again.

[Woody44]

I just installed the latest update and I still have the same problem. Trying to print to PDF, and nothing happens. What SHOULD happen (as with Adobe's PDF virtual printer, with DoPDF, and with others) is that I should be prompted to ask where I want to save the PDF, then after the PDF has been created the PDF should open -- either in my default PDF viewer or in FlexiPDF.

None of that happens. What happens is that it goes through the motions of printing (the progress box pops up and the progress bar scrolls across, indicating that the process runs to completion), but I do not receive any prompt to save the PDF file, the PDF does not open for review, and when I search for the file name with a .pdf extension using the search function in Windows File Explorer, the document is not found.

[Edit] I just tried again. I realized that the previous time I had not rebooted before reinstalling FlexiPDF. This time I did. I uninstalled, then I rebooted, then I installed FlexiPDF with the virtual printer option, then I rebooted again ... and then I tried to print. The result was exactly the same -- nothing. It goes through the motions, but then everything just ends, with no file created.

Also, this time around I noticed that there is no option in print setup or in the Print menu to tell the virtual printer to embed fonts. This is essential. The ability to embed fonts should be present even in the FreePDF virtual printer, and it absolutely must be present in the paid FlexiPDF version.In addition, the paid version should offer the ability to save to PDF/A for archival purposes.

[SuperTech]

Here, which program you are using? FreePDF/ FlexiPDF 2019/2022 or 2025? Or multiple?

Please specify because that's important.

[Woody44]

I am using FlexiPDF 2022. It is the FlexiPDF virtual printer that fails to create PDFs from TextMaker.

I was not aware that there is a FlexiPDF 2025. I have not received any offers to upgrade from 2022. Your web site is still selling 2022.

[Woody44]

Additional information. I have twice sent this to the support e-mail address and, even though I am a paid user of FlexiPDF, I twice received an automated response telling me that if I am a paid user I should send a message to the exact same e-mail address I sent my e-mail to. So here's what I sent by e-mail as additional information:

I didn't want to post this on the open forum, but it may help in troubleshooting to know that alongside FlexiPDF 2022, I also have Ashampoo PDF Free (which I am fairly certain is a licensed version of FreePDF). I suspect you would prefer not to publicize that Ashampoo Office and Ashampoo PDF Free are clones of your programs.

Since I have Ashampoo PDF Free installed (I often write about software, which is why the duplication of functionality), I have an Ashampoo PDF virtual printer as well as the FlexiPDF virtual printer. Using the same sample TextMaker document, when I "print" to the Ashampoo virtual printer it works as expected. I encounter the problem only when trying to "print" to the FlexiPDF virtual printer.

I also have no issues when using DoPDF7 (a free virtual PDF printer) as a virtual printer. Something is wrong with the virtual printer in FlexiPDF 2022.

I hope you can diagnose and correct this problem. Why does the Ashampoo virtual printer work but the FlexiPDF virtual printer doesn't work?

[SuperTech]

Did you send email to forum[at]softmaker.com, because that's not for support and our server send auto-response there?

It seems virtual printers of FlexiPDF and Ashampoo PDF Free conflicting with each other. Please uninstall FlexiPDF and Ashampoo PDF Free completely, restart your computer and then install FlexiPDF and test.

[Woody44]

Thank you. That seems to have solved the problem.