Hi Folks, I have a client who runs Windows XP under Parallels on an Imac. There is a requirement to print reports from an ancient DOS database application. The database application runs very well in a window within the Windows XP environment but requires LPT1 to be assigned across the network to another workstation to allow the application to print. The port assignment works perfectly and the application prints with good speed, The problem is that once the port is assigned, other Windows based applications e.g. Sage accounts will not print to the local printer installed and designated as the default under the Mac environment. Removing the port assignment restores printing to normal in Windows applications. I tried resolving the issue by installing the Windows driver for the default printer within the Windows environment but the problem persists while the port assignment is active. I had thought about adding code to the initiating batch file or to the report coding to activate the port assignment at the time the report is run and remove the assignment immediately thereafter. This would however be very inconvenient as the database is in use most of the day and the printer concerned is a shared resource which would effectively be locked out to other applications. I would welcome any suggestions on how to resolve the problem but will be continuing to investigate further myself.
If your DOS app has the ability to save files in ASCII format you could then save them as .txt files and load them into Windows Notepad. You can temporarily set your Windows printer to print to file by going to Control Panel...Printers...(single click on default printer)...File...Properties...Details tab and select 'File' in the 'Print to the following port' window
