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How to Generate a Print Job to File for Troubleshooting Purposes

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In Equitrac Office and Equitrac Express, how do you generate a print to file of a print job? A print to file of a print job can be helpful when troubleshooting printing issues.

There are several methods available to print to job to file in a Microsoft Windows operating system environment.

Method 1 - When Using Secure Printing

  1. Print a document to a printer with secure printing enabled to replicate the issue under review.
  2. Obtain a copy of the TMP file directly from the EQSpool directory.  HINT:  Use the EQ Print Queue Viewer to obtain the name of the TMP file.

Method 2 - Temporarily move the printer port to a file

  1. In the Printers and Faxes dialog box, right-click the printer icon and select Properties.
  2. Click the Ports tab.
  3. Scroll through the list to locate the current port assigned to the printer.
  4. Note the setting.  WARNING:  You will need this information to move the printer back to the correct port once you are finished printing to file.
  5. Scroll through the list to locate the "FILE:  Print to File" option.
  6. Click to select the setting.  NOTE:  The current assigned port is automatically deselected.
  7. Click the Apply button.
  8. Follow the normal steps to print the job.  A Print to File dialog box opens.
  9. Type a path and file name for the print output.
  10. Print a document to a printer to replicate the issue under review.NOTE:  If no path is specified, the system uses the path \Documents and Settings\[Username].
  11. When you have finished printing to file, repeat the above steps to move the port from FILE back to the original port noted in step 4.

Method 3 - Pause the printer

  1. In Printers and Faxes, pause the printer.
  2. Generate a print job to replicate the issue under review.
  3. Copy the SPL file from the Windows Spool directory.
  4. Unpause the printer.

Method 4 - Use the Print to File option on the Print dialog box

Some applications (for example, Adobe Reader), there is a "Print to file" option in the Print dialog box. 

  1. In the application, click the Print button to replicate the issue under review.
  2. On the Print dialog box, click to select the Print to file option.
  3. Click the OK button to begin the print job. 
  4. When the Print to File dialog box opens, type a path and file name for the print output.

NOTE:  When sending any printing file to Technical Support, please include the expected job attributes of the original job (for example, number of pages, color/bw, page size, etc.).  This information is used for comparison during internal testing.