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Viper2004

How to setup pagesize in VCF

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Hello,

i try to expot a VCF Ancestor-Box-Chart to a PDF-File by using PDF-Creator as printer.

As far as i remember there used to be an option (going through File/Page Setup/Printer) to setup the pagesize so the whole chart could easily be exported on a single page to PDF.

The problem us: There is no File/Page Setup/Printer anymore. All that is left (under TMG 7.02) is File/Page Setup.

Is there another possibility to set the pagesize in VCF?

- Philipp

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It sounds like you are trying to make this setting in TMG before creating the chart.

 

Instead, make the chart, open it in VCF, then in VCF use File > Page Setup to open the Page Setup screen, and click on the Printer... button. After selecting the printer, click the Properties... button which should allow you to set any property available on the "printer" you are using.

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Hello.

 

Thank you, but it didn't solve my problem.

 

Under File > Page Setup on the Page Setup screen there is no Printer-button. Also it doesn't look as if there was a place reserved for a button like this.

 

All i can enter are 4 parameters:

- the paper-size (only far too samll sizes!),

- the paper-source field is grayed out,

- selection for landscape or portrait

- page-borders.

 

No button saying "Printer" or similar. I'll try to upload a screenshot of my VCF-Page-Setup-Screen in the next days.

(I am using TMG 7.02, Vista, PDF-Creator is installed and working)

 

- Philipp

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Under File > Page Setup on the Page Setup screen there is no Printer-button. Also it doesn't look as if there was a place reserved for a button like this.

Philipp,

 

You mean File > Page Setup in VCF, not in TMG, right?

 

Here is what I see when I open that screen:

 

 

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in VCF... I don't see the [Printer] button on that screen either.

 

However... You should be able to select File / Print.

Select the printer and select [Properties] and make your changes there.

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I see the same screen as Terry. Are the other buttons there with no obvious space for a missing Printer button? Something to do with Vista?

See screenshot. I'd guess that it might have to do with which printer is selected.

page_setup.JPG

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in VCF... I don't see the [Printer] button on that screen either.

 

However... You should be able to select File / Print.

Select the printer and select [Properties] and make your changes there.

 

This is a serious problem as it negates the use of the Print Preview to check that custom page size actually works for the current chart.

 

I presume that this is a Vista / particular Printer driver issue - I don't have vista to check this out. It is likely that the currently selected default printer driver is the problem.

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I have the same isuse.

I'm using an Epson 9600, and under my Vista computer the Printer box in Page|Setup doesn't show up.

 

Under my XP Pro machine, the Printer button is definitely there.

 

This is a problem because the only way to switch page size on the Vista machine to a roll of paper is unde the Print menu, and it doesn't seem to use the changed page size - when you print, it still insists on printing at A4 size.

 

in VCF... I don't see the [Printer] button on that screen either.

 

However... You should be able to select File / Print.

Select the printer and select [Properties] and make your changes there.

 

This is a serious problem as it negates the use of the Print Preview to check that custom page size actually works for the current chart.

 

I presume that this is a Vista / particular Printer driver issue - I don't have vista to check this out. It is likely that the currently selected default printer driver is the problem.

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Has this issue been addressed yet? I'm trying to print my large charts out as PDFs and I am unable to change my page size to a large custom sheet. I am using Vista, and just downloaded TMG 7.03 and unfortunately, I'm having the same problem. It doesn't recognize the changed sheet size in the print menu and insists on many little sheets. The printer button doesn't show up in the page set up screen. My reunion is in less than two weeks, I have a print shop waiting to do them for me, and I have 25 gorgeous floor to ceiling charts that I can't print! Please tell me someone has a workaround for this! :unsure:

 

I have the same isuse.

I'm using an Epson 9600, and under my Vista computer the Printer box in Page|Setup doesn't show up.

 

Under my XP Pro machine, the Printer button is definitely there.

 

This is a problem because the only way to switch page size on the Vista machine to a roll of paper is unde the Print menu, and it doesn't seem to use the changed page size - when you print, it still insists on printing at A4 size.

 

in VCF... I don't see the [Printer] button on that screen either.

 

However... You should be able to select File / Print.

Select the printer and select [Properties] and make your changes there.

 

This is a serious problem as it negates the use of the Print Preview to check that custom page size actually works for the current chart.

 

I presume that this is a Vista / particular Printer driver issue - I don't have vista to check this out. It is likely that the currently selected default printer driver is the problem.

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An update...

I just downloaded a Vista PDF creator to see if that might be the problem. (the PDFCreator mentioned in another thread says that it is not Vista compatible). But even with the new PDF creator, I still have the same challenge. I can make the page size change in the print screen properties, but it does not recognize that change. Instead of one large PDF, I have 34 pages. Not acceptable. And I do not have a printer choice in the page set up screen.

 

sigh. help.

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Using PDF995 and Vista Home Premium

 

http://www.pdf995.com/

 

In VCF

File > Page Setup > Select your paper size (I just tested using 36" x 72")

Then print normally.

 

If you try to set the page size in File > Print > Advanced, the chart will print on multiple 8 1/2 x 11 sheets.

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Hi,

 

it appears that this bug is not fixed yet.

 

It seems that VCF remembers the printer used during the report creation in TMG and then uses that forever (in File -Page setup) for available page sizes.

 

I have some old reports I have modified significantly that I would now like to print at a print shop (so send them a pdf). That is not possible as I can not change the page size correctly. I can not just rerun the report either as all my changes must then be redone. And as noted already changing via File - print - properties is not working for this bug.

 

So, will this bug ever be fixed?

 

pH

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It seems that VCF remembers the printer used during the report creation in TMG and then uses that forever (in File -Page setup) for available page sizes.

No, VCF uses the default printer as set up in Windows and the settings of that default printer to set the initial page size. The only paper sizes available intially are those available for that printer in the default settings.

 

If you want to use a different printer with custom page sizes and you are unable to effect the changes in VCF (it appears to depend upon the drivers being used for the default printer, some allow change of printers some do not) you can set up the printer required for the appropiate paper size and set as the default printer BEFORE creating your chart.

 

A workround if you need to change the size of paper for a chart already made - firstly set up the default printer so that it is the printer you want and that it is set up fot the paper size you require.

Open VCF chage the size of the blank sheet to the diagram size that you need ( using the default page size that you have set up). Then open the chart you wish to change.

Select all & then copy this chart and paste onto the new chart with the correct paper size.

 

 

Peter

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Thanks for trying to help Peter.

 

On my machine VCF does NOT use the default printer when opening old vc2-files. Believe me - I have tried. All new VCF documents does use the default, but old ones are stuck with what ever they were "printed" on originally in TMG. The printer information is actually stored inside the vc2 files for some reason. If it was not I assume it would default to the default printer upon opening.

 

The copy & past procedure will of course work even if it is very slow. My small 2 Mb test file took over 5 min on my machine to copy & paste. It took less than a minute to generate in TMG on the same machine.

 

So I still hope someone will fix this bug. As some users can change printer it is clearly not the way it was designed. Or at least I hope someone can publish a list of supported printers.

 

Regards, pH

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Just to clarify some points, you need to answer a few questions about the computing environment that you are now using:

1) Which Operation System (if Vista 32 or 64 bit)?

2) Which version of TMG?

3) Are you trying output to a PDF writer (if so, which package and version)?

in case you have struck a newly discovered issue.

 

I presume that you saved these files in another machine or before there had been a software upgrade? Can you explain what might have changed between the saving and the attempt to print the saved file?

 

Just to clarify a point - the VC2 file saves information about the currently set up printer properties within the VC2 file. This is important in the world where charts are printed on large format printers on custom page sizes. The user wants the page size to be remembered so that the same size remains set on each opening of the file.

 

Some users of Vista who also have tried to save a chart as PDF file have found that some PDF writers are not properly Vista compliant - in as much that the File > Page Setup dialog does not show the [select printer] button. This is not (as far as I know) a VCF bug but a problem in the way some Printer Drivers are operating under Vista.

 

It is essential that you change the printer settings in File > Page Setup before you attempt to print a chart if you are trying to print a chart that was saved with a different printer or page size.

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1) 32-bit Vista. Home Premium and Business. Both fully updated and patched. Same problem on both

2) TMG gold 7.04. US version

3) Well, pdf is my goal, but the files are made "printing" to an HP 5150 so they are still in that format. The printer driver is updated, but accepts a4/letter as max page size.

 

And yes, I do not have any printer button in the page setup window. That is exactly the problem, as reported last year. It can not be a pdf-printer issue as I am not that far yet. As I can not change the printer I am stuck with the original printer I selected in TMG - the HP 5150. That was fine back then when I only wanted a print for myself. Hence, gluing pages together was fine. Now I want to get it printed "for real" and give it to a relative hence glue is not ok. So, I would now like to set a larger page size, make a pdf and then e-mail that to the printers office.

 

And I have tried test reports with other printers I have installed. It is the same with them all. No printer button in the page setup window.

 

I hope this clarifies the issue.

 

regards, pH

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Using a previously created VCF chart, I just ran through the procedure for doing what I think you want to do - using pdf995. See the video here. I changed the orientation to Landscape to show that you have that option. You would press OK at the end to 'print' the report to .pdf.

 

Note you use Print, not Page Setup.

 

The steps are

File / Print

Select pdf995

Select Properties

Choose page orientation

Click Advanced

Choose paper size

Click OK

Click OK to save as a .pdf file

 

Virginia

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Thanks for trying, but that is a totally different thing!

 

I can change printer in the print dialog and also set a new page size there as in your video. But then VCF is not really re-paginating the document! It has been mentioned in this tread earlier. So If my original is A4 and I change to A3 I only get print on half of the A3 paper. So it does not help. What I need is to get the printer button (as shown in #4) so I can get VCF to reformat for the new paper size.

 

regards, pH

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Here is an illustration of what happens if I do the #21 option:

tmp.jpg

 

So I changed to 1m * 1 m paper and as you can see the print is only up in the corner. The total would easily fit, but the rest is still on multiple pages. So I would still need to glue pages ;)

 

regards, pH

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There are two related issues here.

1) the impact of a choice of a printer

2) the ability to choose an alternative printer.

 

The choice of a printer in File > Page Setup has two consequences

- the selected page size here determines the pagination of the chart when it is sent to the printer.

- the maximum page size that can be selected is the maximum that that particular printer diver can handle.

 

Your inability to be able to choose an alternative printer is a consequence in a change in behaviour of the Printer Properties dialog in Vista. That is, the request to show the printer selection button is not being honoured. It could be a setting in your registry. Because other users can see this button and some others can not it is very hard to isolate the problem. It is most likely to be a side effect of some "clean up" action by a 3rd party computer optimising tool that has been run on your system. What computer optimisation tools have been run both your computers? This might provide a clue.

 

For new charts, I can provide a work around.

In Start > Printers and Faxes,

1) Make your PDF writer your default printer.

2) Right click that printer icon > Printing Preferences ... and select a new appropriate large page size.

3) Accept those changes.

Now create your chart and the selected page size will be used. BTW: this technique has to be used with some other Family History Packages because they *always* assume that you are going to print on the default Windows printer.

 

For previously saved VC2 files, this more difficult. I will try to think about whether there is a work around.

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I have just Googled Page Setup Printer Button Vista to find that VCF is not the only program that has this problem. The discussion is too technical to quote here.

 

In Vista using their misguided wisdom, Microsoft have changed the rules. They have made the required flag to access the Printer button OBSOLETE.

 

It is obvious that the reasoning for this change did not take into account the use of programs that can produce output on a number of page sizes or those (particularly graphical) which use custom page sizes. It is typical of programmers not understanding how a feature is used to achieve a necessary outcome.

 

I have submitted a report to this effect to Wholly Genes, but it may take a while before there can be a resolution of it.

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