Problems setting up printing for first time (Windows)

Problems setting up printing for first time (Windows)

[spinner]

I'm new to emacs and I'm having problems getting the settings right to print
anything. I've tried researching the manual and other resources but still
can't get anything to print.

My set-up:
Windows Vista
GNU emacs 23.3.1  (i386-mingw-nt6.0.6002)
GhostScript 8.71

First, I tried printing through GhostScript. My emacs file code is:

(setq ps-lpr-command "c:\Program Files\gs\gs8.71\bin\gswin32c.exe")
(setq ps-lpr-switches '("-q" "-dNOPAUSE" "-dBATCH" "-sDEVICE=mswinpr2"))
(setq ps-printer-name t)

Next, I try to print a simple text file from my buffer with "M-x
ps-print-buffer". Nothing prints. 
I see emacs formatting and then gives me a message "Printing...done" but
nothing prints. Online resources that I've read say that a pop-up window
should appear giving my printer choices but the pop-up doesn't appear.

Second, I tried to simply print the buffer using >File > Print Buffer. Emacs
gives me this message "spooling with options (page headers are not
supported)...done".

I don't have any other code in my emacs file related to printing. My local
printer is attached to my computer via a wireless router.

I'm lost at this point to don't know what else to do. I appreciate any help.
Thank you.

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Re: Problems setting up printing for first time (Windows)

[Eli Zaretskii]

> Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 18:38:08 -0700 (PDT)
> From: spinner <michaelcrain@hotmail.com>
> 
> First, I tried printing through GhostScript. My emacs file code is:
> 
> (setq ps-lpr-command "c:\Program Files\gs\gs8.71\bin\gswin32c.exe")
> (setq ps-lpr-switches '("-q" "-dNOPAUSE" "-dBATCH" "-sDEVICE=mswinpr2"))
> (setq ps-printer-name t)
> 
> Next, I try to print a simple text file from my buffer with "M-x
> ps-print-buffer". Nothing prints. 

Does it work saving the ps-print output to a file (by invoking it with
an argument, "C-u M-x ps-print-buffer RET", and then manually invoking
gswin32c on that file with the command-line options mentioned in the
ps-lpr-switches variable?  If it doesn't work, perhaps the
instructions in the Emacs manual need to be updated for the latest
versions of GhostScript; please see its latest docs and try to figure
out the right switches.  If you find there's a need for a change,
please report a documentation bug with "M-x report-emacs-bug RET".

> I see emacs formatting and then gives me a message "Printing...done" but
> nothing prints. Online resources that I've read say that a pop-up window
> should appear giving my printer choices but the pop-up doesn't appear.

This seems to indicate that gswin32c.exe is never invoked at all, or
invoked with bad arguments.  After you do this, is there something
interesting in a buffer named " *print-region-helper*" (with the
leading space)?

Also, does it help to use 8+3 alias of "Program Files", something like
"PROGRA~1" (use "dir /x" from the Windows shell prompt to see its real
alias)?  If so, reinstalling GhostScript into a directory that doesn't
have whitespace in its name might solve the problem.

> My local printer is attached to my computer via a wireless router.

What is that printer's port?  You should be able to see that in the
printer's Properties, on the "Port" tab.

Also, does the command "net view" show the printer, and if so, under
which name?

Another thing to try is to use the "net use" command, as explained in
the Emacs manual (in the node "Windows Printing").

Finally, you could install PrintFile (http://www.lerup.com/printfile/)
and configure it to be your spooler, by putting this in your .emacs:

  (setq printer-name nil)
  (setq lpr-command "/path/to/PrintFile/PrFile32.exe")
  (setq lpr-switches '("/q"))

You will also need to configure PrintFile by launching it manually
once and going through its "Settings" dialogs.  PrintFile is a very
good utility, but not Free Software, unfortunately (no sources are
released), so we cannot recommend it in the Emacs manual.  It _is_
"free" as in "free beer", though.