Software |
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by Bill Draper |
I subscribe to PC Magazine but somehow missed the article about PrintNow in the April 22, 1997 issue, page 215ff. When one of the push programs that I let come up when I check my Internet mail described it more cryptically, I was hooked. It was easy to click on the URL link right there, and to download it. Right then I also dumped it on a friend - who gave it to other friends including Don Bond. Don called me in a couple of days later to thank me, telling about how wonderful it is. Then I tried it - PrintNow is one of the better utilities anywhere.
PrintNow is a 32-bit application which runs only under Windows 95 and Windows NT. You use your Print Screen and Alt+Print Screen to print a screen capture directly to your printer. It has other nice features - be sure to read the Pntnow.txt file to learn about other features as well as installation instructions. Installation is very user friendly.
Once you are up and running with PrintNow, pressing either PrintScreen or Alt+PrintScreen from the Windows desktop will activate PrintNow.
When launched with its default settings, PrintNow will display the usual Print Dialog box before the printing begins so that you can change printer settings or cancel the print job, scale the image to fit a space on a page, or even center the image on th e page.
My first attempt at using PrintNow involved a reduced size small text file surrounded by the colored desktop and its icons. When I hit the Print Screen key, the printer picked up the part of the desktop and the icons that were showing, in color, as well as the text file in black and white. I should have used the Alt+PrintScreen command instead.
Another time, I pressed the PrintScreen key for a document in Word 6, and the tool bars were printed. Alt+PrintScreen would have printed only the currently active window. Now I know.
PrintNow places its icon on your system tray (the right side of the taskbar which shows the time) - get your cursor close to it and you will learn its status, i.e., that it is enabled.
Click on the icon x2 and a dialog box appears, displaying all the settings and allowing you to activate additional settings, such as scaling to one-half size, for example.
Even more simple, right click x1 on PrintNow icon in the tray and a menu will appear - you can do much more that you could ever could do in the old Print Screen - even better than in DOS 5.
Installation: I put the zipped downloaded PrintNow utility into a temp file. I click x2 on the zipped file and Winzip takes over. Then I click on the Extract box in Winzip and tell Winzip where to put the program. (One CAUG member told me that his older PKUNZIP utilit y would not unzip PrintNow.) You know where to get Winzip or the latest PKUNZIP? You need help - that is what CAUG (and HAL-PC) is all about - ask a volunteer helper or board member.
The Print Screen program provides most of the help you will need. The options settings and commands are self explanatory. How much does it cost? It is free. On the Internet, go to http://www8.zdnet.com/pcmag/download/utils/pntnow-a.htm. While you are there, you can download the PC Magazine article on PrintNow.
Reprint from Coastal Computing NewXS, the magazine of the CAUG.
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