CSA: Standard Printing Troubleshooting Steps

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There are many errors or issues that you may encounter when trying to print Creative Solutions Accounting reports, financial statements, client documents, federal and state tax forms and checks. Below are some troubleshooting steps to help narrow down and resolve the issue:

Switch the printer

While in Print Reports, click on the Printer button.

  1. Select another printer and click OK.
  2. Click on the Printer button again.
  3. Select the original printer and click OK.
  4. Print the report.

Restart your Computer

To restart your computer

  1. Click the Windows icon or Start in the bottom left corner.
  2. Locate the Power icon (depending on your version of Windows, the icon will appear in different locations).
  3. Select Restart.

Rename the User Preference File

Located inside of the X:\WinCSI\CSASys folder (where X represents the drive in which Creative Solutions Accounting is installed). The name of the file is: WSUsrMsc.UserID.

Rename the file to: WSUsrMsc.UserIDold (include the word OLD at the end of the file name).

Note: If the user preference file is renamed you will need to re-setup your preferences under Setup > User Preferences.

Turn off Enable Advanced Printing Features

Located under Control Panel and inside the Printers and faxes (Devices and Printers in Windows 7).

  1. Right click on the printer that is being used and click Properties (Printer Properties in Windows 7).
  2. Under the Advanced tab, there will be a check-box for Enable Advanced Printing Features.
  3. Un-mark the option and click OK.

Delete Temporary Files

Delete the temporary files on the computer, either through disk cleanup or through C:\Windows\Temp and C:\Document and Settings\User\Local Settings\Temp. (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp for Windows 7).

Stop and Start the Print Spooler

  1. Go to Start > Run and type CMD.
  2. Type in "net stop spooler" and press Enter. This will stop the print spooler.
  3. Once the print process stops, type "net start spooler" and press Enter.

Note: For some Windows Vista / Windows 7 machiness or higher, you may get an Access Denied error when trying to Stop / Start the Print Spooler. If you do, close the command prompt, click on Start > All Programs > Accessories, right click on Command Prompt and click to Run As Administrator.

Print Drivers

It may be necessary to test with another printer driver. Regardless if you are printing to a local printer or a network printer, you can install a new local printer driver and point to either the local port or the TCP/IP port of the network printer. Try installing the same printer model driver as another instance or choose a more generic driver for that model, like the PCL vs. the PCL 6 driver. In some instances, the older HP LaserJet 4si, 5si or 4000 drivers will work with most other printers.

Verify the Port of the printer before you install a new local printer driver

In order to install a new local driver. You can view what port their existing printer is printing to by right clicking on the printer and clicking on Properties. (Printer Properties for Windows 7). Go to the Ports tab and write down which port is selected. If it is setup to a TCP/IP Port, write down the IP number of the printer.

Install a new local Printer Driver (Windows Vista / Windows 7)

  1. Within the Devices and Printers window, click Add a Printer. Select Add a local printer in the next screen.
  2. In the Choose a printer port screen, click Create a new port and then select Standard TCP/IP Port and click Next.
  3. Type in the IP address of the printer and click Next. Make sure to leave the box marked to Query the printer and automatically select the driver to use option.
  4. You may get a version conflict window, choose to use the driver that is currently installed and click Next.
  5. Continue through the rest of the install wizard and make sure the test page prints.

DPI Settings and Small Fonts

In some instances, small fonts and dpi settings can cause issues with margins when printing. Windows Vista / Windows 7 and higher:

  1. Right click on a blank area of the desktop and then click Personalize.
  2. Click the Display link on the left.
  3. Click the Set custom text size (DPI) link on the left.
  4. Verify that the DPI settings are at 96 DPI, if not, change it to that number.

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