Cancel Printing

[Kev Peel]

We have to determine whether this is PowerBASIC-related question or a general "stop xx print job"-type question. If the former, you can use AbortDoc() with API style printing. If the latter, try asking in the Cafe, as it's off topic here.

[Mel Bishop]

...I've never understood why printers don't have a button to clear the buffer...

Most printers do. I have two printers. One says "Stop/Clear" and the other says "Cancel".

I think the problem with canceling print jobs is that the print data has to be "moving". That is, the printer has to be actively receiving and printing data.

If the data stream gets hung up for whatever reason, the cancellation will also hang until the stream starts moving again.

[Charles Dietz]

Brian, when working with a program you have coded, you can include logic to cancel your print job. But when working with someone else's program, I agree with you, it can be a pain. I've had times it seemed, I could hardly cancel the printing... I'd turn off the printer, and as soon as I turned it back on, it would resume printing.

I've found the best way to clear the printer buffer is to open the printer driver software from either the system tray or control panel, and then to delete all jobs listed there, then shut off the printer power, wait a minute or so, and power back up, trusting that it will reset.

I've never understood why printers don't have a button to clear the buffer, it seems like such an easy feature to add... and maybe some do, but I'm not aware of any.

[Elias Montoya]

Turning off the printer makes it worse. Reseting the printer manually helps with mine.

[Brian Reynolds]

I have been aware for a long time that when I cancel a print queue, it can take quite a long time to actually wipe the queue and clear the print box.
Do other people have this problem and, if so, does anyone know how to make it delete print queues quicker?