Print Dialog in MS-Access - vba

Question

I want to open a print dialog box. I haven't programmed in VB for a decade and I am more than a little rusty.
I got a copy of an MS Access VB script that selects an MDB file and then prints only one copy. My thought process was:
Open up a dialog box;
Select the printer;
Type in number of copies;
Print.
Currently, the portion of the original script I want to modify is:
[SQL query above this]
....
' Open form
Dim rs As DAO.Recordset
Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("select##identity")
Debug.Print rs(0)
Dim q As String
q = "transfer_id=" & rs(0)
DoCmd.OpenForm "Transfer Report", acNormal, , q, ,acDialog
DoCmd.PrintOut
...
[End If, End Sub, etc.]
This only prints out one instance of the report and the company does not have the ability to print out other copies at the same time. Since it is in the field, they don't have access to a copier but still need multiple copies.
One answer I found, by David-W-Fenton (thank you!), shows how to create a dialog box; Would the following script accomplish what I want to do? And, how do I add a portion to the dialog box to specify how many copies to print?
...
Dim varPrinter As Printer
Dim strRowsource As String
Dim q As String
Dim rs As DAO.Recordset
Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("select ##identity")
Debug.Print rs(0)
If Len(Me.OpenArgs) > 0 Then
q = Me.OpenArgs
Me.Tag = q
For Each varPrinter In Application.Printers
strRowsource = strRowsource & "; " & varPrinter.DeviceName
Next varPrinter
Me!cmbPrinter.RowSource = Mid(strRowsource, 3)
' first check to see that the report is still open
If (1 = SysCmd(acSysCmdGetObjectState, acReport, q)) Then
With Reports(q).Printer
Me!cmbPrinter = .DeviceName
Me!optLayout = .Orientation
End With
Me!txtPageTo = Reports(q).Pages
End If
End If
Public Function PrintReport(q As String) As Boolean
q = "transfer_id=" & rs(0)
' open report in PREVIEW mode but HIDDEN
DoCmd.OpenReport q, acViewPreview, , , acHidden
' open the dialog form to let the user choose printing options
DoCmd.OpenForm "dlgPrinter", , , , , acDialog, q
With Forms!dlgPrinter
If .Tag <> "Cancel" Then
Set Reports(q).Printer = Application.Printers((!cmbPrinter))
Reports(q).Printer.Orientation = !optLayout
Application.Echo False
DoCmd.SelectObject acReport, q
DoCmd.PrintOut acPages, !txtPageFrom, !txtPageTo
PrintReport = True
End If
End With
DoCmd.Close acForm, "dlgPrinter"
DoCmd.Close acReport, q
Application.Echo True
End Function

Answer 1

Here is a late reply, some times it may help others.
In order to open the print dialogue:
Place a command button for PRINT on the report, and write the code as below.
Private Sub CmdbtnPrint_Click()
DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdPrint
End Sub
Change the 'Display When' property of button to 'Screen Only'.
Open the report in 'acViewReport' view mode.
Click the PRINT command button, and the systems print dialogue box will be open. Set the parameters and print the report.

Answer 2

Check the documentation about the PrintOut method:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff192667.aspx
In your original script to modify, just add the Copies argument to the DoCmd.PrintOut statement, like:
DoCmd.PrintOut Copies:=x
where x is a variable representing the number of copies you want to print.
Reviewing the documentation for the DoCmd.OpenForm method,
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff820845.aspx
I don't think the code you have can allow a user-input for the number of copies. I do not program in Access, but I'm certain there are other ways to allow user input at run-time. In Excel/PowerPoint we would use an InputBox or a UserForm.
I think you can use an InputBox in Access:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/inputbox-function-HA001228856.aspx