Microsoft KB Archive/202480

Knowledge Base

HOW TO: Determine Printer Status and Print Job Status from Visual Basic

Article ID: 202480

Article Last Modified on 7/16/2004

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Professional Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 32-Bit Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 Professional Edition

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This article was previously published under Q202480

IN THIS TASK

SUMMARY

• Description of the Technique
• Step-by-Step Sample
• Troubleshooting

REFERENCES

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use Windows application programming interface (API) functions in Visual Basic to determine the printer status or the print job status programmatically. Although an application does not typically have to check the status of a printer before printing, it may be useful to determine the status of a printer or print job programmatically.

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Description of the Technique

The term "printer" can refer to a hardware device, a queue, a driver, or even a port. In this article, the term "printer" is defined as a local print queue. The code sample in this article returns the statuses that the operating system reports. This is the same status that the spooler reports, which you can check by watching the local print queue.

For example, to view the queue on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 98, click Start, point to Settings, click Printers, and then double-click the icon for the printer whose queue you want to view.

NOTE: You cannot communicate directly with the physical printer. You should not have to do this because the operating system must arbitrate access to the hardware.

The sample code in this article examines the local print queue, which obtains information from the port monitor, which in turn communicates with the physical device. For a more detailed description of how this works, see the articles that are listed in the "References" section of this article.

This sample reports the status from the printer and from the jobs, but note that the job status information is generally more reliable for applications. Ideally, you should examine the jobs and the printer statuses separately, and the code should infer the "meta" status of the queue. However, for most uses, your code can rely on the job statuses. Also, this example loops through the jobs and checks and reports the status of each job. This is because your job may follow another job that is reporting a problem, such as being out of paper or getting jammed.

NOTE: The system only checks the status when the system has a job to spool. Otherwise, the queue is considered "ready" because the queue can accept jobs, even if the hardware is in an error state. For example, if the last job that was printed used the last piece of paper, the operating system does not know this until the system tries to print again.

Additionally, although there are many statuses that may be reported, many are not supported in practice. The printer hardware and the port monitor determine which statuses to report. For example, if the printer is out of paper and offline, the status may be reported as "Printing" because that is what the job is trying to do. Therefore, a queue that displays "Ready" does not guarantee that your print job will complete successfully.

This code sample examines only the local queue, which should suffice for most applications. However, connecting to remote printers can become fairly complex. You can have chained queues, in which the port for the local queue is actually another queue. You can have printer pooling, in which multiple printers work from a common super queue. When the architecture becomes more complex, the code to retrieve a meaningful status also becomes more complex, and the usefulness of the status is reduced.

On Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition only, you can also examine the PrinterInfo.Attributes field for the bit PRINTER_ATTRIBUTE_WORK_OFFLINE. This state is something that typically occurs because of user action (for example, if the user right-clicks a printer icon and then clicks Work Offline). This state does not occur because of the state change of a print job, although the operating system can force state if the printer cannot be connected to despool a job. In that case, the status is typically reported as USER_INERVENTION_REQUIRED.

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Step-by-Step Example

1. Create a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic. By default, Form1 is created.

2. On the Project menu, click Add Module, and then add the following code:

   Option Explicit
   
   Public Declare Function lstrcpy Lib "kernel32" _
      Alias "lstrcpyA" _
      (ByVal lpString1 As String, _
      ByVal lpString2 As String) _
      As Long
   
   Public Declare Function OpenPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" _
      Alias "OpenPrinterA" _
      (ByVal pPrinterName As String, _
      phPrinter As Long, _
      pDefault As PRINTER_DEFAULTS) _
      As Long
   
   Public Declare Function GetPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "GetPrinterA" _
      (ByVal hPrinter As Long, _
      ByVal Level As Long, _
      pPrinter As Byte, _
      ByVal cbBuf As Long, _
      pcbNeeded As Long) _
      As Long
   
   Public Declare Function ClosePrinter Lib "winspool.drv" _
      (ByVal hPrinter As Long) _
      As Long
   
   Public Declare Sub CopyMemory Lib "kernel32" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" _
      (Destination As Any, _
      Source As Any, _
      ByVal Length As Long)
   
   Public Declare Function EnumJobs Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "EnumJobsA" _
      (ByVal hPrinter As Long, _
      ByVal FirstJob As Long, _
      ByVal NoJobs As Long, _
      ByVal Level As Long, _
      pJob As Byte, _
      ByVal cdBuf As Long, _
      pcbNeeded As Long, _
      pcReturned As Long) _
      As Long
      
   ' constants for PRINTER_DEFAULTS structure
   Public Const PRINTER_ACCESS_USE = &H8
   Public Const PRINTER_ACCESS_ADMINISTER = &H4
   
   ' constants for DEVMODE structure
   Public Const CCHDEVICENAME = 32
   Public Const CCHFORMNAME = 32
   
   Public Type PRINTER_DEFAULTS
      pDatatype As String
      pDevMode As Long
      DesiredAccess As Long
   End Type
   
   Public Type DEVMODE
      dmDeviceName As String * CCHDEVICENAME
      dmSpecVersion As Integer
      dmDriverVersion As Integer
      dmSize As Integer
      dmDriverExtra As Integer
      dmFields As Long
      dmOrientation As Integer
      dmPaperSize As Integer
      dmPaperLength As Integer
      dmPaperWidth As Integer
      dmScale As Integer
      dmCopies As Integer
      dmDefaultSource As Integer
      dmPrintQuality As Integer
      dmColor As Integer
      dmDuplex As Integer
      dmYResolution As Integer
      dmTTOption As Integer
      dmCollate As Integer
      dmFormName As String * CCHFORMNAME
      dmLogPixels As Integer
      dmBitsPerPel As Long
      dmPelsWidth As Long
      dmPelsHeight As Long
      dmDisplayFlags As Long
      dmDisplayFrequency As Long
   End Type
   
   Type SYSTEMTIME
      wYear As Integer
      wMonth As Integer
      wDayOfWeek As Integer
      wDay As Integer
      wHour As Integer
      wMinute As Integer
      wSecond As Integer
      wMilliseconds As Integer
   End Type
   
   Type JOB_INFO_2
      JobId As Long
      pPrinterName As Long
      pMachineName As Long
      pUserName As Long
      pDocument As Long
      pNotifyName As Long
      pDatatype As Long
      pPrintProcessor As Long
      pParameters As Long
      pDriverName As Long
      pDevMode As Long
      pStatus As Long
      pSecurityDescriptor As Long
      Status As Long
      Priority As Long
      Position As Long
      StartTime As Long
      UntilTime As Long
      TotalPages As Long
      Size As Long
      Submitted As SYSTEMTIME
      time As Long
      PagesPrinted As Long
   End Type
   
   Type PRINTER_INFO_2
      pServerName As Long
      pPrinterName As Long
      pShareName As Long
      pPortName As Long
      pDriverName As Long
      pComment As Long
      pLocation As Long
      pDevMode As Long
      pSepFile As Long
      pPrintProcessor As Long
      pDatatype As Long
      pParameters As Long
      pSecurityDescriptor As Long
      Attributes As Long
      Priority As Long
      DefaultPriority As Long
      StartTime As Long
      UntilTime As Long
      Status As Long
      cJobs As Long
      AveragePPM As Long
   End Type
   
   Public Const ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER = 122
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_BUSY = &H200
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_DOOR_OPEN = &H400000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_ERROR = &H2
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_INITIALIZING = &H8000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_IO_ACTIVE = &H100
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_MANUAL_FEED = &H20
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_NO_TONER = &H40000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_NOT_AVAILABLE = &H1000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_OFFLINE = &H80
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_OUT_OF_MEMORY = &H200000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_OUTPUT_BIN_FULL = &H800
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PAGE_PUNT = &H80000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_JAM = &H8
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_OUT = &H10
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_PROBLEM = &H40
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PAUSED = &H1
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PENDING_DELETION = &H4
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PRINTING = &H400
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_PROCESSING = &H4000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_TONER_LOW = &H20000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_USER_INTERVENTION = &H100000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_WAITING = &H2000
   Public Const PRINTER_STATUS_WARMING_UP = &H10000
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_PAUSED = &H1
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_ERROR = &H2
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_DELETING = &H4
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_SPOOLING = &H8
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_PRINTING = &H10
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_OFFLINE = &H20
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_PAPEROUT = &H40
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_PRINTED = &H80
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_DELETED = &H100
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_BLOCKED_DEVQ = &H200
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_USER_INTERVENTION = &H400
   Public Const JOB_STATUS_RESTART = &H800
   
   Public Function GetString(ByVal PtrStr As Long) As String
      Dim StrBuff As String * 256
      
      'Check for zero address
      If PtrStr = 0 Then
         GetString = " "
         Exit Function
      End If
      
      'Copy data from PtrStr to buffer.
      CopyMemory ByVal StrBuff, ByVal PtrStr, 256
      
      'Strip any trailing nulls from string.
      GetString = StripNulls(StrBuff)
   End Function
   
   Public Function StripNulls(OriginalStr As String) As String
      'Strip any trailing nulls from input string.
      If (InStr(OriginalStr, Chr(0)) > 0) Then
         OriginalStr = Left(OriginalStr, InStr(OriginalStr, Chr(0)) - 1)
      End If
   
      'Return modified string.
      StripNulls = OriginalStr
   End Function
   
   Public Function PtrCtoVbString(Add As Long) As String
       Dim sTemp As String * 512
       Dim x As Long
   
       x = lstrcpy(sTemp, Add)
       If (InStr(1, sTemp, Chr(0)) = 0) Then
            PtrCtoVbString = ""
       Else
            PtrCtoVbString = Left(sTemp, InStr(1, sTemp, Chr(0)) - 1)
       End If
   End Function
   
   Public Function CheckPrinterStatus(PI2Status As Long) As String
      Dim tempStr As String
      
      If PI2Status = 0 Then   ' Return "Ready"
         CheckPrinterStatus = "Printer Status = Ready" & vbCrLf
      Else
         tempStr = ""   ' Clear
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_BUSY) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Busy  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_DOOR_OPEN) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Printer Door Open  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_ERROR) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Printer Error  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_INITIALIZING) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Initializing  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_IO_ACTIVE) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "I/O Active  "
         End If
   
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_MANUAL_FEED) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Manual Feed  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_NO_TONER) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "No Toner  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_NOT_AVAILABLE) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Not Available  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_OFFLINE) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Off Line  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_OUT_OF_MEMORY) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Out of Memory  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_OUTPUT_BIN_FULL) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Output Bin Full  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PAGE_PUNT) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Page Punt  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_JAM) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Paper Jam  "
         End If
   
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_OUT) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Paper Out  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_OUTPUT_BIN_FULL) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Output Bin Full  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PAPER_PROBLEM) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Page Problem  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PAUSED) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Paused  "
         End If
   
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PENDING_DELETION) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Pending Deletion  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PRINTING) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Printing  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_PROCESSING) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Processing  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_TONER_LOW) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Toner Low  "
         End If
   
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_USER_INTERVENTION) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "User Intervention  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_WAITING) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Waiting  "
         End If
         
         If (PI2Status And PRINTER_STATUS_WARMING_UP) Then
            tempStr = tempStr & "Warming Up  "
         End If
         
         'Did you find a known status?
         If Len(tempStr) = 0 Then
            tempStr = "Unknown Status of " & PI2Status
         End If
         
         'Return the Status
         CheckPrinterStatus = "Printer Status = " & tempStr & vbCrLf
      End If
   End Function
                       

3. Add three CommandButton controls.
4. Add three TextBox controls to Form1, and then configure the TextBox controls as follows:
   1. Set the MultiLine property of each TextBox control to True.
   2. Size each TextBox to approximately five inches wide and three inches long.
   3. Set the ScrollBars property of each TextBox control to 2 - Vertical.
5. Add a Timer control to Form1.

6. Add the following code to the Form's module:

   Option Explicit
   
   Private Sub Command1_Click()
      'Enable the timer to begin printer status checks.
      Timer1.Enabled = True
      
      'Enable and disable start and stop buttons.
      Command1.Enabled = False
      Command2.Enabled = True
      Command3.Enabled = True
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub Command2_Click()
      'Disable timer to stop further printer checks.
      Timer1.Enabled = False
      
      'Enable and disable start and stop buttons.
      Command1.Enabled = True
      Command2.Enabled = False
      Command3.Enabled = True
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub Command3_Click()
      'Clear the status info.
      Text1.Text = ""
      Text2.Text = ""
      Text3.Text = ""
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub Form_Load()
      'Initialize captions for control buttons.
      Command1.Caption = "Start"
      Command2.Caption = "Stop"
      Command3.Caption = "Clear"
      
      'Clear the status info.
      Text1.Text = ""
      Text2.Text = ""
      Text3.Text = ""
      
      Command1.Enabled = True
      'Disable stop and clear buttons.
      Command2.Enabled = False
      Command3.Enabled = False
      
      'Set interval for printer status checking to 1/2 second.
      Timer1.Enabled = False
      Timer1.Interval = 500
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
      Dim PrinterStatus As String
      Dim JobStatus As String
      Dim ErrorInfo As String
      
      'Clear the status info for new info/status.
      Text1.Text = ""
      Text2.Text = ""
      Text3.Text = ""
      
      'Call sub to perform check.
      Text1.Text = CheckPrinter(PrinterStatus, JobStatus)
      Text2.Text = PrinterStatus
      Text3.Text = JobStatus
   End Sub
   
   Public Function CheckPrinter(PrinterStr As String, JobStr As String) As String
      Dim hPrinter As Long
      Dim ByteBuf As Long
      Dim BytesNeeded As Long
      Dim PI2 As PRINTER_INFO_2
      Dim JI2 As JOB_INFO_2
      Dim PrinterInfo() As Byte
      Dim JobInfo() As Byte
      Dim result As Long
      Dim LastError As Long
      Dim PrinterName As String
      Dim tempStr As String
      Dim NumJI2 As Long
      Dim pDefaults As PRINTER_DEFAULTS
      Dim I As Integer
      
      'Set a default return value if no errors occur.
      CheckPrinter = "Printer info retrieved"
      
      'NOTE: You can pick a printer from the Printers Collection
      'or use the EnumPrinters() API to select a printer name.
      
      'Use the default printer of Printers collection.
      'This is typically, but not always, the system default printer.
      PrinterName = Printer.DeviceName
      
      'Set desired access security setting.
      pDefaults.DesiredAccess = PRINTER_ACCESS_USE
      
      'Call API to get a handle to the printer.
      result = OpenPrinter(PrinterName, hPrinter, pDefaults)
      If result = 0 Then
         'If an error occurred, display an error and exit sub.
         CheckPrinter = "Cannot open printer " & PrinterName & _
            ", Error: " & Err.LastDllError
         Exit Function
      End If
   
      'Init BytesNeeded
      BytesNeeded = 0
   
      'Clear the error object of any errors.
      Err.Clear
   
      'Determine the buffer size that is needed to get printer info.
      result = GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, 0&, 0&, BytesNeeded)
      
      'Check for error calling GetPrinter.
      If Err.LastDllError <> ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER Then
         'Display an error message, close printer, and exit sub.
         CheckPrinter = " > GetPrinter Failed on initial call! <"
         ClosePrinter hPrinter
         Exit Function
      End If
      
      'Note that in Charles Petzold's book "Programming Windows 95," he
      'states that because of a problem with GetPrinter on Windows 95 only, you 
      'must allocate a buffer as much as three times larger than the value 
      'returned by the initial call to GetPrinter. This is not done here.
      ReDim PrinterInfo(1 To BytesNeeded)
      
      ByteBuf = BytesNeeded
      
      'Call GetPrinter to get the status.
      result = GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, PrinterInfo(1), ByteBuf, _
        BytesNeeded)
      
      'Check for errors.
      If result = 0 Then
         'Determine the error that occurred.
         LastError = Err.LastDllError()
         
         'Display error message, close printer, and exit sub.
         CheckPrinter = "Couldn't get Printer Status!  Error = " _
            & LastError
         ClosePrinter hPrinter
         Exit Function
      End If
   
      'Copy contents of printer status byte array into a
      'PRINTER_INFO_2 structure to separate the individual elements.
      CopyMemory PI2, PrinterInfo(1), Len(PI2)
      
      'Check if printer is in ready state.
      PrinterStr = CheckPrinterStatus(PI2.Status)
      
      'Add printer name, driver, and port to list.
      PrinterStr = PrinterStr & "Printer Name = " & _
        GetString(PI2.pPrinterName) & vbCrLf
      PrinterStr = PrinterStr & "Printer Driver Name = " & _
        GetString(PI2.pDriverName) & vbCrLf
      PrinterStr = PrinterStr & "Printer Port Name = " & _
        GetString(PI2.pPortName) & vbCrLf
      
      'Call API to get size of buffer that is needed.
      result = EnumJobs(hPrinter, 0&, &HFFFFFFFF, 2, ByVal 0&, 0&, _
         BytesNeeded, NumJI2)
      
      'Check if there are no current jobs, and then display appropriate message.
      If BytesNeeded = 0 Then
         JobStr = "No Print Jobs!"
      Else
         'Redim byte array to hold info about print job.
         ReDim JobInfo(0 To BytesNeeded)
         
         'Call API to get print job info.
         result = EnumJobs(hPrinter, 0&, &HFFFFFFFF, 2, JobInfo(0), _
           BytesNeeded, ByteBuf, NumJI2)
         
         'Check for errors.
         If result = 0 Then
            'Get and display error, close printer, and exit sub.
            LastError = Err.LastDllError
            CheckPrinter = " > EnumJobs Failed on second call! <  Error = " _
               & LastError
            ClosePrinter hPrinter
            Exit Function
         End If
         
         'Copy contents of print job info byte array into a
         'JOB_INFO_2 structure to separate the individual elements.
         For I = 0 To NumJI2 - 1   ' Loop through jobs and walk the buffer
             CopyMemory JI2, JobInfo(I * Len(JI2)), Len(JI2)
                
             ' List info available on Jobs.
             Debug.Print "Job ID" & vbTab & JI2.JobId
             Debug.Print "Name Of Printer" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pPrinterName)
             Debug.Print "Name Of Machine That Created Job" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pMachineName)
             Debug.Print "Print Job Owner's Name" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pUserName)
             Debug.Print "Name Of Document" & vbTab & GetString(JI2.pDocument)
             Debug.Print "Name Of User To Notify" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pNotifyName)
             Debug.Print "Type Of Data" & vbTab & GetString(JI2.pDatatype)
             Debug.Print "Print Processor" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pPrintProcessor)
             Debug.Print "Print Processor Parameters" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pParameters)
             Debug.Print "Print Driver Name" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pDriverName)
             Debug.Print "Print Job 'P' Status" & vbTab & _
               GetString(JI2.pStatus)
             Debug.Print "Print Job Status" & vbTab & JI2.Status
             Debug.Print "Print Job Priority" & vbTab & JI2.Priority
             Debug.Print "Position in Queue" & vbTab & JI2.Position
             Debug.Print "Earliest Time Job Can Be Printed" & vbTab & _
               JI2.StartTime
             Debug.Print "Latest Time Job Will Be Printed" & vbTab & _
               JI2.UntilTime
             Debug.Print "Total Pages For Entire Job" & vbTab & JI2.TotalPages
             Debug.Print "Size of Job In Bytes" & vbTab & JI2.Size
             'Because of a bug in Windows NT 3.51, the time member is not set correctly.
             'Therefore, do not use the time member on Windows NT 3.51.
             Debug.Print "Elapsed Print Time" & vbTab & JI2.time
             Debug.Print "Pages Printed So Far" & vbTab & JI2.PagesPrinted
                
             'Display basic job status info.
             JobStr = JobStr & "Job ID = " & JI2.JobId & _
                vbCrLf & "Total Pages = " & JI2.TotalPages & vbCrLf
             
             tempStr = ""   'Clear
             'Check for a ready state.
             If JI2.pStatus = 0& Then   ' If pStatus is Null, check Status.
               If JI2.Status = 0 Then
                  tempStr = tempStr & "Ready!  " & vbCrLf
               Else  'Check for the various print job states.
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_SPOOLING) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Spooling  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_OFFLINE) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Off line  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_PAUSED) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Paused  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_ERROR) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Error  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_PAPEROUT) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Paper Out  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_PRINTING) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "Printing  "
                  End If
                  
                  If (JI2.Status And JOB_STATUS_USER_INTERVENTION) Then
                     tempStr = tempStr & "User Intervention Needed  "
                  End If
                  
                  If Len(tempStr) = 0 Then
                     tempStr = "Unknown Status of " & JI2.Status
                  End If
               End If
           Else
               ' Dereference pStatus.
               tempStr = PtrCtoVbString(JI2.pStatus)
           End If
             
             'Report the Job status.
             JobStr = JobStr & tempStr & vbCrLf
             Debug.Print JobStr & tempStr
         Next I
      End If
      
      'Close the printer handle.
      ClosePrinter hPrinter
   End Function
                       

7. Go to your print queue, and then pause the printer. Note that you may need a local printer instead of a network printer to pause the print queue.
8. Run the sample project, and then click Start.
9. Perform one or more print operations from another application such as Notepad. The printer information is displayed in the text boxes. Notice that job details appear in the Immediate window.
10. If necessary, click Stop on the form to scroll through the text boxes and the Immediate window to view this printer information.

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Troubleshooting

• Only a specific device driver can obtain real-time, accurate printer status information. This code obtains the same status that the Windows Spooler reports.
• The exact status that is reported may vary with different printers and drivers.

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REFERENCES

For additional information about how printer status and print job status are set, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

160129 HOWTO: Get the Status of a Printer and a Print Job

For additional information about how to use the EnumPrinters API function, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

166008 ACC: Enumerating Local and Network Printers

For additional information about how to retrieve print job information in Microsoft Visual C++, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

228769 HOWTO: Retrieve Print Job Information

158828 HOWTO: How To Call Win32 Spooler Enumeration APIs Properly

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Additional query words: printer queue

Keywords: kbhowto kbhowtomaster kbapi kbspooler KB202480

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