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For listing a tool or technology for adoption or evaluation purposes please contact
lizwalser@as.tufts.edu
In this case I was helping someone upgrade a lab computer from Windows XP to Windows 7 Pro and I needed to get a print-preview command line tool (usually a.NET program) to run successfully. Fortunately there is a third party software vendor who provides this tool for free. It is called Print Preview Manager for Windows which, unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of until I was on the hunt for it.
How to find it
The good news is that the vendor, Print Preview Manager for Windows, had a website where you can download the tool from and it will run on Windows XP, Vista, 7, and Windows 8 (Microsoft only allows Windows to have one Print Preview app).
The Print Preview Manager for Windows website home page
The downside is that I had to download it from the website and then run the installation executable. Once installed the software will generate a license key, so you have to be careful how you use it. If you find yourself wanting to install the software from a CD/DVD, you will need to use a different method.
The license key for Print Preview Manager for Windows
Where you can use it
I installed the Print Preview Manager on a Windows 7 VM (VMware Fusion, Mac OS X), on a Windows 7 laptop, and on a Windows 8 laptop. I ran the test locally and remotely (with a Windows 7 remote desktop connection) and it was successful on all machines. The test was successful on Windows 7 and Windows 8, but it will only run in Windows XP or later. I didn’t test it in Windows Vista, but I think it should also run in Windows Vista.
Here is the basic run down of how to use it.
Right-click on the Print Preview icon in the system tray area
Select Open
Click the Add Preview button
Enter the name of the printer
Enter a local IP address or host name
Click the Preview tab
Select from the print options including selections for PDF, PCL, or PS
Click the Print button
Enter a title for the print job
The following screen shot shows the print settings for a local print server
The following screen shot shows
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