Can't print a document

users
#1

Make a liar outta me, willya? Mere hours after I sent a message to this
list saying "I'm not sure I've *ever* had a LibreOffice document
(Writer or Calc) fail on me", I ran into one.

It's a Writer document; the whole thing is a three-column table with
somewhat different information in each cell. There are 132 rows in
twelve 8½ x 11 pages. There is some formatting: font attributes and
sizes, no images, nothing really crazy.

When I've tried to print it, the print "progress bar" (I think that's
what you call it) takes a somewhat long time on the first page, then
whips through the next eleven, and then nothing prints.

It's probably a corrupted file. I can live with copy-and-pasting the
contents into a template and making a brand new document, but I'd
rather not. Is there some setting I might have unwittingly turned on
that would forbid printing?

I also tried saving it as a .docx in Writer, and the results were
identical.

I don't think the capacity of the hardware is at issue here; I have
several documents very much like this one - some are larger - and have
never had an iota of trouble printing any of them before or since. For
the record, though, the printer is a Color LaserJet M477fdw.

Thanks.

#2

Hi :slight_smile:
Sorry to ask but which OS or platform are you using? Windows, Gnu&Linux or
some other?

I'm not sure if it is relevant but which version of LibreOffice? The
"Help" menu under "About" usually gives that sort of information.

Also have you tried "print to file" instead of selecting a printer - and
then choose Pdf format so that you can have a quick poke around in the
resulting file to see if that looks about right or is also just blank.

Does the printer feed quite a few blank pages or does it just rattle a bit
and then just sit there glowering or acting all innocent or something?

Sorry i can't give any sensible suggestions! Tim @ Kracked Press is often
good at printer issues.

Regards from
a Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Hello again Tom,

First, I indeed should have stated the OS, which is Windows 10, and the
LibreOffice version, which is 6.05.2.

The printer didn't send out any blank pages; it sat there like nothing
at all was happening.

Second, you made an *extremely* sensible suggestion, for which I thank
you.

Print to File didn't work; it created a shortcut but not a file - not
even a zero-byte file. I then tried (and I have no idea why I didn't
think of it before) LibreO's "Export to .pdf", which did generate
a real live .pdf. I then opened the .pdf in Microsoft Edge (which is
quite good at displaying them), and yes! It printed perfectly and looks
just as good as the many similar table-based documents I've printed
directly from LibreOffice.

If Tim @ Kracked Press or any toner-stained mavens happen on this, I
would be interested to know if there are any subtle settings that might
derail normal printing. I'm guessing that a corner of the file got
boofed somewhere, but I've never had this happen before just out of
the blue like that, and my curiosity is piqued.

Thanks again,

Eddie

#4

Hi Eddie.
Can you start with a new document, put some text on it and print.

This should tell if the problem is related to the specific document.

When you go to print your big table, what printer is shown in the print dialogue, is it the one you have connected.

Steve

#5

Eddie wrote:

Make a liar outta me, willya? Mere hours after I sent a message to this
list saying "I'm not sure I've *ever* had a LibreOffice document
(Writer or Calc) fail on me", I ran into one.

It's a Writer document; the whole thing is a three-column table with
somewhat different information in each cell. There are 132 rows in
twelve 8½ x 11 pages. There is some formatting: font attributes and
sizes, no images, nothing really crazy.

When I've tried to print it, the print "progress bar" (I think that's
what you call it) takes a somewhat long time on the first page, then
whips through the next eleven, and then nothing prints.

It's probably a corrupted file. I can live with copy-and-pasting the
contents into a template and making a brand new document, but I'd
rather not. Is there some setting I might have unwittingly turned on
that would forbid printing?

I also tried saving it as a .docx in Writer, and the results were
identical.

I don't think the capacity of the hardware is at issue here; I have
several documents very much like this one - some are larger - and have
never had an iota of trouble printing any of them before or since. For
the record, though, the printer is a Color LaserJet M477fdw.

Have you checked the print preview in LibreOffice? Does that look OK? It probably does, since you've said elsewhere that exporting to PDF works.

Check the printer queue. I'm not entirely certain where that's moved to on Windows 10 offhand; probably something like Settings (or maybe still Control Panel) > Devices and Printers. Are attempts to print the document stacking up there? If so, that more likely a Windows and/or printer issue, but we might still be able to help.

Can you print other documents from LibreOffice? A new document with just a few words added to a single page? Can you print from any other applications (e.g. try printing a web page or email)?

#6

Hi Steve,

Yes, documents before and since have all printed without hitches, and
the correct printer is assigned. This is, to the best of my memory
going back to OpenOffice 3.x, the only problem document I've ever had.
Anyway, LibreOffice allowed me to convert to .pdf and I could print
that one, so the "crisis" (e.g. a couple of hours of cut-'n-paste) has
been averted.

Just out of my curiosity and as a possible help to others, I'm still
wondering what could have gone wrong. It's all very strange.