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Print Queue Manager 5.1.3 Update Posted Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:16:00 +1000 by Chris
The first round of fixes and updates has been completed and released in Print Queue Manager v5.1.3. Improvements to Watch, Help, WMI, licensing and settings are all included in this release. Problems, suggestions or recommendations?

Print Queue Manager 5 Released Posted Sun, 03 Jul 2011 02:07:00 +1000 by Chris

Print Queue Manager 5.0.10 has been released!!!

The latest version has been 2 years in planning and 7 months in development and had been running in parallel to the version 4 release. The aim was to provide a live updating interface using WMI to provide more information and to improve the ability to log print jobs.� I hope I achieved it. Lots of minor feature updates and requests have also been implemented.

This may seem like a sudden jump from version 4 to 5, but my testing team have actually played with about 10 different versions since 4.0.111 which were potentially going to be released as version 4.5 but the fruition of the WMI project and the new logging database meant I could roll it all together into the next great version.

Heaps more reports!

It's still FREE but now you get more with PRO!
Print Queue Manager 5
www.chris.dunn.name/pqm.htm

Print Queue Manager 5.0.0 released to testers Posted Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:42:00 +1000 by Chris

Print Queue Manager 5.0.0 has just been released to my beta testers.

Now using a WMI interface it provides live updates to the job queue�PQM 5�can show which computer a job was printed from. In addition to this all jobs sent to the connected server are now logged.

If no major bugs are reported I am hoping to release this shortly.

Watch this space!

Print Queue Manager 5 - it's coming! Posted Sun, 29 May 2011 00:43:00 +1000 by Chris

So where is the next version of Print Queue Manager?

Recently I mentioned Print Queue Manager 4.5 would be released shortly. Due to some new developments this will now not occur.

Finally, after over a year of discussion, the next version of Print Queue Manager will be version 5, based on WMI.

While the unique AutoQueue and AutoRelease features are still driven by the API the interface, reporting and features are now driven entirely by WMI.

This means more reports, more information and faster.

This also means I can finally provide that most requested feature, the source computer of a print job, to the queue manager.

Version 5 will be released to my testers shortly. Watch this space.

Print Queue Manager - New version coming soon Posted Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:18:00 +1000 by Chris

The next updates to Print Queue Manager are currently with my beta testers. Version 4.5 is due to be released in weeks providing database driven logging and lots of other goodies.

I won't spoil all the secrets but lots of great new features and some interface improvements are on their way.

�A big performance boost to the grid will benefit those with large print queue volumes and there are some great new features for PRO users.

To be able to provide these new features and ensure the continued development of Print Queue Manager I have increased the price for PRO users to $19.95. It's still sensational value and the basic version is still free.

Have a great easter.

Christian.

Print Queue Manager back in development Posted Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:24:00 +1000 by Chris

Updates to Print Queue Manager are now underway.

I am finally implementing a WMI Search for jobs on a server which can show which computer the job came from. This may still be a beta feature because it currently takes about 30 seconds to return results. This is a WMI limitation.

A new favourites panel is coming and you can now put your own company name and tagline in reports.� I have made versions of the existing reports without the javascript so they work in all environments.

There will also be some big updates to the help file.

Coming soon.

Print Queue Manager 50003 Error Posted Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:00:00 +1000 by Chris

I have recently noticed a number of users reporting the VB runtime 50003 error. I have now identified two possible causes.

My application uses 32 bit graphics so it will work with newer operating systems such as Windows 7 and Server 2008. Some older computers with older graphics cards, or virtual machines using virtual adapters, or terminal services connections may use 16 bit graphics. This will cause the error to occur.

How to check

The first thing to do is to check the display properties.

In XP: Control Panel > Display > Settings > Color Quality

The color quality should be "High" or above.

In Win 7: Control Panel > Display > Adjust Resolution > Advanced > List All Modes

The mode you select should say "(32 bit)".

How to fix:

If you can't adjust the display qualities to those above you will need a newer graphics card for the computer. Windows Virtual PC uses 16 bit graphics drivers and will cause this issue.

It still occurs:

If the graphics are correct and the error appears the VB6 runtime is corrupt or not installed. You can download and re-install the Microsoft VB6 SP1 runtime here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=7B9BA261-7A9C-43E7-9117-F673077FFB3C&displaylang=en

Still having a problem?

Drop me a line. Email me screenshots and details.

NEW Shortcutz software and PQM update Posted Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:38:00 +1000 by Chris

PQM 4 Update

I have just released a new update to Print Queue Manager to provide a new requested feature enabling you to configure and disable the menu bar. This provides administrators with additional functionality to restrict user access to the application. I have also added some new command line parameters.

NEW Shortcutz

Have you seen my new program Shortcutz from chris.dunn.name? This program was a simple solution to a complex problem. How could I manage my shortcuts and keep my desktop free from clutter? This little task tray application makes it easy to display your shortcuts as you want them and when you want them. I have also released a rebranded version of this application for the IT Support Forum from I Know IT.

LaunchMe 2.1 Posted Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:41:00 +1000 by Chris
CJD Presentation Launcher has now been officially replaced by LaunchMe.
Version 2.1 brings an improved interface, some new features and an easy setup wizard making LaunchMe is the easy way to make stunning presentations.

Check it out now.. looking forward to your feedback and suggestions.

Managing Printer Queues in corporate environments. Posted Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:31:00 +1000 by Chris

I received a great question via email the other day that might interest a number of my Print Queue Manager users...

I'm looking for a tool that would delete jobs in print queues on a print server if �the are stuck for a definable �time e.g. 15 min.
Reason: I'd like to reduce the danger of having print outs on places the user is not located anymore, but has the printer still added as default printer. ( e.g. printing to a meeting room where others get the printout)

This can of course only be achieved, printers in meeting rooms are switched generally �off and jobs in the print queue would be deleted after a certain waiting time. If a printer would be switched on by chance within the �minutes where the job has not been deleted, it would be printed. This is possible, but not very likely. Without beeing deleted, the job would be printed after the printer is switched on.
�
The tool should most likely run on the print-server. Those print queues should be addable to be controlled by that tool.

If a user sends a job to an offline-printer he would have a few minutes to switch the printer on and the job would be printed. If he waits to long, the job would have been deleted.

This is a good question in a corporate environment or a high print turnover environment where one print job blocking the queue could have flow on effects. Having a way to clear these out at regular intervals can be a bonus.

This is not what my Print Queue Manager does as it is designed for managing and controlling jobs in a queue, for an unmanaged queue it can only handle scheduled deletes.

I recently discussed on my website about trying to convert Print Queue Manager to WMI (a windows way of talking to computers) and the problems I discovered. Well the only real problem was speed but WMI is a great way to easily do this kind of function. As I program in visual basic I often test code in vb scripts. I have been testing WMI printer scripts for a long while and a simple script would easily do this.

I already had a script which had all of the common print functions and could list all jobs in a print queue. I tweaked this to list all print jobs on a server and to filter it to older than 15 minutes to make my test script. There are lots of unused functions hidden in the base for these scripts as it can be modified to do almost anything with a print job or queue. At the top of each script you can enter a string of computer names (separated by a comma) e.g. "HOME-PC,LAPTOP1" and the script will process the print servers in order, if nothing is changed it will work on the current computer.
After I had this first script I made two variants that you might find useful.
I have attached a zip file with these three scripts. Put them on your desktop and run them by double clicking on them. If you need to edit them right click and choose edit or open them in notepad.
The scripts are:

15min-TEST-printjobs (shows you print jobs older than 15 minutes)
15min-DELETE-printjobs (shows you print jobs older than 15 minutes and deletes them)
15min-DELETE-NO-PROMPT-printjobs (deletes print jobs older than 15 minutes - shows you nothing)

FILE >> http://imagemen.hypermart.net/files//15min-printjob-scripts.zip

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