FIX: ScaleMode for Printer Object Can't Create Custom Scale (166908)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Visual Basic version 5.0, when you set the Printer object's ScaleMode property to vbUser (0) to create a user-defined custom coordinate system, the behavior of the Printer object does not change. While the value of the ScaleMode property displays as zero (0), the Printer object behaves as if the ScaleMode property has not changed from its previous value, which is usually the default value of one (1).

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, use the Scale method to create a user-defined custom coordinate system instead of using the ScaleMode property. You can specify a custom scale using the following syntax:

   Printer.Scale (x1,y1) - (x2, y2)

where the values of x1 and y1 determine the settings of the ScaleLeft and ScaleTop properties, and the differences between the two x-coordinates and the two y-coordinates determine the settings of ScaleWidth and ScaleHeight, respectively.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This bug has been fixed in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2.

For more information on the Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

170365 : INFO: Visual Studio 97 Service Packs - What, Where, and Why

For a list of the Visual Basic 5.0 bugs that were fixed in the Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171554 : INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 Fixes in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2

MORE INFORMATION

This problem occurs only with the Printer object. The ScaleMode property of a PictureBox control or a Form can be successfully set to vbUser (0).

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Start a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.
Add a CommandButton (Command1) to Form1.

Add the following code to the Click event for Command1:

      Private Sub Command1_Click()

         With Printer

            .ScaleMode = vbUser               'Create a user-defined custom
            .ScaleWidth = 8.5                 'scale for 8.5" x 11" paper.
            .ScaleHeight = 11

            Printer.Circle (4.25, 5.5), 1     'Print a circle in the
                                              'center of the page.

            .CurrentX = 3.5                   'Print the text at user-
            .CurrentY = 2                     'defined coordinates x = 3.5
            Printer.Print "This is a test"    'and y = 2.

            .EndDoc                           'End the print job.

            Debug.Print Printer.ScaleMode     'Display 0 (vbUser).

         End With

      End Sub

Press the F5 key to run. Click the CommandButton and note that in the printed output, the circle is not printed in the center of the page as you would expect. Also note that the text is not printed at the custom coordinates (3.5,2) as expected.

Workaround

To work around this behavior, replace the code in step 3 above with the following code that illustrates how to create a custom scale for the Printer object successfully by using the Printer object's Scale method rather than its ScaleMode property:

   Private Sub Command1_Click()

      With Printer

         Printer.Scale (0, 0)-(8.5, 11)    'Create a user-defined custom
                                           'scale for 8.5" x 11" paper.

         Printer.Circle (4.25, 5.5), 1     'Print a circle in the
                                           'center of the page.

         .CurrentX = 3.5                   'Print the text at user-
         .CurrentY = 2                     'defined coordinates x = 3.5
         Printer.Print "This is a test"    'and y = 2.

         .EndDoc                           'End the print job.

      End With
   End Sub