can't use the printer driver configuration tool

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

Jose del Espino — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:16:29 GMT

Thanks, I will definitely do it

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

mwlong — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 14:02:18 GMT

You should have you Microstation Manager edit that variable at a higher level so all users are set correctly. Currently you would need to edit that variable every time because when you change it it is only taking affect in your personal user configuration file.

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

Jose del Espino — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 13:42:41 GMT

Thanks, it helped me much. The MS_PLTFILE_EDITOR was defined "Microstation". I changed it to "Builtin" and now when I go to File> edit print driver configuration tool on the printing window it opens the selected one with the configuration tool.

However, I can't save the system configuration because it's asking me for administrator permission as my computer is managed by the company. Does it mean that I have to edit it every time I run Microstation?

Here you can find my pdf.pltcfg in case you still want to inspect it.

communities.bentley.com/.../8420.pdf.pltcfg

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

mwlong — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 13:21:00 GMT

Go to <File <Setting <Configuration <Configuration Variables. In the list in the right pane locate the variable MS_PLTFILE_EDITOR. It should be undefined.

We need to verify this variable before we go any further.

Also, can you post your pdf.pltcfg to see if we are able to open it with Microstation's editor on our pc?

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

Jose del Espino — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:29:48 GMT

Thank you for your reply. How can I define the variables and what's the defined tool to open the .pltcfg files?

I haven't changed any default configuration of the program so far.

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

mwlong — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:23:40 GMT

Do you have this variable defined MS_PLTFILE_EDITOR

Fully qualified name of a text editor to use when the print dialog's 'File / Edit Printer Driver Configuration' menu item is activated. For example, set the value to 'notepad.exe' (without the quote marks) to use the Windows notepad text editor. If this variable is not defined, the print dialog automatically chooses the correct editor based on the printer driver configuration file format. Legacy .plt files are edited using notepad, while .pltcfg files are edited using the built-in Printer Driver Configuration Editor. There are two reserved values for this variable:
'HIDE_MENU_ITEM': Removes the Edit and Reload Printer Driver Configuration menu items from the print dialog's file menu.
'Builtin': Always use the built-in Printer Driver Configuration Editor.

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

Jose del Espino — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:11:21 GMT

Thank you for your answer. I'm trying to edit the original pdf.pltcfg to change some settings. I made a copy of it and I haven't opened it with the notepad; I don't think the original was edited either, I had Microstation Connect recently installed on my machine. I've tried with the one you attached, but I get the same message. It looks like instead of opening it with the print driver configuration tool Microstation is trying to open it as a drawing file...

Now I also get a system window displaying the following message: Error expanding variable MS_LIBRARY_PATH. Exiting.

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

mwlong — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 11:01:08 GMT

Your printer driver may be corrupted. Has this file been opened directly, in something like Notepad, in the past? I've had situations where I opened pltcfg files in Notepad and made changes that were not the correct syntax. Microstation's plot configuration editor was not able to open the driver at that point.

As Bob mentions, get a clean copy and start over. You should be able to open yours with Notepad, but unless you know what was changed it may be hard to figure out how to fix it.

RE: can't use the printer driver configuration tool

Bob Rayner — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 21:59:31 GMT

I can only guess your pdf.pltcfg has been edited with some invalid text. You could try opening it with notepad, from Windows, see if you can find those changed entries. Or get a clean copy.

Clean copy. I'm guessing I just broke a rule, oh well.communities.bentley.com/.../3704.pdf.pltcfg