> > Hi.
> >
> > I have a report that ends up being about 200+ pages. About half way through the system sends an error "Printer Not Ready."
> >
> > The Fox Help says:
> >
> > "The printer device specified is currently not accessible or the printer is timing out. The TIME parameter in your Visual FoxPro configuration file might need to be increased."
> >
> > Is anyone familiar with the Time parameter and if so what should I be setting it to so it can print 200+ pages without timing out?
>
> I have never heard of it! This must be an erroneous help entry. Interestingly the Help file lists the same entry for Versions 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 but NOT in VFP 9.0 but "TIME" is definitely not listed as one of the Config File "special terms" in any version of help I have access to.
>
> I suspect this is an old DOS reference that somehow persisted through FPW into VFP - because the same Help Text appears in FoxPro 2.6W - but even there there is no mention of the TIME parameter for configuration!
>
> But I am afraid I cannot suggest anything else that might be a solution, however I did find the following on the HP Website at: http://docs.hp.com/en/B2355-90678/ch10s10.html
>
> Setting the printer-timeout-period Physical Printer Attribute
>
> The printer-timeout-period attribute specifies how long, in seconds, that the supervisor tries to connect to a printer device when one of its physical printers receives a job. The default for this attribute is 60 seconds.
>
> A physical printer enters the timed-out state when it cannot lock the printer device within the amount of time specified. This happens when the printer device is already locked. You receive a notification message if the notification profile for either the physical printer or the supervisor specifies you for the printer-timed-out event.
>
> To set the value of printer-timeout-period to 90 seconds, enter:
>
> pdset -x "printer-timeout-period=90" PhyPrt2
>
> Refer to “Responding to Physical Printer State Problems ” earlier for more information on how this attribute affects the printer state and job processing.
>
> The value of the printer-timeout-period attribute also determines how long a physical printer takes to enter the needs-attention state; the physical printer enters this state when it runs out of paper or goes off-line for some reason.
> Regards
> Andy Kramek
> Microsoft MVP (Visual FoxPro)
> Tightline Computers Inc, Akron Ohio, USA


Thanks for your replies.

My darling husband actually found
this for me ( http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa976027(VS.71).aspx) - which reads:

Troubleshooting Printing Problems

Many of the printing problems reported to Microsoft Product Support Services are actually hardware or configuration problems not related to FoxPro or Windows. This section provides tips for general troubleshooting for printing, then provides solutions to some specific problems related to printing in FoxPro.
If you have problems printing, begin with these steps to isolate the problem.

Make sure you can print from MS-DOS.
Check the printer's cable connections.
Make sure your SET TEMP= statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file is pointing to a valid directory. Do not point SET TEMP to the root directory of the drive.
Make sure you are using the correct printer driver. This is set up in Control Panel, Printers.
If you print to a COM port, you might need to configure the COM port with the MS-DOS Mode command or with Control Panel settings. (See section below on Printer Time-Outs)
Check the communication settings for serial printers.
Make sure you can print from Write in the Accessories Group.
Select a different printer driver (ex: Generic/Text Only) in Control Panel, Printers and/or reinstall the printer driver from your original diskettes.
Select a different video driver (ex: VGA), from the Windows Setup icon in the Main group or reinstall these drivers from the original diskettes.
Check the font you are using in the Control Panel, Fonts icon to see if it has become corrupted. You can do this by double clicking on the font name in the Installed Fonts box. If the font does not display correctly in the sample box, reinstall the font files from the original diskettes.
Printer switch boxes must not be used with Windows versions.
"Combo" printer/fax machines are NOT supported and do NOT work well with MicroBiz Windows software
Printer Time-Outs
If you receive a "Printer not ready. Retry? (Y/N)" message, the time-out for the printer may need to be increased. A time-out is the amount of time that any program waits for the print device to receive a character.
FoxPro for Windows has an item called TIME that can be adjusted to increase the amount of time FoxPro has to send characters to a print device. The default for TIME is 6,000.
To change the TIME item:

In some text editor, open the CONFIG.FPW in the main FoxPro for Windows directory.
Add in a line that reads TIME=999999.
Save the file and exit the text editor.
Restart FoxPro for Windows.
Many times, the print device needs to be correctly configured for the operating environment of the PC. To do this, a MODE command may be used. MODE is used in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of your computer.
For a parallel printer, you might use a similar command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT:

mode lpt1:,,p

This command lets the operating system know that a print device is on LPT1. Also, the operating system should perpetually retry to send output to the print device.
For a serial printer, you might use a similar command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT:

mode com1:9600,N,8,1,p

This command specifies 9600 as the baud rate, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and perpetual retry for sending output to the print device.
See your MS-DOS User's Guide and Reference for more information on configuring print devices and the MODE command