Excel Err Msg: Cannot Open Printer Driver

 Last reviewed: July 27, 1995
Article ID: Q72574

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel for Windows, when you attempt to print a document, you may get the error message "Cannot Open Printer Driver." This error message can be caused by any of the following:

  • Various problems with the printer setup.
  • A problem with the temporary directory and/or available disk space.
  • A low-memory situation.
  • Selecting an inactive printer driver in the Control Panel.
  • No COMMDLG.DLL exists on the system. (This does not apply to Microsoft Excel version 5.0.).
  • The selected printer driver is damaged or corrupt.
  • Your workbook is corrupt.

MORE INFORMATION

In addition to the reasons listed in Microsoft Excel Help, this error may also occur because a temporary directory is invalid or available disk space is low. To verify this, do the following:

  1. Get to a MS-DOS prompt.

  2. Type "set" (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER.

  3. A list of environment variables is returned. You should have a line similar to the following: 

          TEMP=<SomeDirectory>

  4. Verify that <SomeDirectory> is a valid directory.

  5. Verify that you have at least 2 megabytes (MB) of available disk space (after Windows is running) on the drive on which <SomeDirectory> is located.

  6. If you confirm that there is no COMMDLG.DLL file on your hard drive, use your Microsoft Windows disks to obtain the file.

If you think that the printer driver selected may be damaged or corrupt, reinstalling it from the original disks may also resolve the problem.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide 1," version 4.0, pages 190-202 "Microsoft Excel User's Guide 1," version 4.0, chapter 16 "Microsoft Windows User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 158-170 "Microsoft Excel User's Guide," version 3.0, chapter 15 "Online Help," version 3.0, "Messages"

KBCategory: kbfasttip
KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: 2.0 2.00 2.01 2.1 2.10 2.2 2.20 2.21 3.0
3.00 4.0 4.00 5.0 5.00

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Last reviewed: July 27, 1995
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