Q: Can I install the new version over the old
one?
A: Yes, as well as installing the Business Edition over the Home Edition or
Demo.
Q: I clicked print but all I get is a busy
cursor.
A: Check your printer/paper, if your printer is set to print directly (no
spooling) -- the program will wait for the printer to be done.
Q: What gives? - every now and then my check
prints way off the boxes.
A: Never push a check into the top paper bin of a printer, let it take your
check by itself.
Q: Why did u use check boxes in fixed payee
editor?
A: the payees checked in Payee Editor appear in the Dropdown List on the main
window. Because some of the payees are paid only once a year – you don’t really
need them on your dropdown list. To make a check to payee like this, click
Paste (make a check). Keyboard users use ALT-P shortcut to do that.
Q: I run a business, can I use your program?.
A: The business edition is now available -- please check Products for more info.
Q: My version of MS Money will not print
using your QMP.
A: QMP is a new feature that hasn’t been “torture tested”, it may not work for
you at this time, so don’t be disappointed. E-mail us, and if you work with
us,
I’ll try to help you set the QMP up.
Q: How do I know which check was printed with
QMP.
A: There will be <qmp> mark at the end of the payee name in Check Register. If
the check was printed directly from Check Printer there is only a payee name
there.
Q: Why didn't you use dragging for
positioning the fields in Layout Editor?
A: Dragging would never allow as precise placement of fields as what is achieved
by using current method. The new project I'm working on (Check Writer) will
have the two combined methods for this purpose.
Q: Check Printer doesn't print background,
the MICR fonts nor my personal info, why?
A: Our program prints on preprinted checks only (checkbook checks).
Q: Will you add support for blank stock
printing?
A: No, there's plenty of programs out there that do blank stock printing -- no
need to reinvent the wheel.
Q: Will you add support for envelope and
deposit slip printing?
A: Envelope - yes, deposit slip - no. Envelope Printer is a standalone utility
that is free for users of Check Printer BE.
Q: When I print using QMP I get an error
message, and my check doesn't print, why?
A: This error indicates that the improper format/checks per page was
selected in Quicken/Money or the printing of payee address was attempted.
Please follow in detail the QMP setup procedure outlined in QMP.txt or the help
file in this regard.
This program captures the output from "generic/text only" printer -- (fileport.prn)
to get the data.
If the data "printed" to this file from quicken differs from the template this
error occurs.
Q: How can I use check printer for more than one checking account?
A: You can either:
- get the business edition (up to 5
accounts), or:
- install another installation of the program
for each account. Please make sure that each installation is installed into
different folder and their shortcut folders have different names.
Q: I purchased checks at a local office
supply and the checks are 3 per a page, can your program print these?
A: our program prints only one check at a time. It was designed to print wallet
checks (from a checkbook) -- you can print other checks of the same size but
only one at a time. In your case you'll need to separate the check and print
them individually.
Q: Why do I see a Letter page in the alignment dialog?
A: The Letter/A4 paper sheet is there to illustrate the paper bin of your
printer and where you'd
put your check in. You can accomplish any setting by adjusting the
margins/offset in the "Alignment"
dialog. The default settings are for the center of paper bin (envelope slot in
the center).
Q: Can I print a list of payees before I actually print the checks?
A: Yes, record printing is supported in version 5.5.
Q: I would like to know if I can save the check printer software on a floppy
disks.
A: Use disk spanning feature of WinZip or other unzipping utility.
Q: Why do I need to install a "fake" printer
to use the QMP?
A: The "generic / text only" printer is used only to send data to a file on your
hard drive which is
then used by Check Printer to read data from. This was the only way to enable
QMP printing without
accessing complex data files and risking their corruption. Please leave
settings for this printer on
default. It works like this:
- You create a check in Quicken 2001 and
print from there to "generic text only" printer,
- Generic (virtual) printer now prints it to
a file,
- While Check Printer runs and the QMP is
enabled it looks for that file,
- Once the file is found Check Printer reads
it, inputs the fields with data and prints to your physical printer,
- Your check is now done,
- Check Printer now deletes the data file and
looks for another one.
Q: To print checks requires me to remember to reset the printer back to using
the sheet feeder when I am finished with Check Printer and vice versa, any
ideas?
A: Two:
- Can you select priority for manual tray so
that if no paper is there your printer will take paper
from sheet feeder?
- Perhaps an auto-detect for paper, and than
just removing the paper sheets for the time needed to print your checks and
then putting it back in?
Q: Okay, that worked, but it creates another
problem, namely, printing from other applications (like Word), where I expect
auto-feed, it now wants to do manual feed.
A: What you can try now is to install another copy of your printer and leave it
on default as the other one is "manual" and suffix the name with "auto". Now,
usually the other win programs let you pick the printer (so does mine, but if
you print many checks it may be inconvenient). From here its your choice which
printer you want to make the default. If you do choose the "manual" you don't
have to change anything in check printer, if you do the "auto" go to
Settings/General/Options and enable "Ask for print destination..." option.
Q: I had to set different page size on my
Lexmark Z22 to use with Check Printer. Is there a way that I could get the
program to have the custom paper size as a default setting, or do I have to go
in each time and change the paper size, and then change it back to letter size?
A: No. The easiest way around this is
to install another copy of your printer (driver) and add a suffix you'd
recognize (i.e. Lexmark Z22 CP). Go to printer properties of this printer and
select the paper size that works with Check Printer. Set the original printer
to the default paper size.
Now you have 2 printers installed. It is your choice which printer you wanna
make the default.
If you print many checks but not much from
other windows programs you may want to make the "CP" printer windows
default. If you make "CP" the default you don't have to change anything in
Check Printer. Other win programs let you pick a printer -- you'd select
the original printer if you needed to print from one.
If you make the original printer the
default go to Settings/General/Options in Check Printer and enable "Ask for
print destination" option. Check Printer will ask you to select a printer
each time you wanted to print a check. If you print a lot of checks this
option may be inconvenient.
Q: Adjusting the layout/printing samples will
ruin a bunch of my checks, any way around this?
A: Yes, please take a Letter sheet and cut a strip 2.75 inch wide from the page
so that you have
a strip 2.75x8 inch. Mark 6 inch off the length and cut off the "stub" so that
you have something like a check. Try printing it like you would a check.
Q: I live overseas, is my currency/language supported?
A: If the currency can be printed in English, French or Spanish it is supported
in version 5.5.
Q: Five days a week I get from 20 to 100 checks which individually must be
endorsed, can your program do that?
A: Only the Business Edition supports check endorsing.
Q: I think your program ruined my MS Money data file -- it is inaccessible.
A: Check Printer does not use nor access any Money/Quicken data files, I have
explained above how the
QMP works. Look for the cause of your problem elsewhere.
It has occurred to us that there is another program out there called check
printer since I have received
a few questions like this one and when I asked for version of the check printer
I got no reply as if a
user realized that it was a totally different program.
Q: The program asks for current balance even
if I start it minimized.
A: Please go to "Register" tab in settings dialog and disable it.
Q: I cant seem to grasp how to setup the
signature printing, it says that the image is too big, then when I finally
managed to get it smaller the quality of the printed image is poor.
A: The way I did mine:
I signed a small white piece of paper with a thick black pen and scanned it.
I opened the image in Photoshop and downsized the image (scanners scan it too
big by default) to about what I thought the right size was when viewing at 100%,
then I adjusted contrast and brightness so that the image didn't show shadows of
gray on the white and the signature appeared totally black. Then I opened the
menu, selected "new" and specified the size (250x65) and white background. I
went back to the scanned image, selected just enough to fit the signature
within the rectangle and did "cut" from the edit menu, selected the new image
and clicked "paste". There I moved the layer the way I wanted it and selected
"merge layers" from the menu. Then I saved the new image as jpeg (this format
saves the smallest size on disk). It is a good idea not to keep your
signature image in the same folder as check printer. Next, I went to Check
Printer and enabled signature, browsed for the image and selected it. Went back
to Layout Editor and printed sample. Took a check placed it on top of the sheet
and made adjustments so that the image printed just above the line in the
center. Yet the image printed was poor quality. I went to my windows printer
properties and selected 600 dpi resolution (default is usually 300). I
restarted Check Printer and printed sample again -- that's it! Now it looked
OK.
If you discover that as you paste the selection it doesn't fit you may want to
slightly downsize the original image. Keep in mind that the more you downsize
it the worse the image will look.
Making the signature darker and more legible (user suggestion):
After downsizing the signature image to the appropriate size in Photoshop, I
simply used the "burn tool", with a brush size of about 65, on the image.
This darkened the image and made it print much better on my Epson Stylus 1160.
Some banks have restrictions when it comes to printed signatures (user
comment):
Also, as a bank employee, I thought you may want to let people know that certain
banks require a person to sign a form stating that they will being using a
"facsimile" signature on their checks. It is possible that a bank could refuse
to pay such a check and impose a return check fee on the account holder if this
authorization isn't presented to the bank.
Q: The envelope slot on my printer doesn't
size down enough to accommodate the personal check...
A: One the our users recommended that he got around the envelope slot not
sizing down by building sort of a "flat cardboard box" that goes 3/4 way into
the envelope slot (so that it doesn't get taken in), than he taped it to the
side of the bin with a masking tape and sized it down to fit. This way the
check gets guided into the printer straight.
I understand this is sort of "unorthodox" fix but I thought I'd pass it along.
Q: Weird characters appear in the personal
info fields, why?
A: The appearance of such is caused by use of international fonts and
encryption. Please disable the encryption in Settings/Advanced to solve this
problem.
Q: I get "runtime error (482): printer
error", why?
A: This error appears when Visual Basic runtime cannot detect a printer
installed.
Do you have a printer installed and marked as default?
If you do and the error persists -- please install VB runtime files from our site
and reinstall your printer drivers.
Q: I get the following error:
An error has occurred in Procedure:
LayoutEditor.ReloadDoc
Description: 'Orientation' property cannot be set within a page (<my printer
name>)
A: When this error appears please:
1. Uninstall your printer,
2. Restart your system,
3. Reinstall the printer driver.
This error occurs on some printers because the VB printer runtime libraries were
installed >after< the printer driver. The above mentioned solution works in 95%
of the time. If it didn't work for you it indicates that the printer you have
is not compatible with the Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime and therefore it isn't
compatible with our program. There are several models of Canon and Lexmark
printers that experience the incompatibility.
Q: I get error #??? What should I do?
A: E-mail us and describe in detail how it has happened.
Q: When I start your program there is a
warning from Norton Antivirus about a Trojan in MS*** files, why would there be
a virus in your program?
A: First of all the files starting with "MS" come from Microsoft not
us (verify
that in the Properties of a file). If there is a problem with such file do the
Quarantine from Norton to insulate it. Most likely this would be one of
Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime files (since our program uses them) and they can
be replaced by installing them again after the quarantine. If there is still a
problem with missing files please contact us and I'll point you to where you can
get them.
Q: What is the csv format for payee imports and batch lists?
A: Use a standard csv, comma delimited, quoted strings, one record per line
file.
First field is number only, 1 or 0 indicates if the record is marked.
Second field is Payee Name.
Third is Memo.
Fourth is Amount with currency mark.
Each line in the record should look like this:
"1","Wells Fargo Home Mortgage,
Inc.","0223400357","$ 1,175.05"
As you can see the quotes are required so that the other commas
are not considered field separators. You can also open any .plb file
generated by Payee Editor for reference.
Q: Is there any spy-ware included with your
program?
A: No, there is no spy-ware of any kind. We respect our users privacy.
