Question Outlook Express will not send one email to printer.

[andytampa]

I'm trying to help my friend print an email. She is using Outlook Express 6 on Windows XP Home SP3 computer. She has received an email with a coupon bar code from DSW (shoes). When I click print, the printer dialog window opens and I can select properties and do all the normal things one does when printing. However, when I click Print, the dialog window just closes. Nothing gets sent to the printer. I have the printer dialog open and can see that no print job is sent.

So far, this only happens on this one email. Other emails print just fine. There must be more emails that fail, but it's not my computer so I don't know which ones will fail. I have already cleared cache and cookies and have run SFC which did require files from the original disks. Based on an email search I also reregistered a DLL file with "regsvr32 ole32.dll". Nothing helped.

There are more symptoms that might point to a root cause. I tried going to the DSW.com site in Chrome, IE, and Firefox. Chrome Version 49.0.2623.112m goes to the site without a problem. Firefox ESR Version 52.9.0 (32-bit) gets to the site when my Kaspersky Internet Security is off, but gets blocked by a Certificate issue when Kaspersky is enabled. Internet Explorer Version 8.0.6001.18702 cannot display the webpage regardless of Kaspersky being enabled or disabled. However, Internet Explorer version 11.0.9600.18125 will get to the site on a Windows 8.1 64-bit laptop that is also running Kaspersky, but she doesn't get her email there. Turning off Kaspersky did not allow the email to print.

 

[onespeedbiker]

There are several ways around what you are trying to do. One would be to do a print screen of the email, paste it into Paint and print from Paint..

 

[andytampa]

Yes, I know. Thank you. I was able to help with the one email, but that doesn't mean she knows how to do it. This is a problem for which I am looking to find a solution. Workarounds are good on a one-off basis, but this behavior indicates something is wrong or there is something about this particular email that causes this behavior. That is what I'm looking to resolve or understand.

 

[onespeedbiker]

I was going with, "So far, this only happens on this one email." What is the computer make and model, the printer make and model and how are to two connected. When you are using out of date browsers, your going to have problems like this. I use Firefox ESR Version 52.9.0 (32-bit) and without Kaspersky The reason your windows 8.1 browser works is because it is a newer updated browser that works with the newer internet protocols. It should also be noted, that even with a modern updated browser, it can be difficult to print from some websites. Let me try and print out something from the website and I'll get back to you.

Okay, I am connected from my XP computer, to a HP Photosmart printer using bluetooth, and I had no trouble printing from a printer icon at the site.. Unfortunately I can't test an email from the website and I don't use the old Outlook, rather I use Hotmail.

 

[andytampa]

The printer is a Canon MX882 and is connected as a network printer. The computer is one I built so it doesn't have a make and model, so I'll just call it an Andy Desktop II. I'm not having a problem printing from the browser. I'm having a problem not being able to send this email to the printer. All the printer windows open and work except nothing is sent to the print queue to be printed.

Is there some new HTML code or email code that doesn't work with OE6? The email itself looks just like text and a couple of pictures. Does OE6 pre-date CSS?

 

[onespeedbiker]

Some of the discussion in this link seems to be on point. https://www.computing.net/answers/windows-xp/oe6-email-printing/197787.html As far as CSS and Outlook 6, this is an interesting blog https://www.campaignmonitor.com/css/

 

[andytampa]

Thanks Onespeedbiker. I looked at both links. In the first link, there appears to be something behind OE6 and IE working together. I've already started the computer with Kaspersky disabled and that had no effect on the problem. I'm not going to try unloading IE8 to go back to IE6, especially on a system so old that may not be able to go back to the way it was before un-/re-installing.

I don't understand the second link at all. It may indicate some HTML codes that OE6 doesn't understand, but I'm not sure. I don't know if the listed codes were supposed to be understood or misunderstood.

Since the problem is limited to a few emails, I'm not going to spend any more time on it. Other things don't get done while I'm doing this. I've already advised her to start using her laptop which is more up-to-date. When she does, I can look for a way to import her OE6 emails to whatever new email client she will be using.

I appreciate the time and suggestions you've made to try and assist me. Is there any compatibility issues I should be aware of in trying to import OE6 emails to other email clients such as Outlook, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird, etc.? Any tips?

 

[onespeedbiker]

I haven't found any issues with importing emails from Outlook Express to other email clients; this is a process built into email clients to make it easier to convert to their product.