Printing

As you’ve no doubt noted, there’s many different contexts for printing information, out onto hard-copy, from within ServiceDesk. Primarily, these various means and methods are designed to print a specific kind of report or other image onto paper – and in every such case there are contextual commands (and generally a command button) for such purpose.

Still, you may note that we have not created provision for purpose-designed printouts in every context. In some cases (in terms of information that’s available for viewing on-screen), we’ve judged that your need for a purpose-designed printout is likely to be either extraordinarily rare, slight, or both. Since it involves significant work to create the underlying code-machinery for each purpose-designed printout, we’ve not created purpose-designed reports in these instances.

However, we’ve not left you helpless. Should you occasionally the odd need for a printout in any case where it’s not otherwise provided, there’s a very effective solution. From virtually any context in ServiceDesk, if you want a printout of what’s on the active form, simply press Ctrl-P. If the active form is one with freely displayed text in it (i.e., text that prints directly on the form itself, not within a text box), ServiceDesk will print the text that’s displayed. If, on the other hand, it’s a form that is simply composed of various controls (including text boxes), ServiceDesk will print an image of the form, including its controls and their contents.

As still another possibility, if you’d ever like to print an image of the entire ServiceDesk screen, that’s very easy too. Use the same command as mentioned above (Ctrl-P), only before you do so press the PrntScrn key on your keyboard. Particularly if using a laser printer, you’ll find that a very nice image prints out for you.

Also in regard to this last application, there may be occasions where you want to print what’s on the screen from another application (i.e., one not even related to ServiceDesk), and there’s no provision there for doing so. No problem. ServiceDesk will be happy to help you out here as well. Again, just press the PrntScrn button on your keyboard. This places the image in the Windows clipboard. Go to ServiceDesk, and press Ctrl-P. If it’s an entire screen image in the clipboard (no matter what screen image was captured when you pressed the button), ServiceDesk will print it.

Think of this Ctrl-P based print method as being for miscellaneous printing, wherever there is otherwise no specific provision for a hard-copy printout of what’s visible on-screen. If you remember the feature is available, it will come in very handy at times.