Output Report to PDF Quit Working; Worked for Years Until Now (Microsoft Access)

Question

I have an Access application that contains a command button to output a report to PDF. It has worked for 4-5 years and suddenly it no longer works. I get a message that says "Formatting page... press CTRL/BRK to stop". That continues until the OS finally reports that Access is not responding.

I use the Access app on two computers, one is Win 10 and one is Win 11, and I now have the same problem on both computers.

I do not get an Access error message. and I have modified the sub just by deleting a comment line, saved the sub and re-compiled it. No errors.

Help will be greatly appreciated.

David

Answer 1

I ran into reports to PDF years ago (2019) and have been doing the following.

Echo False

DoCmd.OpenReport "ReportName", acViewPreview

DoCmd.SelectObject acReport, "ReportName"

DoCmd.OutputTo acOutputReport, puchaseOrderReportName, acFormatPDF, "FullNameAndPath.PDF"

DoCmd.Close acReport, "ReportName"

Echo True

Answer 2

In case the file size got too big, try doing a C&R as well.

Answer 3

On the Win 10 computer, set the default printer to Microsoft PDF.

Answer 4

It sounds like you are experiencing a common issue with Microsoft Access when trying to output reports to PDF. Since this functionality has worked for several years and suddenly stopped, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can consider:

1. Check for Corruption: Sometimes, the Access database can become corrupted. You can try compacting and repairing the database to see if that resolves the issue.
2. Update Access: Ensure that both your Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems have the latest updates for Microsoft Access. Sometimes, updates can fix bugs or issues that may cause problems with features like PDF output.
3. Test with a New Report: Create a simple test report to see if the issue persists with a new report. If it works, the problem may be with the specific report you are trying to output.
4. Check Printer Settings: Since the PDF output may rely on printer settings, ensure that your default printer is set correctly and that there are no issues with the printer drivers.
5. Registry Settings: If the problem continues, you may want to check if any registry settings related to Access or PDF output have changed. However, be cautious when modifying the registry.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you might consider reaching out to Microsoft support for more detailed assistance.

---

References:

• How to fix Microsoft Access
• Text that is in a text box control of a report or a form may not appear correctly in Access
• Incompatibilities between Office programs and Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker Office COM Add-in
• Print to PDF on RDS breaks every month
• How to print without a window popping up that requests I save an already saved document
• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• Excel not responding, hangs, freezes, or stops working
• How to back up and restore the registry in Windows