Customizing our printouts ?

[Blue Max]

How can we create a custom print style, template, or form for printing
Outlook 2007 contact information. The print dialog supplies several
standard styles from cards to phone directories, but none of the standard
styles print the exact information we need. Can we customize the printout
to include the format and contact fields we want printed? If so, how do we
do this? Is the printout based on a form, template, or style? Outlook help
searches have not enlightened us any on the subject.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Mail merge to Word -- start with the Tools | Mail Merge command in any Outlook contacts folder.

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you, Sue. This looks like a viable option, but isn't there a way to
create a form or template without going through Microsoft Word? We would
like to customize a print template that would be permanently available from
within Outlook, if possible. Where do the current print templates reside
(Card Style, Booklet Style, Memo Style, Phone Directory Style, etcetera)?
Can these styles or templates be copied and modified for custom use?

**************************
Mail merge to Word -- start with the Tools | Mail Merge command in any
Outlook contacts folder.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Outlook print templates don't have the customization options that you are undoubtedly looking for. You can save the merge document for future use.

 

[Hayden Saveal]

Have you considered using a third party addin?

Savvisoft have released 'Blueprint for Outlook' which provides you with full
control over the printed layout of your messages, contacts, custom forms, and
other Outlook items. It even allows you to add custom headers and footers to
printouts.

Blueprint also overcomes the issues around printing page selection, and will
allow you to print selected pages whilst still retaining all the usual
message header information.

If you like the sound of it, you can visit http://www.savvisoft.com for more
information and a free 30-day download.

Kind Regards

Hayden Saveal.

 

[Blue Max]

Hello Sue,

Another option here, that may useful to other users reading this thread, is
to note that the user does not have to customize the print style or template
in order to print additional fields that do not print by default. Part of
our problem is that we initially failed to recognize that the user actually
can print other contact information simply by customizing the current
contact form under VIEW> CURRENT VIEW> CUSTOMIZE CURRENT VIEW. While this
does not allow the user to modify the print styles, it does allow the user
to print the desired information. This option also allows the user to save
the customized form as a display style for easy access in the future.

Thanks


**********************
Outlook print templates don't have the customization options that you are
undoubtedly looking for. You can save the merge document for future use.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

As you've seen, it really depends on what you want to do -- print lists, print individual items, print formatted phone directories. Lots of solutions are available.

 

[Blue Max]

True, but our confusion results from trying to discover the proper mix of
display forms and print styles. For example, our contacts are displaying as
business cards and we print a phone directory using the 'Phone Directory'
print style, which only prints names and phone numbers in two columns by
default, regardless of the display form presentation. However, we now want
to print a phone directory listing, without multiple columns, one contact
per line, but also want to include the business address and e-mail addresses
as part of each contact listing. This is the sort of task that we seem
unable to perform within Outlook due to the fact that we cannot modify print
styles. Is this an accurate characterization, or is there actually a way to
accomplish this type of task within Outlook?

******************
As you've seen, it really depends on what you want to do -- print lists,
print individual items, print formatted phone directories. Lots of solutions
are available.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The Phone Directory style is the one print style that isn't essentially WYSIWYG. Have you thought about customizing a Table view with the fields you want, then printing that. If that doesn't give you the control you want, then mail merge is what I'd use.

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you Sue, some very good ideas. It helps to know that this style is
not WYSIWIG, whereas the others apparently are. We wish that help would
identify some of these subleties. We will try the table suggestion, which
appears to be a good option also.

Thank you for your help.

*******************************
The Phone Directory style is the one print style that isn't essentially
WYSIWYG. Have you thought about customizing a Table view with the fields you
want, then printing that. If that doesn't give you the control you want,
then mail merge is what I'd use.