Windows Print Dialog Box under a Citrix environment displays print devices as hyperlinks
I'm encountering a problem on my clients host sites (2 separate testing environments) with my software application when the user attempts to print a report (generated in my application) as a PDF file. The exact problem is that my application uses the standard Windows Print Dialog box invoked by a DLL written in C-language which directly calls the Windows API function "PrintDlgEx". The application has always worked this way for the past 7 or 8 years, but now the Windows Print Dialog box is displaying the "print devices" as hyperlinks, whereas, in the past, they were always displayed as simple text. I'm 99% sure that the crux of this issue lies within Citrix which I have no control over, besides having no knowledge of Citrix (having never actually worked with the product). Something in the Citrix setup is causing these print devices to be displayed as hyperlinks in the Print Dialog box, which ultimately causes the dialog box to "disappear" as soon as the hyperlink is clicked on by the user and NEVER gives the user the chance to click on either the PRINT or CANCEL buttons or, in the case of printing to a file, does not allow the user to select a file location for the report file. As always, any help in resolving this issue or in simply enlightening me about why this is happening would be greatly appreciated!
ASKER
I appreciate your suggestion, but, unfortunately, I don't have the access necessary to do any of the things that you're suggesting. The most obvious difference in the Print Dialog box that is being displayed in my corporate clients environments vs. my own environment (all environments are using the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system) is that ALL of the print devices in my clients environment are displayed as "hyperlinks" and in my own environment, the print devices are displayed in plain text (as they normally are...). I've NEVER seen this happen before in any application or environment that I've ever worked in. That is, I've NEVER seen print devices in a Print Dialog box displayed as anything other than plain text which you can select without any "event-type action" taking place, which is what is happening when they're displayed as hypertext!? I've poured through all the Microsoft technical information on MSDN and anywhere else I could "google", but I can't find any reference to print devices being displayed as hyperlinks in a Windows Print Dialog box or any way to programmatically cause this to happen!? Help!!!!
Ok, that helps to a point. Do you have multiple clients having the same problem? Or is it just the one?
I've been doing Citrix forever (15+ years) and I've never seen this behavior.. If it is just the one, then it must be something in their environment that is doing it. Do they have 3rd party apps that play with the shell? (i.e. AppSense, RES, etc.)
Coralon
I've been doing Citrix forever (15+ years) and I've never seen this behavior.. If it is just the one, then it must be something in their environment that is doing it. Do they have 3rd party apps that play with the shell? (i.e. AppSense, RES, etc.)
Coralon
ASKER
To answer your question, this issue only involves one client! Further, since I have absolutely no experience with Citrix and you have 15+ years, I'm going to accept the fact that this has nothing to do with Citrix, thereby eliminating Citrix from the equation. The problem still remains that I have no knowledge of the exact environment (other than the base OS is Windows Server 2008 R2, running as a terminal server) and, possibly, in a virtual mode although I'm sure entirely sure about that, and I have no access. That said, I do have a teleconference on Monday with someone in the corporation's IT department who's involved with my application and setting it up in the Citrix environment. How much he knows about the actual OS setup, I don't know because they comparmentalize everything so much that someone else takes care of setting that up. However, he may be able to get some insight into any 3rd pary apps that may be installed on their application servers. So, my question at this point is which 3rd party apps (in addition to the 2 you've already mentioned) would you consider to be prime candidates for causing a situation like this?
I would definitely be asking them about shell replacement products.. that would probably be your best bet for what is happening. RES, triCerat, etc.
Coralon
Coralon
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ASKER
Need to get more insight into this issue which requires "restating" the problem with a slightly different focus.
Try your app on the raw physical console, and use a new account with a new profile. That will establish your baseline, and then try it through RDP, and then through ICA.
Coralon