Question

QB printing issues - XPS and print to pdf corruption - any suggestions?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
May 21, 2020
5 replies
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Quickbooks and Microsoft print services for the XPS Document Writer and Microsoft Print to PDF tool are all corrupt on two servers we have - Windows Server 2016. These print objects are what QB uses to print and we are unable to print from QB - on launch QB states we are missing printing components. I took the following actions thus far: 1. Ran the QB File and Print doctor - unable to fix or re-add those devices - "Element not found" or "Invalid handle" error messages 2. Rebooted the servers - same issue 3. Updated Quickbooks with all available updates - same issue 4. Uninstalled and reinstalled the driver files from Microsoft for those print services via powershell commands and re-ran QB file doctor - same issue 5. Checked all Windows updates applied across all servers - they are an exact match between the one working server running Quickbooks and the two that are not working with QB printing 6. Ran a system file check and system restore DISM scan on both servers - no issues found 7. Attempted to install the known good drivers from the working server to the other two servers - same issue. 8. Attempted to manually re-add XPS Document Writer and Microsoft Print to PDF via manual add printer (in Control Panel and via PowerShell). Same error messages - Invalid Handle / Element not found I am almost to the point of wiping out these servers / restoring from backup - but I don't like doing that and not finding out what is causing us the grief because what if the issue returns. I feel like I've exhausted QB and Microsoft support forums, but does anyone in the community have any suggestions? Thanks!

QuickBooks Desktop

M

Mark_R

I appreciate you performing the possible troubleshooting steps to fix the printing issues, @bottojr.

At this time, we have an ongoing issue with printing pdf files in QuickBooks Desktop. Rest assured that our product engineers are diligently working for a fix.

In the meantime, let's try running the QuickBooks Print & Print Repair Tool from the QuickBooks Tool Hub to resolve the issue. Based on the troubleshooting steps you've performed, this solution isn't done yet. Here's how:

Close your QuickBooks Desktop.
Download the QuickBooks Tool Hub file. Save it somewhere on your computer.
Open the QuickBooksToolHub.exe file you downloaded.
Follow the on-screen steps to install and agree to the terms and conditions.
When the install finishes, double-click the icon on your Windows desktop to open the tool hub.
In the QuickBooks Tool Hub, select Program Problems.
Select QuickBooks PDF & Print Repair Tool. It will take about a minute to run.
Attempt to print a PDF file in your QuickBooks Desktop again.

I've got you this article for more details: Troubleshoot PDF and Print problems with QuickBooks Desktop.

Also, to ensure you'll get an update about the resolution status, I recommend contacting our Phone Support Team. This way, they can add your company to the list of affected users and provide this investigation number for easy tracking: INV-0670.

As always, feel free to visit our QuickBooks Community help website if you need tips and related articles in the future.

Thank you for your patience while we work for a fix. Keep in touch if you need any more assistance with this, or there's something else I can do for you. I've got your back. Have a good day.

B

bottojrAuthor

We have already run the print repair tool and followed those instructions. It did not help.

To make sure we are talking about the same issue / confirm that this is really a known problem - here are the steps to duplicate the issue on our end:

This happens for any report - just giving an example:

user opens quickbooks Desktop.

user runs a profit and loss report

user hits print button but nothing happens. They can export to pdf but that is it. Are you talking about the same issue?

M

Mark_R

I appreciate you getting back to us and clarifying things, @bottojr.

Yes, we're on the same page. Currently, printing a PDF file, whether it's reports or transactions, is affected by the investigation stated above.

You'll want to reach out to our Phone Support Team so they can add your account to the list of affected users. This way, you'll receive an email regarding the issue once updates become available.

To reach them, click the ? Help button at the top-right and select Contact Us to talk with a live agent.

Just in case you want to customize reports in your QuickBooks Desktop, feel free to read this article to the detailed information: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

Thank you for your patience. Please know you can continue to reach me here with any additional questions. I'm always happy to help. Have a great day and keep safe.

G

greenmtnit

@bottojr, I have been suffering from this issue on multiple machines for two months.

Have you tried uninstalling the most recent Windows update, e.g. 2020 May Cumulative Update. I uninstalled the most recent update using DISM.exe (see here) and I got the XPS Document Writer back and fixed QuickBooks saving. You might also need to uninstall April updates.

Do you see the XPS Document Writer listed when you run get-printer in PowerShell?

You can also try disabling and re-enabling the XPS writer optional feature. You can do this in GUI or PowerShell:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Printing-XPSServices-Features"

then

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Printing-XPSServices-Features"

Could you also tell me if you are using third-party AV and what your QuickBooks version is?

B

bottojrAuthor

I have indeed tried running those commands:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Printing-XPSServices-Features"

then

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Printing-XPSServices-Features"

And did the same with Microsoft Print to PDF. It does not re-enable the printers and I cannot add them back manually either with an add printer command in control panel.

This issue is occuring for every version of QB that is installed 2015 up through 2020 on this same server.

Uninstalling the May Cumulative update is a bit of a drastic step. But I think given you had success doing so (the XPS doc writer came back) then while Intuit is "working on the issue" - I will escalate with a Microsoft support ticket since these servers having the issue are hosted on Azure. I can go that route to get it looked at in parallel....though my bet would be Intuit has more pull with Microsoft than I do.

G

greenmtnit

OK thanks for the reply.

Do you have third-party AV installed?

I am going to PM you my email if you would be willing to work on the issue with me. I have been in hell with this for two months and would say I know a lot about the issue... except the fix, of course.

J

jchIT

I was able to finally resolve this on my end. Results may vary of course. This was on Server 2016 Datacenter. I initially could not add the xps document writer due to element not found. Copied the documents writer folder from a known good server of the same OS over to the problem server, ran windows updates, this allowed me to re-add the document writer, ran the quickbooks tool hub, selected program problems, and ran the quickbooks print & pdf repair tool. Once all of that was done the user was able to send the reports as a pdf again. Hope this is helpful.

G

greenmtnit

Can you please describe which files/ folders you copied from the working server for the XPS writer?

Thanks.

G

greenmtnit

April 20, 2021:

Still experiencing issue with QuickBooks Print to PDF. It seems to break every month or two after patching. I can uninstall the patch, which fixes the issue. Then I reinstall the patch and still everything if fine, for another month at least.

Is there any update on investigation INV-0670 or from Microsoft? I've been dealing with this issue for a client for a full year!

S

SashaMC

Hey Greenmtnit,

Thanks for reaching back out to us. I reviewed the investigation (INV-0670) to see if there is any update. The status of this case is saying that the Product Investigations Team is currently still researching and working on this issue. However, I assure you once this has been resolved, you will be notified through email communications of any updates. In the meantime, I recommend using the workaround provided in the article about Troubleshooting PDF and Print Problems until there is a permanent solution.

Please let me know if you have any questions by commenting below. I will be delighted to assist! Take care and be safe.

S

sdhernandez01

The PDF printing issue has been ongoing. The repair tool has never worked for us. We've always had to reinstall the XPS Printer. I say always because this never seems to remain "repaired". Now, I have it working for Desktop 2019, but 2021 does NOT work. Please help me understand why two different versions of QB on the same hard drive behave SO differently. I have wasted far too much time running repair tools, uninstalling and re-installing the XPS printer. Where do I look to make 2021 work like 2019?

G

GigioGir8

spend 1/5 hrs with the "claimed" tech support from QB. The poor soul did try here best but the info at her disposal and also published in the Q&A were not working.

I solved the issue by replacing all together the XPS drivers. I use Window 10 Pro.

Follow the instructions (on You-tube) of this "geek" and ... it did work perfectly for me (5 minutes)

https://thegeekpage.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Microsoft-XPS-Document-Writer.zip

Luigi G.

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