If you have been using Internet on a regular basis, you would have found that there are occasions where in you need to print a file from your Laptop, but the Printer is at your Home and you are on a travel. There are also cases where in you need to print your Bank Statements Online, but the printer is not connected and you cannot login to your Bank Account from a unsecured connection at a Cyber Cafe and print the docs for submitting to the Income Tax Department. There may be many other similar situations, in most cases you cannot find a alternative to your Laptop and cannot connect to a printer, but need a Hard Copy of something urgently. Hence for this there is a solution of setting up a Virtual Printer, where in the files would be printed from your Laptop to a PDF file which can later be transferred using your mail or Pen Drive and the file can be printed from any other source. Also useful when you want to Print Gmail Messages
In order to get started with this tweak you need to install a PDF Converter software called as DoPDF, which allows you to Convert any file to a PDF File for free of cost. Once you install the software, you will be asked in the process if you want the Virtual Printer to be your default printer or not and this is based on your own selection you can decide and opt or not. Next when you run the software for the very first time, you will get the following screen.
How to Create PDF from any Application : You can create PDF files from any application that supports printing. Just open the file you want to convert using the browse option and select the file from your computer which has to be converted. You need to go to File > Print in order to take a print out of the file which is generated in the PDF format and saved.
Once you select the file, you will see there is a settings option section and then a PDF file which is converted opens up with the option to directly print it. Along with this you will also find a Virtual Printer on your Printers & Settings as shown below which can be a lifesaver when you want to print documents to PDF files.
BUT AMIT!
Google Cloud Printer’s Beta software hangs the printing activity with a message table “Do You want to Restart Cloud Printing?” something like that – and also TAKES AWAY DO PDF from the PC. I had this experience twice today. Now I will remove All Google and Re install Do PDF and will nottouch the Cloud Printer part of Google. This is for your info.