Crystal Reports loads very slowly if printer is invalid

Question

In Crystal Reports, if another developer designed a report, I see the error "This report uses an invalid printer. The default printer will be used instead."

I noticed that it takes a VERY long time to open reports programatically when they have this error message. One report took up to 1 1/2 minutes to load with an invalid printer, and then only 5 seconds to load when I fixed the printer. The problem is, we can fix the reports within our network printers, but we deploy our software to customers who will not have our printer setup. They likely have these load times for ALL reports.

How do I set the printer programatically to the default printer, to speed the report loading up?

The code below didn't work; at least, it still took 1 1/2 minutes to load, whether I am able to print from that printer name or not. I am using a ReportDocument (CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument) object to print. Here is a snippet of the code, along with where I am trying to set a new printer.

// Create CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument object
ReportDocument crReportDocument = new ReportDocument();
// Typically this is set to .PortableDocFormat
ExportFormatType selectedOutputType = m_ExportFormat;

System.Drawing.Printing.PrinterSettings printerSettings = new System.Drawing.Printing.PrinterSettings();
crReportDocument.PrintOptions.PrinterName = printerSettings.PrinterName;

// Load() takes an EXTREMELY long time 
// if the RPT file is saved with a printer not found on this computer.
crReportDocument.Load(m_FileName); 

Answer 1

These links might help. Basically, its saying that if the report is designed off a specific printer, it will look for that printer, causing a delay.

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vscrystalreports/thread/54f9cb09-41f3-4191-b705-e4f0f38dfb4a

http://kb.sagesoftwareonline.com/cgi-bin/sagesoftwareonline.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=19460&p_created=1158860711&p_topview=1#6

Answer 2

Try to choose the "No Printer" option in crystal report.

1. Open the report in Crystal Designer, go to Page Setup.
2. Check "No Printer". Save the report.
3. Publish the report.