What is it?

Hands-Free Printer is a FileMaker^® Pro plugin that lets you completely automate print jobs. It's the only plugin that can individually control almost any printer option on both Windows and Macintosh, then restore the printer selected for the next manual print job.

No other printer plugin lets you use a script to choose not just the printer name, but the orientation, paper size, tray, number of copies, and so on.

Control non-standard options like staple and hole punch, toner saver, and almost any other printer setting. No other FileMaker printer plugin offers that, either.

After automating a job to a label printer, isn't it annoying that label printer is selected next time you print manually? HFP lets you restore the previously-selected office printer after automating printing to that label printer.

No other plugin can set a default manual printer.

Hide the print setup and page setup dialogs entirely, or show printer dialogs pre-set with options you have chosen and let your users make changes before they start the print job.

Oh, did we mention no other plugin can ninja print with hidden dialogs?

Paper, toner, and printer parts are expensive. You can save hundreds of dollars by automating common printer jobs to avoid costly mistakes like accidentally printing "All Records" - mistakes that can blow through all the paper in the printer before anyone notices and cause a lot of unnecessary printer wear and toner waste. Save even more by directing printer jobs to a scratch-paper tray, setting double sided, black and white, and toner saver options that most users never learn how to use or simply forget to use. Even pop a dialog to remind users not to print if they don't really need a paper copy.

Use a script that provides instructions to guide your users through complex printer jobs like thank you letters with envelopes, telling them what paper to put in while Hands-Free Printer does the rest. Click a button to print a weekly report without thinking about it every time, or let a FileMaker script walk you through printing a yearly mailing that's always been a pain to remember how to print. Even new employees will be printing stapled and hole punched documents like they've worked there for years.

Each printer option is set independently, not as a group like with FileMaker's "restore print settings" feature. Setting printer options independantly can remove the need for dozens or even hundreds of "restore settings" script steps since a unique "restore settings" step is required for every combination of printer, paper size, paper source, and so on.

Your scripts will be easier to read and less prone to errors without convoluted If/Else script steps separating each "restore settings" step.

FileMaker 11 introduced the ability to choose your printer using the "restore settings" script step. If you're still using FileMaker 10 or earlier, Hands-Free Printer can do the same thing, which is invaluable in offices with multiple printers.

Instead of updating who knows how many "restore settings" script steps to point to a new printer, HFP lets you share a single "restore settings" script step among all your printing scripts. Update that one "restore settings" and none of the HFP scripts that set standard printer options need to be updated if your printer changes.

When you include Hands-Free Printer in your products, your users won't need to turn on "access for assistive devices" on Macintosh or worry about having things like Applescript or VBScript enabled. Your system's default printer is never changed.

Take control of your printer. Give Hands-Free Printer a try - free for 30 days.