Broderbund Print Shop

[hlewton]

My Print Shop programs will not print my projects. I created a ticket at their support site but it often takes them a week or more to reply. I talked to a very helpful person in their sales department. She said they knew of this problem cause by a recent Microsoft update and had a work around. I was hoping someone here knew what this work around is so I don't have to wait a week to get it working again. So does anyone know how to get Bruderbund's Print Shop program to print projects again?

Thanks

Lately Microsoft's Updates have caused me more problems then help, I believe.

[stuck]

I think you mean 'Broderbund' not 'Bruderbund' and although their website claims it they are, "The best known brands in consumer software for over 30 years." the only other time I've heard of them and this application is when you asked about it in this thread back in 2020:
    https://eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?t=35157

Others here will correct me if I'm wrong but if an MS update has stopped The Print Shop from working it will be because it will be reliant on a flawed i.e. potentially unsecure, bit of Windows that MS has patched to make that bit of Windows secure. While there may be a workaround the only real fix will be for the developers of this software to patch their code to take account of the MS update.

Ken

[hlewton]

I think you mean 'Broderbund' not 'Bruderbund' and although their website claims it they are, "The best known brands in consumer software for over 30 years." the only other time I've heard of them and this application is when you asked about it in this thread back in 2020:
    https://eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?t=35157

Others here will correct me if I'm wrong but if an MS update has stopped The Print Shop from working it will be because it will be reliant on a flawed i.e. potentially unsecure, bit of Windows that MS has patched to make that bit of Windows secure. While there may be a workaround the only real fix will be for the developers of this software to patch their code to take account of the MS update.

Ken

WOW, you have a good memory. I have used their product for many moons and this is a first for any problem like this.

Yep the "o" and the "u" are too close together, I guess.

I was talking to a sales person so possibly when the term "work around" was used it meant a software patch. I sure hope so. Still I wish I heard from them sooner than past history has shown.

[hlewton]

I did hear from Broderbund and will try their solution. Not sure what it is but it is called a "Patch File" I am to run once downloaded. That was a very quick reply from them, hopefully it works.

[HansV]

I have corrected Bruderbund to Broderbund in the subject of the posts in this topic.

[hlewton]

I have corrected Bruderbund to Broderbund in the subject of the posts in this topic.

Thank you.

Well I still don't know what I just installed but I am guessing it was a fix for the programs themselves. It looked and acted like the installation of a new program, took about 3 seconds to install, and then it finished. I am very happy to say that what ever it was, it made all my versions of The Print Shop work again.

[HansV]

A Patch File is a (usually small) program that fixes one or more bugs in another, already installed, program.

[hlewton]

A Patch File is a (usually small) program that fixes one or more bugs in another, already installed, program.

Thanks for that information. I kind of thought that was what it was.

[stuck]

As Hans said, a patch file fixes something in an application that's already installed. Think of it this way...
    If you find a hole in your jumper you can either bin it and buy a new one or repair it by patching over the hole with new wool.
translates as:
    If a fault appears in an application you can either switch to a new application or repair it by overwriting the unsecure code with new secure code.

So what's happened here is that Broderbund have sent you a bit of wool (new code) inside a magic package (the patch file) that, when you open it (run it), automatically sews the new wool over the hole in the jumper (replaces the old unsecure code with the new code) and hey presto, your jumper is as good as new (your application works again)

Ken

[hlewton]

As Hans said, a patch file fixes something in an application that's already installed. Think of it this way...
    If you find a hole in your jumper you can either bin it and buy a new one or repair it by patching over the hole with new wool.
translates as:
    If a fault appears in an application you can either switch to a new application or repair it by overwriting the unsecure code with new secure code.

So what's happened here is that Broderbund have sent you a bit of wool (new code) inside a magic package (the patch file) that, when you open it (run it), automatically sews the new wool over the hole in the jumper (replaces the old unsecure code with the new code) and hey presto, your jumper is as good as new (your application works again)

Ken

Thank you.
Now I have a question. Is there any interest here for me to post a link to the patch? If so, I'll gladly do it but I am always hesitant when linking to a site other than the one I'm posting in. Especially in this case I have to mention this, when clicking on the link either my Windows Defender or Malwarebytes stopped me from continuing to the download site until I clicked to continue anyway. I believe it was Windows Defender that did it because when Malwarebytes has stopped me in the past I have had to add an exclusion before continuing and I didn't this time. So, does anyone want me to post that link?

[BobH]

To show how old I am and how long ago I was a programmer (AutoCoder, BAL, ASL, COBOL, FORTRAN, Basic . . . ), a patch was something that we put into the object deck. That was in the days of punched cards when source code was punched into cards for some programming and that source deck was run through a program called a compiler that produced a punched card deck of machine instructions called and object deck. If we had a bug that needed a fast fix, we punched a patch card and inserted it into a specific place near the last card in the object deck. It was a poor but expeditious solution.

I wonder how patches work with today's compiled languages?

[hlewton]

To show how old I am and how long ago I was a programmer (AutoCoder, BAL, ASL, COBOL, FORTRAN, Basic . . . ), a patch was something that we put into the object deck. That was in the days of punched cards when source code was punched into cards for some programming and that source deck was run through a program called a compiler that produced a punched card deck of machine instructions called and object deck. If we had a bug that needed a fast fix, we punched a patch card and inserted it into a specific place near the last card in the object deck. It was a poor but expeditious solution.

I wonder how patches work with today's compiled languages?

Glad to see your Ford is back and I'm thinking I may be able to match or, possibly, even beat your age.

[hlewton]

Hans and Stuck please don't think this is meant to be argumentative. I just want to ask something I have been thinking about all night long as I tried to sleep (actually true.) The fix for this problem is named "Printing Fix.exe." I have, on one of my machines, 4 versions of The Print Shop - Print Shop 3.5 Deluxe, Print Shop 4.0 Deluxe, Print Shop 5.0 Professional, and Print Shop 6.0 Deluxe. This fix fixed everyone of those programs instantly. These 4 programs came out years apart and I kept updating, as I have a habit of doing. That is why I have so many versions and probably 3 other versions that are on CDs and are very old and out of date for the newer versions of Windows. I think I was using Win 97 when I first purchased The Print Shop. Sorry, I digress. What I am curious about is what I originally heard from their sales person that called this a fix a "work around." Could that actually be what it is since it was able to get every version of Print Shop working again? Or do you suppose there is something in common with every version of the program I own that the fix found within each program and fixed?

I hope I have asked my question in a way you can follow what I'm asking. It doesn't really matter either way since it fixed the problem. I am just curious which, in a way, I believe helped me my whole life. In any case, I am not disputing what you said I'm just curious since I have 4 programs that it cured simultaneously. I am wondering if this fix could actually been similar to a Registry hack that all their programs use. Thanks

[stuck]

... I am wondering if this fix could actually been similar to a Registry hack that all their programs use...

I don't know and shortness of life doesn't make it worth worrying about

Ken

[HansV]

I don't know either, but my guess would be that all versions of PrintShop share large portions of code. After all, it's not a completely different program each time a new version is released.
If there was a vulnerability in this common part of the code that was blocked by a Windows update, the fix would be the same for all versions, hence a single patch file for all versions.
But again, this is not based on any inside information, just a guess.

[hlewton]

Thanks for the replies. I know it makes no difference and I really don't know why I concern myself with this kind of thing.

[stuck]

...I really don't know why I concern myself with this kind of thing.

I wouldn't worry about that either, curiosity is a good thing (unless you are a cat ). If you don't ask questions, you never learn.

Ken

[hlewton]

I guess maybe I should mention, I worked in Research for a large international company. So maybe it comes naturally to me to be curious. Although I have been retired for over 22 years I can't seem to escape it.