Greetings

[#1]

Ok, I'm not too proud to admit I was wrong. I've found something old that won't run on Vista. Microsoft (yes, Microsoft) Greetings Card Workshop, with it's stupid animated "help" dog!! that I used to play around with on Win 98, of some vintage, and, the slightly updated version Greetings V.2001, both flatly refuse to operate in Vista, nothing comes up to update them from MS.
So having decided they're not worth the bother. Does anybody have a suggestion for replacement software. I've downloaded a trial Belltech Greeting Card, but it won't print without trial stamps all over the cards until I pay for it, it seems Ok, and I don't mind paying for it, but do YOU know of anything better. I don't mind paying for the full version of anything you suggest or recommend.
I've also loaded a friends copy the fairly well known Greetings Card Factory V5 on my Win Xp laptop, but this also doesn't want to play ball with Vista. But this was largely just to have a look at it, my laptop has no printer drivers installed as I don't normally use it for printing directly, I just forward anything to print to my desktop, but in this case I can't do it. And anyway I wasn't over impressed with what I saw anyway.
If any Win 98 users (or Win Me as well I think) wants these old MS disks (I've long since lost any paperwork that went with them) let me know. 

[#2]

If your laptop and PC are on the same network why don't you share the printer so that you can print from the laptop to the desktop printer?

[#3]

Simply, as they're not on a network, I just email with attachments to myself from the laptop. The laptop mail is set not to automatically download new messages so I can get them on the desktop...which is set to download new messages automatically. Which perhaps seems long winded, but I very rarely use the laptop for any need to print. It also means I can do things at my leisure when I'm ready. But otherwise you do have a very valid point.

[#4]

Wireless router for the 2 laptops, and my main desktop uses ethernet cable to the same router...Which I appreciate could be setup as a network (if it's not technically already) But I don't, sadly my dear wife is a serious stroke victim and not especially good at retaining information. I spend a lot of time sorting out the problems she creates on her laptop (which she uses almost exclusively for entertainment) I dread to think what horrors she could unwittingly cause if let loose in a network. Unfortunately bless her, when she gets a frequent problem she's rather inclined to start pressing buttons at random in the vain hope she can sort it out. And at the end of the day, I don't transfer much between my two PC's anyway, So the current method works well enough for me.
But thanks anyway PJ I think I see where you were going...

[#5]

Yeah! good point PJ, I may very well look into that quite soon.
In the meantime, I've acquired a copy of Greetings Card Factory V7, which does run on Vista, following a recommendation outside these forums. And, I must admit it's a totally different and much better animal to the previously viewed V5. Don't know if PC World made a mistake but, they only charged me £19.99 for it rather than the indicated £29.99. I thought long and hard about questioning their apparent error, but...

[#6]

Uhmm Ok!! I've set up the network successfully however, I found...and at this time of year I'm doing quite a lot of seasonal cards (in Greeting Card Workshop now)...that the card designed on the laptop did not transfer to the printer exactly, some graphic sizes were changed, text was misplaced etc. Leaving me to end up sending by email again. Any ideas?

[#7]

A lot of programs set up the page to the default printer and if you then print to another printer it doesnt redo it. When creating a card make sure you set the default printer to the one you are going to print to. Or save the file once you change the printer.
Check the printer setting for page size etc as well as sometimes they default to letter 

[#8]

Quote from: petlew

my laptop has no printer drivers installed as I don't normally use it for printing directly, I just forward anything to print to my desktop, but in this case I can't do it. And anyway I wasn't over impressed with what I saw anyway.

You know you can have the printer driver installed on your laptop right? - just because you are not connected to your home network (eg at work, on the train at the beach etc) won't mess up your printer config - it will just show as not connected. Next time you reconnect to your network it will show as connected (without messing anything up!).
You probably already knew that though but maybe my post might at least help someone one day who's searching for answers on google

[#9]

Actually okrzynska, no I didn't, so thank you very much. although I've been "messing" with computers since the Sinclair ZX I'm very new to setting up a home network of any description. I've used office based networks in the past, but it wasn't my job to look after them (and any comments I made not particularly well received) And only in the last few days have taken any interest at all...simply because I haven't needed to before. Bearing in mind my very low volume of traffic between my computers I've usually found the occasional email to myself sufficed quite well. But I might be hooked now!!
Thanks again.
PS. PJ, where did you get the Vista and Firefox banners from?