How do I Persist PrinterDialog settings between different documents

Question

I am writing an application for user documents printing. This application is supposed to be able to print multiple (say more than 100) documents at once. And some printers have stapling option and user may want to staple EACH document separately.

 

I could show a PrinterDialog for the first document and let the application remember all settings. But different departments have different printers and printer settings. I think the application must be written in more general way like somehow persisting the selected printer settings for the next printing.

 

For example, Internet Explorer and Acrobat PDF Reader remembers printer settings once changed by user inside the application as long as the application is running but does not change the printer's default settings (in Windows Control Panel). I want to achieve the same thing in my application.

 

Could anybody show me how to achieve this hopefully including some code snippet?

Answer 1

Hi fudata

 

I think you’d better use Settings.settings to remember each setting changed by the user. So the next time you run your application, it can read the settings from the Settings.settings file and do not rasie a PrintDialog to let the user set again.

Here is the step with screenshot

Create PrintName node

System generated code of Settings.settings

In the system generated code, you can find the generated property name (PrinterName)

The class name is Settings and the namespace is Test.Properties

 

Use the following code to read settings from the Settings.settings

Code Snippet

Test.Properties.Settings settings = new Test.Properties.Settings();

PrintDocument printDoc = new PrintDocument();

printDoc.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = settings.PrinterName;

 

 

Write setting to the Settings.settings

Code Snippet

settings.PrinterName = "HP xxx-xx Printer";

 

 

 

if you want more information about this. please look at this.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa730869(VS.80).aspx

 

Sincerely,

Kira Qian

Answer 2

Thank you for the feedback, Kira.

 

Maybe I didn't explain my situation correctly. Actually it is a CrystalReport printing issue. Last time when I posted the same issue, the moderator moved my post to CrystalReport forum so I didn't exposed the document type this time. Please don't move this post to CrystalReport. The question is all about how to handle printers in general not about Crystal Reports.  

 

Simple method which reads printer settings in printDoc.PrinterSettings and keep using it will not work because the settings we really want to persist is STAPLING option, which is printer's native ("private") data.

 

During the time, I tried a lot of ways suggested by Microsoft about how to modify DEVMODE structure and persist it such as :

 

How to modify printer Settings with the DocumentProperties() Function

MSDN Windows GDI DocumentProperties Reference

 

But I couln't make my program works and now I realized the real problem might lie in the BusinessObjects' API routine I was using.

 

What my application is trying to achieve is to let user load several CrystalReports name in a listbox and print them all. Ideally the application should open a general printer dialog and let the user choose the printer and possibly change printer properties like stapling option. And then using the printer parameters chosen by the user, the application must print all crystal reports one by one without asking any more.

 

BusinessObjects provides two API functions for printing reports:

 

1. CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument.PrintToPrinter

(ByVal nCopies As Integer, ByVal collated As Boolean, ByVal startPageN As Integer, ByVal endPageN As Integer)

 

2. CrystalDecisions.Windows.Forms.CrystalReportViewer.PrintReport()

 

The second function opens printer dialog first and print the current report loaded in the viewer. I can't use this function because it will display printer dialog each time when it is inside a loop.

 

The first function looked promising at first. But now it seems like that it COPIES printer's default settings (which I believe saved in Windows Registry) first overwriting the current printers' DEVMODE structure, which I modified before calling this function, and add those four arguments on top of that and prints. So whatever I played with DEVMODE before reaching this function call, my change will be negated by the original printer's default settings. 

 

When I ran my application (with BO API function #2) after changing printer default setting with stapled option outside the application in WINDOWS PRINTING PREFRENCES dialog, it printed all crystal reports stapled beautifully. 

 

So my question in this forum reaches to this point:

 

Inside an application, I mean programmatically, how do I show a Printer Dialog and change permanently the printer's WINDOWS default printing preferences (in Registry maybe) by the values selected from the user including native(private) data? Of course I have to reset back to the original settings again when my print loop is done.  

 

Thank you guys. 

Answer 3

Hi fudata

 

I don’t think you need to show a printer setting dialog to the user when doing a loop print. Anyway, you can set all printing preferences directly to the .Net PrintDocument class. Just show the PrintDialog at the beginning of the printing process. Then set all the preferences to the next PrintDocument instance. This is the only way Winform can do.

 

Sincerely,

Kira Qian

Answer 4

I believe PrintDocument.PrinterSettings does not mainatain the "Native" (or Private) part of the printer's properties. At least in my test codes, it didn't keep those stapling options.  

 

Thanks anyway.

Answer 5

I resolved the issue. Pinvoke.net helped me greatly to write correct VB.NET signature of Win32 functions. Here I want to share my codes for people who are trying to get similar goal :

 

 

Code Snippet

Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Public Class PrinterNative

'Refer http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms535735(VS.85).aspx
'  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/167345
'  http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx

Private Declare Auto Function GlobalLock Lib "kernel32.dll" (ByVal handle As IntPtr) As IntPtr
Private Declare Auto Function GlobalUnlock Lib "kernel32.dll" (ByVal handle As IntPtr) As Integer
Private Declare Auto Function GlobalFree Lib "kernel32.dll" (ByVal handle As IntPtr) As IntPtr

Private Declare Auto Function DocumentProperties Lib "winspool.drv" _
 (ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal hPrinter As IntPtr, ByVal pDeviceName As String, _
  ByVal pDevModeOutput As IntPtr, ByVal pDevModeInput As IntPtr, ByVal fMode As Int32) As Integer

Public Declare Function GetPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "GetPrinterW" _
 (ByVal hPrinter As IntPtr, ByVal Level As Integer, ByVal pPrinter As IntPtr, _
  ByVal cbBuf As Integer, ByRef pcbNeeded As Integer) As Integer

Private Declare Function SetPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "SetPrinterA" _
 (ByVal hPrinter As IntPtr, ByVal level As Integer, ByVal pPrinterInfoIn As IntPtr, _
  ByVal command As Int32) As Boolean

<DllImport("winspool.drv", EntryPoint:="OpenPrinterA", ExactSpelling:=True, _
   SetLastError:=True, CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.StdCall, _
   CharSet:=CharSet.Ansi)> _
   Private Shared Function OpenPrinter(ByVal pPrinterName As String, _
  ByRef hPrinter As IntPtr, ByRef pDefault As PRINTER_DEFAULTS) As Boolean
   End Function

<DllImport("winspool.drv", EntryPoint:="ClosePrinter", SetLastError:=True, ExactSpelling:=True, _
 CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.StdCall)> _
 Private Shared Function ClosePrinter(ByVal hPrinter As Int32) As Boolean
 End Function

Declare Function GetDefaultPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "GetDefaultPrinterA" _
 (ByVal pszBuffer As System.Text.StringBuilder, ByRef pcchBuffer As Int32) As Boolean

Declare Function SetDefaultPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias "SetDefaultPrinterA" _
 (ByVal pszPrinter As String) As Boolean

Public Declare Sub CopyMemory Lib "kernel32" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" _
 (ByVal hpvDest As IntPtr, ByVal hpvSource As IntPtr, ByVal cbCopy As Long)

Private Structure PRINTER_DEFAULTS
 Dim pDatatype As String
 Dim pDevMode As Long
 Dim pDesiredAccess As Long
End Structure

Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED = &HF0000
Private Const PRINTER_ACCESS_ADMINISTER = &H4
Private Const PRINTER_ACCESS_USE = &H8
Private Const PRINTER_ALL_ACCESS = (STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED Or PRINTER_ACCESS_ADMINISTER Or PRINTER_ACCESS_USE)

Private Const DM_IN_BUFFER As Integer = 8
Private Const DM_IN_PROMPT As Integer = 4
Private Const DM_OUT_BUFFER As Integer = 2

Private Structure PRINTER_INFO_9
  Dim pDevMode As IntPtr
End Structure

 

<StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)> _
Private Structure PRINTER_INFO_2
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pServerName As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pPrinterName As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pShareName As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pPortName As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pDriverName As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pComment As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pLocation As String

  Public pDevMode As IntPtr

  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pSepFile As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pPrintProcessor As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pDatatype As String
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public pParameters As String

  Public pSecurityDescriptor As IntPtr
  Public Attributes As Integer
  Public Priority As Integer
  Public DefaultPriority As Integer
  Public StartTime As Integer
  Public UntilTime As Integer
  Public Status As Integer
  Public cJobs As Integer
  Public AveragePPM As Integer
 End Structure

 

<StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)> _
Public Structure DEVMODE
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst:=32)> Dim dmDeviceName As String
  Dim dmSpecVersion As Short
  Dim dmDriverVersion As Short
  Dim dmSize As Short
  Dim dmDriverExtra As Short
  Dim dmFields As Integer

  Dim dmOrientation As Short
  Dim dmPaperSize As Short
  Dim dmPaperLength As Short
  Dim dmPaperWidth As Short

  Dim dmScale As Short
  Dim dmCopies As Short
  Dim dmDefaultSource As Short
  Dim dmPrintQuality As Short
  Dim dmColor As Short
  Dim dmDuplex As Short
  Dim dmYResolution As Short
  Dim dmTTOption As Short
  Dim dmCollate As Short
  <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst:=32)> Public dmFormName As String
  Dim dmLogPixels As Short
  Dim dmBitsPerPel As Integer
  Dim dmPelsWidth As Integer
  Dim dmPelsHeight As Integer
  Dim dmDisplayFlags As Integer
  Dim dmDisplayFrequency As Integer

  Dim dmICMMethod As Integer
  Dim dmICMIntent As Integer
  Dim dmMediaType As Integer
  Dim dmDitherType As Integer
  Dim dmReserved1 As Integer
  Dim dmReserved2 As Integer
  Dim dmPanningWidth As Integer
  Dim dmPanningHeight As Integer
End Structure

 

'Global variables
Private PrinterName As String = ""
Private pOriginalDEVMODE As IntPtr

 

Public Function OpenPrinterPropertiesDialog() As Boolean
 Dim hPrinter As IntPtr
 Dim Needed As Integer
 Dim buffer As New System.Text.StringBuilder(256)

 

 'Get default printer's name
 GetDefaultPrinter(buffer, 256)
 PrinterName = buffer.ToString
 If PrinterName = "" Then
  MsgBox("Can't find default printer.")
  Return False
 End If

 

 OpenPrinter(PrinterName, hPrinter, Nothing)

 

 'Save original printer settings data (DEVMODE structure)
 Needed = DocumentProperties(Form1.Handle, hPrinter, PrinterName, Nothing, Nothing, 0)
 Dim pFullDevMode As IntPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Needed) 'buffer for DEVMODE structure
 DocumentProperties(Form1.Handle, hPrinter, PrinterName, pFullDevMode, Nothing, DM_OUT_BUFFER)
 pOriginalDEVMODE = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Needed)
 CopyMemory(pOriginalDEVMODE, pFullDevMode, Needed)

 

 'Make desired changes by showing user a printer dialog
 Dim ret As DialogResult
 ret = DocumentProperties(Form1.Handle, hPrinter, PrinterName, pFullDevMode, Nothing, DM_IN_PROMPT Or DM_OUT_BUFFER)

 

 'Change the default settings of the printer
 If ret = DialogResult.OK Then
  Dim PI9 As New PRINTER_INFO_9
  PI9.pDevMode = pFullDevMode
  Dim pPI9 As IntPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(PI9))
  Marshal.StructureToPtr(PI9, pPI9, True)
  SetPrinter(hPrinter, 9, pPI9, 0&)
  Marshal.FreeHGlobal(pPI9) 'pFullDevMode will be free too
 Else
  Marshal.FreeHGlobal(pFullDevMode)
 End If

 

 ClosePrinter(hPrinter)
 Return IIf(ret = DialogResult.OK, True, False)
End Function

 

Public Sub RestorePrinterSettings()
 Dim hPrinter As IntPtr
 If PrinterName = "" Then Exit Sub

 

 Try
  If OpenPrinter(PrinterName, hPrinter, Nothing) = False Then Exit Sub
  Dim PI9 As New PRINTER_INFO_9
  PI9.pDevMode = pOriginalDEVMODE
  Dim pPI9 As IntPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(PI9))
  Marshal.StructureToPtr(PI9, pPI9, True)
  SetPrinter(hPrinter, 9, pPI9, 0&)
  Marshal.FreeHGlobal(pPI9) 'pOriginalDEVMODE will be free too
  ClosePrinter(hPrinter)

 

 Catch ex As Exception
  MsgBox(ex.Message)
 End Try

End Sub
End Class

 

'In the main form...

Imports CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine

Imports CrystalDecisions.Shared

Imports System.Collections

Imports System.IO

 

Public Class Form1

 

Dim MyReportDocument As New ReportDocument

'...

 

 Private Function printPrO(ByVal PrO As String) As String
  Dim Errormessage As String = ""

  Try
   SetReportDocumentParameters(PrO)
   MyReportDocument.PrintToPrinter(1, True, 0, 0) 'nCopies,bCollated,iStart,iEnd. Will not load dialog
  Catch ex As Exception
   Errormessage = PrO + " print failed. Error=" + ex.Message
  End Try

  Return Errormessage
 End Function

 

 Dim myPrinterNative As New PrinterNative

 

 Private Sub printAll_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnPrintAll.Click
  Dim nPro As Integer = ListBox1.Items.Count
  If nPro <= 0 Then Exit Sub
  Dim dlgResult As DialogResult = _
  MsgBox("It will print total " + LTrim(Str(nPro)) + " Production Orders at once." _
    + vbCr + "Do you want to continue?", MsgBoxStyle.OkCancel)
  If dlgResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Cancel Then Exit Sub

 

  If myPrinterNative.OpenPrinterPropertiesDialog() = False Then
   Exit Sub
  End If

 

  Dim errorList As New ArrayList
  System.Windows.Forms.Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor

  Try
   For Each item As String In ListBox1.Items
    Dim err As String = printPrO(item.Trim)
    If err.Trim.Length > 0 Then
     errorList.Add(err)
    End If
   Next
  Catch ex As Exception
  Finally
   myPrinterNative.RestorePrinterSettings()
  End Try

 

  If errorList.Count > 0 Then
   Dim mergedString As String = ""
   Dim n As Integer = errorList.Count
   If n > 20 Then n = 20
   For i As Integer = 0 To n
    mergedString = mergedString + errorList(i) + vbCr
   Next
   MsgBox("There was one or more error in printing. " + vbCr + mergedString)
  End If

 

  System.Windows.Forms.Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default
 End Sub

'...

End Class