Printing

• Apr 08, 2019
• 4 minutes to read

This document outlines the techniques used to print from the RichEditDocumentServer. It consists of the following sections:

• Print with the Default Printer
• Change Printer Settings
• DevExpress Printing Library (WinForms)
• RichEditDocumentXpfPrinter (WPF)
• Export to PDF (ASP.NET)

Print with the Default Printer

RichEditDocumentServer allows you to print a document with the default settings without end-user interaction. Use the RichEditDocumentServer.Print method as shown below to complete the task:

Note

A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/word-processing-document-api-examples-t418535

BasicActions.cs

server.Document.AppendDocumentContent("Documents\\Grimm.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml);
server.Print();

BasicActions.vb

server.Document.AppendDocumentContent("Documents\Grimm.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
server.Print()

Change Printer Settings

Pass the System.Drawing.Printing.PrinterSettings instance and call the RichEditDocumentServer.Print method to specify printer options (page range, number of copies, etc.).

Note

A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/how-to-print-from-the-richeditdocumentserver-t590908

XtraForm1.vb

Dim printerSettings As New PrinterSettings()

'Set the document pages to print:
printerSettings.FromPage = 2
printerSettings.ToPage = 3

'Specify the number of copies:
printerSettings.Copies = 2

'Print the document:
server.Print(printerSettings)

XtraForm1.cs

PrinterSettings printerSettings = new PrinterSettings();
//Set the document pages to print:
printerSettings.FromPage = 2;
printerSettings.ToPage = 3;

//Specify the number of copies:
printerSettings.Copies = 2;

//Print the document: 
server.Print(printerSettings);

You can specify additional print settings (to print the comment background color or update document variables before printing) using the PrintingOptions class properties. Use the RichEditControlOptionsBase.Printing property to access an object, as shown below:

C#

PrintingOptions printOptions = richEditDocumentServer1.Options.Printing;
printOptions.EnableCommentBackgroundOnPrint = true;
printOptions.EnablePageBackgroundOnPrint = true;

VB.NET

Dim printOptions As PrintingOptions = richEditDocumentServer1.Options.Printing
printOptions.EnableCommentBackgroundOnPrint = True
printOptions.EnablePageBackgroundOnPrint = True

DevExpress Printing Library (WinForms)

Use the DevExpress Printing Library to set options that are unavailable from RichEditDocumentServer directly. The PrintableComponentLink class from this library allows you to change print settings (e.g., use a specific printer or disable error messages). Use the API from the table below as shown in the following code snippet to complete the task.

Note

A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/how-to-print-from-the-richeditdocumentserver-using-the-printablecomponentlink-e4846

Form1.cs

private static void PrintViaLink(RichEditDocumentServer srv)
{
    if (!srv.IsPrintingAvailable) return;
    PrintableComponentLink link = new PrintableComponentLink(new PrintingSystem());
    link.Component = srv;
    // Disable warnings.
    link.PrintingSystem.ShowMarginsWarning = false;
    link.PrintingSystem.ShowPrintStatusDialog = false;
    // Find a printer containing 'Canon' in its name.
    string printerName = String.Empty;
    for (int i = 0; i < PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters.Count; i++) {
        string pName = PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters[i];
        if (pName.Contains("Canon")) {
            printerName = pName;
            break;
        }
    }
    // Print to the specified printer.
    link.Print(printerName);
}

Form1.vb

Private Shared Sub PrintViaLink(ByVal srv As RichEditDocumentServer)
    If Not srv.IsPrintingAvailable Then
        Return
    End If
    Dim link As New PrintableComponentLink(New PrintingSystem())
    link.Component = srv
    ' Disable warnings.
    link.PrintingSystem.ShowMarginsWarning = False
    link.PrintingSystem.ShowPrintStatusDialog = False
    ' Find a printer containing 'Canon' in its name.
    Dim printerName As String = String.Empty
    For i As Integer = 0 To PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters.Count - 1
        Dim pName As String = PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters(i)
        If pName.Contains("Canon") Then
            printerName = pName
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i
    ' Print to the specified printer.
    link.Print(printerName)
End Sub

RichEditDocumentXpfPrinter (WPF)

Create a FixedDocument using the RichEditDocumentXpfPrinter.CreateFixedDocument method and utilize the PrintDialog class to print this document from the RichEditDocumentServer.

Note

A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/how-to-print-from-richeditdocumentserver-in-wpf-application-e3862

MainWindow.xaml.cs

RichEditDocumentServer srv = new RichEditDocumentServer();
srv.LoadDocument("test.docx");

FixedDocument document = RichEditDocumentXpfPrinter.CreateFixedDocument(srv);

PrintDialog pDialog = new PrintDialog();
PrintQueueCollection queues = new PrintServer().GetPrintQueues(new[] { EnumeratedPrintQueueTypes.Local,
    EnumeratedPrintQueueTypes.Connections});
System.Collections.IEnumerator localPrinterEnumerator = queues.GetEnumerator();
PrintQueue printQueue = null;

do
{
    if (!localPrinterEnumerator.MoveNext())
        break;
    printQueue = (PrintQueue)localPrinterEnumerator.Current;
}
while (!printQueue.FullName.Contains("Canon"));
if (printQueue != null)
{
    pDialog.PrintQueue = printQueue;
    pDialog.PrintDocument(document.DocumentPaginator, string.Empty);
}

MainWindow.xaml.vb

Dim srv As New RichEditDocumentServer()
srv.LoadDocument("test.docx")

Dim document As FixedDocument = RichEditDocumentXpfPrinter.CreateFixedDocument(srv)

Dim pDialog As New PrintDialog()
Dim queues As PrintQueueCollection = (New PrintServer()).GetPrintQueues( { EnumeratedPrintQueueTypes.Local, EnumeratedPrintQueueTypes.Connections})
Dim localPrinterEnumerator As System.Collections.IEnumerator = queues.GetEnumerator()
Dim printQueue As PrintQueue = Nothing

Do
    If Not localPrinterEnumerator.MoveNext() Then
        Exit Do
    End If
    printQueue = DirectCast(localPrinterEnumerator.Current, PrintQueue)
Loop While Not printQueue.FullName.Contains("Canon")
If printQueue IsNot Nothing Then
    pDialog.PrintQueue = printQueue
    pDialog.PrintDocument(document.DocumentPaginator, String.Empty)
End If

Export to PDF (ASP.NET)

Use the RichEditDocumentServer.ExportToPdf method which sends PDF output to a stream, as illustrated in the following code snippet:

Tip

Create the PdfExportOptions instance, set its PdfExportOptions.ShowPrintDialogOnOpen property to true and pass this object to the RichEditDocumentServer.ExportToPdf method to show the Print dialog when opening the file.

C#

RichEditDocumentServer documentServer = new RichEditDocumentServer();
// Your code here to create, load or modify a document in the RichEditDocumentServer
using (MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream())
{
    PdfExportOptions options = new PdfExportOptions();
    options.ShowPrintDialogOnOpen = true;
    documentServer.ExportToPdf(stream,options);
    stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "inline; filename=ExportedPdf.pdf");
    stream.CopyTo(Response.OutputStream);
    Response.End();
}

VB.NET

Dim documentServer As New RichEditDocumentServer()
' Your code here to create, load or modify a document in the RichEditDocumentServer.
Using stream As New MemoryStream()
          Dim options As New PdfExportOptions()
          options.ShowPrintDialogOnOpen = True
    documentServer.ExportToPdf(stream, options)
    stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin)
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf"
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "inline; filename=ExportedPdf.pdf")
    stream.CopyTo(Response.OutputStream)
    Response.End()
End Using

Important

If an application is hosted on Microsoft Azure, set the AzureCompatibility.Enable property to true.