Lesson 2 - Draw Simple Text

• Dec 17, 2023
• 3 minutes to read

This lesson shows you how to create a link that generates a document displaying the “Hello World!” text.

Tip

A complete sample project is available in the DevExpress Code Examples database at https://supportcenter.devexpress.com/ticket/details/e161/reporting-get-started-with-printing-library.

To add text to a document via a printing link, do the following.

1. To create a new printing link, declare a new class (called Lesson2) derived from the Lesson1 class defined in the previous lesson. The new class will have three constants: top (determines the top position), r (specifies the rectangle) and caption (contains the “Hello World!” text string).

   This link overrides the Link.BeforeCreate protected method, to set the background color, border color, font, and line alignment for the BrickGraphics class. The overridden Link.CreateDetail method is used to draw a string whose text is predefined in the caption constant.

   C#

   using System.Drawing;
   using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
   // ...
   
   public class Lesson2 : Lesson1 {
       internal int top = 0;
       internal Rectangle r = new Rectangle(0, 0, 150, 50);
       internal string caption = "Hello World!";
   
       public Lesson2(PrintingSystem ps) : base(ps) {}
   
       protected override void BeforeCreate() {
           base.BeforeCreate();
           if (this.PrintingSystem != null) {
               BrickGraphics g = this.PrintingSystem.Graph;
   
               // Set the background color to White.
               g.BackColor = Color.White;
   
               // Set the border color to Black.
               g.BorderColor = Color.Black;
   
               // Set the font to the default font.
               g.Font = g.DefaultFont;
   
               // Set the line alignment.
               g.StringFormat = g.StringFormat.ChangeLineAlignment(StringAlignment.Near);
           }
       }
   
       // Add a text brick without borders containing the "Hello World!" text.
       protected override void CreateDetail(BrickGraphics graph) {
           graph.DrawString(caption, Color.Black, r, BorderSide.None);
       }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports System.Drawing
   Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting
   ' ...
   
   Public Class Lesson2
       Inherits Lesson1
   
       Friend top As Integer = 0
   
       Public Sub New(ByVal ps As PrintingSystem)
           MyBase.New(ps)
       End Sub
   
       Protected Overloads Overrides Sub BeforeCreate()
           MyBase.BeforeCreate()
   
           If Not Me.PrintingSystem Is Nothing Then
               Dim g As BrickGraphics = Me.PrintingSystem.Graph
   
               ' Set the background color to White.
               g.BackColor = Color.White
   
               ' Set the border color to Black.
               g.BorderColor = Color.Black
   
               ' Set the font to the default font.
               g.Font = g.DefaultFont
   
               ' Set the line alignment.
               g.StringFormat = g.StringFormat.ChangeLineAlignment(StringAlignment.Near)
           End If
       End Sub
   
       ' Add a text brick without borders containing the "Hello World!" text.
       Protected Overrides Sub CreateDetail(ByVal graph As BrickGraphics)
           Dim r As RectangleF = New RectangleF(0, 0, 150, 50)
           Dim s As String = "Hello World!"
           graph.DrawString(s, Color.Black, r, BorderSide.None)
       End Sub
   End Class
   

2. Next, modify the main form’s Load event handler to pass the Printing System of the Document Viewer to the new link.

   C#

   using System;
   using System.Windows.Forms;
   using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
   // ...
   
   private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) {
       Lesson2 lesson = new Lesson2(printingSystem1);
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports System
   Imports System.Windows.Forms
   Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting
   ' ... 
   
   Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
       Dim lesson As New Lesson2(printingSystem1)
   End Sub
   

Launch the application and view the result.