Printing Bytes to printer in MVC

nitin_ion

Below code works well for printing PDF when we have physical file. But when we have bytes[] then it will not work. Is there a way we can print bytes[] to printer without showing the print dialog box.

private static void PrintPDF(string FileToPrint)
{
PrinterSettings setting = new PrinterSettings();
var printerName = setting.PrinterName;

        ProcessStartInfo info = new ProcessStartInfo(FileToPrint);
        info.Verb = "Print";
        info.CreateNoWindow = true;
        info.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
        Process.Start(info);
    }

There is a Microsoft Knowledge base article on this particular problem. Here in the article they send byte[] to the printer using Winspool API of Windows OS. but i don't feel it is optimized for web. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322091

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

What all this has with the Web? The code you show us here is part of the server side, means it print on the printer connected to the server? It may looks like working correctly while in debug environment, but will surprise you after publishing? Or do you mean to post out all the printed documents later on the week?

I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

nitin_ion

The code given works well with physcial files I meant the KB article that code i dont feel is optimized

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

It seem that you didn't read or understood what I've wrote... That code - and your code too - can not be, and need not be optimized to the web as it runs on the server!

I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

nitin_ion

Since it runs on server my only concern is when i run it to print too many pdf t slows down when multiple requests are hit. If there a better way of printing bytes[] to printer

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

It is acceptable that printing will slow down with much request (print queue is full), but I have a strong feeling that you do ot know what are you doing here. Let see an example. Code Project has 'Terms of Service' page stuffed with legal do and don't do. Let imagine that you had a print button on this page. What would happened if on every click on that button a copy of that 'Term of Service' was printed in Toronto, Canada? What Code Project staff should do with all that prints? And what the CPian who asked to print will do without that important paper?

I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

Lost User

nitin_ion wrote:

but i don't feel it is optimized for web.

Of course it isn't; it is for use in desktop applications.

nitin_ion

even though it runs on server but the printer it picks is local to system and not related to server. what i was asking was is there a better way of doing this instead of using interop's

nitin_ion

so is there a way of doing it efficiently on web [printing bytes directly to printer]

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

Quote:

the printer it picks is local to system

You are kidding, right? How on earth the server knows about locally installed printers!!! Imagine that you are browsing a site that hosted on a server in the UK, should that server know anything about your hardware setup and installed rivers in you office in India?! Think about it!

I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

Quote:

the printer it picks is local to system

You are kidding, right? How on earth the server knows about locally installed printers!!! Imagine that you are browsing a site that hosted on a server in the UK, should that server know anything about your hardware setup and installed drivers in you office in India?! Think about it!

I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)

Pete OHanlon

Not directly. What you would have to do is implement an addon for the web browser and control the printing from that (oh, and you'd have to take into account the OS that the website was browsing as well). This isn't a trivial task, and a lot of organisations would bar this control from being installed.

Dave Kreskowiak

You can't do it using that code. It's that simple. That code is written to launch the application that knows how to edit the file and then tells that application to print the file that is passed to it. This technique will NOT work with an array of bytes because you have no way of getting those bytes to the application that will actually handle the printing operation. You cannot do what you want and most certainly can't do it from ASP.NET code running on the server.

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