Article: Q298141
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): 5.0,6.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbprint kbSample kbAPI kbPrinting kbSpooler kbVBp kbVBp500 kbVBp600 kbGrpDSVB kbDSuppor
Last Modified: 11-SEP-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
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SUMMARY
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This article demonstrates how to bypass the printer driver and send a PCL or
PostScript file directly to a printer from Visual Basic.
MORE INFORMATION
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Step-by-Step Example
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1. Start a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by
default.
2. Place two Command Buttons, Command1 and Command2, onto Form1.
3. Add the following code to the code window of Form1:
Option Explicit
' Modify FILE_NAME to point to a valid path and file name on your system.
Const FILE_NAME = "C:\TEST.PRN"
Private Type DOCINFO
pDocName As String
pOutputFile As String
pDatatype As String
End Type
Private Declare Function ClosePrinter Lib "winspool.drv" (ByVal _
hPrinter As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function EndDocPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" (ByVal _
hPrinter As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function EndPagePrinter Lib "winspool.drv" (ByVal _
hPrinter As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function OpenPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias _
"OpenPrinterA" (ByVal pPrinterName As String, phPrinter As Long, _
ByVal pDefault As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function StartDocPrinter Lib "winspool.drv" Alias _
"StartDocPrinterA" (ByVal hPrinter As Long, ByVal Level As Long, _
pDocInfo As DOCINFO) As Long
Private Declare Function StartPagePrinter Lib "winspool.drv" (ByVal _
hPrinter As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function WritePrinter Lib "winspool.drv" (ByVal _
hPrinter As Long, pBuf As Any, ByVal cdBuf As Long, _
pcWritten As Long) As Long
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim lhPrinter As Long
Dim lReturn As Long
Dim lpcWritten As Long
Dim lDoc As Long
Dim sWrittenData As String
Dim MyDocInfo As DOCINFO
lReturn = OpenPrinter(Printer.DeviceName, lhPrinter, 0)
If lReturn = 0 Then
MsgBox "The Printer " & Printer.DeviceName & " could not be opened!"
Exit Sub
End If
MyDocInfo.pDocName = "My Document"
MyDocInfo.pOutputFile = vbNullString
MyDocInfo.pDatatype = vbNullString
lDoc = StartDocPrinter(lhPrinter, 1, MyDocInfo)
Call StartPagePrinter(lhPrinter)
sWrittenData = "How's that for Magic !!!!" & vbFormFeed
lReturn = WritePrinter(lhPrinter, ByVal sWrittenData, _
Len(sWrittenData), lpcWritten)
lReturn = EndPagePrinter(lhPrinter)
lReturn = EndDocPrinter(lhPrinter)
lReturn = ClosePrinter(lhPrinter)
End Sub
Private Sub Command2_Click()
Dim lhPrinter As Long
Dim lReturn As Long
Dim lpcWritten As Long
Dim lDoc As Long
Dim sWrittenData As String
Dim MyDocInfo As DOCINFO
Dim NumLoops As Long ' number of 8k loops
Dim LeftOver As Integer ' amount of file left
Dim i As Integer ' counter for loops
Const MaxSize = 8192 ' maximum buffer size
lReturn = OpenPrinter(Printer.DeviceName, lhPrinter, 0)
If lReturn = 0 Then
MsgBox "The Printer Name you typed wasn't recognized."
Exit Sub
End If
MyDocInfo.pDocName = "My Document"
MyDocInfo.pOutputFile = vbNullString
MyDocInfo.pDatatype = vbNullString
lDoc = StartDocPrinter(lhPrinter, 1, MyDocInfo)
' Make sure that FILE_NAME points to a valid PCL or PostScript file on your system.
Open FILE_NAME For Binary As #1
' Calculate size of file and amount left over.
NumLoops = LOF(1) \ MaxSize
LeftOver = LOF(1) Mod MaxSize
For i = 1 To NumLoops
sWrittenData = Input(MaxSize, #1)
lReturn = WritePrinter(lhPrinter, ByVal sWrittenData, _
Len(sWrittenData), lpcWritten)
Next
' Grab what is left over.
If LeftOver <> 0 Then
sWrittenData = Input(LeftOver, #1)
lReturn = WritePrinter(lhPrinter, ByVal sWrittenData, _
Len(sWrittenData), lpcWritten)
End If
Close #1
lReturn = EndDocPrinter(lhPrinter)
lReturn = ClosePrinter(lhPrinter)
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Load()
Command1.Caption = "Print a String"
Command2.Caption = "Print a File"
End Sub
4. Assign the constant FILE_NAME in the code with your own PCL or PostScript
path and file name.
5. Run the project. Click Print a String, which prints a string to the printer.
Click Print a File to read and print a PCL or PostScript file directly to the
printer.
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information, click the article number below to view the article
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154078 HOWTO: Send Raw Data to a Printer Using the Win32 API from Visual
Basic
Additional query words:
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Keywords : kbprint kbSample kbAPI kbPrinting kbSpooler kbVBp kbVBp500 kbVBp600 kbGrpDSVB kbDSupport kbCodeSnippet
Technology : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVB500 kbVB600
Version : :5.0,6.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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