System.Drawing.Printing Namespace

Provides print-related services for Windows Forms applications.

Classes

InvalidPrinterException

Represents the exception that is thrown when you try to access a printer using printer settings that are not valid.

Margins

Specifies the dimensions of the margins of a printed page.

MarginsConverter

Provides a MarginsConverter for Margins.

PageSettings

Specifies settings that apply to a single, printed page.

PaperSize

Specifies the size of a piece of paper.

PaperSource

Specifies the paper tray from which the printer gets paper.

PreviewPageInfo

Specifies print preview information for a single page. This class cannot be inherited.

PreviewPrintController

Specifies a print controller that displays a document on a screen as a series of images.

PrintController

Controls how a document is printed, when printing from a Windows Forms application.

PrintDocument

Defines a reusable object that sends output to a printer, when printing from a Windows Forms application.

PrinterResolution

Represents the resolution supported by a printer.

PrinterSettings

Specifies information about how a document is printed, including the printer that prints it, when printing from a Windows Forms application.

PrinterSettings.PaperSizeCollection

Contains a collection of PaperSize objects.

PrinterSettings.PaperSourceCollection

Contains a collection of PaperSource objects.

PrinterSettings.PrinterResolutionCollection

Contains a collection of PrinterResolution objects.

PrinterSettings.StringCollection

Contains a collection of String objects.

PrinterUnitConvert

Specifies a series of conversion methods that are useful when interoperating with the Win32 printing API. This class cannot be inherited.

PrintEventArgs

Provides data for the BeginPrint and EndPrint events.

PrintingPermission

Controls access to printers. This class cannot be inherited.

PrintingPermissionAttribute

Allows declarative printing permission checks.

PrintPageEventArgs

Provides data for the PrintPage event.

QueryPageSettingsEventArgs

Provides data for the QueryPageSettings event.

StandardPrintController

Specifies a print controller that sends information to a printer.

Enums

Duplex

Specifies the printer's duplex setting.

PaperKind

Specifies the standard paper sizes.

PaperSourceKind

Standard paper sources.

PrintAction

Specifies the type of print operation occurring.

PrinterResolutionKind

Specifies a printer resolution.

PrinterUnit

Specifies several of the units of measure used for printing.

PrintingPermissionLevel

Specifies the type of printing that code is allowed to do.

PrintRange

Specifies the part of the document to print.

Delegates

PrintEventHandler

Represents the method that will handle the BeginPrint or EndPrint event of a PrintDocument.

PrintPageEventHandler

Represents the method that will handle the PrintPage event of a PrintDocument.

QueryPageSettingsEventHandler

Represents the method that handles the QueryPageSettings event of a PrintDocument.

Remarks

Typically, when you print from a Windows Forms application, you create a new instance of the PrintDocument class, set properties, such as DefaultPageSettings and PrinterSettings, that describe how to print, and call the Print method to actually print the document. Calling the PrintDocument.Print method raises the PrintDocument.PrintPage event, which should be handled to perform the document layout for printing.

Use the Graphics property of the PrintPageEventArgs object obtained from the PrintDocument.PrintPage event to specify the output to print. If you are printing a text file, use StreamReader to read one line at a time from the stream and call the DrawString method to draw the line in the graphics object. For more information about this process, see the Graphics and StreamReader classes. You can view an example of printing a text document in the PrintDocument class overview topic.

Note

The DrawText methods of the TextRenderer class are not supported for printing. Instead, use the DrawString methods of the Graphics class.

When implemented in a derived class, the PrintController controls how a PrintDocument is printed. The PrintDocument.Print method invokes the print controller's OnStartPrint, OnEndPrint, OnStartPage, and OnEndPage methods, which in turn tell the printer how to print the document. For more information about printing dialog boxes, see PrintDialog and PageSetupDialog.

The print-preview process uses a specialized print controller, dialog box, and control. For an example of such a print controller and dialog box, see PreviewPrintController, PrintPreviewDialog, and PrintPreviewControl.

Caution

Classes within the System.Drawing.Printing namespace are not supported for use within a Windows service or ASP.NET application or service. Attempting to use these classes from within one of these application types may produce unexpected problems, such as diminished service performance and run-time exceptions.

If you want to print from a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application, see the System.Printing namespace.

See also