PrintDocument.Print Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Drawing.Printing

Assembly:

System.Drawing.Common.dll

Source:

PrintDocument.cs

Starts the document's printing process.

C#

public void Print();

Exceptions

InvalidPrinterException

The printer named in the PrinterName property does not exist.

Examples

The following code example prints the file that is specified through the command line to the default printer.

Note

The example requires that each line fits within the page width.

Use the System.ComponentModel, System.Drawing, System.Drawing.Printing, System.IO, and System.Windows.Forms namespaces for this example.

C#

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

 public class PrintingExample 
 {
     private Font printFont;
     private StreamReader streamToPrint;
     static string filePath;

     public PrintingExample() 
     {
         Printing();
     }
 
     // The PrintPage event is raised for each page to be printed.
     private void pd_PrintPage(object sender, PrintPageEventArgs ev) 
     {
         float linesPerPage = 0;
         float yPos =  0;
         int count = 0;
         float leftMargin = ev.MarginBounds.Left;
         float topMargin = ev.MarginBounds.Top;
         String line=null;
             
         // Calculate the number of lines per page.
         linesPerPage = ev.MarginBounds.Height  / 
            printFont.GetHeight(ev.Graphics) ;
 
         // Iterate over the file, printing each line.
         while (count < linesPerPage && 
            ((line=streamToPrint.ReadLine()) != null)) 
         {
            yPos = topMargin + (count * printFont.GetHeight(ev.Graphics));
            ev.Graphics.DrawString (line, printFont, Brushes.Black, 
               leftMargin, yPos, new StringFormat());
            count++;
         }
 
         // If more lines exist, print another page.
         if (line != null) 
            ev.HasMorePages = true;
         else 
            ev.HasMorePages = false;
     }
 
     // Print the file.
     public void Printing()
     {
         try 
         {
            streamToPrint = new StreamReader (filePath);
            try 
            {
               printFont = new Font("Arial", 10);
               PrintDocument pd = new PrintDocument(); 
               pd.PrintPage += new PrintPageEventHandler(pd_PrintPage);
               // Print the document.
               pd.Print();
            } 
            finally 
            {
               streamToPrint.Close() ;
            }
        } 
        catch(Exception ex) 
        { 
            MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
        }
     }
   
     // This is the main entry point for the application.
     public static void Main(string[] args) 
     {
        string sampleName = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[0];
        if(args.Length != 1)
        {
           Console.WriteLine("Usage: " + sampleName +" <file path>");
           return;
        }
        filePath = args[0];
        new PrintingExample();
     }
 }

Remarks

Specify the output to print by handling the PrintPage event and by using the Graphics included in the PrintPageEventArgs.

Use the PrinterSettings.PrinterName property to specify which printer should print the document.

The Print method prints the document without using a print dialog. Use a PrintDialog when you want to offer the user the ability to choose print settings.

Note

If an exception that is not handled by the Print method is thrown during printing, the printing of the document is aborted.

Applies to