Walkthrough: Printing a Local Report without Preview

Article
12/06/2014

This walkthrough shows how to programmatically print a report without viewing it, using the LocalReport object and the CreateStreamCallback callback function.

Prerequisites

You must have access to the sample report and data source. For more information, see Sample Data and Report for Print Walkthrough.

Perform the following steps to create a Console Application project.

Create a new console application project

On the File menu, point to New, and then select Project.
In the Installed Templates pane, choose C# or Visual Basic. The C# or Visual Basic node may be under Other Languages, depending on your startup settings in Visual Studio.
In the Templates pane, choose Console Application.
In the Name box, type the name of the project: PrintLocalReport.
In the Location box, enter the directory in which you want to save your project, or click Browse to navigate to it.
Click OK. The project opens with the Code window showing the Program code file.

Add references

From the Project menu, select Add Reference.
In the Add Reference dialog box, on the .NET tab, select System.Drawing, System.Windows.Forms, and Microsoft.ReportViewer.Winforms.
Click OK.

Add existing files report.rdlc and data.xml

From the Project menu, select Add Existing Item. The Add Existing Item dialog box will appear.
Navigate to the folder where you saved report.rdlc and data.xml. Select both files.
Click Add. The two files appear in Solution Explorer as part of the project.

Add the code

The Program code file should already be open for editing. If it is not, double-click on the Program.cs or Module1.vb file in the Solution Explorer window.

Replace existing code in the Program file with the following code of your programming language choice.

Note

If your there is not a printer named Microsoft XPS Document Writer installed on your machine, change the bolded code to a named printer on your machine.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Data;
using System.Text;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms;

public class Demo : IDisposable
{
    private int m_currentPageIndex;
    private IList<Stream> m_streams;

    private DataTable LoadSalesData()
    {
        // Create a new DataSet and read sales data file 
        //    data.xml into the first DataTable.
        DataSet dataSet = new DataSet();
        dataSet.ReadXml(@"..\..\data.xml");
        return dataSet.Tables[0];
    }
    // Routine to provide to the report renderer, in order to
    //    save an image for each page of the report.
    private Stream CreateStream(string name,
      string fileNameExtension, Encoding encoding,
      string mimeType, bool willSeek)
    {
        Stream stream = new MemoryStream();
        m_streams.Add(stream);
        return stream;
    }
    // Export the given report as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile) file.
    private void Export(LocalReport report)
    {
        string deviceInfo =
          @"<DeviceInfo>
                <OutputFormat>EMF</OutputFormat>
                <PageWidth>8.5in</PageWidth>
                <PageHeight>11in</PageHeight>
                <MarginTop>0.25in</MarginTop>
                <MarginLeft>0.25in</MarginLeft>
                <MarginRight>0.25in</MarginRight>
                <MarginBottom>0.25in</MarginBottom>
            </DeviceInfo>";
        Warning[] warnings;
        m_streams = new List<Stream>();
        report.Render("Image", deviceInfo, CreateStream,
           out warnings);
        foreach (Stream stream in m_streams)
            stream.Position = 0;
    }
    // Handler for PrintPageEvents
    private void PrintPage(object sender, PrintPageEventArgs ev)
    {
        Metafile pageImage = new
           Metafile(m_streams[m_currentPageIndex]);

        // Adjust rectangular area with printer margins.
        Rectangle adjustedRect = new Rectangle(
            ev.PageBounds.Left - (int)ev.PageSettings.HardMarginX,
            ev.PageBounds.Top - (int)ev.PageSettings.HardMarginY,
            ev.PageBounds.Width,
            ev.PageBounds.Height);

        // Draw a white background for the report
        ev.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.White, adjustedRect);

        // Draw the report content
        ev.Graphics.DrawImage(pageImage, adjustedRect);

        // Prepare for the next page. Make sure we haven't hit the end.
        m_currentPageIndex++;
        ev.HasMorePages = (m_currentPageIndex < m_streams.Count);
    }

    private void Print()
    {
        if (m_streams == null || m_streams.Count == 0)
            throw new Exception("Error: no stream to print.");
        PrintDocument printDoc = new PrintDocument();
        if (!printDoc.PrinterSettings.IsValid)
        {
            throw new Exception("Error: cannot find the default printer.");
        }
        else
        {
            printDoc.PrintPage += new PrintPageEventHandler(PrintPage);
            m_currentPageIndex = 0;
            printDoc.Print();
        }
    }
    // Create a local report for Report.rdlc, load the data,
    //    export the report to an .emf file, and print it.
    private void Run()
    {
        LocalReport report = new LocalReport();
        report.ReportPath = @"..\..\Report.rdlc";
        report.DataSources.Add(
           new ReportDataSource("Sales", LoadSalesData()));
        Export(report);
        Print();
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (m_streams != null)
        {
            foreach (Stream stream in m_streams)
                stream.Close();
            m_streams = null;
        }
    }

    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        using (Demo demo = new Demo())
        {
            demo.Run();
        }
    }
}

Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing.Imaging
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms

Public Class Demo
    Implements IDisposable
    Private m_currentPageIndex As Integer
    Private m_streams As IList(Of Stream)

    Private Function LoadSalesData() As DataTable
        ' Create a new DataSet and read sales data file 
        ' data.xml into the first DataTable.
        Dim dataSet As New DataSet()
        dataSet.ReadXml("..\..\data.xml")
        Return dataSet.Tables(0)
    End Function

    ' Routine to provide to the report renderer, in order to
    ' save an image for each page of the report.
    Private Function CreateStream(ByVal name As String, ByVal fileNameExtension As String, ByVal encoding As Encoding, ByVal mimeType As String, ByVal willSeek As Boolean) As Stream
        Dim stream As Stream = New MemoryStream()
        m_streams.Add(stream)
        Return stream
    End Function

    ' Export the given report as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile) file.
    Private Sub Export(ByVal report As LocalReport)
        Dim deviceInfo As String = "<DeviceInfo>" & _
            "<OutputFormat>EMF</OutputFormat>" & _
            "<PageWidth>8.5in</PageWidth>" & _
            "<PageHeight>11in</PageHeight>" & _
            "<MarginTop>0.25in</MarginTop>" & _
            "<MarginLeft>0.25in</MarginLeft>" & _
            "<MarginRight>0.25in</MarginRight>" & _
            "<MarginBottom>0.25in</MarginBottom>" & _
            "</DeviceInfo>"
        Dim warnings As Warning()
        m_streams = New List(Of Stream)()
        report.Render("Image", deviceInfo, AddressOf CreateStream, warnings)
        For Each stream As Stream In m_streams
            stream.Position = 0
        Next
    End Sub

    ' Handler for PrintPageEvents
    Private Sub PrintPage(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal ev As PrintPageEventArgs)
        Dim pageImage As New Metafile(m_streams(m_currentPageIndex))

        ' Adjust rectangular area with printer margins.
        Dim adjustedRect As New Rectangle(ev.PageBounds.Left - CInt(ev.PageSettings.HardMarginX), _
                                          ev.PageBounds.Top - CInt(ev.PageSettings.HardMarginY), _
                                          ev.PageBounds.Width, _
                                          ev.PageBounds.Height)

        ' Draw a white background for the report
        ev.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.White, adjustedRect)

        ' Draw the report content
        ev.Graphics.DrawImage(pageImage, adjustedRect)

        ' Prepare for the next page. Make sure we haven't hit the end.
        m_currentPageIndex += 1
        ev.HasMorePages = (m_currentPageIndex < m_streams.Count)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Print()
        If m_streams Is Nothing OrElse m_streams.Count = 0 Then
            Throw New Exception("Error: no stream to print.")
        End If
        Dim printDoc As New PrintDocument()
        If Not printDoc.PrinterSettings.IsValid Then
            Throw New Exception("Error: cannot find the default printer.")
        Else
            AddHandler printDoc.PrintPage, AddressOf PrintPage
            m_currentPageIndex = 0
            printDoc.Print()
        End If
    End Sub

    ' Create a local report for Report.rdlc, load the data,
    ' export the report to an .emf file, and print it.
    Private Sub Run()
        Dim report As New LocalReport()
        report.ReportPath = "..\..\Report.rdlc"
        report.DataSources.Add(New ReportDataSource("Sales", LoadSalesData()))
        Export(report)
        Print()
    End Sub

    Public Sub Dispose() Implements IDisposable.Dispose
        If m_streams IsNot Nothing Then
            For Each stream As Stream In m_streams
                stream.Close()
            Next
            m_streams = Nothing
        End If
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
        Using demo As New Demo()
            demo.Run()
        End Using
    End Sub
End Class

Build and run the application

On the Build menu, click on Build Solution to build the application. As part of the build process, the report is compiled and any errors found (such as a syntax error in an expression used in the report) are added to the Task List.
Press F5 to run the application.

The code above will print the report to an .xps file and prompt you for the file location. If you specify the name of a printing device, it will print the report to that device directly.

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Walkthrough: Printing a Local Report without Preview

Prerequisites

Create a new console application project

Add references

Add existing files report.rdlc and data.xml

Add the code

Build and run the application

See Also

Reference

Other Resources

Additional resources