StartDocPrinter function

Article
01/07/2021

The StartDocPrinter function notifies the print spooler that a document is to be spooled for printing.

Syntax

DWORD StartDocPrinter(
  _In_ HANDLE hPrinter,
  _In_ DWORD  Level,
  _In_ LPBYTE pDocInfo
);

Parameters

hPrinter [in]: A handle to the printer. Use the OpenPrinter or AddPrinter function to retrieve a printer handle.
Level [in]: The version of the structure to which pDocInfo points. This value must be 1.
pDocInfo [in]: A pointer to a DOC_INFO_1 structure that describes the document to print.

Return value

If the function succeeds, the return value identifies the print job.

If the function fails, the return value is zero.

Remarks

Note

This is a blocking or synchronous function and might not return immediately. How quickly this function returns depends on run-time factors such as network status, print server configuration, and printer driver implementation factors that are difficult to predict when writing an application. Calling this function from a thread that manages interaction with the user interface could make the application appear to be unresponsive.

The typical sequence for a print job is as follows:

To begin a print job, call StartDocPrinter.
To begin each page, call StartPagePrinter.
To write data to a page, call WritePrinter.
To end each page, call EndPagePrinter.
Repeat 2, 3, and 4 for as many pages as necessary.
To end the print job, call EndDocPrinter.

Note that calling StartPagePrinter and EndPagePrinter may not be necessary, such as if the print data type includes the page information.

When a page in a spooled file exceeds approximately 350 MB, it can fail to print and not send an error message. For example, this can occur when printing large EMF files. The page size limit depends on many factors including the amount of virtual memory available, the amount of memory allocated by calling processes, and the amount of fragmentation in the process heap.

Examples

For a sample program that uses this function, see How To: Print Using the GDI Print API.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Header	Winspool.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Winspool.lib
DLL	Winspool.drv
Unicode and ANSI names	StartDocPrinterW (Unicode) and StartDocPrinterA (ANSI)