Q166129: HOWTO: Print Directly to a Non-Default Printer in MFC
Article: Q166129
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): 4.0,4.1,4.2,5.0,6.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbprint kbDocView kbGDI kbMFC kbPrinting kbVC kbVC420 kbVC600 kbVS600 kbGrpDSMFCATL
Last Modified: 10-JUN-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- The Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), used with:
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 6.0, used with:
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000
- Microsoft Visual C++.NET (2002)
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NOTE: Microsoft Visual C++ .NET (2002) supports both the managed code model that is provided by the .NET Framework and the unmanaged native Windows code model. Part or all of the information in this article applies to managed Visual C++ code and may be applied only by using the .NET Framework.
SUMMARY
=======
In developing an MFC application, it is sometimes useful to programmatically
print (without the print dialog) to a non-default printer such as a network
printer or a secondary printer. To do this, the DEVMODE and DEVNAMES structures
are needed. This article shows how one can set these data structures up using
the GetPrinter() call and provides examples on how to use them.
NOTE: Some code in this article does not apply to Windows 95 and Windows 98 since
GetPrinter may not work for a network printer.
MORE INFORMATION
================
During a normal print operation in an MFC application, the print dialog box is
displayed which allows you to select the printer you want to print to. The
default printer displayed in the print dialog box is the default printer
specified in the operating system. MFC stores the default printer of the
application in the CWinApp::m_hDevMode and CWinApp::m_hDevNames protected data
members. Because MFC initializes these variables to NULL, the MFC print
architecture defaults to the operating system's default printer the first time a
print operation is performed. The operating system default printer's DEVMODE and
DEVNAMES are then copied to the MFC application's m_hDevMode and m_hDevNames
data members.
Occasionally, there may be a situation where you need to print to a printer other
than the default printer without having the user specify it through the print
dialog box. The non-default printer can be a secondary printer or a network
printer (assuming your operating system has the drivers already installed).
Whether you need to use the non-default printer on a permanent basis or for only
one print job, you need the DEVMODE and DEVNAMES structure to create the printer
DC. The PRINTER_INFO_2 structure from GetPrinter() contains all the information
needed to fill the DEVMODE and DEVNAMES structures.
Creating a DEVMODE and DEVNAMES Structure
-----------------------------------------
The sample code below shows how to use GetPrinter() to create a DEVMODE and
DEVNAMES structure based on a printer name. The code is a global function which
returns the data structures through its parameters.
#include <winspool.h>
// returns a DEVMODE and DEVNAMES for the printer name specified
BOOL GetPrinterDevice(LPTSTR pszPrinterName, HGLOBAL* phDevNames, HGLOBAL* phDevMode)
{
// if NULL is passed, then assume we are setting app object's
// devmode and devnames
if (phDevMode == NULL || phDevNames == NULL)
return FALSE;
// Open printer
HANDLE hPrinter;
if (OpenPrinter(pszPrinterName, &hPrinter, NULL) == FALSE)
return FALSE;
// obtain PRINTER_INFO_2 structure and close printer
DWORD dwBytesReturned, dwBytesNeeded;
GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, NULL, 0, &dwBytesNeeded);
PRINTER_INFO_2* p2 = (PRINTER_INFO_2*)GlobalAlloc(GPTR,
dwBytesNeeded);
if (GetPrinter(hPrinter, 2, (LPBYTE)p2, dwBytesNeeded,
&dwBytesReturned) == 0) {
GlobalFree(p2);
ClosePrinter(hPrinter);
return FALSE;
}
ClosePrinter(hPrinter);
// Allocate a global handle for DEVMODE
HGLOBAL hDevMode = GlobalAlloc(GHND, sizeof(*p2->pDevMode) +
p2->pDevMode->dmDriverExtra);
ASSERT(hDevMode);
DEVMODE* pDevMode = (DEVMODE*)GlobalLock(hDevMode);
ASSERT(pDevMode);
// copy DEVMODE data from PRINTER_INFO_2::pDevMode
memcpy(pDevMode, p2->pDevMode, sizeof(*p2->pDevMode) +
p2->pDevMode->dmDriverExtra);
GlobalUnlock(hDevMode);
// Compute size of DEVNAMES structure from PRINTER_INFO_2's data
DWORD drvNameLen = lstrlen(p2->pDriverName)+1; // driver name
DWORD ptrNameLen = lstrlen(p2->pPrinterName)+1; // printer name
DWORD porNameLen = lstrlen(p2->pPortName)+1; // port name
// Allocate a global handle big enough to hold DEVNAMES.
HGLOBAL hDevNames = GlobalAlloc(GHND,
sizeof(DEVNAMES) +
(drvNameLen + ptrNameLen + porNameLen)*sizeof(TCHAR));
ASSERT(hDevNames);
DEVNAMES* pDevNames = (DEVNAMES*)GlobalLock(hDevNames);
ASSERT(pDevNames);
// Copy the DEVNAMES information from PRINTER_INFO_2
// tcOffset = TCHAR Offset into structure
int tcOffset = sizeof(DEVNAMES)/sizeof(TCHAR);
ASSERT(sizeof(DEVNAMES) == tcOffset*sizeof(TCHAR));
pDevNames->wDriverOffset = tcOffset;
memcpy((LPTSTR)pDevNames + tcOffset, p2->pDriverName,
drvNameLen*sizeof(TCHAR));
tcOffset += drvNameLen;
pDevNames->wDeviceOffset = tcOffset;
memcpy((LPTSTR)pDevNames + tcOffset, p2->pPrinterName,
ptrNameLen*sizeof(TCHAR));
tcOffset += ptrNameLen;
pDevNames->wOutputOffset = tcOffset;
memcpy((LPTSTR)pDevNames + tcOffset, p2->pPortName,
porNameLen*sizeof(TCHAR));
pDevNames->wDefault = 0;
GlobalUnlock(hDevNames);
GlobalFree(p2); // free PRINTER_INFO_2
// set the new hDevMode and hDevNames
*phDevMode = hDevMode;
*phDevNames = hDevNames;
return TRUE;
}
As a quick reference, following is the declaration of DEVNAMES with a short
description of each field:
// commdlg.h
// the first three members are character offsets from the beginning of the // structure pointing to the specific string
typedef struct tagDEVNAMES {
WORD wDriverOffset; // file name of driver (without extension)
WORD wDeviceOffset; // device name
WORD wOutputOffset; // device name of physical output medium
WORD wDefault; // DN_DEFAULTPRN if default printer chosen
} DEVNAMES;
Setting the Application's Default Printer
-----------------------------------------
To set the default printer of the application you need to set the m_hDevNames and
m_hDevMode data members (which are protected) through a member function of the
CWinApp derived object, GetPrinterDevice(). You can implement the function below
and call it whenever you need to change the default printer.
void CMainFrame::OnActionSetnondefaultprinter()
{
HGLOBAL hDevMode = NULL;
HGLOBAL hDevNames = NULL;
if (GetPrinterDevice(_T("\\\\RED-PRN-25\\PRIV0006"), &hDevNames, &hDevMode))
AfxGetApp()->SelectPrinter(hDevNames, hDevMode);
else
AfxMessageBox(_T("Failed to select custom printer"));
}
Bypassing the Print Dialog when Using the Application's Default Printer
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To bypass the print dialog, OnPreparePrinting needs to be overridden so that the
m_bDirect flag can be set to TRUE. DoPreparePrinting is then called to set the
values of pInfo->m_pPD->m_pd.hDevMode and
pInfo->m_pPD->m_pd.hDevNames to the corresponding application object's
data member and to create the printer DC.
BOOL CNonDefPrinterView::OnPreparePrinting(CPrintInfo* pInfo)
{
pInfo->m_bDirect = TRUE; // TRUE if bypassing Print Dialog
return DoPreparePrinting(pInfo);
}
Bypassing the Print Dialog when Using a Non-Default Printer
-----------------------------------------------------------
To bypass the print dialog and use a non-default printer, you need to set the
pInfo->m_pPD->m_pd data members yourself and create the printer DC.
Following is the code that will accomplish this:
BOOL CNonDefPrinterView::OnPreparePrinting(CPrintInfo* pInfo)
{
// set to non-default printer without changing default app printer
HGLOBAL hDevMode;
HGLOBAL hDevNames;
if (!GetPrinterDevice(_T("\\\\RED-PRN-25\\PRIV0006"), &hDevNames, &hDevMode))
AfxMessageBox(_T("GetPrinterDevice called failed\n"));
pInfo->m_pPD->m_pd.hDevMode = hDevMode;
pInfo->m_pPD->m_pd.hDevNames = hDevNames;
pInfo->m_pPD->CreatePrinterDC();
return TRUE;
}
This example is shown using the GetPrinterDevice function. See above for more
detail.
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q193103 HOWTO: Implement a View-Based Default Printer in Microsoft Foundation
Classes
Q147202 HOWTO: Add a Network Printer Connection
Q140560 HOWTO: Set the Default Printer Programmatically in Windows 95
Q167345 HOWTO: Modify Printer Settings with DocumentProperties()
Q126897 HOWTO: Change Default Printer Settings in an MFC Application
Q162609 HOWTO: Create a Printer Device Context (DC) in MFC
(c) Microsoft Corporation 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Adam Kim, Microsoft Corporation
Additional query words:
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Keywords : kbprint kbDocView kbGDI kbMFC kbPrinting kbVC kbVC420 kbVC600 kbVS600 kbGrpDSMFCATL
Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbMFC
Version : :4.0,4.1,4.2,5.0,6.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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