Printing with VB .NET [Resolved]

[albertlse]

how can we do printing with VB .NET?

I would like to print an Invoice from Database.

Please guide. Thank you.

[trisuglow]

Got $60 US to spare? Then buy ".NET Graphics and Printing" by Peter G. Aitken from Optimax Publishing. ISBN 1-931097-04-6.

This is the only book I've found that addresses printing.

[nswan]

try looking into crystal reports.

if you are using access as your database you could do the invoices with reports

[Pirate]

Search this forum , I believe it's disscused a while back !

[VBCrazyCoder]

If it is for the web, you can also use the javascript print() function.

[Slow_Learner]

If you aren't using Crystal Reports (which you probably should look into if you're doing database reporting and want a form-like invoice) then you have two basic choices:
1) "Simple printing", as described in the 101 VB .NET samples "VB.NET - Windows Forms - Simple Printing". This allows you to print in one font and one fontstyle of that font, in a single print area per printdocument. There may be a way to get more than one print area on a single page but I wasn't able to discover how (doesn't look to me like this is possible, certainly isn't easy). This was too limited for me so I did a little more digging.

2) If you want mixed fonts and mixed fontstyles, or if you want multiple columns, you can extend the RichTextBox control to interact with the EM_FORMATRANGE Windows API function. A guy named Martin Müller did this initially to allow the mixed fonts/fontstyles, and I extended his control a little further to support multiple print columns. Attached is a small project that you are free to use if you think it may help.

An example of how to use this control is below, in a form that has a PrintDocument control, a PrintDialog control, and a pair of richtextboxex2 controls, to print two columns:

    'declared form-wide
    Private PrintPageSettings As New PageSettings()
    Private iMainFirstCharLeft, iMainFirstCharRight As Integer

    '(... some code to stick text into rtxtLeft and rtxtRight controls ...)
    '(... menu option/button to call DoPrintMainSheet ...)

    Private Sub DoPrintMainSheet()
        Try
            PrintDocument1.DefaultPageSettings = PrintPageSettings
            dlgPrint.Document = PrintDocument1
            Dim result As DialogResult = dlgPrint.ShowDialog()
            If result = DialogResult.OK Then
                PrintDocument1.Print()
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            MsgBox(ex.Message, MsgBoxStyle.Exclamation, "Printing error!")
        End Try
    End Sub

    Private Sub PrintDocument1_PrintPage(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
    ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs) Handles PrintDocument1.PrintPage
        'Call the RenderFormatRange function added to
        'RichTextBoxEx2, which calls the API EM_FORMATRANGE
        'Calling it this way results in two columns with a 20/100ths
        'of an inch gutter between the two columns
        iMainFirstCharLeft = rtxLeft.RenderFormatRange(False, e, iMainFirstCharLeft, rtxLeft.TextLength, _
            e.MarginBounds.Left, (e.PageBounds.Right / 2) - 10)
        iMainFirstCharRight = rtxRight.RenderFormatRange(False, e, iMainFirstCharRight, rtxRight.TextLength, _
            (e.PageBounds.Right / 2) + 10, e.MarginBounds.Right)
        'are we finished printing?
        If (iMainFirstCharLeft < rtxLeft.TextLength) Or (iMainFirstCharRight < rtxRight.TextLength) Then
            e.HasMorePages = True
        Else
            e.HasMorePages = False
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub PrintDocument1_BeginPrint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintEventArgs) Handles PrintDocument1.BeginPrint
        iMainFirstCharLeft = 0
        iMainFirstCharRight = 0
    End Sub

    Private Sub PrintDocument1_EndPrint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintEventArgs) Handles PrintDocument1.EndPrint
        rtxLeft.FormatRangeDone()
        rtxRight.FormatRangeDone()
    End Sub

[chinhow]

Same as Slow_Learner, If you're not using crystal report, you can view this web site.

http://samples.gotdotnet.com/quickst...sPrinting.aspx