Advanced 15 min read Control #19

PrintDocument Control

PrintDocument is the core control for printing in Windows Forms. It defines what gets printed through the PrintPage event.

What is a PrintDocument?

PrintDocument is a component that handles the printing process. It raises the PrintPage event where you draw the content using Graphics. It works with PrintDialog, PrintPreviewDialog, and PageSetupDialog.

Code Example

// The PrintPage event does the actual drawing
private void printDocument1_PrintPage(object sender, 
    PrintPageEventArgs e)
{
    Graphics g = e.Graphics;
    Rectangle printArea = e.MarginBounds;

    // Draw a header
    using (var font = new Font("Arial", 16, FontStyle.Bold))
    {
        g.DrawString("My Document", font, 
            Brushes.Black, printArea.X, printArea.Y);
    }

    // Draw content
    string content = "This is the content of the document.";
    using (var font = new Font("Arial", 12))
    {
        g.DrawString(content, font, 
            Brushes.Black, printArea.X, 
            printArea.Y + 40);
    }

    // Draw a footer
    string footer = $"Page {e.PageNumber}";
    using (var font = new Font("Arial", 10))
    {
        var size = g.MeasureString(footer, font);
        g.DrawString(footer, font, 
            Brushes.Gray, 
            printArea.Right - size.Width, 
            printArea.Bottom - 20);
    }

    // Set HasMorePages for multi-page documents
    e.HasMorePages = false;
}

Exercise

Task: Create a document printing app.

  1. Add a PrintDocument component.
  2. Write the PrintPage event to draw content.
  3. Add a Button to print the document.
  4. Add a Button to show print preview.
  5. Add a Button for page setup.
  6. Add support for multi-page documents.
Key Takeaway

PrintDocument is the foundation of printing. Use the PrintPage event to draw content using the Graphics object.

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Controls