Lesson XIX: The Printer Object
Objectives
ü To be able to print texts and graphics using the Print object
ü To be able to manipulate the printer object to print according to user preferences
Visual Basic applications send all
printed output to a special VB object called the Printer object. The Printer Object supports several property
and methods that help you customize how the print out will look like on paper.
The following table lists the Printer’s properties.
|
Property |
Description |
|
ColorMode |
1:
vbPRCMonochrome, outputs prints in monochrome 2:
vbPRCMColor, outputs prints in color |
|
Copies |
Specifies
the number of copies to print. |
|
CurrentX |
Holds the
vertical print row, from the upper-left corner of the page, measured either
in twips or the scale defined by the ScaleMode property. |
|
DrawWidth |
Specifies
the width of lines drawn, from 1 (default) to 32767 pixels. |
|
FillColor |
Specifies
the color of printed shapes. |
|
FillStyle |
Contains
the pattern of printed shapes. |
|
FontBold |
Boolean. Determines whether subsequent printed
output will be boldfaced or not. |
|
FontItalic |
Boolean:
Determines whether subsequent printed output will be italicized or not. |
|
FontName |
Holds
the name of the current font being used for output. |
|
FontSize |
Holds
the size, in points, of the current font. |
|
FontStrikeThru |
Boolean.
Determines whether subsequent output will be printed with a strikethrough
line. |
|
FontUndeline |
Boolean. Determines whether subsequent output will
be underlined. |
|
ForeColor |
Specifies
the foreground color of printed text and graphics. |
|
Height |
Holds
the height, in twips, of the current printed page. |
|
Orientation |
1:
vbPRORPortrait, outputs prints in portrait mode. 2:
vbPRORLandscape, outputs prints in landscape mode |
|
Page |
Contains
the page number currently being printed and updated automatically by Visual
Basic. |
|
PaperBin |
Specifies
which paper bin the print job will use. Commonly-used values are: 1:
vbPRBNUpper, Use paper from the upper bin. 2:
vbPRBNLower, Use paper from the lower bin. 4: vbPRBNManual,
Wait for manual insertion of each sheet of paper. 5:
vbPRBNEnvelope, Use envelopes from the envelope feeder. 6:
vbPRBNEnvManual, Use envelopes from the envelope feeder, but wait for manual
insertion. 8:
vbPRBNTractor, Use paper fed from the tractor feeder. |
|
PaperSize |
Specifies
the size of paper the print job will use.
Commonly-used values: 1:
vbPRPSLetter, Letter, 8 1/2 x 11 in. 5:
vbPRPSLegal, Legal, 8 1/2 x 14 in. 9:
vbPRPSA4, A4, 210 x 297 mm 256:
vbPRPSUser, User-defined |
|
PrintQuality |
Determines
how fine the print quality will appear. 1:
vbPRPQDraft, least quality, but prints quickly 2:
vbPRPQLow, low-resolution mode 3:
vbPRPQMedium, medium-resolution mode 4:
vbPRPQHigh, slowest quality |
|
ScaleMode |
Sets the
unit of measurement for all subsequent printed output that appears. 1:
vbTwips, Measured in twips (default) 2:
vbPixels, Measured in pixels 5:
vbInches, Measured in inches 6,
vbMillimeters, Measured in millimeters 7:
vbCentimeters, Measured in centimeters |
|
Width |
Holds
the size of the page width (in twips). |
The following are the methods of the Print object.
|
Method |
Description |
|
Circle |
Draws a
circle or an arc. |
|
EndDoc |
Releases
the current document to the print spooler for output. |
|
KillDoc |
Immediately
terminates the output and deletes the current print job from the print
spooler. |
|
Line |
Draws
lines and boxes on the page. |
|
NewPage |
Sends a
page break to the printed output so that subsequent output appears on the
next page. |
|
Print |
Prints
numeric and text data. |
IN FOCUS: THE PRINT METHOD
The Print method handles almost all the printing
jobs. With this method, you can print literals,
variables, constants, and expressions.
The syntax of the Print method is as follows:
Printer.Print <expression>
Below are examples on how to use the Print method:
|
Printing Literals |
Examples: Printer.Print 1 Printer.Print 12.5 Printer.Print “Computer Science” Printer.Print ‘Prints
a blank line Note: Print method
prints a new line after printing the expressions. |
|
Printing Variables |
Examples: Fname = “Jennifer” Age = 24 Printer.Print Fname Printer.Print Age |
Printing Expressions |
Examples: Printer.Print 45 + ( 4 * 3) Printer.Print RawScore/TotalScore * 100 Printer.Print “Name: “ & Fname & Lname |
|
Printing Multiple Values |
Printer.Print “Score: “; intScore; “Letter Grade”;
strLGrade The Semi-colon keeps the printer’s
print head at the end of the message for subsequent output. Printer.Print strName, strCourse, strYear The comma is still used
to print values in the same line but at specific print zone. A print zone occurs every 14 columns on
the page. |
|
Utilizing the Fonts |
Examples: Printer.FontBold = True Printer.FontItalic = True Printer.FontSize = 70 Printer.Print “This text is boldfaced and italicized.” |
|
Spacing with Spc() and Tab() |
Examples: Printer.Print Fname; Spc(10); Lname The above example prints
a 10 spaces between the value of Fname and the value of Lname. Printer.Print Tab(5), “Total” The string Total is
printed in the 5th column |
Example 1:
Printer.Print “First Page”
Printer.NewPage
Printer.Print “Second Page”
Printer.EndDoc
Create the following Form.
When the user clicks on the Print
button, the following should be the output:
Name: Racines, Mark
Age: 4
Level/Section: Nursery – Blue
Write the following procedure:
Private Sub
Command1_Click()
Printer.FontName = “Arial”
Printer.Print “Name: “;
Printer.FontBold = True
Printer.FontUndeline = True
Printer.Print Tab(2);
txtLName.Text & “,” & txtFName.Text
Printer.FontBold = False
Printer.FontUndeline = False
Printer.Print “Age:”; Tab(2);
txtAge.Text
Printer.Print “Level/Section:”;
Tab(1); cboLevel.Text & “-“ & cboSection.Text
Printer.EndDoc
End Sub
Instructions: Create a
simple text editor. The Editor’s
interface is as follows:
When the Print button is clicked, the following dialog box is displayed: 
For the Paper
Size ListBox (DropDown ListBox), include three items: Letter, 8
1/2 x 11 in., Legal, 8 1/2 x 14 in., and A4, 210 x 297 mm. The Color ListBox (DropDown
ListBox) contains four colors: Black, Blue, Red, and Green. Enable this ListBox only when Color
Mode (see the Color Mode Frame above) is set to Color.
Color refers to the color of the text when printed.
When the Print button is pressed, print the text in entered in the previous Form. Apply print the settings set by the user. Unload the Form and load the main Form. Clicking Cancel also invokes back the main Form.