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javascriptwindowspdfprintingwindows-store-apps
Janneman
Janneman

Reputation: 1223

how print a pdf directly from windows 8 store app (javascript)

I'm making a Windows store app (in Javascript) that generates a PDF. I convert this to base64 and then save that to file (if I want). This works fine.

(the PDF is a one page document (~30kb) with text, vector graphics and a small image)

Now I would like to be able to print this pdf directly from the app without having to open it in a separate application. Of course I've been doing a lot of searching, but the information I've come accross never seems to work. It either is in the wrong language, doesn't do what I'm looking for or just doesn't work. Also the Microsoft documentation is pretty vague and lacks decent examples.

Anyway, from what I've understood you can actually render a pdf page to bitmap and then send that to the printer. I decided to give it a try, so what I'm trying to do first is to save the pdf as an image to file.

Now I've managed to create a pdfPage object, now I'm supposed to do this:

pdfPage.renderToStreamAsync(outputStream).done( /* Your success and error handlers */ );

The outputStream is supposed to be a IRandomAccessStream object, but I can't seem to instance one. It doesn't show in the Streams list and when I type it in manually it doesn't work... Using InMemoryRandomAccessStream instead seems to work though.

var outputStream = new Windows.Storage.Streams.IRandomAccessStream(); //this don't work?

Even if outputStream is good, how do I save it to file? I've saved IBuffer's to file before, can I convert it to an IBuffer somehow? I can't find any information on that.

Also I believe it should be possible to show the outputStream as an image in the app. I can only find C# examples of this. How does this work in JS/HTML?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 200

Answers (1)

Janneman
Janneman

Reputation: 1223

Okay I figured out how to save it:

Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.current.temporaryFolder.getFileAsync("mydocument.pdf").then(function (file) {
    var pdfDocument = Windows.Data.Pdf.PdfDocument;
    pdfDocument.loadFromFileAsync(file).then(function (pdf) {
        page1 = pdf.getPage(0);
        var accessStream = new Windows.Storage.Streams.InMemoryRandomAccessStream();
        page1.renderToStreamAsync(accessStream).done(function () {
            Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.current.temporaryFolder.createFileAsync("page1image.png", Windows.Storage.CreationCollisionOption.replaceExisting).then(function (file) {
                file.openAsync(Windows.Storage.FileAccessMode.readWrite).then(function (filestream) {
                    Windows.Storage.Streams.RandomAccessStream.copyAndCloseAsync(accessStream.getInputStreamAt(0), filestream.getOutputStreamAt(0)).then(function () { console.log('done') });
                });  
            });
        });
    });
});

Why do these seeminlgy straightforward things have to be so complicated?

The whole rasterization doesn't work too well. I mean to get a decent resolution (600dpi) the file takes some time to generate. I noticed that even the printer needs a couple of breaks while printing to keep up. This doesn't happen at all when I print the pdf directly. Also you lose the CMYK definition.

But what my real concern is: when I print an image it always adds 2cm margins to the page. The pdf image has margins of its own already so now it's double. 2cm is way too much anyway. I can't find any settings anywhere where I can change this.

So: does anyone know how to change the margins when printing from a Windows store app?

Upvotes: 1

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