ASP.Net 3.5 - Retrieving List of Local Printers on Client Machine ?

Luqman

I am using Visual studio 2008 and ASP.Net 3.5

How can I fill a combo with List of Local Printers, installed on Client
Machine ?

If I have to buy any Activex Control from Internet, please do recommend.

Best Regards,

Luqman

Jun 27 '08 #1

Mark Rae [MVP]

"Luqman" <pe*******@cyber.net.pkwrote in message
news:e9***************@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

I am using Visual studio 2008 and ASP.Net 3.5

How can I fill a combo with list of local printers, installed on client
machine ?

You can't, at least, not natively...

If I have to buy any ActiveX control from the Internet, please do
recommend.

A couple of things about ActiveX controls:

1) They work in Microsoft Internet Explorer only, so are no use at all for a
public web site.

2) You will almost certainly need to ramp the browser security right down
just to get them to work.

However, even if you were able to fill a combo with a list of local
printers, what would you do with this information? You certainly won't be
able to let the user select a printer and then somehow automatically print
to it - all modern browsers are designed specifically to prevent this type
of direct interaction between web sites and the client machine's hardware.

That's why many websites provide a "print version" of web pages which the
user can print manually if required...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

Jun 27 '08 #2

Luqman

Hi,

I want this facility for my Intranet Application, running in my Office, so
that user can print the Crystal Report through ASP.Net, directly to his
local default printer.

Currently they can do so, by installing Crystal Printing Control (a thin
client activex) which shows their local printer.

But the problem starts, when the report is designed for Landscape Printing
and User has to change the Printing Style from Portrait to Landscape every
time in Printing Preferences.

I hope you understand what I mean.

Even I get some help, how Crystal Printing Control of ASP.Net can be used in
code, will also be beneficial for me.

Best Regards,

Luqman


"Mark Rae [MVP]" <ma**@markNOSPAMrae.netwrote in message
news:eo**************@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

"Luqman" <pe*******@cyber.net.pkwrote in message
news:e9***************@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>I am using Visual studio 2008 and ASP.Net 3.5

How can I fill a combo with list of local printers, installed on client
machine ?

You can't, at least, not natively...

>If I have to buy any ActiveX control from the Internet, please do
recommend.

A couple of things about ActiveX controls:

1) They work in Microsoft Internet Explorer only, so are no use at all for
a public web site.

2) You will almost certainly need to ramp the browser security right down
just to get them to work.

However, even if you were able to fill a combo with a list of local
printers, what would you do with this information? You certainly won't be
able to let the user select a printer and then somehow automatically print
to it - all modern browsers are designed specifically to prevent this type
of direct interaction between web sites and the client machine's hardware.

That's why many websites provide a "print version" of web pages which the
user can print manually if required...
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

Jun 27 '08 #3

Mark Rae [MVP]

"Luqman" <pe*******@cyber.net.pkwrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

[top-posting corrected]

>>I am using Visual studio 2008 and ASP.Net 3.5

How can I fill a combo with list of local printers, installed on client
machine ?

You can't, at least, not natively...

>>If I have to buy any ActiveX control from the Internet, please do
recommend.

A couple of things about ActiveX controls:

1) They work in Microsoft Internet Explorer only, so are no use at all
for a public web site.

2) You will almost certainly need to ramp the browser security right down
just to get them to work.

However, even if you were able to fill a combo with a list of local
printers, what would you do with this information? You certainly won't be
able to let the user select a printer and then somehow automatically
print to it - all modern browsers are designed specifically to prevent
this type of direct interaction between web sites and the client
machine's hardware.

That's why many websites provide a "print version" of web pages which the
user can print manually if required...

I want this facility for my Intranet Application, running in my Office, so
that user can print the Crystal Report through ASP.Net, directly to his
local default printer.

You didn't mention any of this in your original post...

Even I get some help, how Crystal Printing Control of ASP.Net can be used
in code, will also be beneficial for me.

I don't have much experience of Crystal, but there are dozens of articles on
the web about this...

Here's one:
http://aspalliance.com/509_Automatic...ts_in_ASPNET.3
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

Jun 27 '08 #4

=?Utf-8?B?bXVzb3NkZXY=?=

You should be able to do it by hand, if the printers on your Office network
are installed in the ActiveDirectory (if you have AD), then you can just
query against that with DirectoryServices and fill the combo/list from that.

HTH

"Mark Rae [MVP]" wrote:

"Luqman" <pe*******@cyber.net.pkwrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

[top-posting corrected]

>I am using Visual studio 2008 and ASP.Net 3.5

How can I fill a combo with list of local printers, installed on client
machine ?

You can't, at least, not natively...

If I have to buy any ActiveX control from the Internet, please do
recommend.

A couple of things about ActiveX controls:

1) They work in Microsoft Internet Explorer only, so are no use at all
for a public web site.

2) You will almost certainly need to ramp the browser security right down
just to get them to work.

However, even if you were able to fill a combo with a list of local
printers, what would you do with this information? You certainly won't be
able to let the user select a printer and then somehow automatically
print to it - all modern browsers are designed specifically to prevent
this type of direct interaction between web sites and the client
machine's hardware.

That's why many websites provide a "print version" of web pages which the
user can print manually if required...

I want this facility for my Intranet Application, running in my Office, so
that user can print the Crystal Report through ASP.Net, directly to his
local default printer.

You didn't mention any of this in your original post...

Even I get some help, how Crystal Printing Control of ASP.Net can be used
in code, will also be beneficial for me.

I don't have much experience of Crystal, but there are dozens of articles on
the web about this...

Here's one:
http://aspalliance.com/509_Automatic...ts_in_ASPNET.3
--
Mark Rae
ASP.NET MVP
http://www.markrae.net

Jun 27 '08 #5