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How to: Print a Windows Form

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As part of the development process, you typically will want to print a copy of your Windows Form. The following code example shows how to print a copy of the current form by using the CopyFromScreen method.

Example


using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Printing;

public class Form1 :
    Form
{
    private Button printButton = new Button();
    private PrintDocument printDocument1 = new PrintDocument();

    public Form1()
    {
        printButton.Text = "Print Form";
        printButton.Click += new EventHandler(printButton_Click);
        printDocument1.PrintPage += new PrintPageEventHandler(printDocument1_PrintPage);
        this.Controls.Add(printButton);
    }

    void printButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        CaptureScreen();
        printDocument1.Print();
    }

    Bitmap memoryImage;

    private void CaptureScreen()
    {
        Graphics myGraphics = this.CreateGraphics();
        Size s = this.Size;
        memoryImage = new Bitmap(s.Width, s.Height, myGraphics);
        Graphics memoryGraphics = Graphics.FromImage(memoryImage);
        memoryGraphics.CopyFromScreen(this.Location.X, this.Location.Y, 0, 0, s);
    }

    private void printDocument1_PrintPage(System.Object sender,
           System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs e)
    {
        e.Graphics.DrawImage(memoryImage, 0, 0);
    }

    public static void Main()
    {
        Application.Run(new Form1());
    }
}

Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing.Printing

Public Class Form1
    Inherits Form
    Private WithEvents printButton As New Button
    Private WithEvents printDocument1 As New PrintDocument

    Public Sub New()
        printButton.Text = "Print Form"
        Me.Controls.Add(printButton)
    End Sub

    Dim memoryImage As Bitmap

    Private Sub CaptureScreen()
        Dim myGraphics As Graphics = Me.CreateGraphics()
        Dim s As Size = Me.Size
        memoryImage = New Bitmap(s.Width, s.Height, myGraphics)
        Dim memoryGraphics As Graphics = Graphics.FromImage(memoryImage)
        memoryGraphics.CopyFromScreen(Me.Location.X, Me.Location.Y, 0, 0, s)
    End Sub

    Private Sub printDocument1_PrintPage(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
       ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs) Handles _
       printDocument1.PrintPage
        e.Graphics.DrawImage(memoryImage, 0, 0)
    End Sub

    Private Sub printButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As _
       System.EventArgs) Handles printButton.Click
        CaptureScreen()
        printDocument1.Print()
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Application.Run(New Form1())
    End Sub
End Class

Robust Programming

The following conditions may cause an exception:

  • You do not have permission to access the printer.

  • There is no printer installed.

.NET Framework Security

In order to run this code example, you must have permission to access the printer you use with your computer.

See also