[Gambas-user] printer problem

[Charlie Reinl]

Am Freitag, den 05.02.2010, 10:09 +0100 schrieb Doriano Blengino:
> Charlie Reinl ha scritto:
> > Am Donnerstag, den 04.02.2010, 09:48 +0100 schrieb Doriano Blengino:
> >   
> >> Charlie Reinl ha scritto:
> >>     
> >>> If you open the printer-setup the first time, the 'Print to printer' is
> >>> chosen, and the target-file behind 'Print to file' is empty.
> >>>
> >>> If you check 'Print to file' and fill the target-file and then you
> >>> switch back to 'Print to printer', the target-file field is disabled.
> >>> (Setup Printer.png)
> >>>
> >>> Everything seems to be alright. 
> >>>
> >>> But, and there is my new problem, in my code I can't see what should be
> >>> done. (printing 5 times to file, makes no sense)
> >>>
> >>> Where is the magic pointer, which shows me the chosen device?
> >>> (Printer Properties.png)
> >>>   
> >>>       
> >> For what I know about printing in gambas, things are as following.
> >>
> >> You can set by code printer.file to print to a file (a postscript is 
> >> generated), or set printer.name to direct the printing to an actual 
> >> printer. If printer.file is non-empty, the printing will go to a file. 
> >> The same is true if those properties are set by the interactive setup 
> >> panel. After that, you don't have to worry about the destination, the 
> >> code is the same: you draw() on the printer, and the underlying software 
> >> will do what is appropriate.
> >>
> >> Other properties let you to define other printing aspects, like page 
> >> format, b/w or color, and so on.
> >>
> >> The properties Copies, FromPage and ToPage are different, because they 
> >> don't do anything - you should read them and do things accordingly. To 
> >> be more precise, FromPage and ToPage are exactly so (if you read that 
> >> the user has set FromPage=2 and ToPage=2, then your printing routine 
> >> should only print the page number 2, and then terminate). "Copies" 
> >> sometimes works, sometimes not, so I decided to read the number of 
> >> copies, reset it to 1, and print several copies myself. I mean: "Copies" 
> >> was sometimes working, sometimes was ignored, and sometimes messed up 
> >> the printing. If you choose to do multiple copies by code, don't forget 
> >> to reset Copies to 1.
> >>
> >> About printing several copies to a file, I see nothing strange... a 
> >> postscript file should be generated, containing two or more identical 
> >> pages. If you feed that file to a printer, multiple identical pages get 
> >> out. But in the first attempt, I did it differently, and I crashed into 
> >> rewriting the same file several times, as you are arguing. Can't 
> >> remember if it was my fault or gambas or qt one. I solved all together 
> >> by invoking multiple times the subroutine which prints a single page, 
> >> inside a "draw.begin()" and "draw.end()".
> >>     
> >
> > Salut Doriano,
> >
> > letting a part the tab-Problem, the printer problem is not the existing
> > properties of the gambas2-printer. 
> > The problem is you have no information about the output device, after
> > printer.setup().
> > With a bit of luck, the target-file (printer.file) is empty, so it is
> > sure the device is a printer (checked "Print to file" with an empty
> > target-file, disables the OK-Button ).
> >
> > Knowing the output device is important for "Copies", because printing
> > the same "output" x-times to the same file makes no sense.
> >
> > So I repeat my question, where/how can I see/test the output device,
> > after printer.setup.
> >   
> Printer.name.
> This name identifies a CUPS device, and has little to do with the 
> physical device.
> 
> And about printing several copies to a file, I repeat after you that I 
> see nothing strange... if you think at a PDF or PS file which describes 
> a complete document. When you submit jobs to a shared printer, may be 
> that your job will be completed after other, already scheduled jobs by 
> some other users; but when the printer will do your job, it will do it 
> completely - no matter how many copies you requested. So a single 
> printer job may be thought as a single file, even if it contains 
> multiple copies. The only care is that when requesting multiple copies, 
> you must start the printing (Draw.Begin) only once, use newPage() 
> properly, and end the printing (Draw.End) only once. It does not matter 
> if output goes to a file or to a printer; actually, even if you direct 
> output to a printer, internally the printing job is a single file...
> > By that way, if somebody can tell me, how/where "Print first page first"
> > and  "Print last page first"  can be read out, and/or what is to do, for
> > make it working.
> >   
> There is no mention of that in the documentation on my PC. I went to the 
> online documentation, and the site asks me to authenticate. I really 
> don't know...

Salut Doriano,

when I talked of copies and same "output" x-times to the same file makes
no sense.

You said, you have to control the numbers of copies, so do I.
And I want to save the time, which is used to useless copies to have one
at the end.

-- 
Amicalement
Charlie