Print Word files in C# and VB.NET

With GemBox.Document you can do silent printing or provide a print dialog and print preview, as shown in the examples for printing in WPF and printing in Windows Forms.

You can print Word documents to the default printer or specify any other local or network printer that's connected to your machine.

The following example shows how you can silently print Word files in C# and VB.NET without the user's interaction.

Printed Word document with virtual printer in C# and VB.NET — Screenshot of printed Word with 'Microsoft Print to Pdf'

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

using GemBox.Document;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        DocumentModel document = DocumentModel.Load("%#Print.docx%");

        // Set Word document's page options.
        foreach (Section section in document.Sections)
        {
            PageSetup pageSetup = section.PageSetup;
            pageSetup.Orientation = Orientation.Landscape;
            pageSetup.LineNumberRestartSetting = LineNumberRestartSetting.NewPage;
            pageSetup.LineNumberDistanceFromText = 50;

            PageMargins pageMargins = pageSetup.PageMargins;
            pageMargins.Top = 20;
            pageMargins.Left = 100;
        }

        // Print Word document to default printer (e.g. 'Microsoft Print to Pdf').
        string printerName = null;
        document.Print(printerName);
    }
}

Imports GemBox.Document

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Dim document As DocumentModel = DocumentModel.Load("%#Print.docx%")

        ' Set Word document's page options.
        For Each section As Section In document.Sections

            Dim pageSetup As PageSetup = section.PageSetup
            pageSetup.Orientation = Orientation.Landscape
            pageSetup.LineNumberRestartSetting = LineNumberRestartSetting.NewPage
            pageSetup.LineNumberDistanceFromText = 50

            Dim pageMargins As PageMargins = pageSetup.PageMargins
            pageMargins.Top = 20
            pageMargins.Left = 100

        Next

        ' Print Word document to default printer (e.g. 'Microsoft Print to Pdf').
        Dim printerName As String = Nothing
        document.Print(printerName)

    End Sub
End Module

GemBox.Document uses System.Printing namespace for managing print queues and print jobs. To leverage advance printing capabilities, like specifying the printer's paper source (tray) or specifying two-sided (duplex) printing, you can use the PrintTicket class.

Using the PrintTicket class, you can create an object that defines or configures the desired printer's features. You provide that configuration in the form of an XML stream (by calling PrintTicket.GetXmlStream method) to GemBox.Document's PrintOptions.

Print Word documents in a WPF application

In WPF applications you would commonly use PrintDialog to enable users to select a printer, configure it, and perform a print job. For example, your user may specify to print only certain pages of a Word document, or to print multiple pages on one sheet of paper, or something else.

The following example shows how you can use PrintDialog to define GemBox.Document's print options. The example also shows how you can use the DocumentViewer control for print previewing.

Printing Word document from WPF application — Screenshot of printing Word in WPF

XAML
C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

<Window x:Class="MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="Printing in WPF application" Height="450" Width="800">
    <DockPanel>
        <StackPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top" Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="5">
            <Button x:Name="LoadFileBtn" Content="Load" Width="100" Margin="5,0" Click="LoadFileBtn_Click"/>
            <Button x:Name="PrintFileBtn" Content="Print" Width="100" Margin="5,0" Click="PrintFileBtn_Click"/>
        </StackPanel>
        <DocumentViewer x:Name="DocViewer"/>
    </DockPanel>
</Window>

using GemBox.Document;
using Microsoft.Win32;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Xps.Packaging;

public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    private DocumentModel document;

    public MainWindow()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    private void LoadFileBtn_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "DOCX files (*.docx, *.dotx, *.docm, *.dotm)|*.docx;*.dotx;*.docm;*.dotm" +
            "|DOC files (*.doc, *.dot)|*.doc;*.dot" +
            "|RTF files (*.rtf)|*.rtf" +
            "|HTML files (*.html, *.htm)|*.html;*.htm" +
            "|PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf" +
            "|Word XML files (*.xml)|*.xml" +
            "|TXT files (*.txt)|*.txt";

        if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
        {
            this.document = DocumentModel.Load(openFileDialog.FileName);
            this.ShowPrintPreview();
        }
    }

    private void PrintFileBtn_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.document == null)
            return;

        PrintDialog printDialog = new PrintDialog() { UserPageRangeEnabled = true };
        if (printDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
        {
            PrintOptions printOptions = new PrintOptions(printDialog.PrintTicket.GetXmlStream());

            printOptions.FromPage = printDialog.PageRange.PageFrom - 1;
            printOptions.ToPage = printDialog.PageRange.PageTo == 0 ? int.MaxValue : printDialog.PageRange.PageTo - 1;

            this.document.Print(printDialog.PrintQueue.FullName, printOptions);
        }
    }

    private void ShowPrintPreview()
    {
        XpsDocument xpsDocument = this.document.ConvertToXpsDocument(SaveOptions.XpsDefault);

        // Note, XpsDocument must stay referenced so that DocumentViewer can access additional resources from it.
        // Otherwise, GC will collect/dispose XpsDocument and DocumentViewer will no longer work.
        this.DocViewer.Tag = xpsDocument;
        this.DocViewer.Document = xpsDocument.GetFixedDocumentSequence();
    }
}

Imports GemBox.Document
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Windows
Imports System.Windows.Controls
Imports System.Windows.Xps.Packaging

Partial Public Class MainWindow
    Inherits Window

    Dim document As DocumentModel

    Public Sub New()
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")
        InitializeComponent()
    End Sub

    Private Sub LoadFileBtn_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

        Dim openFileDialog As New OpenFileDialog()
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "DOCX files (*.docx, *.dotx, *.docm, *.dotm)|*.docx;*.dotx;*.docm;*.dotm" &
            "|DOC files (*.doc, *.dot)|*.doc;*.dot" &
            "|RTF files (*.rtf)|*.rtf" &
            "|HTML files (*.html, *.htm)|*.html;*.htm" &
            "|PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf" &
            "|Word XML files (*.xml)|*.xml" &
            "|TXT files (*.txt)|*.txt"

        If (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() = True) Then
            Me.document = DocumentModel.Load(openFileDialog.FileName)
            Me.ShowPrintPreview()
        End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub PrintFileBtn_Click(sender As Object, e As RoutedEventArgs)

        If document Is Nothing Then Return

        Dim printDialog As New PrintDialog() With {.UserPageRangeEnabled = True}
        If (printDialog.ShowDialog() = True) Then

            Dim printOptions As New PrintOptions(printDialog.PrintTicket.GetXmlStream())

            printOptions.FromPage = printDialog.PageRange.PageFrom - 1
            printOptions.ToPage = If(printDialog.PageRange.PageTo = 0, Integer.MaxValue, printDialog.PageRange.PageTo - 1)

            Me.document.Print(printDialog.PrintQueue.FullName, printOptions)
        End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub ShowPrintPreview()

        Dim xpsDocument As XpsDocument = document.ConvertToXpsDocument(SaveOptions.XpsDefault)

        ' Note, XpsDocument must stay referenced so that DocumentViewer can access additional resources from it.
        ' Otherwise, GC will collect/dispose XpsDocument and DocumentViewer will no longer work.
        Me.DocViewer.Tag = xpsDocument
        Me.DocViewer.Document = xpsDocument.GetFixedDocumentSequence()

    End Sub

End Class

Print Word documents in a Windows Forms application

You can use the same DocumentViewer WPF control from the above example to create a print preview in Windows Forms applications as well. You can accomplish this by hosting the WPF control inside the ElementHost Windows Forms control.

Alternatively, you can use PrintPreviewControl and preview the Word document by providing the PrintDocument object to the control. The following example shows how you can render a document's pages as images and draw those images on a PrintDocument.PrintPage event for print previewing.

Printing Word document from Windows Forms application — Screenshot of printing Word in Windows Forms

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

using GemBox.Document;
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.IO;
using System.Windows.Forms;

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    private DocumentModel document;

    public Form1()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    private void LoadFileMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "DOCX files (*.docx, *.dotx, *.docm, *.dotm)|*.docx;*.dotx;*.docm;*.dotm" +
            "|DOC files (*.doc, *.dot)|*.doc;*.dot" +
            "|RTF files (*.rtf)|*.rtf" +
            "|HTML files (*.html, *.htm)|*.html;*.htm" +
            "|PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf" +
            "|Word XML files (*.xml)|*.xml" +
            "|TXT files (*.txt)|*.txt";

        if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
        {
            this.document = DocumentModel.Load(openFileDialog.FileName);
            this.ShowPrintPreview();
        }
    }

    private void PrintFileMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.document == null)
            return;

        PrintDialog printDialog = new PrintDialog() { AllowSomePages = true };
        if (printDialog.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
        {
            PrinterSettings printerSettings = printDialog.PrinterSettings;
            PrintOptions printOptions = new PrintOptions();

            // Set PrintOptions properties based on PrinterSettings properties.
            printOptions.CopyCount = printerSettings.Copies;
            printOptions.FromPage = printerSettings.FromPage == 0 ? 0 : printerSettings.FromPage - 1;
            printOptions.ToPage = printerSettings.ToPage == 0 ? int.MaxValue : printerSettings.ToPage - 1;

            this.document.Print(printerSettings.PrinterName, printOptions);
        }
    }

    private void ShowPrintPreview()
    {
        // Create image for each Word document's page.
        Image[] images = this.CreatePrintPreviewImages();
        int imageIndex = 0;

        // Draw each page's image on PrintDocument for print preview.
        var printDocument = new PrintDocument();
        printDocument.PrintPage += (sender, e) =>
        {
            using (Image image = images[imageIndex])
            {
                var graphics = e.Graphics;
                var region = graphics.VisibleClipBounds;

                // Rotate image if it has landscape orientation.
                if (image.Width > image.Height)
                    image.RotateFlip(RotateFlipType.Rotate270FlipNone);

                graphics.DrawImage(image, 0, 0, region.Width, region.Height);
            }

            ++imageIndex;
            e.HasMorePages = imageIndex < images.Length;
        };

        this.PageUpDown.Value = 1;
        this.PageUpDown.Maximum = images.Length;
        this.PrintPreviewControl.Document = printDocument;
    }

    private Image[] CreatePrintPreviewImages()
    {
        var pages = this.document.GetPaginator().Pages;

        var images = new Image[pages.Count];
        var imageOptions = new ImageSaveOptions();

        for (int pageIndex = 0; pageIndex < pages.Count; ++pageIndex)
        {
            var imageStream = new MemoryStream();
            pages[pageIndex].Save(imageStream, imageOptions);
            images[pageIndex] = Image.FromStream(imageStream);
        }

        return images;
    }

    private void PageUpDown_ValueChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        this.PrintPreviewControl.StartPage = (int)this.PageUpDown.Value - 1;
    }
}

Imports GemBox.Document
Imports System
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Partial Public Class Form1
    Inherits Form

    Dim document As DocumentModel

    Public Sub New()
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")
        InitializeComponent()
    End Sub

    Private Sub LoadFileMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles LoadFileMenuItem.Click

        Dim openFileDialog As New OpenFileDialog()
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "DOCX files (*.docx, *.dotx, *.docm, *.dotm)|*.docx;*.dotx;*.docm;*.dotm" &
            "|DOC files (*.doc, *.dot)|*.doc;*.dot" &
            "|RTF files (*.rtf)|*.rtf" &
            "|HTML files (*.html, *.htm)|*.html;*.htm" &
            "|PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf" &
            "|Word XML files (*.xml)|*.xml" &
            "|TXT files (*.txt)|*.txt"

        If (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK) Then
            Me.document = DocumentModel.Load(openFileDialog.FileName)
            Me.ShowPrintPreview()
        End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub PrintFileMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PrintFileMenuItem.Click

        If Me.document Is Nothing Then Return

        Dim printDialog As New PrintDialog() With {.AllowSomePages = True}
        If (printDialog.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK) Then

            Dim printerSettings As PrinterSettings = printDialog.PrinterSettings
            Dim printOptions As New PrintOptions()

            ' Set PrintOptions properties based on PrinterSettings properties.
            printOptions.CopyCount = printerSettings.Copies
            printOptions.FromPage = If(printerSettings.FromPage = 0, 0, printerSettings.FromPage - 1)
            printOptions.ToPage = If(printerSettings.ToPage = 0, Integer.MaxValue, printerSettings.ToPage - 1)

            Me.document.Print(printerSettings.PrinterName, printOptions)
        End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub ShowPrintPreview()

        ' Create image for each Word document's page.
        Dim images As Image() = Me.CreatePrintPreviewImages()
        Dim imageIndex As Integer = 0

        ' Draw each page's image on PrintDocument for print preview.
        Dim printDocument = New PrintDocument()
        AddHandler printDocument.PrintPage,
            Sub(sender, e)
                Using image As Image = images(imageIndex)
                    Dim graphics = e.Graphics
                    Dim region = graphics.VisibleClipBounds

                    ' Rotate image if it has landscape orientation.
                    If image.Width > image.Height Then image.RotateFlip(RotateFlipType.Rotate270FlipNone)

                    graphics.DrawImage(image, 0, 0, region.Width, region.Height)
                End Using

                imageIndex += 1
                e.HasMorePages = imageIndex < images.Length
            End Sub

        Me.PageUpDown.Value = 1
        Me.PageUpDown.Maximum = images.Length
        Me.printPreviewControl.Document = printDocument

    End Sub

    Private Function CreatePrintPreviewImages() As Image()

        Dim pages = Me.document.GetPaginator().Pages

        Dim images = New Image(pages.Count - 1) {}
        Dim imageOptions As New ImageSaveOptions()

        For pageIndex As Integer = 0 To pages.Count - 1
            Dim imageStream = New MemoryStream()
            pages(pageIndex).Save(imageStream, imageOptions)
            images(pageIndex) = Image.FromStream(imageStream)
        Next

        Return images

    End Function

    Private Sub PageUpDown_ValueChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles PageUpDown.ValueChanged
        Me.printPreviewControl.StartPage = Me.PageUpDown.Value - 1
    End Sub

End Class

Next steps

GemBox.Document is a .NET component that enables you to read, write, edit, convert, and print document files from your .NET applications using one simple API. How about testing it today?

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Print Word files in C# and VB.NET

Print Word documents in a WPF application

Print Word documents in a Windows Forms application

See also

Next steps