Print PDF files

The following example shows how you can use GemBox.Pdf to silently, without the user's interaction, print PDF files in C# and VB.NET.

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

using GemBox.Pdf;

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

        using (PdfDocument document = PdfDocument.Load("%#Print.pdf%"))
        {
            // Print PDF document to default printer (e.g. 'Microsoft Print to Pdf').
            string printerName = null;
            document.Print(printerName);
        }
    }
}

Imports GemBox.Pdf

Module Program

    Sub Main()

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

        Using document As PdfDocument = PdfDocument.Load("%#Print.pdf%")
            ' Print PDF document to default printer (e.g. 'Microsoft Print to Pdf').
            Dim printerName As String = Nothing
            document.Print(printerName)
        End Using

    End Sub
End Module

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

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

You would create a PrintTicket object and define or configure desired printer's features with it. You would provide that configuration in the form of an XML stream (by calling PrintTicket.GetXmlStream method) to GemBox.Pdf's PrintOptions.

Print PDF documents in a WPF application

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

XAML
C#
VB.NET

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<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.Pdf;
using Microsoft.Win32;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Xps.Packaging;

public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    private PdfDocument document;

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

    private void Window_Closing(object sender, System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.document != null)
            this.document.Close();
    }

    private void LoadFileBtn_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf";

        if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
        {
            if (this.document != null)
                this.document.Close();

            this.document = PdfDocument.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.Xps);

        // 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.Pdf
Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Windows.Xps.Packaging

Partial Public Class MainWindow
    Inherits Window

    Dim document As PdfDocument

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

    Private Sub Window_Closing(sender As Object, e As ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs)
        If Me.document IsNot Nothing Then
            Me.document.Close()
        End If
    End Sub

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

        Dim openFileDialog As New OpenFileDialog()
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf"

        If (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() = True) Then
            If Me.document IsNot Nothing Then
                Me.document.Close()
            End If

            Me.document = PdfDocument.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.Xps)

        ' 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

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

Print PDF 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.

Or as an alternative, 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 document's pages as images and draw those images on the PrintDocument.PrintPage event for print previewing.

C#
VB.NET

View on GitHub

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

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    private PdfDocument document;

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

    private void Form1_FormClosing(object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
    {
        if (this.document != null)
            this.document.Close();
    }

    private void LoadFileMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf";

        if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
        {
            if (this.document != null)
                this.document.Close();

            this.document = PdfDocument.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 - 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()
    {
        int pageCount = this.document.Pages.Count;
        var images = new Image[pageCount];

        for (int pageIndex = 0; pageIndex < pageCount; ++pageIndex)
        {
            var imageStream = new MemoryStream();
            var imageOptions = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Png) { PageNumber = pageIndex };

            this.document.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.Pdf
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.IO

Partial Public Class Form1
    Inherits Form

    Dim document As PdfDocument

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

    Private Sub Form1_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As FormClosingEventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing
        If Me.document IsNot Nothing Then
            Me.document.Close()
        End If
    End Sub

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

        Dim openFileDialog As New OpenFileDialog()
        openFileDialog.Filter =
            "PDF files (*.pdf)|*.pdf"

        If (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK) Then
            If Me.document IsNot Nothing Then
                Me.document.Close()
            End If

            Me.document = PdfDocument.Load(openFileDialog.FileName)
            Me.ShowPrintPreview()
        End If

    End Sub

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

        If 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 = 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 pageCount As Integer = Me.document.Pages.Count
        Dim images = New Image(pageCount - 1) {}

        For pageIndex As Integer = 0 To pageCount - 1
            Dim imageStream = New MemoryStream()
            Dim imageOptions = New ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Png) With {.PageNumber = pageIndex}

            Me.document.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

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

Next steps

GemBox.Pdf is a .NET component that enables developers to read, merge and split PDF files or execute low-level object manipulations from .NET applications in a simple and efficient way.

Download Buy

Print PDF files

Print PDF documents in a WPF application

Print PDF documents in a Windows Forms application

See also

Next steps