QPrinter Class

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# QPrinter Class Reference

The QPrinter class is a paint device that paints on a printer. More...

`#include <qprinter.h>`

Inherits QPaintDevice.

List of all member functions.

## Public Members

- enum PrinterMode { ScreenResolution, PrinterResolution, HighResolution, Compatible }
- QPrinter ( PrinterMode m = ScreenResolution )
- ~QPrinter ()
- enum Orientation { Portrait, Landscape }
- enum PageSize { A4, B5, Letter, Legal, Executive, A0, A1, A2, A3, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, B0, B1, B10, B2, B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B9, C5E, Comm10E, DLE, Folio, Ledger, Tabloid, Custom, NPageSize = Custom }
- enum PageOrder { FirstPageFirst, LastPageFirst }
- enum ColorMode { GrayScale, Color }
- enum PaperSource { OnlyOne, Lower, Middle, Manual, Envelope, EnvelopeManual, Auto, Tractor, SmallFormat, LargeFormat, LargeCapacity, Cassette, FormSource }
- enum PrintRange { AllPages, Selection, PageRange }
- enum PrinterOption { PrintToFile, PrintSelection, PrintPageRange }
- QString printerName () const
- virtual void setPrinterName ( const QString & name )
- bool outputToFile () const
- virtual void setOutputToFile ( bool enable )
- QString outputFileName () const
- virtual void setOutputFileName ( const QString & fileName )
- QString printProgram () const
- virtual void setPrintProgram ( const QString & printProg )
- QString printerSelectionOption () const
- virtual void setPrinterSelectionOption ( const QString & option )
- QString docName () const
- virtual void setDocName ( const QString & name )
- QString creator () const
- virtual void setCreator ( const QString & creator )
- Orientation orientation () const
- virtual void setOrientation ( Orientation orientation )
- PageSize pageSize () const
- virtual void setPageSize ( PageSize newPageSize )
- void setWinPageSize ( short winPageSize )
- short winPageSize () const
- virtual void setPageOrder ( PageOrder newPageOrder )
- PageOrder pageOrder () const
- virtual void setResolution ( int dpi )
- virtual int resolution () const
- virtual void setColorMode ( ColorMode newColorMode )
- ColorMode colorMode () const
- virtual void setFullPage ( bool fp )
- bool fullPage () const
- QSize margins () const
- void setMargins ( uint top, uint left, uint bottom, uint right )
- void margins ( uint * top, uint * left, uint * bottom, uint * right ) const
- int fromPage () const
- int toPage () const
- virtual void setFromTo ( int fromPage, int toPage )
- int minPage () const
- int maxPage () const
- virtual void setMinMax ( int minPage, int maxPage )
- int numCopies () const
- virtual void setNumCopies ( int numCopies )
- PrintRange printRange () const
- void setPrintRange ( PrintRange range )
- bool newPage ()
- bool abort ()
- bool aborted () const
- bool setup ( QWidget * parent = 0 )
- PaperSource paperSource () const
- virtual void setPaperSource ( PaperSource source )
- void setOptionEnabled ( PrinterOption option, bool enable )
- bool isOptionEnabled ( PrinterOption option )

## Detailed Description

The QPrinter class is a paint device that paints on a printer.

On Windows it uses the built-in printer drivers. On X11 it generates postscript and sends that to lpr, lp, or another print command.

QPrinter is used in much the same way as QWidget and QPixmap are used. The big difference is that you must keep track of the pages.

QPrinter supports a number of settable parameters, most of which can be changed by the end user when the application calls QPrinter::setup().

The most important parameters are:

- setOrientation() tells QPrinter which page orientation to use (virtual).
- setPageSize() tells QPrinter what page size to expect from the printer.
- setResolution() tells QPrinter what resolution you wish the printer to provide (in dpi).
- setFullPage() tells QPrinter whether you want to deal with the full page or just with the part the printer can draw on. The default is FALSE, so that by default you should be able to paint on (0,0). If TRUE the origin of the coordinate system will be in the top left corner of the paper and most probably the printer will not be able to paint something there due to it's physical margins.
- setNumCopies() tells QPrinter how many copies of the document it should print.
- setMinMax() tells QPrinter and QPrintDialog what the allowed range for fromPage() and toPage() are.

Except where noted, you can only call the set functions before setup(), or between QPainter::end() and setup(). (Some may take effect between setup() and begin(), or between begin() and end(), but that's strictly undocumented and such behaviour may differ depending on platform.)

There are also some settings that the user sets (through the printer dialog) and that applications are expected to obey:

- pageOrder() tells the application program whether to print first-page-first or last-page-first.

- colorMode() tells the application program whether to print in color or grayscale. (If you print in color and the printer does not support color, Qt will try to approximate. The document may take longer to print, but the quality should not be made visibly poorer.)

- fromPage() and toPage() indicate what pages the application program should print.

- paperSource() tells the application progam which paper source to print from.

You can of course call these functions to establish defaults before you ask the user through QPrinter::setup().

Once you start printing, calling newPage() is essential. You will probably also need to look at the QPaintDeviceMetrics for the printer (see the print function in the Application walk-through). Note that the paint device metrics are valid only after the QPrinter has been set up, i.e. after setup() has returned successfully.

If you want to abort the print job, abort() will try its best to stop printing. It may cancel the entire job or just some of it.

If your current locale converts "," to ".", you will need to set a locale that doen't do this (e.g. the "C" locale) before using QPrinter.

The TrueType font embedding for Qt's postscript driver uses code by David Chappell of Trinity College Computing Center.

Copyright 1995, Trinity College Computing Center. Written by David Chappell.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

TrueType font support. These functions allow PPR to generate PostScript fonts from Microsoft compatible TrueType font files.

The functions in this file do most of the work to convert a TrueType font to a type 3 PostScript font.

Most of the material in this file is derived from a program called "ttf2ps" which L. S. Ng posted to the usenet news group "comp.sources.postscript". The author did not provide a copyright notice or indicate any restrictions on use.

Last revised 11 July 1995.

See also Graphics Classes and Image Processing Classes.

## Member Type Documentation

### QPrinter::ColorMode

This enum type is used to indicate whether QPrinter should print in color or not.

- `QPrinter::Color` - print in color if available, otherwise in grayscale.
- `QPrinter::GrayScale` - print in grayscale, even on color printers. Might be a little faster than Color. This is the default.

### QPrinter::Orientation

This enum type (not to be confused with Qt::Orientation) is used to specify each page's orientation.

- `QPrinter::Portrait` - the page's height is greater than its width (the default).
- `QPrinter::Landscape` - the page's width is greater than its height.

This type interacts with QPrinter::PageSize and QPrinter::setFullPage() to determine the final size of the page available to the application.

### QPrinter::PageOrder

This enum type is used by QPrinter to tell the application program how to print.

- `QPrinter::FirstPageFirst` - the lowest-numbered page should be printed first.
- `QPrinter::LastPageFirst` - the highest-numbered page should be printed first.

### QPrinter::PageSize

This enum type specifies what paper size QPrinter should use. QPrinter does not check that the paper size is available; it just uses this information, together with QPrinter::Orientation and QPrinter::setFullPage(), to determine the printable area (see QPaintDeviceMetrics).

The defined sizes (with setFullPage(TRUE)) are:

- `QPrinter::A0` - 841 x 1189 mm
- `QPrinter::A1` - 594 x 841 mm
- `QPrinter::A2` - 420 x 594 mm
- `QPrinter::A3` - 297 x 420 mm
- `QPrinter::A4` - 210 x 297 mm, 8.26 x 11.7 inches
- `QPrinter::A5` - 148 x 210 mm
- `QPrinter::A6` - 105 x 148 mm
- `QPrinter::A7` - 74 x 105 mm
- `QPrinter::A8` - 52 x 74 mm
- `QPrinter::A9` - 37 x 52 mm
- `QPrinter::B0` - 1030 x 1456 mm
- `QPrinter::B1` - 728 x 1030 mm
- `QPrinter::B10` - 32 x 45 mm
- `QPrinter::B2` - 515 x 728 mm
- `QPrinter::B3` - 364 x 515 mm
- `QPrinter::B4` - 257 x 364 mm
- `QPrinter::B5` - 182 x 257 mm, 7.17 x 10.13 inches
- `QPrinter::B6` - 128 x 182 mm
- `QPrinter::B7` - 91 x 128 mm
- `QPrinter::B8` - 64 x 91 mm
- `QPrinter::B9` - 45 x 64 mm
- `QPrinter::C5E` - 163 x 229 mm
- `QPrinter::Comm10E` - 105 x 241 mm, US Common #10 Envelope
- `QPrinter::DLE` - 110 x 220 mm
- `QPrinter::Executive` - 7.5 x 10 inches, 191 x 254 mm
- `QPrinter::Folio` - 210 x 330 mm
- `QPrinter::Ledger` - 432 x 279 mm
- `QPrinter::Legal` - 8.5 x 14 inches, 216 x 356 mm
- `QPrinter::Letter` - 8.5 x 11 inches, 216 x 279 mm
- `QPrinter::Tabloid` - 279 x 432 mm
- `QPrinter::Custom`
- `QPrinter::NPageSize` - (internal)

With setFullPage(FALSE) (the default), the metrics will be a bit smaller; how much depends on the printer in use.

### QPrinter::PaperSource

This enum type specifies what paper source QPrinter is to use. QPrinter does not check that the paper source is available; it just uses this information to try and set the paper source. Whether it will set the paper source depends on whether the printer has that particular source.

Note: this is currently only implemented for Windows.

- `QPrinter::OnlyOne`
- `QPrinter::Lower`
- `QPrinter::Middle`
- `QPrinter::Manual`
- `QPrinter::Envelope`
- `QPrinter::EnvelopeManual`
- `QPrinter::Auto`
- `QPrinter::Tractor`
- `QPrinter::SmallFormat`
- `QPrinter::LargeFormat`
- `QPrinter::LargeCapacity`
- `QPrinter::Cassette`
- `QPrinter::FormSource`

### QPrinter::PrintRange

This enum is used to specify which print range the application should use to print.

- `QPrinter::AllPages` - All pages should be printed
- `QPrinter::Selection` - Only the selection should be printed.
- `QPrinter::PageRange` - From page, to page option.

See also setPrintRange() and printRange().

### QPrinter::PrinterMode

This enum describes the mode the printer should work in. It basically presets a certain resolution and working mode.

- `QPrinter::ScreenResolution` - Sets the resolution of the print device to the screen resolution. This has the big advantage that the results obtained when painting on the printer will match more or less exactly the visible output on the screen. It is the easiest to use, as font metrics on the screen and on the printer are the same. This is the default value. ScreenResolution will produce a lower quality output than HighResolution and should only be used for drafts.
- `QPrinter::PrinterResolution` - Use the physical resolution of the printer on Windows. On Unix, set the postscript resolution to 72 dpi.
- `QPrinter::HighResolution` - Use printer resolution on windows, set the resolution of the postscript driver to 600dpi.
- `QPrinter::Compatible` - Almost the same as PrinterResolution, but keeps some peculiarities of the Qt 2.x printer driver. This is useful for applications ported from Qt 2.x to Qt 3.x.

### QPrinter::PrinterOption

This enum describes various printer options that appear in the printer setup dialog. It is used to enable and disable these options in the setup dialog.

- `QPrinter::PrintToFile` - Describes if print to file should be enabled.
- `QPrinter::PrintSelection` - Describes if printing selections should be enabled.
- `QPrinter::PrintPageRange` - Describes if printing page ranges (from, to) should be enabled

See also setOptionEnabled() and isOptionEnabled().

## Member Function Documentation

### QPrinter::QPrinter ( PrinterMode m = ScreenResolution )

Constructs a printer paint device with mode m.

See also QPrinter::PrinterMode.

### QPrinter::~QPrinter ()

Destroys the printer paint device and cleans up.

### bool QPrinter::abort ()

Aborts the print job. Returns TRUE if successful; otherwise returns FALSE.

See also aborted().

### bool QPrinter::aborted () const

Returns TRUE if the print job was aborted; otherwise returns FALSE.

See also abort().

### ColorMode QPrinter::colorMode () const

Returns the current color mode. The default color mode is Color.

See also setColorMode().

### QString QPrinter::creator () const

Returns the name of the application that created the document.

See also setCreator().

### QString QPrinter::docName () const

Returns the document name.

See also setDocName().

### int QPrinter::fromPage () const

Returns the from-page setting. The default value is 0.

If fromPage() and toPage() both return 0 this signifies 'print the whole document'.

The programmer is responsible for reading this setting and printing accordingly.

See also setFromTo() and toPage().

### bool QPrinter::fullPage () const

Returns TRUE if the origin of the printer's coordinate system is at the corner of the sheet and FALSE if it is at the edge of the printable area.

See setFullPage() for details and caveats.

See also setFullPage(), PageSize, and QPaintDeviceMetrics.

### bool QPrinter::isOptionEnabled ( PrinterOption option )

Returns TRUE if the printer option with identifier option is enabled; otherwise returns FALSE.

See also setOptionEnabled().

### QSize QPrinter::margins () const

Returns the width of the left margin and the height of the top margin of the printer. On Unix, this is a best-effort guess, not based on perfect knowledge.

If you have called setFullPage( TRUE ), margins().width() may be treated as the smallest sane left margin you can use, and margins().height() as the smallest sane top margin you can use.

If you have called setFullPage( FALSE ) (this is the default), margins() is automatically subtracted from the pageSize() by QPrinter.

See also setFullPage(), QPaintDeviceMetrics, and PageSize.

### void QPrinter::margins ( uint * top, uint * left, uint * bottom, uint * right ) const

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Sets top, left, bottom and right to the margins of the printer. On Unix, this is a best-effort guess, not based on perfect knowledge.

If you have called setFullPage( TRUE ), the four values specify the smallest sane margins you can use.

If you have called setFullPage( FALSE ) (this is the default), the margins are automatically subtracted from the pageSize() by QPrinter.

See also setFullPage(), QPaintDeviceMetrics, and PageSize.

### int QPrinter::maxPage () const

Returns the max-page setting. A user can't choose a higher page number than maxPage() when they select a print range. The default value is 0.

See also minPage(), setMinMax(), and setFromTo().

### int QPrinter::minPage () const

Returns the min-page setting, i.e. the lowest page number a user is allowed to choose. The default value is 0.

See also maxPage(), setMinMax(), and setFromTo().

### bool QPrinter::newPage ()

Advances to a new page on the printer. Returns TRUE if successful; otherwise returns FALSE.

Examples: action/application.cpp, application/application.cpp, helpviewer/helpwindow.cpp, and mdi/application.cpp.

### int QPrinter::numCopies () const

Returns the number of copies to be printed. The default value is 1.

After a call to setup(), this value will return the number of times the application is required to print in order to match the number specified in the printer setup dialog. This has been done since some printer drivers are not capable of buffering up the copies and the application in those cases have to make an explicit call to the print code for each copy.

See also setNumCopies().

### Orientation QPrinter::orientation () const

Returns the orientation setting. The default value is QPrinter::Portrait.

See also setOrientation().

### QString QPrinter::outputFileName () const

Returns the name of the output file. There is no default file name.

See also setOutputFileName() and setOutputToFile().

### bool QPrinter::outputToFile () const

Returns TRUE if the output should be written to a file, or FALSE if the output should be sent directly to the printer. The default setting is FALSE.

This function is currently only supported under X11 and Mac OS X.

See also setOutputToFile() and setOutputFileName().

### PageOrder QPrinter::pageOrder () const

Returns the current page order.

The default page order is FirstPageFirst.

Bugs and limitations:

- This value is not kept in sync with the Windows or Mac OS X printer dialogs.

### PageSize QPrinter::pageSize () const

Returns the printer page size. The default value is system-dependent.

See also setPageSize().

### PaperSource QPrinter::paperSource () const

Returns the currently set paper source of the printer.

See also setPaperSource().

### QString QPrinter::printProgram () const

Returns the name of the program that sends the print output to the printer.

The default is to return a null string; meaning that QPrinter will try to be smart in a system-dependent way. On X11 only, you can set it to something different to use a specific print program.

On Windows, this function returns the name of the printer device driver.

See also setPrintProgram() and setPrinterSelectionOption().

### PrintRange QPrinter::printRange () const

Returns the PageRange of the QPrinter. After the print setup dialog has been opened, this function returns the value selected by the user.

See also setPrintRange().

### QString QPrinter::printerName () const

Returns the printer name. This value is initially set to the name of the default printer.

See also setPrinterName().

### QString QPrinter::printerSelectionOption () const

Returns the printer options selection string. This is useful only if the print command has been explicitly set.

The default value (a null string) implies that the printer should be selected in a system-dependent manner.

Any other value implies that the given value should be used.

See also setPrinterSelectionOption().

### int QPrinter::resolution () const`[virtual]`

Returns the current assumed resolution of the printer, as set by setResolution() or by the printer subsystem.

See also setResolution().

### void QPrinter::setColorMode ( ColorMode newColorMode )`[virtual]`

Sets the printer's color mode to newColorMode, which can be either Color or GrayScale (the default).

See also colorMode().

### void QPrinter::setCreator ( const QString & creator )`[virtual]`

Sets the name of the application that created the document to creator.

This function is only applicable to the X11 version of Qt. If no creator name is specified, the creator will be set to "Qt" followed by some version number.

See also creator().

### void QPrinter::setDocName ( const QString & name )`[virtual]`

Sets the document name to name.

### void QPrinter::setFromTo ( int fromPage, int toPage )`[virtual]`

Sets the from-page and to-page settings to fromPage and toPage respectively.

The from-page and to-page settings specify what pages to print.

If fromPage() and toPage() both return 0 this signifies 'print the whole document'.

This function is useful mostly to set a default value that the user can override in the print dialog when you call setup().

See also fromPage(), toPage(), setMinMax(), and setup().

### void QPrinter::setFullPage ( bool fp )`[virtual]`

Sets QPrinter to have the origin of the coordinate system at the top-left corner of the paper if fp is TRUE, or where it thinks the top-left corner of the printable area is if fp is FALSE.

The default is FALSE. You can (probably) print on (0,0), and QPaintDeviceMetrics will report something smaller than the size indicated by PageSize. (Note that QPrinter may be wrong on Unix systems - it does not have perfect knowledge of the physical printer.)

If you set fp to TRUE, QPaintDeviceMetrics will report the exact same size as indicated by PageSize, but you cannot print on all of that - you must take care of the output margins yourself.

See also PageSize, setPageSize(), QPaintDeviceMetrics, and fullPage().

Examples: action/application.cpp, application/application.cpp, helpviewer/helpwindow.cpp, and mdi/application.cpp.

### void QPrinter::setMargins ( uint top, uint left, uint bottom, uint right )

Sets the printer margins to the sizes specified in top, left, bottom and right.

This function currently only has an effect on Unix systems.

See also margins().

### void QPrinter::setMinMax ( int minPage, int maxPage )`[virtual]`

Sets the min-page and max-page settings to minPage and maxPage respectively.

The min-page and max-page restrict the from-page and to-page settings. When the printer setup dialog appears, the user cannot select a from page or a to page that are outside the range specified by min and max pages.

See also minPage(), maxPage(), setFromTo(), and setup().

### void QPrinter::setNumCopies ( int numCopies )`[virtual]`

Sets the number of copies to be printed to numCopies.

The printer driver reads this setting and prints the specified number of copies.

See also numCopies() and setup().

### void QPrinter::setOptionEnabled ( PrinterOption option, bool enable )

Enables the printer option with the identifier option if enable is TRUE, and disables option option if enable is FALSE.

See also isOptionEnabled().

### void QPrinter::setOrientation ( Orientation orientation )`[virtual]`

Sets the print orientation to orientation.

The orientation can be either QPrinter::Portrait or QPrinter::Landscape.

The printer driver reads this setting and prints using the specified orientation. On Windows this setting won't take effect until the printer dialog is shown (using QPrinter::setup()).

Windows only! This option can be changed while printing and will take effect from the next call to newPage()

See also orientation().

### void QPrinter::setOutputFileName ( const QString & fileName )`[virtual]`

Sets the name of the output file to fileName.

Setting a null or empty name (0 or "") disables output to a file, i.e. calls setOutputToFile(FALSE). Setting a non-empty name enables output to a file, i.e. calls setOutputToFile(TRUE).

This function is currently only supported under X11.

See also outputFileName() and setOutputToFile().

### void QPrinter::setOutputToFile ( bool enable )`[virtual]`

Specifies whether the output should be written to a file or sent directly to the printer.

Will output to a file if enable is TRUE, or will output directly to the printer if enable is FALSE.

This function is currently only supported under X11 and Mac OS X.

See also outputToFile() and setOutputFileName().

### void QPrinter::setPageOrder ( PageOrder newPageOrder )`[virtual]`

Sets the page order to newPageOrder.

The page order can be QPrinter::FirstPageFirst or QPrinter::LastPageFirst. The application programmer is responsible for reading the page order and printing accordingly.

This function is useful mostly for setting a default value that the user can override in the print dialog when you call setup().

Bugs and limitations:

- This value is not kept in sync with the Windows or Mac OS X printer dialogs.

### void QPrinter::setPageSize ( PageSize newPageSize )`[virtual]`

Sets the printer page size to newPageSize if that size is supported. The result if undefined if newPageSize is not supported.

The default page size is system-dependent.

This function is useful mostly for setting a default value that the user can override in the print dialog when you call setup().

See also pageSize(), PageSize, setFullPage(), and setResolution().

### void QPrinter::setPaperSource ( PaperSource source )`[virtual]`

Sets the paper source setting to source.

Windows only! This option can be changed while printing and will take effect from the next call to newPage()

See also paperSource().

### void QPrinter::setPrintProgram ( const QString & printProg )`[virtual]`

Sets the name of the program that should do the print job to printProg.

On X11, this function sets the program to call with the PostScript output. On other platforms, it has no effect.

See also printProgram().

### void QPrinter::setPrintRange ( PrintRange range )

Sets the default selected page range to be used when the print setup dialog is opened to range. If the PageRange specified by range is currently disabled the function does nothing.

See also printRange().

### void QPrinter::setPrinterName ( const QString & name )`[virtual]`

Sets the printer name to name.

The default printer will be used if no printer name is set.

Under X11, the `PRINTER` environment variable defines the default printer. Under any other window system, the window system defines the default printer.

See also printerName().

### void QPrinter::setPrinterSelectionOption ( const QString & option )`[virtual]`

Sets the printer to use option to select the printer. option is null by default (which implies that Qt should be smart enough to guess correctly), but it can be set to other values to use a specific printer selection option.

If the printer selection option is changed while the printer is active, the current print job may or may not be affected.

See also printerSelectionOption().

### void QPrinter::setResolution ( int dpi )`[virtual]`

Requests that the printer prints at dpi or as near to dpi as possible.

This setting affects the coordinate system as returned by, for example, QPaintDeviceMetrics and QPainter::viewport().

The value depends on the `PrintingMode` used in the QPrinter constructor. By default, the dpi value of the screen is used.

This function must be called before setup() to have an effect on all platforms.

See also resolution() and setPageSize().

### void QPrinter::setWinPageSize ( short winPageSize )

Windows only, using this function is not portable! Sets the windows page size value that is used by the `DEVMODE` struct. The winPageSize value must be one of the DMPAPER_ defines from wingdi.h.

### bool QPrinter::setup ( QWidget * parent = 0 )

Opens a printer setup dialog, with parent parent, and asks the user to specify which printer they wish to use and what settings it should have.

Returns TRUE if the user pressed "OK" to print, or FALSE if the user canceled the operation.

Examples: action/application.cpp, application/application.cpp, drawdemo/drawdemo.cpp, helpviewer/helpwindow.cpp, and mdi/application.cpp.

### int QPrinter::toPage () const

Returns the to-page setting. The default value is 0.

If fromPage() and toPage() both return 0 this signifies 'print the whole document'.

The programmer is responsible for reading this setting and printing accordingly.

See also setFromTo() and fromPage().

### short QPrinter::winPageSize () const

Returns the Windows page size value as used by the `DEVMODE` struct (Windows only). Using this function is not portable.

Use pageSize() to get the PageSize, e.g. 'A4', 'Letter', etc.

This file is part of the Qt toolkit. Copyright © 1995-2004 Trolltech. All Rights Reserved.