Print Reports

When you print a report, the report data is first sent to the report generator and then to the printer. You can also preview the report before you actually print it.

This section mainly describes desktop printing, including how to use print methods in desktop viewers and how to print reports on a single page. Printing in JSViewer is handled through PDF export and is documented separately.

ActiveReports provides extensive printing options for Page/RDLX reports and Section reports. This section focuses on the printing systems and their configuration.

When using the GDI printing system, printing is performed through the PrintDocument Class (System.Drawing.Printing) pipeline.

Supported Printing Systems

ActiveReports 20 introduces support for two printing pipelines:

Direct2D Printing

Used by default for:

• Page/RDLX reports

• Section reports running in CrossPlatform compatibility mode

Benefits:

• Faster rendering

• Better text output quality

Limitations:

• Does not support Section Reports running in GDI compatibility mode.

• Does not expose GDI-specific printer APIs.

GDI Printing

Use this mode when your application requires:

• PrinterSettings.PrinterResolutions

• PrintDocument.QueryPageSettings

• Other GDI-specific events or customization

GDI printing is considered legacy and is disabled unless explicitly enabled in the configuration file.

To enable GDI printing:

<Configuration>
    <ActiveReportsConfig.Desktop>
        <Settings>
            <add key="Viewer.PrintingSystem" value="GDI" />
        </Settings>
    </ActiveReportsConfig.Desktop>
</Configuration>

Available values:

• Auto – default behavior

• Direct2D – force new system

• GDI – required for apps that rely on GDI-only settings

Breaking Changes

Direct2D printing does not use GDI printers; therefore the following APIs will not work unless printing is forced to GDI:

• PrinterSettings.PrinterResolutions

• PrintDocument.QueryPageSettings

• Other GDI-only properties or events

To restore compatibility:

<Configuration>
    <ActiveReportsConfig.Desktop>
        <Settings>
            <add key="Viewer.PrintingSystem" value="GDI" />
        </Settings>
    </ActiveReportsConfig.Desktop>
</Configuration>

See Also

Print using Print Methods

Print Reports on a Single Page

Print in Js Viewer