# Printing and Print Preview > Print from a Windows Forms TextControl: Print and PrintPreview overloads, a PrintDialog with page ranges, single pages from PrintPage and the FormattingPrinter. - **Product:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms > Document Editor > Printing and Print Preview - **3046 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/printing/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/printing/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/printing/llms-full.txt --- The Windows Forms `TextControl` prints with the printing classes of .NET: the standard print dialog, a print preview and a `PrintDocument` that carries the printer, the pages and the copies. [Print a Document](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-processing/print/llms-full.txt) is the quick start. What follows goes further: print dialogs with page ranges, previews with settings, single pages printed from your own `PrintDocument`, and documents whose protection forbids printing. The handlers go into *Form1.cs* of a form with a `TextControl` named `textControl1`, like the one of [Create Your First Windows Forms Application](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-editor/first-application/llms-full.txt), and need `using System.Drawing.Printing;` besides `using TXTextControl;`. ### The Print Methods [Print](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/print-method/llms-full.txt) and [PrintPreview](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/printpreview-method/llms-full.txt) have these overloads: | Call | Result | |---|---| | `Print(string docName)` | Opens the standard print dialog and prints with the settings the user chooses | | `Print(PrintDocument printDocument)` | Prints without a dialog, with the settings of the `PrintDocument` | | `Print(int page, PrintPageEventArgs ppe)` | Prints one page, from the `PrintPage` event of a `PrintDocument` | | `PrintPreview(string docName)` | Shows a print preview of the document | | `PrintPreview(PrintDocument printDocument)` | Shows a print preview with the settings of the `PrintDocument` | Which settings of a `PrintDocument` TX Text Control uses, such as the printer, the copies and a page range with `PrintRange.SomePages`, is listed in [Printing](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/printing/#how-printing-works). ### Let the User Choose the Pages `Print(string)` opens a print dialog of its own. To offer the current page as well, open the `PrintDialog` of Windows Forms with a `PrintDocument` and print with its settings: ```csharp private void printButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { if (!textControl1.CanPrint) { MessageBox.Show("This document cannot be printed."); return; } using (PrintDocument printDocument = new PrintDocument()) using (PrintDialog printDialog = new PrintDialog()) { printDocument.DocumentName = "My Document"; // Pages the user can enter in the dialog printDocument.PrinterSettings.MinimumPage = 1; printDocument.PrinterSettings.MaximumPage = textControl1.Pages; printDocument.PrinterSettings.FromPage = 1; printDocument.PrinterSettings.ToPage = textControl1.Pages; printDialog.Document = printDocument; printDialog.AllowSomePages = true; printDialog.AllowCurrentPage = true; if (printDialog.ShowDialog(this) != DialogResult.OK) { return; } // Translate "Current Page" into a page range if (printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrintRange == PrintRange.CurrentPage) { int currentPage = textControl1.InputPosition.Page; printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrintRange = PrintRange.SomePages; printDocument.PrinterSettings.FromPage = currentPage; printDocument.PrinterSettings.ToPage = currentPage; } textControl1.Print(printDocument); } } ``` The code works as follows: - [CanPrint](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/canprint-property/llms-full.txt) is `false` when the document is protected and its [AllowPrinting](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/documentpermissions/allowprinting-property/llms-full.txt) permission is turned off; see [Document Protection and Editable Regions](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/protection/llms-full.txt). - [Pages](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/pages-property/llms-full.txt) is the number of pages, which limits the page numbers of the dialog. - The dialog writes the choices of the user into the `PrinterSettings` of the `PrintDocument`: the printer, the copies, the page range. - `PrintRange.CurrentPage` is turned into the range of the page with the input position, [InputPosition.Page](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/inputposition/page-property/llms-full.txt), which is available in page view. ### Show a Print Preview `PrintPreview` shows a preview of the document as it will be printed. With a `PrintDocument`, the preview uses its settings, for example a page range: ```csharp private void previewButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { using (PrintDocument printDocument = new PrintDocument()) { printDocument.DocumentName = "My Document"; // Preview the first two pages only printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrintRange = PrintRange.SomePages; printDocument.PrinterSettings.FromPage = 1; printDocument.PrinterSettings.ToPage = Math.Min(2, textControl1.Pages); textControl1.PrintPreview(printDocument); } } ``` ### Print Pages From Your Own PrintDocument `Print(int page, PrintPageEventArgs ppe)` renders one page of the document onto the page that a `PrintDocument` is printing. Your code handles the `PrintPage` event and decides which page of the document goes where. The following code prints the page with the input position: ```csharp private int pageToPrint; private void printCurrentPageButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pageToPrint = textControl1.InputPosition.Page; using (PrintDocument printDocument = new PrintDocument()) { printDocument.DocumentName = "Current page"; printDocument.PrintPage += PrintDocument_PrintPage; printDocument.Print(); } } private void PrintDocument_PrintPage(object sender, PrintPageEventArgs e) { // Render the page of the document on the printed page textControl1.Print(pageToPrint, e); // One sheet only e.HasMorePages = false; } ``` `PrintDocument.Print` starts the print job, .NET raises `PrintPage` for each sheet, and `textControl1.Print(pageToPrint, e)` draws the page with the given number, counted from 1. `HasMorePages` set to `false` ends the job after one sheet. [Printing](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/printing/#print-several-documents-in-one-print-job) uses the same overload to print several pages and documents in one print job, or to draw your own content under a page. ### Print Exactly What the Screen Shows TX Text Control formats a document with the text dimensions of a printer, which [FormattingPrinter](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/formattingprinter-property/llms-full.txt) names, so that lines and pages break on paper as on the screen when the document is printed on that printer. [Printing](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/printing/#choose-the-formatting-printer) lists its values. The paper sizes that the editor supports depend on the formatting printer as well. [GetSupportedPaperSizes](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/textcontrol/getsupportedpapersizes-method/llms-full.txt) returns them as an array of [PaperSize](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/reference/txtextcontrol/papersize/llms-full.txt) objects, each with a name and a width and height in twips, or `null` while the control isn't completely initialized: ```csharp private void paperSizesButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { System.Text.StringBuilder list = new System.Text.StringBuilder(); // TXTextControl.PaperSize, not System.Drawing.Printing.PaperSize TXTextControl.PaperSize[] paperSizes = textControl1.GetSupportedPaperSizes(); foreach (TXTextControl.PaperSize paperSize in paperSizes ?? new TXTextControl.PaperSize[0]) { // Width and Height are in twips; 1 inch is 1440 twips list.AppendLine($"{paperSize.Name}: {paperSize.Width / 1440.0:0.##} x {paperSize.Height / 1440.0:0.##} in"); } MessageBox.Show(list.ToString(), "Paper sizes"); } ``` ### Next Steps - [Print a Document](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-processing/print/llms-full.txt): the first steps of printing, and printing files with `ServerTextControl`. - [Printing](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-processing/printing/llms-full.txt): printing documents in code, without the editor. - [Viewing, Zooming, and Navigation](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/viewing/llms-full.txt): the page view and the input position that printing relies on. - [Document Protection and Editable Regions](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/protection/llms-full.txt): documents that may not be printed. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Viewing, Zooming, and Navigation](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/viewing/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Ribbon and UI](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/llms-full.txt)