Introduction

In this arcticle you will learn about the PrintDocument Control, PictureBox Control and OpenFileDialog Class in a Windows Forms application.

PrintDocument Control

The PrintDocument class defines a reusable object that sends output to a printer. When printing from a Windows Forms application the PrintDocument class has the "print" method for starting the document printing process.

PictureBox Control

The "PictureBox" Control is generally used to display an image in a Windows Forms application. The Image can be of any type, like jpg, jpeg, .png, bitmap and so on. The "PictureBox" control is a control of the PictureBox class.

OpenFileDialog Class

The "OpenFileDialog" class allows us to browse the folders and to select files. You can browse and select the files from the Windows dialog box. This class has the "Filter" property in which you can filter string that determines what types of the files are displayed. The asterisk (*) indicates a wildcard, with an extension you can filter by a file type. For exam

opnfiledlg.Filter <- "JPEG Images (*.jpg,*.jpeg)|*.jpg;*.jpeg|Image Files (*.gif)|*.gif"

Now I will show you how to use a PrindtDocument control in a Windows Forms application. Use the following procedure to create the sample.

Step 1:

Open Visual Studio then select "Create New Project" --> "F# Console Application".

CreateApplication

Step 2:

Now go the Solution Explorer on the right side of the application. Right-click on "References" and select "Add references".

SelectReferences


AddReferences

Step 3:

After selecting "Add References", in the framework template you need to select "System.Windows.Forms" and "System.Drawing" while holding down the Ctrl key and click on "Ok."

ImportNamespaces

Step 4:

Use the following code that shows how to use a PrintDocument Control in a Windows Forms application.

open System

open System.Windows.Forms

open System.ComponentModel

open System.Drawing

open System.Drawing.Printing

open System.Drawing.Imaging

let loadimgform = new Form(Text="Printing Documents")

loadimgform.BackColor<-Color.Cornsilk

let picbox=new PictureBox(SizeMode=PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage,Top=40,Left=320,Height=200,Width=300,BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)

let lblfilename=new Label(AutoSize=true,Top=240,Width=400,Left=320,BorderStyle=BorderStyle.FixedSingle)

let printbtn=new Button(Text="Print",Top=270,Left=70)

printbtn.BackColor<-Color.Ivory

printbtn.ForeColor<-Color.Brown

let loadbtn=new Button(Text="Load",Top=270,Left=150)

loadbtn.BackColor<-Color.Ivory

loadbtn.ForeColor<-Color.Brown

let exitbtn=new Button(Text="Exit",Top=270,Left=230)

exitbtn.BackColor<-Color.Ivory

exitbtn.ForeColor<-Color.Red

let opnfiledlg=new OpenFileDialog()

let gr=loadimgform.CreateGraphics()

let prndoc=new System.Drawing.Printing.PrintDocument()

loadimgform .Controls.Add(picbox)

loadimgform.Controls.Add(loadbtn)

loadimgform.Controls.Add(lblfilename)

loadimgform.Controls.Add(printbtn)

loadimgform.Controls.Add(exitbtn)

printbtn.Click.Add(fun printing->prndoc.Print())

loadbtn.Click.Add(fun load->

opnfiledlg.Filter <- "JPEG Images (*.jpg,*.jpeg)|*.jpg;*.jpeg|Image Files (*.gif)|*.gif"

opnfiledlg.Title<-"Choose Image File"

if opnfiledlg.ShowDialog()=DialogResult.OK then

let bmp=new System.Drawing.Bitmap(opnfiledlg.FileName)

bmp.RotateFlip(RotateFlipType.RotateNoneFlipNone)

picbox.Image<-bmp

lblfilename.Text<-"\t\tFilename:" + Convert.ToString(Convert.ToChar(32))+ (opnfiledlg.FileName))

prndoc.PrintPage.Add(fun printdata->gr.DrawImage(picbox.Image,10,10))

exitbtn.Click.Add(fun quit->loadimgform.Close())

[<STAThread>]

Application.Run(loadimgform)

Step 5 :

Debug the application by pressing F5 to execute the Windows Forms application. After debugging the application the output will be as in the following figure:

AfterDebug

Step 6 :

Now click on the Load Button to retrieve the file in the PictureBox Control as in the following figure:

ClickOnLoadButton

Now select a file.

LoadImage

Step 7 :

The Image file is loaded in the Windows Forms form; now click on the "Print" Button as in the following figure:

ClickOnPrintButton

Now save the file in ".xps" format.

fSaveFileInxpsFormat

Step 8 :

The selected file is printed in the Windows Forms form as in the following figure:

PrintImage

Summary

In this article you have learned about the PrintDocument Control, PictureBox Control and OpenFileDialog Class and you saw how to print an image from the Windows Forms application.