Control printer page size from javascript

JavaScript
1

Hi all
I’m battling to print labels on a dot matrix printer. The available page sizes are all bigger than a single label and I can’t make custom page sizes on this printer (panasonic KX-P1150). Whenever I print a label, the printer form feeds the label paper and does not stop after the label. I have googled and see that printer comands can be send directly to the printer with ActiveX controls from inside a javascript but the only examples I found changed the orientation etc. None changed the page size or disabled the form feed.

Can anybody help me with the correct comands or example?

Thanks

2

The page size needs to be set up for the printer in the operating system. Only its orientation can be changed in the browser settings. Nothing about it can be altered by a web page as the page has no way of telling if there is a printer.

3

In the files that came with the printer driver I found the following snippet, unfortunately without any instructions of how to work with it:

<PAGE LENGTH (INCHES)>
Sets page length in inches.

Name:   ESC 	C   	0   	n	(~n = 1 to 22~)DEC
Dec.:   27  	     67  	0   	n
Hex.:   1B  	     43  	00  	n

Comments:
*Upon receipt of ESC+C+0+n, the present line position becomes
 the top of form position.

I just don’t know what to do with this information and how to send it to the printer. I tried to change the settings through a generic driver, sending the Hex.:“<1B><C><0><1>” but this did not work consistently and did not do what I intendet. I also tried “ESC+C+0+1”, “95” and other variations. Thats when I looked for other ways and what I have found are functions like:


function custom_print() {
 if (document.all) {
  if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("5.0") == -1) {
   var OLECMDID_PRINT = 6;
   var OLECMDEXECOPT_DONTPROMPTUSER = 2;
   var WebBrowser = '<OBJECT ID=\\"WebBrowser1\\" WIDTH=0 HEIGHT=0 CLASSID=\\"CLSID:8856F961-340A-11D0-A96B-00C04FD705A2\\"></OBJECT>';
   document.body.insertAdjacentHTML("beforeEnd", WebBrowser);
   WebBrowser1.ExecWB(OLECMDID_PRINT, OLECMDEXECOPT_DONTPROMPTUSER, 1);
   WebBrowser1.outerHTML = "";
  } else {
   self.print();
  }
 } else {
   WebBrowser1.IOleCommandTarget.Exec(OLECMDID_PRINT ,OLECMDEXECOPT_DONTPROMPTUSER,1,"","");
   WebBrowser1.outerHTML = "";
 }
}

This is supposed to print the page without any prompt from the user. (Strangely this only works with the VB version but not the javascript version)

Or this code wich sets the margins and orientation:


var shell = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
function SetPrintProperties() {
  try {
    window.setTimeout("javascript:shell.SendKeys('%fu');",1000);
    window.setTimeout("javascript:SetPaper();", 1000);
  } catch (e) {
    alert ("An exception occured: " + e + "\
Code is: " + e.number + "\
Description is: " + e.description);
    alert('Please verify that your print settings have a Landscape orientation and minimum margins.');
  }
}

function SetPaper() {
  shell.sendKeys("%a{TAB}.2{TAB}0{TAB}0{TAB}0{ENTER}");
}

or this setting the header and footer:


var HKEY_Root, HKEY_Path, HKEY_Key;
HKEY_Root = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER";
HKEY_Path = "\\\\Software\\\\Microsoft\\\\Internet Explorer\\\\PageSetup\\\\";
// Set the page footer to print the header is empty
function PageSetup_Null (){
  try{
    var Wsh = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
    HKEY_Key = "header";
    Wsh.RegWrite (HKEY_Root + HKEY_Path + HKEY_Key ,"");
    HKEY_Key = "footer";
    Wsh.RegWrite (HKEY_Root + HKEY_Path + HKEY_Key ,"");
  }catch (e) {}
}
// Set the page footer to print the header for the default value
function PageSetup_Default (){
  try{
    var Wsh = new ActiveXObject ( "WScript.Shell");
    HKEY_Key = "header";
    Wsh.RegWrite (HKEY_Root + HKEY_Path + HKEY_Key, "& w & b on page 00 yards, & p / & P");
    HKEY_Key = "footer";
    Wsh.RegWrite (HKEY_Root + HKEY_Path + HKEY_Key, "& u & b & d");
  }
  catch (e) {}
}

So there is some way of influencing the printer, I just can’t figure out how to tell it what I want it to do but I am sure that there must be a way.

My page will not be public but just on the pc connected to the printer so I could make it a .hta page to loosen the security constrains.

4

Sounds like you have a choice of JScript or VBScript since Internet Explorer doesn’t run JavaScript (it just treats it as JScript since for the most part JavaScript is a subset of JScript).

5

Thats interesting. I did not know that. But I’m not bound to Explorer, is there a solution for Firefox? I would prefer to use Firefox anyway.

I will only be using this on the pc thats connected to the printer so the page would not be public. If I have to stick to Explorer I could even turn it into a .hta application to loosen the security. I would even do it directly from Excel or Word if I have to and if they could do it but I would prefer to do it from a browser.

Whichever way, I still need to find out how to talk to the printer and surely it must be possible, why else would they give the Hex codes?

6

Firefox can only run JavaScript and JavaScript is far more limited than JScript in what it can do. While there might be a way to uise Internet Explorer/JScript with its hooks deep into Windows, there is less likely to be any way you are going to be able to do it with any other browser.

7

Ok, thanks for the replies. My JScript is very rusty but I’ll try to find a solution that way. If I do, I will post it here for reference.

Thanks again

cheers