Hi Terry,



So as not to waste your time with finding and uploading the code, I want to verify that what I'm attempting to do will actually be possible. I have one last question I need answered beforehand. Thank you very, very much for your offer. If we can move forward and your code might help, I'll definitely let you know. Thank you so much.




Brendon Kozlowski
Web Administrator
Saratoga Springs Public Library
49 Henry Street
Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866
[518] 584-7860 x217

Please consider the environment before printing this message.

________________________________
From: Reese, Terry [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 4:40 PM
To: Kozlowski,Brendon
Subject: RE: [CODE4LIB] Silently print (no GUI) in Windows

Brendon,

I was able to Remote Desktop into my machine to look and see how the old print tool worked.  So, it might not do exactly what you are looking for -- it’s not completely GUI-less in that some applications will quickly flash a light-weight GUI, print, then close.

Essentially, in C#, you create a process and pass a windows style of hidden (which makes the process GUI-less or I should say, requests that the process be GUI-less, but then it’s up to the application to decide if that’s the case or not.  Some programs ignore it, some programs don’t.  Word for example will open a lite-weight (no addins, print dialog only) version of the application, then close.  Other programs like Adobe change behavior based on version.  Foxit (another PDF program) seems to honor the gui-less print.

Anyway, I have a small app that allows you to set a folder and then it is watched and tries to print content in the folder ever 5 minutes (though you could change that number).  Seems to work pretty well for what I had used it for in the past, but depending on your need, it might not work for you.

If you’d like to see how it works, let me know.  I can likely move the source to github tomorrow when I get back into Corvallis.

--TR

Sent from my Windows 8 PC<http://windows.microsoft.com/consumer-preview>

From: Kozlowski,Brendon
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 11:49:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Silently print (no GUI) in Windows

Not a dumb question at all. In this particular case, the receiving PC that is to be storing/printing the documents will be taking jobs from multiple networks, buildings, etc by either piping an email account, or downloading via a user's upload from a webpage. We already have a solution for catching jobs in the print spooler (not ours), but need to automate the sending of the documents to the spooler itself.

The only way I've ever sent documents to the spooler was by opening up the full application (ex: Microsoft Word), and using the GUI to send the print job. Since the PC housing and releasing these files is expected to be un-manned and sit in a back room, we just need to be able to silently print the jobs in the background. Opening multiple applications over and over again would use up a lot of resources, so a silent, no-GUI option would be the best from my very little understanding - if it's even possible.



Brendon Kozlowski
Web Administrator
Saratoga Springs Public Library
49 Henry Street
Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866
[518] 584-7860 x217
________________________________________
From: Code for Libraries [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Kyle Banerjee [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 1:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Silently print (no GUI) in Windows

At the risk of asking a dumb question, why wouldn't a print server meet
your use case if the print jobs come from elsewhere?

kyle

On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Kozlowski,Brendon <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> I'm curious to know if anyone has discovered ways of silently printing
> documents from such Windows applications as:
>
>
>
> - Acrobat Reader (current version)
>
> - Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio, etc...)
>
> - Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
>
>
>
> I unfortunately haven't had much luck finding any resources on this.
>
>
>
> I'd like to be able to receive documents in a queue like fashion to a
> single PC and simply print them off as they arrive. However, automating the
> loading/exiting of the full-blown application each time, and on-demand,
> seems a little too cumbersome and unnecessary.
>
>
>
> I have not yet decided on whether I'd be scripting it (PHP, AutoIT, batch
> files, VBS, Powershell, etc...) or learning and then writing a .NET
> application. If .NET solutions use the COM object, the scripting becomes a
> potential candidate. Unfortunately I need to know how, or even if, it's
> even possible to do first.
>
>
>
> Thank you for any and all feedback or assistance.
>
>
>
>
> Brendon Kozlowski
> Web Administrator
> Saratoga Springs Public Library
> 49 Henry Street
> Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866
> [518] 584-7860 x217
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this message.
>
> To report this message as spam, offensive, or if you feel you have
> received this in error,
> please send e-mail to [log in to unmask] including the entire contents and
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> It will be reviewed by staff and acted upon appropriately.
>



--
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Kyle Banerjee
Digital Services Program Manager
Orbis Cascade Alliance
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