Printing a scroll-able windows form. [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How can I take a screenshot of a Winforms control/form in C#?

I have a windows form with a list of names and pictures. The list is long and so there is a scroll panel for it. Now, I would like to print this form but I can't because the the print function only prints the "visible" portion since the invisible portion is seen when you scroll down. So, is there a way to print the whole form at once?

Answer 1

Look for the Print form control in the Visual Basic PowerPacks toolbox

To print the complete client area of a scrollable form try this...

1.In the Toolbox, click the Visual Basic PowerPacks tab and then drag the PrintForm component onto the form.

The PrintForm component will be added to the component tray.

2.In the Properties window, set the PrintAction property to PrintToPrinter.

3.Add the following code in the appropriate event handler (for example, in the Click event handler for a Print Button).

1.PrintForm1.Print(Me, PowerPacks.Printing.PrintForm.PrintOption.Scrollable)

Give this a shot and let me know how it works out for you.

Answer 2

This is not exactly a complete answer, but here is a piece of code that takes a screenshot (a bitmap) of a scrollable Panel control on a Form. The big drawback is the screen flickers while the screenshot is taken. I have tested it on simple apps, so it may not work in all cases, but that could be a start.

Here is how to use it:

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent(); // create a scrollable panel1 component
    }

    private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        TakeScreenshot(panel1, "C:\\mypanel.bmp");
    }
}

And here is the utility:

    public static void TakeScreenshot(Panel panel, string filePath)
    {
        if (panel == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("panel");

        if (filePath == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("filePath");

        // get parent form (may not be a direct parent)
        Form form = panel.FindForm();
        if (form == null)
            throw new ArgumentException(null, "panel");

        // remember form position
        int w = form.Width;
        int h = form.Height;
        int l = form.Left;
        int t = form.Top;

        // get panel virtual size
        Rectangle display = panel.DisplayRectangle;

        // get panel position relative to parent form
        Point panelLocation = panel.PointToScreen(panel.Location);
        Size panelPosition = new Size(panelLocation.X - form.Location.X, panelLocation.Y - form.Location.Y);

        // resize form and move it outside the screen
        int neededWidth = panelPosition.Width + display.Width;
        int neededHeight = panelPosition.Height + display.Height;
        form.SetBounds(0, -neededHeight, neededWidth, neededHeight, BoundsSpecified.All);

        // resize panel (useless if panel has a dock)
        int pw = panel.Width;
        int ph = panel.Height;
        panel.SetBounds(0, 0, display.Width, display.Height, BoundsSpecified.Size);

        // render the panel on a bitmap
        try
        {
            Bitmap bmp = new Bitmap(display.Width, display.Height);
            panel.DrawToBitmap(bmp, display);
            bmp.Save(filePath);
        }
        finally
        {
            // restore
            panel.SetBounds(0, 0, pw, ph, BoundsSpecified.Size);
            form.SetBounds(l, t, w, h, BoundsSpecified.All);
        }
    }