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DataGrid Printing Class v1.0b

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31 May 20051 min read 231.2K   3.6K   60   39
A DataGrid printing class

Sample Image - UML_Design.jpg

UML Design

Sample Image - Preview.jpg

Preview

Introduction

The DataGrid control is one of the worst things to work with, yet very needed. The real problem about this control is printing the grid. This class supports RightToLeft printing, colored and aligned grid printing.

Background

I had to do a project that supports RightToLeft grid printing using VB.NET, but all the printing classes I found just didn't do the job. I found a project but it was written using C# and I had to write the project using VB.NET. So I have rewritten the same project in DataGrid Printing Class V1.0b by nashcontrol in VB.NET.

Implementation

The main class is PrinterClass, it does the actual print. Grid is a class holding the DataGrid data, it's made of cells and headers. Cell represents a single cell in a grid with location, font alignment, etc. Header represents a single header cell (inherits cell).

Using the Code

Grid Creation: Creating the Constructor for the Grid

VB
Public Sub New(ByVal TheGrid As DataGrid)
  Try
      '//get the Data in the grid
      Dim TableGrid As DataTable = Nothing
      If (TheGrid.DataSource.GetType() Is GetType(DataView)) Then
          Dim ViewGrid As DataView = CType(TheGrid.DataSource, DataView)
          TableGrid = ViewGrid.Table
      Else
          TableGrid = CType(TheGrid.DataSource, DataTable)
      End If

      '//set number of rows
      row = TableGrid.Rows.Count

      'set number of columns
      'first check if the grid has tablestyle and columnstyle
      'check for table styles
      If (TheGrid.TableStyles.Count = 0) Then
          '//create table style and column style
          CreateColumnStyles(TheGrid, TableGrid)
      Else
          '//create column styles if there are none
          If (TheGrid.TableStyles(TableGrid.TableName).GridColumnStyles.Count=0) Then
              CreateColumnStyles(TheGrid, TableGrid
          End If
      End If

      '//set number of columns
      column = TheGrid.TableStyles(TableGrid.TableName).GridColumnStyles.Count
      Cells = New Cell(Rows, Columns) {}
      'Copy Cells
      Dim i As Integer
      For i = 0 To Rows - 1
          Dim j As Integer
          For j = 0 To Columns - 1
            Cells(i, j) = New Cell(i, j, TheGrid.Font, _
              TheGrid.TableStyles(TableGrid.TableName).GridColumnStyles(j).Alignment,_
              New RectangleF(0, 0, TheGrid.GetCellBounds(i, j).Width, _
              TheGrid.GetCellBounds(i, j).Height), TheGrid(i, j).ToString())
          Next
      Next

      'init number of columns to headers
      Headers = New Header(column) {}
      SetHeaders(TheGrid, TableGrid)
      'define grid colors
      SetColors(TheGrid)

  Catch e As Exception
      Console.WriteLine(e.Message)
  End Try
End Sub

Grid Printing

VB
Private Function PrintDataGrid(ByVal g As Graphics) As Boolean
  Dim sf As StringFormat = New StringFormat
  PageCounter = PageCounter + 1
  'if we want to print the grid right to left
  If (bRightToLeft) Then
    CurrentX = PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.PaperSize.Width_
               - PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.Margins.Right
    sf.FormatFlags = StringFormatFlags.DirectionRightToLeft
  Else
    CurrentX = PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.Margins.Left
  End If

  Dim i As Integer
  For i = CurrentRow To PrintGrid.Rows - 1
    Dim j As Integer
    For j = 0 To PrintGrid.Columns - 1
      'set cell alignment
      Select Case (PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Alignment)
        'left
        Case HorizontalAlignment.Left
          sf.Alignment = StringAlignment.Near
        Case HorizontalAlignment.Center
          sf.Alignment = StringAlignment.Center
        'right
        Case HorizontalAlignment.Right
          sf.Alignment = StringAlignment.Far
      End Select

      'advance X according to order
      If (bRightToLeft) Then
        'draw the cell bounds (lines) and back color
        g.FillRectangle(New SolidBrush(PrintGrid.BackColor), _
            CurrentX - PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, CurrentY, _
            PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height)
        g.DrawRectangle(New Pen(PrintGrid.LineColor), _
            CurrentX - PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, CurrentY, _
            PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height)

        'draw the cell text
        g.DrawString(PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).CText, _
            PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Font, New SolidBrush(PrintGrid.ForeColor),_
            New RectangleF(CurrentX - PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, _
            CurrentY, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, _
            PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height), sf)

        'next cell
        CurrentX -= PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width
      Else
        'draw the cell bounds (lines) and back color
        g.FillRectangle(New SolidBrush(PrintGrid.BackColor), _
          CurrentX, CurrentY, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, _
          PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height)
        g.DrawRectangle(New Pen(PrintGrid.LineColor), CurrentX, _
          CurrentY, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, _
          PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height)
        'Draw text by alignment
        g.DrawString(PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).CText, _
          PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Font, New SolidBrush(PrintGrid.ForeColor),_
          New RectangleF(CurrentX, CurrentY, _
          PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width, PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Height), sf)

        'next cell
        CurrentX += PrintGrid.Cell(i, j).Width
      End If
    Next

    'reset to beginning
    If (bRightToLeft) Then
      'right align
      CurrentX = PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.PaperSize.Width_
                 - PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.Margins.Right
    Else
      'left align
      CurrentX = PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.Margins.Left
    End If

    'advance to next row
    CurrentY += PrintGrid.Cell(i, 0).Height
    CurrentRow += 1
    'if we are beyond the page margin (bottom) 
    'then we need another page,
    'return true
    If (CurrentY > PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.PaperSize.Height_
              - PrintDoc.DefaultPageSettings.Margins.Bottom) Then
      Return True
    End If
  Next
  Return False
End Function

Current Todo

  1. Fix - When grid is empty, header is not printed well.
  2. When grid is larger than the width of the page, continue to next.

Other DataGrid Printing Classes

Acknowledgements

Thanks to nashcontrol who has given me permission to upload the project converted into VB.NET.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it, but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt, please contact the author via the discussion board below. A list of licenses authors might use can be found here.


Written By
Web Developer
India India
Nidhi Shrivastava
B.Sc (Maths), M.Sc(Maths), PGDCA(NIIT)
Working as a freelance software developer.

Experienced in C# .NET, VB .NET, VB 6.0, SQL Server 2000, Java 2 SDK.

Worked with PMPCertify (home based) (pmpcertify.org).
Currently working with .NET and its technology for last 1 and half years. Previously worked with VB 6.0 and have done many projects using it.

Hobbies include reading, music and travelling.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionNew page for right margin [modified] Pin
MichaelMCSE21-Oct-09 10:23
MichaelMCSE21-Oct-09 10:23 
GeneralMy vote of 2 Pin
terry nuttall2-Mar-09 5:41
terry nuttall2-Mar-09 5:41 
Questionhow to edit a grid data with dataset Pin
Member 334525914-Sep-08 5:15
Member 334525914-Sep-08 5:15 
Questionvb.net form printing problem Pin
ranipriya 201014-May-08 4:40
ranipriya 201014-May-08 4:40 
AnswerRe: vb.net form printing problem Pin
Nidhi S20-May-08 19:58
Nidhi S20-May-08 19:58 
QuestionRe: vb.net form printing problem Pin
Ananda Narayanan S19-Oct-10 17:39
Ananda Narayanan S19-Oct-10 17:39 
QuestionNICE ARTICLE BUT ANY PROGRESS ?? Pin
Gurdeep Singh Toor23-Mar-08 9:24
Gurdeep Singh Toor23-Mar-08 9:24 
QuestionSMS in PDU mode Pin
Nko-c30-May-07 2:15
Nko-c30-May-07 2:15 
GeneralSearch in a data base Pin
vmarcial23-Mar-07 3:21
vmarcial23-Mar-07 3:21 
GeneralRe: Search in a data base Pin
Nidhi S29-Mar-07 20:14
Nidhi S29-Mar-07 20:14 
QuestionPrinting header problem Pin
makeafirstmove26-Feb-07 2:16
makeafirstmove26-Feb-07 2:16 
GeneralVery Useful Pin
kurienmanu@hotmail.com,10-Feb-07 1:37
kurienmanu@hotmail.com,10-Feb-07 1:37 
GeneralRe: Very Useful Pin
makeafirstmove26-Feb-07 0:22
makeafirstmove26-Feb-07 0:22 
QuestionPortrait or Landscape Pin
OumaBeskuit8-Feb-07 18:11
OumaBeskuit8-Feb-07 18:11 
GeneralMessage for Nidhi.s Pin
coolblim9-Jan-07 16:41
coolblim9-Jan-07 16:41 
Questionhow can i use vb.net code in asp.net Pin
fffffffffff8-Jan-07 2:24
fffffffffff8-Jan-07 2:24 
GeneralHeader for Columns missing Pin
tony joseph david12-Dec-06 3:26
tony joseph david12-Dec-06 3:26 
GeneralRe: Header for Columns missing Pin
Nidhi S14-Dec-06 2:15
Nidhi S14-Dec-06 2:15 
Questionchanging the view of the datagrid Pin
DBND20-Oct-06 6:53
DBND20-Oct-06 6:53 
Questionviewing a particular row Pin
DBND20-Oct-06 6:52
DBND20-Oct-06 6:52 
QuestionChange the size of the columns Pin
sax6810-Oct-06 7:08
sax6810-Oct-06 7:08 
AnswerRe: Change the size of the columns Pin
Nidhi S10-Oct-06 18:13
Nidhi S10-Oct-06 18:13 
QuestionRe: Change the size of the columns Pin
sax6811-Oct-06 0:20
sax6811-Oct-06 0:20 
QuestionPrinting a grid with many columns Pin
Nko-c24-Aug-06 3:19
Nko-c24-Aug-06 3:19 
AnswerRe: Printing a grid with many columns Pin
Nidhi S24-Aug-06 17:50
Nidhi S24-Aug-06 17:50 

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