TGmPreview Version 1.0 Lite  – Documentation

01/10/2000

Copyright © 2000 Graham Murt
 
 

 

 

 

 


E-mail: gmurt@freeuk.com

 

Website:           http://www.murtsoft.com

 

ώ   Delphi 3

ώ   Delphi 4

ώ   Delphi 5

 

Contents

 

Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................... Page 1

Properties, Methods and Events Overview.................................................................................................................... Page 2

Header/Footer Token Functions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 3

TGmPreview Properties explained  (excluding inherited properties)........................................................................... Page 4

TGmPreview Methods explained  (excluding inherited methods)............................................................................... Page 6

TGmPreview Events explained  (excluding inherited events)...................................................................................... Page 8

Ordering TGmPreview (full version)................................................................................................................................ Page

 

Introduction

 

This is a VCL component that encapsulates the Printer object and gives an interactive

Print Preview exposing many useful functions to the developer. 

What’s best of all is that TGmPreview Lite is a free component and comes with complete source code!!!

TGmPreview.

 

I make no claim to correct functioning of the TGmPreview component, so use it at your own risk.

 

The full version with the extra the features, marked with “(full)” is available with source code for $15 USD  (£10 UK pounds) from Murt Software.

 

Make sure you check the website regularly for updates.

I would be grateful if you could inform me of any bugs which may exist so that I can fix them and issue you with an updated version.

I would also welcome any suggestions for features, which you would like to see in future versions of this component.

Regards,

Graham Murt
TGmPreview Properties, Methods and Events Overview

 

Because the TGmPreview component inherits from the TScrollingWinControl component, I am only going to document the new properties, methods and events, which are specific to this component.

 

If you need help with the inherited properties then look in the Delphi help file under TScrollingWinControl.

 

Properties

 

q       About

q       AllowMouseZoom

q       CanvasBrush

q       CanvasFont

q       CanvasPen

q       CurrentPage

q       CollatePrinting               (full)

q       NumPages

q       NumCopies

q       Footer

q       Alignment                    (full)

q       Brush

q       Font

q       Text

q       Line

q       ShowLine

q       Visible

q       Header

q       Alignment                    (full)

q       Brush

q       Font

q       Text

q       Line

q       ShowLine

q       Visible

q       Margins

q       MarginColor

q       ShowMargins

q       PagesPerSheet               (full)

q       ShowPrintProgress       (full)

q       ShadowColor

q       ShadowWidth

q       ShowShadow

q       Zoom

Methods

 

q       AbortPrinting                 (full)

q       AvailablePageWidth

q       AvailablePageHeight

q       Clear

q       FirstPage

q       LastPage

q       MarginLeft

q       MarginTop

q       MarginRight

q       MarginBottom

q       MarginRect

q       MmMoveTo

q       MmLineTo

q       MmEllipse

q       MmRectangle

q       MmTable

q       MmDraw

q       MmStretchDraw              (full)

q       MmTextOut

q       NewPage

q       NextPage

q       PhysicalPrinterWidth

q       PhysicalPrinterHeight

q       PrevPage

q       Print

 

Events

 

q       AfterPrint

q       BeforePrint

q       OnAbortPrint           (full)

q       OnClear

q       OnNewPage

q       OnPageChange

q       OnPageDraw

q       OnPrintProgress

q       OnZoom

 

 

Note  

  (full)      -               These features are only available in the full version, which costs $15.00 USD /  £10 UK Pounds

                                See the end of this document for ordering details and information

 

 

 

Header/Footer token functions  (full version only)

 

The header and footer also have the ability to utilize tokens to enable the printing of dynamic fields.

The tokens available are –

 

{PAGE}                 - replaced with the current page number

{NUMPAGES}     - replaced with the total number of pages

{DATE} - replaced with the date of printing

{TIME}                  - replaced with the time of printing

 

e.g. If your footer text was

“Page {PAGE} of {NUMPAGES}”

your printer output would be

“Page 1 of 3”, “Page 2 of 3”, “Page 3 of 3”   (for a 3 page document)

 

 

 

TGmPreview Properties Explained

 

About

property, TGmPreview

property About;                     

 

The About property has a button which, when pressed, opens a small dialog box giving the following details …

 

q  Component version

q  E-mail contact

q  Website address

 

 

AllowMouseZoom

property, TGmPreview

property AllowMouseZoom: boolean;   

 

The AllowMouseZoom property determines weather the left and right mouse buttons are used for zooming in and out of the preview at runtime.

 

 

 

CanvasBrush

property, TGmPreview

property CanvasBrush: TBrush;

 

Use CanvasBrush to read or set the current drawing brush.

 

 

 

CanvasFont

property, TGmPreview

property CanvasFont: TFont;

 

Use CanvasFont to read or set the current drawing font.

 

 

 

CanvasPen

property, TGmPreview

property CanvasPen: TPen;

 

Use CanvasPen to read or set the current drawing pen.

 

 

 

NumCopies

property, TGmPreview

property NumCopies: integer;

 

NumCopies specifies the number of copies to print when the TGmPreview.Print method is called.

 

 

 

CollatePrinting (full)

property, TGmPreview

property CollatePrinting: boolean;

 

CollatePrinting is property which  gives the option to collate the pages when printing.

E.g. below shows the sequence of printing pages when printing three copies of a three page document…

 

CollatePrinting = True     -  1,2,3   1,2,3   1,2,3

CollatePrinting = False          -  1,1,1   2,2,2   3,3,3

 

 

 

CurrentPage

property, TGmPreview

property CurrentPage: integer;

 

CurrentPage returns the current page being displayed by the print preview. The current page is also the active page on which all drawing is done. Set CurrentPage to change the page.

 

 

 

Header

property, TGmPreview

property Header: TGmHeaderFooter;

 

The component Header is made up of the following group of sub-properties –

q  Alignment  TAlignment       (full)        (taLeftJustify, taCentre, taRightJustify)

q  Text               string                                 The text to display in the header

q  Font:              TFont                                 The font to use for the header

q  Brush             TBrush                               The brush to use for the header

q  Line               TPen                                   The pen to use for drawing the header line

q  ShowLine     Boolean                             Determines weather the line is visible

q  Visible:      Boolean                             Determines weather the header (including the line) is visible.

 

 

Footer

property, TGmPreview

property Footer: TGmHeaderFooter;

 

See “Header” (above)

 

 

 

NumPages

property, TGmPreview

property NumPages: integer;

 

NumPages returns the total number of pages in the TGmPrinter component.

 

 

 

ShadowColor

property, TGmPreview

property ShadowColor: TColor;

 

ShadowColor is the color of the shadow which is displayed on the right and bottom edges of the page.

 

 

 

ShadowWidth

property, TGmPreview

property ShadowWidth: integer;

 

ShadowWidth is the width/offset of the shadow. Increasing the ShadowWidth will create a thicker shadow around the page.

 

 

 

ShowPrintProgress (full)

property, TGmPreview

property ShowPrintProgress;

 

This property determines whether a small box appears during printing. On this print dialog box is a progress summary and an “abort print method”

 

 

 

ShowShadow

property, TGmPreview

property ShowShadow: boolean;

 

ShowShadow determines weather the preview page shadow is visible or not.

 

 

 

Zoom

property, TGmPreview

property Zoom: integer;

 

Zoom specifies the zoom factor of the preview. Read this property to obtain the current zoom and set this property to change the preview zoom and update the display.

 

 

 

TGmPreview Methods Explained

 

 

AbortPrinting

method, TGmPreview

procedure AbortPrinting;

 

Calling this method will cause the printing to stop at the position it has reached.

 

 

 

AvailablePageWidth

method, TGmPreview

property AvailablePageWidth: integer;    

 

AvailablePageWidth returns the available printing width of the printer canvas in pixels.

Result = PhysicalPageWidth – (MarginLeft + MarginRight)

 

 

 

AvailablePageHeight

method, TGmPreview

property AvailablePageHeight: integer; 

 

AvailablePageWidth returns the available printing width of the printer canvas in pixels.

Result = PhysicalPAgeHeight – (MarginTop + MarginBottom)

 

 

 

Clear

method, TGmPreview

procedure Clear;

 

Calling clear will clear all of the existing pages, remove all pages from 2 upwards and set the current page to 1.

 

 

 

FirstPage

                                                                                                                                                                                                      method, TGmPreview

procedure First;

 

Calling First will jump to the first page of the component and update the preview.

 

 

 

LastPage

method, TGmPreview

procedure Last;

 

Calling NextPage will jump to the last page of the component and update the preview.

 

 

 

MarginLeft

method, TGmPreview

property MarginLeft: integer;

 

MarginLeft returns the left margin in printer pixels measured from the left of the page.

 

 

 

MarginRect

method, TGmPreview

property MarginRect: TRect;

 

MarginRect returns the above 4 margin values in a TRect structure.

 

 

 

MarginRight

method, TGmPreview

property MarginRight: integer;

 

MarginRight returns the right margin in printer pixels measured from the right of the page.

 

 

 

MarginTop

method, TGmPreview

property MarginTop: integer;

 

MarginTop returns the top margin in printer pixels measured from the top of the page.

 

 

 

MmMoveTo

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmMoveTo(X,Y: double);

 

MmMoveTo is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.MoveTo procedure except that the parameters, X and Y take values specified in millimeters.

 

 

 

MmEllipse

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmEllipse(X,Y,X2,Y2: double);

 

MmEllipse is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.Ellipse procedure except that the parameters, X,Y,X2 and Y2 take values specified in millimeters.

X,Y,X2 and Y2 specify the Left, Top, Right and Bottom edges of the ellipse respectively.

The ellipse outline is drawn using the current value of the CanvasPen property and is filled with the value of the CanvasBrush.

 

 

 

MmRectangle

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmRectangle(X,Y,X2,Y2: double);

 

MmRectangle is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.Rectangle procedure except that the parameters, X,Y,X2 and Y2 take values specified in millimeters.

X,Y,X2 and Y2 specify the Left, Top, Right and Bottom edges of the rectangle respectively.

The rectangle outline is drawn using the current value of the CanvasPen property and is filled with the value of the CanvasBrush.

 

 

 

MmTable

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmTable(X,Y,X2,Y2: double; ARows,ACols: integer);

 

MmTable is a procedure which draws a table/grid on the page of a given number of rows and columns.

X,Y,X2 and Y2 specify the Left, Top, Right and Bottom edges of the rectangle respectively – these are all specified in millimeters.

The table is drawn with the number of rows and columns given by ARows and Acols – All columns and rows are drawn with an equal distribution across the table.

The table outline is drawn using the current value of the CanvasPen property and is filled with the value of the CanvasBrush.

 

 

 

MmDraw

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmDraw(X,Y: double; AGraphic: TGraphic);

 

MmDraw is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.Draw procedure except that the parameters, X and Y take values specified in millimeters. X and Y specify the left and top of the graphic respectively. AGraphic gives the graphic object to draw on the page.

 

 

 

MmStretchDraw

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmStretchDraw(ARect: TRect; AGraphic: TGraphic);

 

MmStretchDraw is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.MmStretchDraw procedure except that the Arect parameter takes values specified in millimeters. AGraphic gives the graphic object to draw on the page stretched to fit in the ARect coordinates.

 

 

 

MmTextOut

method, TGmPreview

procedure MmTextOut(X,Y: double; AText: string);

 

MmTextOut is a wrapper for the standard Canvas.TextOut procedure except that the parameters, X and Y take values specified in millimeters. The text font is specified by the CanvasFont property. The font background is given by the value of the Canvas.Brush property.

 

 

 

NewPage

method, TGmPreview

procedure Newpage: Integer;

 

Calling new page will create a new page in the TGmPrinter component and automatically jump to that page (the last page). The number of the page added will be returned.

 

 

 

NextPage

method, TGmPreview

procedure NextPage;

 

Calling NextPage will jump to the next page of the component and update the preview.

 

 

 

PhysicalPrinterHeight

method, TGmPreview

property PhysicalPrinterHeight: integer;

 

PhysicalPrinterHeight returns the physical printing width of the printer canvas in pixels.

 

 

 

PhysicalPrinterWidth

method, TGmPreview

property PhysicalPrinterWidth: integer;

 

PhysicalPrinterWidth returns the physical printing width of the printer canvas in pixels.

 

 

 

PrevPage

method, TGmPreview

procedure PrevPage;

 

Calling PrevPage will jump to the first page of the component and update the preview.

 

 

 

Print

method, TGmPreview

procedure Print;

 

Calling Print will print all pages in the TgmPreview component to the current printing device.

 

 

 

TGmPreview Events

 

 

AfterPrint

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterAfterPrint(Sender: Tobject);

 

The AfterPrint event triggers after the printing has finished.

 

 

 

BeforePrint

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterBeforePrint(Sender: Tobject);

 

The BeforePrint event triggers before the printing has started.

 

 

 

OnAbortPrint

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterAbortPrint(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnAbortPrint event triggers if the user aborts the printing before it has finished.

 

 

 

OnClear

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterClear(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnClear event triggers after the clear method is called.

 

 

 

OnNewPage

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterNewPage(Sender: Tobject);

 

The NewPage event triggers after the NewPage method is called.

 

 

 

OnPageChange

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterPageChange(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnPageChange event triggers after the when the current preview page is changed by using any of the following methods –

 

 

 

OnPageDraw

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterDrawPage(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnPageDraw event triggers when either the page is drawn on or the Clear method is called.

 

 

 

OnPageNavigate

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterPageNavigate(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnPageNavigate event triggers after when the value of the Current Page changes.

 

 

 

OnPrintProgress

event, TGmPreview

procedure TgmPrinterPrintProgress(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnPrintProgress event triggers after each page of the preview component has successfully printed.

 

 

 

OnZoom

event, TGmPreview

procedure TGmPrinterZoom(Sender: Tobject);

 

The OnZoom event triggers after the value of the Zoom property changes.

 

Ordering TGmPreview (full version)

 

By ordering TGmPreview, I will provide you with the following –

 

q       Full component including full source code

q       Free E-mail support

q       Free updates to future versions

q       E-mail notification of any new releases and bug-fixes

 

The price of this component is $15 US Dollars or £10 UK Pounds.

 

The component will be sent to you via E-mail or on a floppy disk – whichever suits you best.

 

If you would like to order this component then send an e-mail to me at

 

gmurt@freeuk.com and I will give you the address to which to send the cheque or cash.

 

The component will be distributed to you on receiving the payment.

 

 

Regards,

 

Graham Murt – (TGmPreview Author)