Question

I have an asp.net web page created with web forms. It has a number of gridviews on it which are populated from a database on a button click.

I am looking to print a version of this page on a different button click. I’m looking to customize the printed page, with some text that is specified, then the gridview contents (user friendly version), then some more text etc

Any help is greatly appreciated

Marc

Answer 1

The simplest solution is to use CSS to show and hide different elements depending on whether they are intended for screen or print. Include all elements in the page output (both print and screen) and use CSS to control them.

Here’s a very simple example – let’s say you have a summary text that should only be included in the print version, and some buttons that should only be included in the screen version.

Markup:

<p class="printOnly">
    Here is my summary text.
</p>
<asp:button ID="btnSomeButton" runat="server" Text="Some Server Button" CssClass="screenOnly" />

CSS:

@media print {
    .screenOnly { display: none; }
}

@media screen {
    .printOnly { display: none; }
}

In the end any element marked with CSS class screenOnly will be hidden from print content, and any element marked with CSS class printOnly will be hidden from the screen version.

From there simply have a print button or link on the page somewhere with:

<a href="#" onclick="window.print();" class="screenOnly">Print Page</a>