Printing User Interface Files

The Print command opens the Print dialog box, in which you can send the entire .uir file or the visible screen area to a printer or a file. The print preferences in this dialog box correspond to the print attributes described in the User Interface Library. The Print dialog box contains the following options.

• Name—Specifies the name of the printer.
• Properties—Opens the Document Properties dialog box, in which you can specify additional printing options.
• Status—Specifies the state of the printer.
• Type—Specifies the manufacturer name and model of the printer.
• Where—Specifies the location, such as the printer or a location on your computer, where the document will be printed.
• Comment—Provides any additional information about the printer.
• Eject page after printing—Specifies whether to remove the paper from the printer after you send a document to print. If you disable Eject page after printing, LabWindows/CVI prints output on the same page until you enable Eject page after printing.
• Print to file—Prints the window contents to a file. LabWindows/CVI prompts you for the output filename in the Print Output File dialog box.
• Width/Height—Specifies the width or height of the output in tenths of millimeters. Width refers to the horizontal dimension of the paper in portrait mode, regardless of the orientation of the paper. Height refers to the vertical dimension of the paper in portrait mode, regardless of the orientation of the paper. You can select one of the following options:
  
  
  • Specify in millimeters/10—Allows you to specify the width to use to print the output, in tenths of millimeters.
  • Entire paper—Specifies that the output should use as much of the paper width as possible.
  • Proportional to height/width—Forces the output to be scaled to an integral multiple of its screen size, preventing aliasing and distortion.
    
    Select this option as either the Width or the Height to ensure that the ratio between the object's height and width, in dots, on the output is the same as the ratio between its height and width, in pixels, on the screen.
    
    This option ensures that, for both the height and width, the number of dots on the output is an integral multiple of the number of pixels on the screen. This prevents aliasing, in which screen lines are lost or duplicated in an uneven manner.
    
    If you use Proportional to height/width for both the height and width, the number of dots on the output will be identical to the number of pixels on the screen. If you use this option for just one dimension, then LabWindows/CVI may round down the other dimension to maintain the integral scaling.
• Horizontal offset—Sets the horizontal offset of the image on the paper. The offset is relative to the left edge of the paper in portrait mode, regardless of the orientation of the paper. You can select one of the following options:
  
  
  • Specify in millimeters/10—Allows you to specify the horizontal offset of the image, in tenths of millimeters. A value of 0 forces the image to the left edge of the paper in portrait mode or to the top edge of the paper in landscape mode.
  • Centered—Centers the image in the horizontal direction.
• Vertical offset—Sets the vertical offset of the image on the paper. The offset is relative to the top edge of the paper in portrait mode, regardless of the orientation of the paper. You can select one of the following options:
  
  
  • Specify in millimeters/10—Allows you to specify the vertical offset of the image, in tenths of millimeters. A value of 0 forces the image to the top edge of the paper in portrait mode or to the left edge of the paper in landscape mode.
  • Centered—Centers the image in the vertical direction.
• Force black & white—Prints the output in black and white.
• Scale to screen—Prints the window at the same relative location in the area you specify with Width and Height as the window is displayed on the screen. The printed window is the same relative size as the window displayed on the screen.
• Visible area only—Prints only the portion of the window that is visible on the screen. Menu bars, scroll bars, and a frame are printed along with the visible portion. Disable this option to print the entire contents of the window.
• Use Bitmap Printing—Specifies whether to use the bitmap method of printing graphics. This means that panels and controls are first drawn into an offscreen bitmap and only then is this bitmap printed. The advantages of using this method are that it is generally faster, and that it is less sensitive to variations in printer drivers; consequently, the output is more likely to match exactly what is on the screen. The disadvantage is that LabWindows/CVI does not benefit from the high printer resolutions, resulting in blockish output.