Using "Process" component to print files

[MRCP]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

I am a beginner with VB.Net and hope someone can help me with this question. Building a program in which I want to be able to access and print pre-existing text files (created with Wordpad). From the VB.Net books I have been reading, seems like the easiest way to do this is to use the "Process" component from the Components tab of the Toolbox. Indeed, I have been able to make my program open a blank Wordpad window, but unable to make it open or recognize my pre-existing files. I have ensured that my file pathways are correct, but keep getting an error message saying my file path is not recognized. I am attempting to print files from a Collection created by my program. Via debugging I have confirmed that the For Each...Next loop I am using to process the collection is working just fine. The code is like this:

 

Public PMHName As String

Public PMHFormsColl As New Collection

 

(then intervening code to assemble the collection, which consists of variables declared as strings and assigned specific file pathways)

I then use the Components tab to add a "Process" component to the form(which I name "mdprint")

 

For Each PMHName in PMHFormsColl

mdprint.Start()

Next PMHName

 

This opens a blank Wordpad window. If I make it

 

mdprint.Start(PMHName)

 

I get the error message.

Sorry for the long post. I am totally jammed on this, any help will be much appreciated! Thanks,

MRC

[MRCP]

I am responding to my own post to clarify. Just spent several more hours going through my VB books and several online VB.Net forums. It appears printing stuff with VB.Net is quite a handful as near as I can tell. It seems even to print a pre-existing text file will require great quantities of code defining just about every imaginable aspect of a document. This is quite depressing as it appears far beyond my ability to accomplish. So now just looking to confirm this as the reality of the situation so I do not waste more time trying to make it work! Are there any alternatives to "Print Document" or "Print Page"?

[aewarnick]

I don't think so, unless you want to pay for a printing class.

[Merrion]

You can get Notepad to do the printing for you to the default printer using the ShellExecute API call and passing "print" in the fCommand parameter.

[divil]

The ShellExecute API is partly what the Process class wraps - you can pass the "print" open action to a file using it.

[MRCP]

Thanks for the feedback about my problem. Will ShellExecute work in VB.Net,though? I read about it on another forum and was under the impression it was a VB6 command. If it will work, can you post a sample of the syntax I should use as well? Thanks!

MRC

[Merrion]

Use the Process class, as Divil says....

Dim foo As New System.Diagnostics.Process()

For Each PMHName in PMHFormsColl
  foo.StartInfo.Filename = PMHName
  foo.StartInfo.Verb = "print" '<-- Cause the file to be printed...
  foo.Start() '<-- Kick off the process...
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