Print RDLC Report Directly To Printer In MVC

Here, PdfStamper is being used to add JavaScript so that a print popup will open especially for the Firefox web browser.

Third, return the created pdf file’s path.

// Return file path
string FilePathReturn = @"TempFiles/" + FileName;
return Content(FilePathReturn);

Note, that here I am creating a pdf file and storing it into the “TempFiles” folder location.

Open Print dialog

Now, our last task is to open a file into the print dialog.

First, place a placeholder for pdf to show.

<div id="divPDF">
    <div id="printerDiv"><iframe id="frmPDF"></iframe></div>
</div>

Second, assign pdf and call print option from JavaScript.

$('#frmPDF').attr('src', '@Url.Content("~/")' + result);
setTimeout(function () {
    frame = document.getElementById("frmPDF");
    framedoc = frame.contentWindow;
    framedoc.focus();
    framedoc.print();
}, 1000);

That’s it.

Complete example

For your reference, I have kept the complete example in a single folder and uploaded that with this article and it contains the below files.

• Index.cshtml (View)
• HomeController.cs (Controller)
• Report1.rdlc (Report)
• TempFiles (Folder to store created pdf file)

The complete code is like the following.

View (Index.cshtml)

<style>
    #printerDiv iframe { position: absolute; top: -1000px; }
</style>

<div class="jumbotron">
    <button onclick="funExportToPDF()">Export to PDF</button>
</div>

<div id="divPDF">
    <div id="printerDiv"><iframe id="frmPDF"></iframe></div>
</div>

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">
    function funExportToPDF() {

        $.ajax({
            url: '@Url.Action("ExportToPDF", "Home")',
            type: 'GET',
            contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
            success: function (result) {

                $('#frmPDF').attr('src', '@Url.Content("~/")' + result);

                setTimeout(function () {
                    frame = document.getElementById("frmPDF");
                    frameframedoc = frame.contentWindow;
                    framedoc.focus();
                    framedoc.print();
                }, 1000);
            },
            error: function (xhr, status, err) {
                alert(err);
            }
        });

        return false;
    }
</script>

Controller (HomeController.cs)

public ActionResult ExportToPDF()
{
    // Report
    ReportViewer reportViewer = new ReportViewer();

    reportViewer.ProcessingMode = ProcessingMode.Local;
    reportViewer.LocalReport.ReportPath = Server.MapPath(@"~\Report1.rdlc");

    // Byte
    Warning[] warnings;
    string[] streamids;
    string mimeType, encoding, filenameExtension;

    byte[] bytes = reportViewer.LocalReport.Render("Pdf", null, out mimeType, out encoding, out filenameExtension, out streamids, out warnings);

    // File
    string FileName = "Test_" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString() + ".pdf";
    string FilePath = HttpContext.Server.MapPath(@"~\TempFiles\") + FileName;

    // create and set PdfReader
    PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(bytes);
    FileStream output = new FileStream(FilePath, FileMode.Create);

    string Agent = HttpContext.Request.Headers["User-Agent"].ToString();

    // create and set PdfStamper
    PdfStamper pdfStamper = new PdfStamper(reader, output, '0', true);

    if (Agent.Contains("Firefox"))
        pdfStamper.JavaScript = "var res = app.loaded('var pp = this.getPrintParams();pp.interactive = pp.constants.interactionLevel.full;this.print(pp);');";
    else
        pdfStamper.JavaScript = "var res = app.setTimeOut('var pp = this.getPrintParams();pp.interactive = pp.constants.interactionLevel.full;this.print(pp);', 200);";

    pdfStamper.FormFlattening = false;
    pdfStamper.Close();
    reader.Close();

    // return file path
    string FilePathReturn = @"TempFiles/" + FileName;
    return Content(FilePathReturn);
}

Output

The output will be like the following in Chrome browser after clicking on the "Export to PDF" button.

Summary

Now, I believe you will be able to print rdlc reports directly to the printer in MVC.