System.Printing functionality without referencing WPF framework

Hello,

I'm translating a WPF program to MAUI as MAUI allows trimming and I need to optimize for file size in my single-file program. I have adapted everything I need so far, but it required referencing the WPF framework in order to gain access to the System.Printing library, specifically the PrintQueue and PrintServer object types. I'm assuming this essentially makes the whole process of translating to MAUI moot, as the final size of the executable is some 2MB larger than the WPF version (again, I'm assuming this is because of the reference to the WPF framework).

My question is this: Is there a way to get access to print queues and print servers in MAUI without using the WPF framework?

EDIT: This is an exclusively Windows-targetted app, BTW.

In MAUI, accessing print queues and print servers without referencing the WPF framework can be a bit challenging, as MAUI is designed to be cross-platform and doesn't have built-in support for all Windows-specific APIs, such as those in System.Printing.

However, since your application is exclusively targeting Windows, you can consider using the Windows API directly through Platform Invocation Services (P/Invoke) or by leveraging the Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs.

Here's a general approach you can take:

P/Invoke: You can use P/Invoke to call Windows API functions related to printing. This involves defining the necessary function signatures in C# and calling them to manage print queues and servers. The Winspool.drv library contains many useful functions for this purpose.
WinRT APIs: If you're using .NET 6 or later, you can access Windows-specific functionality through WinRT APIs. For instance, you can use Windows.Graphics.Printing namespace, which provides classes for managing printing in Windows applications.

Here’s a brief example of using P/Invoke to access print queues:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

class PrintQueueExample
{
    [DllImport(\"winspool.drv\", SetLastError = true)]
    public static extern bool EnumPrinters(uint Flags, string Name, uint Level, IntPtr pPrinterEnum, uint cbBuf, ref uint pBytesNeeded, ref uint pReturned);

    \/\/ Define other necessary structures and methods here

    public static void ListPrinters()
    {
        \/\/ Implement logic to list printers
    }
}

1 Reply

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Sangeetha S1y ago
In MAUI, accessing print queues and print servers without referencing the WPF framework can be a bit challenging, as MAUI is designed to be cross-platform and doesn't have built-in support for all Windows-specific APIs, such as those in System.Printing.

However, since your application is exclusively targeting Windows, you can consider using the Windows API directly through Platform Invocation Services (P/Invoke) or by leveraging the Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs.

Here's a general approach you can take:
1. P/Invoke: You can use P/Invoke to call Windows API functions related to printing. This involves defining the necessary function signatures in C# and calling them to manage print queues and servers. The Winspool.drv library contains many useful functions for this purpose.
2. WinRT APIs: If you're using .NET 6 or later, you can access Windows-specific functionality through WinRT APIs. For instance, you can use Windows.Graphics.Printing namespace, which provides classes for managing printing in Windows applications.
Here’s a brief example of using P/Invoke to access print queues:
```
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

class PrintQueueExample
{
    [DllImport(\"winspool.drv\", SetLastError = true)]
    public static extern bool EnumPrinters(uint Flags, string Name, uint Level, IntPtr pPrinterEnum, uint cbBuf, ref uint pBytesNeeded, ref uint pReturned);

    \/\/ Define other necessary structures and methods here

    public static void ListPrinters()
    {
        \/\/ Implement logic to list printers
    }
}
```