Screen Print to a printer

You can try this BASIC code to access the windows clipboard via DOS

http://www.frontiernet.net/~fys/clipbrd.htm

DECLARE FUNCTION ClipClose% ()
DECLARE FUNCTION ClipOpen% ()
DECLARE SUB ClipGetData (ClipSize%, ClipContents$)
DECLARE SUB ClipGetDataSize (ClipSize%)

' Remember to include the /I parameter at the command line
'$INCLUDE: 'qb.bi'

DIM ClipSize%, ClipContents$

DIM SHARED Regs AS RegType
DIM SHARED RegsX AS RegTypeX

CLS
IF ClipOpen% <> 0 THEN
      PRINT "The Clipboard has been opened."
END IF

CALL ClipGetDataSize(ClipSize%)
PRINT
PRINT "The Clipboard holds"; ClipSize%; "bytes of information."

CALL ClipGetData(ClipSize%, ClipContents$)
PRINT
PRINT "ClipContents$="; ClipContents$; "*END"

IF ClipClose% <> 0 THEN
      PRINT : PRINT "The Clipboard has been closed."
END IF

' 1 if successful, 0 if failed
'
FUNCTION ClipClose%
      Regs.ax = &H1708
      CALL INTERRUPT(&H2F, Regs, Regs)
      ClipClose% = Regs.ax
END FUNCTION

SUB ClipGetData (ClipSize%, ClipContents$)
      ClipContents$ = SPACE$(ClipSize%) + CHR$(0)
      RegsX.ax = &H1705
      RegsX.dx = &H1  'data type held in Clipboard = text
      RegsX.es = VARSEG(ClipContents$)
      RegsX.bx = SADD(ClipContents$)
      CALL INTERRUPTX(&H2F, RegsX, RegsX)
END SUB

SUB ClipGetDataSize (ClipSize%)
      Regs.ax = &H1704
      Regs.dx = &H1  'data type = text
      CALL INTERRUPT(&H2F, Regs, Regs)
      ClipSize% = Regs.ax
END SUB

'  1 if successful, 0 if failed'
'
FUNCTION ClipOpen%
      Regs.ax = &H1701
      CALL INTERRUPT(&H2F, Regs, Regs)
      ClipOpen% = Regs.ax
END FUNCTION

Thanks alanhardisty

That looks like it will work

Actually, it is possible to directly print documents from the command-prompt.

Share the printer in question, assign it a name (i.e. MFC-8460N in my example)

Method 1 (text file):
copy filename.txt "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"

Method 2 (binary file):
copy /b filename.prn "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"

Method 3:
net use lpt1 "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"
copy filename.txt lpt1

Method 4:
net use lpt1 "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"
type text >lpt1

Method 5:
type test > "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"


Method 6:
net use lpt1 "\\localhost\MFC-8460N"
copy con lpt1
type text to print manually here...
press F6 to print to device

If you do not achieve the results you are looking for trying something similiar to...
http://www.printfil.com/

Regards,
Giovanni

x66_x72_x65_x65 - The question was "Does anyone know if there is a dos command that will redirect a print screen directly to a printer"

Your methods are fine for printing documents, but not screen prints.

In other words, whatever you are trying to print to the screen you can redirect to the printer.. let's take a basic directory listing command for example...

C:\>dir
Volume in drive C is SYS
Volume Serial Number is 8477-CA4F

Directory of C:\

11/03/2009  07:51 AM    <DIR>          .
11/03/2009  07:51 AM    <DIR>          ..
11/03/2009  07:51 AM                 6 test.txt
              1 File(s)              6 bytes
              2 Dir(s)  394,701,357,056 bytes free
C:\>

To print this output, you would instead redirect the output of the command to the printer...

C:\>dir > "\\localhost\MFC-8460N" 2>&1
C:\>

If you want to actually use the "Print Screen" key from the command line see this article...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269039

Yes - that will work for general stuff, but how do you get "Print Screen" to work from DOS without having to use Paintbrush or similar.

Anyway - the question is closed now.