printer_write Function and Forms

If I understood well, you want to use php on command-line.

In this case, php uses the $argv array to store them.
$argv[0] is the name of the script.

For example you want to launch print.php :

>> ./php print.php myUser myText
$argv[0] holds print.php
$argv[1] holds myUser
$argv[2] holds myText


Now the problem is that you'll certainly have some blank spaces as myText...

Try this code :
==================
<?php
$myScript = array_shift($argv); //Get scriptname and remove from array
$myUser = array_shift($argv); //Get username and remove from array
$myText = implode(' ', $argv); //Gets all the other arguments and puts it as text
// Eventually, you'll have to replace carriage returns.
// Say you set \n
$myText = str_replace('\n', "\n", $myText");

$myTextHeader = "printed by : $myUser on ".date("F j, Y, g:i a")."\n";

//your code
$handle=printer_open("\\network\some\printer");
printer_write($handle,$myTextHeader.$myText);
printer_close($handle);

?>

Hope it works, I don't have a printer :P

I have the feeling you should let us know what you want to do exactly

Re-reading you question, I'm no more sure about what I told before is what you want :-P


if you try to print from an html form, you just have to point the action to your php script and give the user some output like "you've page is printing, stop my the printer in few seconds :)"

Example for the form :
========================
<form action="print.php" method="post">
Write your text here and send it to the printer
<textarea name="whatToPrint"></textarea>
<button type="submit">Print</button>
</form>
========================

Example of print.php :
========================
<?php
// First get the user's input
$myText = $_POST['whatToPrint'];

... ====================
the rest is about the same as before

just check if you need security because my script is very easy to hack :P

check this :)

VGR, could you explain a little more about an HTML file being a form?

zimba-tm, thanks for the code, but let me explain a little more.  There will be a form with aproximately 10-20 form fields present, not just one field.  I want to print all 10-20 fields.  However, I will not know the fields or the exact number, so all of this should be dynamic.  Can this be done?  Basically when you click submit, so action="print.php" is what it would have to do, it should automatically print a designated network printer (not their default printer).  

Hope that clarifies.
Thanks.

Sure, I understand an array.  You indicated earlier that you would have to have the name of the form field like $_POST['whatToPrint'];.  This is what I won't know.  So, I can just use $_POST?  So $_POST is an array unto itself?

And then the code would be:

$myText = '';
foreach($_POST as $key => $value)
{
 $myText .= "$key = $value\n";
}

How could it be foreach ($myText as $key   when $myText has been reset right before the foreach?  Just questioning this?

Thank you very much, this is all very helpful.

bflat53212

your code is right, I did a typo in writing :P

so yes $_POST and $_GET are arrays.

If you don't need the keys you can also use

foreach($_POST as $value)
{
 ...
}