Basics of printing
Flash Player 9 and later, Adobe AIR 1.0 and
later
In ActionScript
3.0, you use the PrintJob class to create snapshots of display content
to convert to the ink-and-paper representation in a printout. In
some ways, setting up content for printing is the same as setting
it up for on-screen display—you position and size elements to create
the desired layout. However printing has some idiosyncrasies that
make it different from screen layout. For example, printers use
different resolution than computer monitors; the contents of a computer
screen are dynamic and can change, while printed content is inherently
static; and in planning printing, consider the constraints of fixed
page size and the possibility of multipage printing.
Even though these differences seem obvious, it’s important to
keep them in mind when setting up printing with ActionScript. Accurate
printing depends on a combination of the values specified by you
and the characteristics of the user’s printer. The PrintJob class
includes properties that allow you to determine the important characteristics
of the user’s printer.
Important concepts and terms
The following
reference list contains important terms related to printing:
-
Spooler
-
A portion of the operating system or printer driver software
that tracks the pages as they are waiting to be printed and sends
them to the printer when it is available.
-
Page orientation
-
The rotation of the printed content in relation to the paper—either
horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait).
-
Print job
-
The page or set of pages that make up a single printout.
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