Can HTML Directly Control Landscape Printing in Browsers?

Landscape Printing from HTML: Browser Support and Alternatives

When printing documents with numerous columns, it is often desirable to use landscape orientation to improve readability. However, this may require manual adjustments in the document settings. This article explores whether it's possible to print landscape directly from HTML, without user intervention.

CSS @page Property

The CSS @page property can be used to specify the page size and orientation for printing. To set landscape orientation, use the following code:

@media print{@page {size: landscape}}

Support:

• IE7: Appears to work, but it's likely remembering the user's previous selection.
• Other browsers: Not supported, as the @page size attribute is not part of any web standard.

Workarounds:

• Scripting: Using JavaScript or ActiveX to send keys to the user's browser to change printing settings. However, this is unreliable and may require altering security settings.
• Rotating Content: Rotating the content using CSS instead of the entire page. This can cause alignment and layout issues.
• Generating PDF: Creating a landscape version of the document in PDF format and configuring it to automatically print when selecting the print option. However, this may not work properly in IE7.

Conclusion:

Setting landscape orientation from HTML is challenging due to limited browser support. While the @page property may seem to work in some cases, it's not reliable. Other alternatives, such as scripting, rotating content, or generating PDFs, may be necessary depending on the browser and the document's content.

The above is the detailed content of Can HTML Directly Control Landscape Printing in Browsers?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!