Font color

rbuser

Hi,

I had problem for the font color when print to my HP Laser Jet 4 plus. I
set all my label/dbtext font color to like Grayscale color, like
clBtnShadow, even more bright like clBtnFace, but when print out, it still
print in BLACK color. what's going on?

William

nardmoseley

RB tries to determine whether the printer can handle gray scale text and if
not, sets the font color to black.

See ppPrintr.Pas, the methods TppPrinterCanvas.UpdateDeviceContext and
CustomPrinter.CanGrayScale and CustomPrinter.DeviceContextChanged.


--
Nard Moseley
Digital Metaphors Corporation
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Hi, Nard

Then there seems something went wrong in the methods. I was using the same
Gray Color to write a text in the MS Word and it prints correct. Could you
please give me some hints to get it work?

Willima

rbuser

Hi,

The logic to check if the printer CanGrayScale or not is not very right,
since the printer can print the color image into gray scale properly, why
the font color can not be grayed?

William

nardmoseley

True, but images and text are not rendered using the same Win API commands.

There is a Win API function called GrayString, check out the definition for
it in the Windows SDK help. Why would this function be needed if gray text
worked properly? This function basically draws the text to a bitmap and then
draws that to the printer. MS Word probably does that too.

What we have implemented now, is not based upon any formal MS docs that we
could find, but is based on what we encountered from ourselves and
customers.

Windows printer drivers handle color in many different ways, what works on
one, might not work another. So we have things implemented on the
conservative side of things. We need to have things work for as many drivers
as is possible. No one likes to get a report printed with blank text.



--
Nard Moseley
Digital Metaphors Corporation
http://www.digital-metaphors.com