How to print raw BOCA FGL commands from PHP directly to the client printer
Product WebClientPrint for PHP Published 07/18/2016 Updated 10/28/2020 Author Neodynamic
Overview
FRIENDLY GHOST LANGUAGE (FGL) is Boca's industry standard language that allows developers to print data, graphics, boxes and bar codes anywhere on a ticket or label in virtually any orientation.
BOCA FGL commands are very simple and text plain! The main advantage of using raw BOCA FGL commands for printing instead of using the built-in browser javascript printing (window.print();) is that the printing performance will be way faster; a factor that is key in the aforementioned scenarios. In PHP websites, you'll be able to use raw printing feature thanks to our WebClientPrint for PHP solution that was specially designed for this kind of printing needs.
In this walkthrough, you'll learn how to print raw FGL commands from a PHP website directly to the client printer without displaying a print dialog at all. You'll be able to print BOCA FGL commands to the Default client printer as well as to any other installed printer at the client machine. This solution works with any popular browser like Chrome, Firefox, Opera & Safari on Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi or Mac systems!
The BOCA FGL commands that we'll use in this article will print out a ticket passport that will look like this:
A Sample Ticket Passport printed from PHP and created by using BOCA FGL commands
Later on this article, you'll find the BOCA FGL commands and their explanation that you can use in PHP to print the sample label shown above.
Try Online Demo!Requirements
Development/Server-side
WebClientPrint 6.0 for PHP (or greater)
PHP 5.3 (or greater)
jQuery 1.4.1 (or greater)
Client-side
WebClientPrint Processor 6.0 for Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi & Mac
Follow up these steps
- Download & install WebClientPrint for PHP
- Create a new PHP Website naming it PrintFGLSample
- Now follow up the instructions for each PHP Classic or PHP MVC/Laravel:
• Create a new folder called wcpcache at your project's root folder
• Copy the WebClientPrint.php to your project's root folder
Creating Controllers
• Create a new PHP file at root folder and name it WebClientPrintController.php and then copy/paste the following code:
<?php //********************************* // IMPORTANT NOTE // 1. In this sample we store users related stuff (like // the list of printers and whether they have the WCPP // client utility installed) in the wcpcache folder BUT // you can change it to another different storage (like a DB)! // which will be required in Load Balacing scenarios // // 2. If your website requires user authentication, then // THIS FILE MUST be set to ALLOW ANONYMOUS access!!! // //********************************* include 'WebClientPrint.php'; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; //IMPORTANT SETTINGS: //=================== //Set wcpcache folder RELATIVE to WebClientPrint.php file //FILE WRITE permission on this folder is required!!! WebClientPrint::$wcpCacheFolder = getcwd().'/wcpcache/'; if (file_exists(WebClientPrint::$wcpCacheFolder) == false) { //create wcpcache folder $old_umask = umask(0); mkdir(WebClientPrint::$wcpCacheFolder, 0777); umask($old_umask); } //=================== // Clean built-in Cache // NOTE: Remove it if you implement your own cache system WebClientPrint::cacheClean(30); //in minutes // Process WebClientPrint Request $urlParts = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']); if (isset($urlParts['query'])){ $query = $urlParts['query']; parse_str($query, $qs); //get session id from querystring if any $sid = NULL; if (isset($qs[WebClientPrint::SID])){ $sid = $qs[WebClientPrint::SID]; } try{ //get request type $reqType = WebClientPrint::GetProcessRequestType($query); if($reqType == WebClientPrint::GenPrintScript || $reqType == WebClientPrint::GenWcppDetectScript){ //Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script //Get Absolute URL of this file $currentAbsoluteURL = (@$_SERVER["HTTPS"] == "on") ? "https://" : "http://"; $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"]; if($_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "80" && $_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "443") { $currentAbsoluteURL .= ":".$_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"]; } $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]; $currentAbsoluteURL = substr($currentAbsoluteURL, 0, strrpos($currentAbsoluteURL, '?')); ob_start(); ob_clean(); header('Content-type: text/javascript'); echo WebClientPrint::generateScript($currentAbsoluteURL, $query); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetWcppVersion) { //This request is a ping from the WCPP utility //so store the session ID indicating this user has the WCPP installed //also store the WCPP Version if available if(isset($qs[WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION]) && strlen($qs[WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION]) > 0){ WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_WCPP_VER, $qs[WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION]); } return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetInstalledPrinters) { //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side //so store this info with the specified session ID WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERS, strlen($qs[WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_PRINTERS]) > 0 ? $qs[WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_PRINTERS] : ''); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo) { //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side with detailed info //so store this info with the specified session ID //Printers Info is in JSON format $printersInfo = $_POST['printersInfoContent']; WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERSINFO, $printersInfo); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetWcppVersion) { //return the WCPP version for the specified Session ID (sid) if any ob_start(); ob_clean(); header('Content-type: text/plain'); echo WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_WCPP_VER); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetInstalledPrinters) { //return the installed printers for the specified Session ID (sid) if any ob_start(); ob_clean(); header('Content-type: text/plain'); echo base64_decode(WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERS)); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo) { //return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any ob_start(); ob_clean(); header('Content-type: text/plain'); echo base64_decode(WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERSINFO)); return; } } catch (Exception $ex) { throw $ex; } }• Create a new PHP file and name it PrintFGLController.php and then copy/paste the following code:
<?php include 'WebClientPrint.php'; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\DefaultPrinter; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\InstalledPrinter; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\ClientPrintJob; // Process request // Generate ClientPrintJob? only if clientPrint param is in the query string $urlParts = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']); if (isset($urlParts['query'])) { $rawQuery = $urlParts['query']; parse_str($rawQuery, $qs); if (isset($qs[WebClientPrint::CLIENT_PRINT_JOB])) { $useDefaultPrinter = ($qs['useDefaultPrinter'] === 'checked'); $printerName = urldecode($qs['printerName']); //Create BOCA FGL commands for sample label $cmds = ''; $cmds .= '<RL><RC360,10><F3><HW1,1>GHOSTWRITER WORLD'; $cmds .= '<RC380,76><F6><HW1,1><BS26,44>ALL<F2>'; $cmds .= '<F6><BS26,44>THREE<F2> <F6><BS26,44>PARKS'; $cmds .= '<RC348,130><F6><HW1,1><BS42,44>PASSPORT'; $cmds .= '<RC324,240><RL><F6><HW2,2>6'; $cmds .= '<RC210,240><HW1,1>DAY'; $cmds .= '<RC230,290><F3><HW1,1>ADMIT ONE'; $cmds .= '<RC230,320><F6><HW1,1>GUEST'; $cmds .= '<F1><RC230,370><F1><HW1,1>VERY SMALL PRINT'; $cmds .= '<RC24,530><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC25,528><LT2><VX338>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,550><HW1,1><F2>DAY 1'; $cmds .= '<RC24,580><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,600>DAY 2'; $cmds .= '<RC24,630><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,650>DAY 3'; $cmds .= '<RC24,680><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,700>DAY 4'; $cmds .= '<RC24,730><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC25,780><LT2><VX338>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,760>DAY 5'; $cmds .= '<RC340,400><RL><F6><BS36,44><HW1,1>DAY GUEST'; $cmds .= '<RC260,450><F3><HW1,1>$112.00'; $cmds .= '<RC240,482><F3>PLUS TAX'; $cmds .= '<RC280,1010><F3><HW1,1>12345678'; $cmds .= '<RC60,990><NL10><X2>*01000407*'; $cmds .= '<RC360,820><F9><HW1,1>VALID ONLY ON DATE STAMPED'; $cmds .= 'NONTRANSFERABLE NONREFUNDABLE'; $cmds .= '<RC280,870><F3><HW1,1>01000407'; $cmds .= '<RC20,1079><RR><F3><HW1,1>GHOSTWRITER WORLD'; $cmds .= '<p>'; //Create a ClientPrintJob obj that will be processed at the client side by the WCPP $cpj = new ClientPrintJob(); //set FGL commands to print... $cpj->printerCommands = $cmds; $cpj->formatHexValues = true; if ($useDefaultPrinter || $printerName === 'null') { $cpj->clientPrinter = new DefaultPrinter(); } else { $cpj->clientPrinter = new InstalledPrinter($printerName); } //Send ClientPrintJob back to the client ob_start(); ob_clean(); header('Content-type: application/octet-stream'); echo $cpj->sendToClient(); ob_end_flush(); exit(); } }Creating Web Pages
• The default page is for detecting whether the client machine has the WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP) Utility installed. Create a new PHP page and name it index.php. Then copy/paste the following code:
<?php session_start(); include 'WebClientPrint.php'; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; ?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Detecting WebClientPrint Processor...</title> <style> body{font: 13px 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} </style> </head> <body> <div id="msgInProgress"> <div id="mySpinner" style="width:32px;height:32px"></div> <br /> Detecting WCPP utility at client side... <br /> Please wait a few seconds... <br /> </div> <div id="msgInstallWCPP" style="display:none;"> <h3>#1 Install WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP)!</h3> <p> <strong>WCPP is a native app (without any dependencies!)</strong> that handles all print jobs generated by the <strong>WebClientPrint PHP component</strong> at the server side. The WCPP is in charge of the whole printing process and can be installed on <strong>Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi & Mac!</strong> </p> <p> <a href="http://www.neodynamic.com/downloads/wcpp/" target="_blank">Download and Install WCPP from Neodynamic website</a><br /> </p> <h3>#2 After installing WCPP...</h3> <p> <a href="PrintFGL.php">You can go and test the printing page</a> </p> </div> <!-- Add Reference to jQuery at Google CDN --> <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var wcppPingTimeout_ms = 60000; //60 sec var wcppPingTimeoutStep_ms = 500; //0.5 sec function wcppDetectOnSuccess(){ // WCPP utility is installed at the client side // redirect to WebClientPrint sample page // get WCPP version var wcppVer = arguments[0]; if(wcppVer.substring(0, 1) == "6") window.location.href = "PrintFGL.php"; else //force to install WCPP v6.0 wcppDetectOnFailure(); } function wcppDetectOnFailure() { // It seems WCPP is not installed at the client side // ask the user to install it $('#msgInProgress').hide(); $('#msgInstallWCPP').show(); } </script> <?php //Get Absolute URL of this page $currentAbsoluteURL = (@$_SERVER["HTTPS"] == "on") ? "https://" : "http://"; $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"]; if($_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "80" && $_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "443") { $currentAbsoluteURL .= ":".$_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"]; } $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]; //WebClientPrinController.php is at the same page level as WebClientPrint.php $webClientPrintControllerAbsoluteURL = substr($currentAbsoluteURL, 0, strrpos($currentAbsoluteURL, '/')).'/WebClientPrintController.php'; // Create WCPP detection script echo WebClientPrint::createWcppDetectionScript($webClientPrintControllerAbsoluteURL, session_id()); ?> </body> </html>• Add a new PHP page and name it PrintFGL.php. Copy/paste the following code:
<?php session_start(); include 'WebClientPrint.php'; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; ?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>How to directly Print FGL Commands without Preview or Printer Dialog</title> </head> <body> <!-- Store User's SessionId --> <input type="hidden" id="sid" name="sid" value="<?php echo session_id(); ?>" /> <h1>How to directly Print FGL Commands without Preview or Printer Dialog</h1> <label class="checkbox"> <input type="checkbox" id="useDefaultPrinter" /> <strong>Use default printer</strong> or... </label> <div id="loadPrinters"> <br /> WebClientPrint can detect the installed printers in your machine. <br /> <input type="button" onclick="javascript:jsWebClientPrint.getPrinters();" value="Load installed printers..." /> <br /><br /> </div> <div id="installedPrinters" style="visibility:hidden"> <br /> <label for="installedPrinterName">Select an installed Printer:</label> <select name="installedPrinterName" id="installedPrinterName"></select> </div> <br /><br /> <input type="button" style="font-size:18px" onclick="javascript:jsWebClientPrint.print('useDefaultPrinter=' + $('#useDefaultPrinter').attr('checked') + '&printerName=' + $('#installedPrinterName').val());" value="Print Label..." /> <script type="text/javascript"> var wcppGetPrintersTimeout_ms = 60000; //60 sec var wcppGetPrintersTimeoutStep_ms = 500; //0.5 sec function wcpGetPrintersOnSuccess(){ // Display client installed printers if(arguments[0].length > 0){ var p=arguments[0].split("|"); var options = ''; for (var i = 0; i < p.length; i++) { options += '<option>' + p[i] + '</option>'; } $('#installedPrinters').css('visibility','visible'); $('#installedPrinterName').html(options); $('#installedPrinterName').focus(); $('#loadPrinters').hide(); }else{ alert("No printers are installed in your system."); } } function wcpGetPrintersOnFailure() { // Do something if printers cannot be got from the client alert("No printers are installed in your system."); } </script> <!-- Add Reference to jQuery at Google CDN --> <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <?php //Get Absolute URL of this page $currentAbsoluteURL = (@$_SERVER["HTTPS"] == "on") ? "https://" : "http://"; $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"]; if($_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "80" && $_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "443") { $currentAbsoluteURL .= ":".$_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"]; } $currentAbsoluteURL .= $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]; //WebClientPrinController.php is at the same page level as WebClientPrint.php $webClientPrintControllerAbsoluteURL = substr($currentAbsoluteURL, 0, strrpos($currentAbsoluteURL, '/')).'/WebClientPrintController.php'; //PrintFGLController.php is at the same page level as WebClientPrint.php $printFGLControllerAbsoluteURL = substr($currentAbsoluteURL, 0, strrpos($currentAbsoluteURL, '/')).'/PrintFGLController.php'; //Specify the ABSOLUTE URL to the WebClientPrintController.php and to the file that will create the ClientPrintJob object echo WebClientPrint::createScript($webClientPrintControllerAbsoluteURL, $printFGLControllerAbsoluteURL, session_id()); ?> </body> </html>WebClientPrint Setup for Laravel 8+
• Create a new folder called WebClientPrint under app folder of your project
• Copy the WebClientPrint.php to that WebClientPrint folder
• Create a new folder called wcpcache under the WebClientPrint folder
Creating Controllers
• Add a new Controller to your project and name it WebClientPrintController.php. Then copy/paste the following code:
<?php namespace App\Http\Controllers; use Illuminate\Http\Request; //********************************* // IMPORTANT NOTE // 1. In this sample we store users related stuff (like // the list of printers and whether they have the WCPP // client utility installed) in the wcpcache folder BUT // you can change it to another different storage (like a DB)! // which will be required in Load Balacing scenarios // // 2. If your website requires user authentication, then // THIS FILE MUST be set to ALLOW ANONYMOUS access!!! // // 3. EXCLUDE this Controller from CSRF Protection // Ref https://laravel.com/docs/5.5/csrf#csrf-excluding-uris //********************************* //Includes WebClientPrint classes include_once(app_path() . '\WebClientPrint\WebClientPrint.php'); use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; class WebClientPrintController extends Controller { public function processRequest(Request $request){ //IMPORTANT SETTINGS: //=================== //Set wcpcache folder RELATIVE to WebClientPrint.php file //FILE WRITE permission on this folder is required!!! WebClientPrint::$wcpCacheFolder = app_path() . '/WebClientPrint/wcpcache/'; //=================== // Clean built-in Cache // NOTE: Remove it if you implement your own cache system WebClientPrint::cacheClean(30); //in minutes //get session id from querystring if any $sid = NULL; if ($request->has(WebClientPrint::SID)){ $sid = $request->input(WebClientPrint::SID); } try{ //get query string from url $query = substr($request->fullUrl(), strpos($request->fullUrl(), '?')+1); //get request type $reqType = WebClientPrint::GetProcessRequestType($query); if($reqType == WebClientPrint::GenPrintScript || $reqType == WebClientPrint::GenWcppDetectScript){ //Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script //Get Absolute URL of this file $currentAbsoluteURL = substr($request->fullUrl(), 0, strrpos($request->fullUrl(), '?')); // Return WebClientPrint's javascript code return response(WebClientPrint::generateScript($currentAbsoluteURL, $query)) ->header('Content-Type', 'text/javascript'); } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetWcppVersion) { //This request is a ping from the WCPP utility //so store the session ID indicating this user has the WCPP installed //also store the WCPP Version if available if($request->has(WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION) && strlen($request->input(WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION)) > 0){ WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_WCPP_VER, $request->input(WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_VERSION)); } return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetInstalledPrinters) { //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side //so store this info with the specified session ID WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERS, strlen($request->input(WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_PRINTERS)) > 0 ? $request->input(WebClientPrint::WCPP_SET_PRINTERS) : ''); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo) { //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side with detailed info //so store this info with the specified session ID //Printers Info is in JSON format $printersInfo = $request->input('printersInfoContent'); WebClientPrint::cacheAdd($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERSINFO, $printersInfo); return; } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetWcppVersion) { //return the WCPP version for the specified Session ID (sid) if any return response(WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_WCPP_VER)) ->header('Content-Type', 'text/plain'); } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetInstalledPrinters) { //return the installed printers for the specified Session ID (sid) if any return response(base64_decode(WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERS))) ->header('Content-Type', 'text/plain'); } else if ($reqType == WebClientPrint::ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo) { //return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any return response(base64_decode(WebClientPrint::cacheGet($sid, WebClientPrint::WCP_CACHE_PRINTERSINFO))) ->header('Content-Type', 'text/plain'); } } catch (Exception $ex) { throw $ex; } } }• Exclude WebClientPrintAPIController from CSRF Protection by editing app\Http\Middleware\VerifyCsrfToken.php so it looks like the following code:
<?php namespace App\Http\Middleware; use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Middleware\VerifyCsrfToken as Middleware; class VerifyCsrfToken extends BaseVerifier { /** * The URIs that should be excluded from CSRF verification. * * @var array */ protected $except = [ 'WebClientPrintController' ]; }• Edit the HomeController so it looks like the following code:
<?php namespace App\Http\Controllers; use Illuminate\Http\Request; use Session; //Includes WebClientPrint classes include_once(app_path() . '\WebClientPrint\WebClientPrint.php'); use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; class HomeController extends Controller { public function index(){ $wcppScript = WebClientPrint::createWcppDetectionScript(action('WebClientPrintController@processRequest'), Session::getId()); return view('home.index', ['wcppScript' => $wcppScript]); } public function printFGL(){ $wcpScript = WebClientPrint::createScript(action('WebClientPrintController@processRequest'), action('PrintFGLController@printCommands'), Session::getId()); return view('home.printFGL', ['wcpScript' => $wcpScript]); } }• Add a new Controller and name it PrintFGLController and paste the following code:
<?php namespace App\Http\Controllers; use Illuminate\Http\Request; //********************************* // IMPORTANT NOTE // ============== // If your website requires user authentication, then // THIS FILE MUST be set to ALLOW ANONYMOUS access!!! // //********************************* //Includes WebClientPrint classes include_once(app_path() . '\WebClientPrint\WebClientPrint.php'); use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\WebClientPrint; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\Utils; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\DefaultPrinter; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\InstalledPrinter; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\PrintFile; use Neodynamic\SDK\Web\ClientPrintJob; use Session; class PrintFGLController extends Controller { public function printCommands(Request $request){ if ($request->exists(WebClientPrint::CLIENT_PRINT_JOB)) { $useDefaultPrinter = ($request->input('useDefaultPrinter') === 'checked'); $printerName = urldecode($request->input('printerName')); //Create BOCA FGL commands for sample label $cmds = ''; $cmds .= '<RL><RC360,10><F3><HW1,1>GHOSTWRITER WORLD'; $cmds .= '<RC380,76><F6><HW1,1><BS26,44>ALL<F2>'; $cmds .= '<F6><BS26,44>THREE<F2> <F6><BS26,44>PARKS'; $cmds .= '<RC348,130><F6><HW1,1><BS42,44>PASSPORT'; $cmds .= '<RC324,240><RL><F6><HW2,2>6'; $cmds .= '<RC210,240><HW1,1>DAY'; $cmds .= '<RC230,290><F3><HW1,1>ADMIT ONE'; $cmds .= '<RC230,320><F6><HW1,1>GUEST'; $cmds .= '<F1><RC230,370><F1><HW1,1>VERY SMALL PRINT'; $cmds .= '<RC24,530><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC25,528><LT2><VX338>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,550><HW1,1><F2>DAY 1'; $cmds .= '<RC24,580><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,600>DAY 2'; $cmds .= '<RC24,630><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,650>DAY 3'; $cmds .= '<RC24,680><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,700>DAY 4'; $cmds .= '<RC24,730><LT2><BX340,50>'; $cmds .= '<RC25,780><LT2><VX338>'; $cmds .= '<RC216,760>DAY 5'; $cmds .= '<RC340,400><RL><F6><BS36,44><HW1,1>DAY GUEST'; $cmds .= '<RC260,450><F3><HW1,1>$112.00'; $cmds .= '<RC240,482><F3>PLUS TAX'; $cmds .= '<RC280,1010><F3><HW1,1>12345678'; $cmds .= '<RC60,990><NL10><X2>*01000407*'; $cmds .= '<RC360,820><F9><HW1,1>VALID ONLY ON DATE STAMPED'; $cmds .= 'NONTRANSFERABLE NONREFUNDABLE'; $cmds .= '<RC280,870><F3><HW1,1>01000407'; $cmds .= '<RC20,1079><RR><F3><HW1,1>GHOSTWRITER WORLD'; $cmds .= '<p>'; //Create a ClientPrintJob obj that will be processed at the client side by the WCPP $cpj = new ClientPrintJob(); //set FGL commands to print... $cpj->printerCommands = $cmds; $cpj->formatHexValues = true; if ($useDefaultPrinter || $printerName === 'null') { $cpj->clientPrinter = new DefaultPrinter(); } else { $cpj->clientPrinter = new InstalledPrinter($printerName); } //Send ClientPrintJob back to the client return response($cpj->sendToClient()) ->header('Content-Type', 'application/octet-stream'); } } }Creating/Editing Views
• Edit the resources / views / layouts / app.blade.php file so it looks like follows:
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <title>WebClientPrint for PHP</title> </head> <body> <div> @yield('body') </div> <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.2.4.min.js"></script> @yield('scripts') </body> </html>• The default View is for detecting whether the client machine has the WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP) Utility installed. Edit the resources / views / home / index.blade.php file and add the folowing section to the BODY:
@extends('layouts.app') @section('body') <div id="msgInProgress"> <h3>Detecting WCPP utility at client side...</h3> <h3>Please wait a few seconds...</h3> <br /> </div> <div id="msgInstallWCPP" style="display:none;"> <h3>#1 Install WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP)!</h3> <p> <strong>WCPP is a native app (without any dependencies!)</strong> that handles all print jobs generated by the <strong>WebClientPrint for PHP component</strong> at the server side. The WCPP is in charge of the whole printing process and can be installed on <strong>Windows, Linux, Mac & Raspberry Pi!</strong> </p> <p> <a href="//www.neodynamic.com/downloads/wcpp/" target="_blank" >Download and Install WCPP from Neodynamic website</a><br /> </p> <h3>#2 After installing WCPP...</h3> <p> <a href="{{action('HomeController@printFGL')}}" >You can go and test the printing page...</a> </p> </div> @endsection @section('scripts') <script type="text/javascript"> var wcppPingTimeout_ms = 60000; //60 sec var wcppPingTimeoutStep_ms = 500; //0.5 sec function wcppDetectOnSuccess(){ // WCPP utility is installed at the client side // redirect to WebClientPrint sample page // get WCPP version var wcppVer = arguments[0]; if(wcppVer.substring(0, 1) == "6") window.location.href = '{{action('HomeController@printFGL')}}'; else //force to install WCPP v6.0 wcppDetectOnFailure(); } function wcppDetectOnFailure() { // It seems WCPP is not installed at the client side // ask the user to install it $('#msgInProgress').hide(); $('#msgInstallWCPP').show(); } </script> {!! // Register the WCPP Detection script code // The $wcpScript was generated by HomeController@index $wcppScript; !!} @endsection• Add a new View with the following name and under such folders: resources / views / home / printFGL.blade.php Then, copy/paste the folowing code:
@extends('layouts.app') @section('body') <h1>How to directly Print FGL Commands without Preview or Printer Dialog</h1> <label class="checkbox"> <input type="checkbox" id="useDefaultPrinter" /> <strong>Use default printer</strong> or... </label> <div id="loadPrinters"> <br /> WebClientPrint can detect the installed printers in your machine. <br /> <input type="button" onclick="javascript:jsWebClientPrint.getPrinters();" value="Load installed printers..." /> <br /><br /> </div> <div id="installedPrinters" style="visibility:hidden"> <br /> <label for="installedPrinterName">Select an installed Printer:</label> <select name="installedPrinterName" id="installedPrinterName"></select> </div> <br /><br /> <input type="button" style="font-size:18px" onclick="javascript:jsWebClientPrint.print('useDefaultPrinter=' + $('#useDefaultPrinter').attr('checked') + '&printerName=' + $('#installedPrinterName').val());" value="Print Label..." /> @endsection @section('scripts') <script type="text/javascript"> var wcppGetPrintersTimeout_ms = 60000; //60 sec var wcppGetPrintersTimeoutStep_ms = 500; //0.5 sec function wcpGetPrintersOnSuccess(){ // Display client installed printers if(arguments[0].length > 0){ var p=arguments[0].split("|"); var options = ''; for (var i = 0; i < p.length; i++) { options += '<option>' + p[i] + '</option>'; } $('#installedPrinters').css('visibility','visible'); $('#installedPrinterName').html(options); $('#installedPrinterName').focus(); $('#loadPrinters').hide(); }else{ alert("No printers are installed in your system."); } } function wcpGetPrintersOnFailure() { // Do something if printers cannot be got from the client alert("No printers are installed in your system."); } </script> {!! // Register the WebClientPrint script code // The $wcpScript was generated by PrintFGLController@index $wcpScript; !!} @endsection• Finally, add the following routes to routes / web.php
Route::get('/', 'HomeController@index'); Route::get('home', 'HomeController@index'); Route::get('home/index', 'HomeController@index'); Route::get('home/printFGL', 'HomeController@printFGL'); Route::get('PrintFGLController', 'PrintFGLController@printCommands'); Route::any('WebClientPrintController', 'WebClientPrintController@processRequest');• Edit the app\Providers\RouteServiceProvider.php and uncommet the line
protected $namespace = 'App\\Http\\Controllers'; - That's it! Run your website and test it. Click on Print Label to print the FGL Commands without print dialog. You can print it to the Default client printer or you can get a list of the installed printers available at the client machine.