Migrating to WebClientPrint 4.0 for ASP.NET MVC & WebForms

Product WebClientPrint for ASP.NET Published 12/22/2017 Updated 03/07/2018 Author

Overview

The brand new WebClientPrint 4.0 for ASP.NET is compatible with Version 3.0 but a few modifications must be done to get v4.0 working on an existing project using v3.0. Please use this article as a general guide to upgrading your server-side code to v4.0

If your project is using old Version 2.0 then you must first migrate your code to v3.0 and follow up the steps stated in this article.

In this article:

• WebClientPrint Assembly Update

In your project where old v3 is being used and you want to upgrade to v4, then UPDATE the WebClientPrint dll assembly to latest v4. Do it by downloading the package installer from our website's Download section or from Nuget

• WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP) Update

Any project using WebClientPrint assembly v4 will require that ANY Client that wants to print from them, to install WebClientPrint Processor (WCPP) v4 which can be downloaded and installed from our website's Download section

• WebClientPrintAPI or WebClientPrintAPIController Update

In v4.0, WebClientPrint brings new features that require you to update the code you used to have to v3.0 in the WebClientPrintAPI.ashx handler (for WebForms) or in the WebClientPrintAPIController.cs/vb (for MVC)

C#


public class WebClientPrintAPIController : Controller
{
    [AllowAnonymous]
    public void ProcessRequest()
    {
        //get session ID
        string sessionID = (HttpContext.Request["sid"] != null ? HttpContext.Request["sid"] : null);

        //get Query String
        string queryString = HttpContext.Request.Url.Query;

        try
        {
            //Determine and get the Type of Request 
            RequestType prType = WebClientPrint.GetProcessRequestType(queryString);

            if (prType == RequestType.GenPrintScript ||
                prType == RequestType.GenWcppDetectScript)
            {
                //Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script
                byte[] script = WebClientPrint.GenerateScript(Url.Action("ProcessRequest", "WebClientPrintAPI", null, HttpContext.Request.Url.Scheme), queryString);

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/javascript";
                HttpContext.Response.BinaryWrite(script);
                HttpContext.Response.End();
            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientSetWcppVersion)
            {
                //This request is a ping from the WCPP utility
                //so store the session ID indicating it has the WCPP installed
                //also store the WCPP Version if available
                string wcppVersion = HttpContext.Request["wcppVer"];
                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(wcppVersion))
                    wcppVersion = "1.0.0.0";

                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID + "wcppInstalled", wcppVersion);
            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrinters)
            {
                //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                //so store this info with the specified session ID
                string printers = HttpContext.Request["printers"];
                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(printers) == false)
                    printers = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printers));

                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID + "printers", printers);

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo)
            {
                //WCPP Utility is sending the client installed printers with detailed info
                //so store this info with the specified session ID
                //Printers Info is in JSON format
                string printersInfo = HttpContext.Request.Form["printersInfoContent"];

                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(printersInfo) == false)
                    printersInfo = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printersInfo));

                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID + "printersInfo", printersInfo);


            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetWcppVersion)
            {
                //return the WCPP version for the specified sid if any
                bool sidWcppVersion = (HttpContext.Application.Get(sessionID + "wcppInstalled") != null);

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                HttpContext.Response.Write((sidWcppVersion ? HttpContext.Application.Get(sessionID + "wcppInstalled") : ""));
                HttpContext.Response.End();

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrinters)
            {
                //return the installed printers for the specified sid if any
                bool sidHasPrinters = (HttpContext.Application.Get(sessionID + "printers") != null);

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                HttpContext.Response.Write((sidHasPrinters ? HttpContext.Application.Get(sessionID + "printers") : ""));
                HttpContext.Response.End();
            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo)
            {
                //return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                bool sidHasPrinters = (HttpContext.Application[sessionID + "printersInfo"] != null);

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                HttpContext.Response.Write(sidHasPrinters ? HttpContext.Application[sessionID + "printersInfo"] : "");

            }

        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            HttpContext.Response.StatusCode = 500;
            HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
            HttpContext.Response.Write(ex.Message + " - StackTrace: " + ex.StackTrace);
            HttpContext.Response.End();
        }

            
    }
}

VB


Public Class WebClientPrintAPIController
    Inherits Controller

    ' GET: WebClientPrintAPI
    Function Index() As ActionResult
        Return View()
    End Function

    '*********************************
    ' IMPORTANT NOTE 
    ' In this sample we store users related stuff (like
    ' the list of printers and whether they have the WCPP 
    ' client utility installed) in the Application cache
    ' object part of ASP.NET BUT you can change it to 
    ' another different storage (like a DB or file server)!
    ' which will be required in Load Balacing scenarios
    '*********************************


    <AllowAnonymous>
    Public Sub ProcessRequest()
        'get session ID
        Dim sessionID As String = (If(HttpContext.Request("sid") IsNot Nothing, HttpContext.Request("sid"), Nothing))

        'get Query String
        Dim queryString As String = HttpContext.Request.Url.Query

        Try
            'Determine and get the Type of Request 
            Dim prType As RequestType = WebClientPrint.GetProcessRequestType(queryString)

            If prType = RequestType.GenPrintScript OrElse prType = RequestType.GenWcppDetectScript Then
                'Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script
                Dim script As Byte() = WebClientPrint.GenerateScript(Url.Action("ProcessRequest", "WebClientPrintAPI", Nothing, HttpContext.Request.Url.Scheme), queryString)

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/javascript"
                HttpContext.Response.BinaryWrite(script)
                HttpContext.Response.End()

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetWcppVersion Then
                'This request is a ping from the WCPP utility
                'so store the session ID indicating it has the WCPP installed
                'also store the WCPP Version if available
                Dim wcppVersion As String = HttpContext.Request("wcppVer")
                If String.IsNullOrEmpty(wcppVersion) Then
                    wcppVersion = "1.0.0.0"
                End If

                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID & "wcppInstalled", wcppVersion)

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrinters Then
                'WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                'so store this info with the specified session ID
                Dim printers As String = HttpContext.Request("printers")
                If String.IsNullOrEmpty(printers) = False Then
                    printers = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printers))
                End If


                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID & "printers", printers)

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo Then
                'WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                'so store this info with the specified session ID
                'Printers Info is in JSON format
                Dim printersInfo As String = HttpContext.Request.Form("printersInfoContent")
                If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(printersInfo) Then
                    printersInfo = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printersInfo))
                End If

                HttpContext.Application.Set(sessionID & "printersInfo", printersInfo)


            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetWcppVersion Then
                'return the WCPP version for the specified sid if any
                Dim sidWcppVersion As Boolean = (HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "wcppInstalled") IsNot Nothing)

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"
                If (sidWcppVersion) Then
                    HttpContext.Response.Write(HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "wcppInstalled").ToString())
                End If
                HttpContext.Response.End()

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrinters Then
                'return the installed printers for the specified sid if any
                Dim sidHasPrinters As Boolean = (HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "printers") IsNot Nothing)

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"
                If (sidHasPrinters) Then
                    HttpContext.Response.Write(HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "printers").ToString())
                End If
                HttpContext.Response.End()

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo Then
                'return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                Dim sidHasPrinters As Boolean = (HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "printersInfo") IsNot Nothing)

                HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"

                If (sidHasPrinters) Then
                    HttpContext.Response.Write(HttpContext.Application(sessionID & "printersInfo").ToString())
                End If
                HttpContext.Response.End()
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            HttpContext.Response.StatusCode = 500
            HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"
            HttpContext.Response.Write(ex.Message + " - StackTrace: " + ex.StackTrace)
            HttpContext.Response.End()
        End Try


    End Sub

End Class

C#


using System;
using System.Web;
using System.IO;

using Neodynamic.SDK.Web;

public class WebClientPrintAPI : IHttpHandler {

    //*********************************
    // IMPORTANT NOTE 
    // In this sample we store users related stuff (like
    // the list of printers and whether they have the WCPP 
    // client utility installed) in the Application cache
    // object part of ASP.NET BUT you can change it to 
    // another different storage (like a DB or file server)!
    // which will be required in Load Balacing scenarios
    //*********************************

    public void ProcessRequest (HttpContext context) {
        //get session ID
        string sessionID = (context.Request["sid"] != null) ? context.Request["sid"].ToString() : null;

        //get Query String
        string queryString = context.Request.Url.Query;

        try
        {
            //Determine and get the Type of Request 
            RequestType prType = WebClientPrint.GetProcessRequestType(queryString);

            if (prType == RequestType.GenPrintScript ||
                prType == RequestType.GenWcppDetectScript)
            {
                //Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script
                byte[] script = WebClientPrint.GenerateScript(context.Request.Url.AbsoluteUri.Replace(queryString, ""), queryString);

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/javascript";
                context.Response.BinaryWrite(script);
            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.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
                string wcppVersion = context.Request["wcppVer"];
                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(wcppVersion))
                    wcppVersion = "1.0.0.0";

                context.Application.Set(sessionID + "wcppInstalled", wcppVersion);
            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrinters)
            {
                //WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                //so store this info with the specified session ID
                string printers = context.Request["printers"];
                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(printers) == false)
                    printers = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printers));

                context.Application.Set(sessionID + "printers", printers);

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo)
            {
                //WCPP Utility is sending the client installed printers with detailed info
                //so store this info with the specified session ID
                //Printers Info is in JSON format
                string printersInfo = context.Request.Form["printersInfoContent"];

                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(printersInfo) == false)
                    printersInfo = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printersInfo));

                context.Application.Set(sessionID + "printersInfo", printersInfo);

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetWcppVersion)
            {
                //return the WCPP version for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                bool sidWcppVersion = (context.Application[sessionID + "wcppInstalled"] != null);

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                context.Response.Write(sidWcppVersion ? context.Application[sessionID + "wcppInstalled"] : "");

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrinters)
            {
                //return the installed printers for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                bool sidHasPrinters = (context.Application[sessionID + "printers"] != null);

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                context.Response.Write(sidHasPrinters ? context.Application[sessionID + "printers"] : "");

            }
            else if (prType == RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo)
            {
                //return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                bool sidHasPrinters = (context.Application[sessionID + "printersInfo"] != null);

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
                context.Response.Write(sidHasPrinters ? context.Application[sessionID + "printersInfo"] : "");

            }

        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            context.Response.StatusCode = 500;
            context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
            context.Response.Write(ex.Message + " - " + ex.StackTrace);
        }



    }

    public bool IsReusable {
        get {
            return false;
        }
    }

}

VB


Imports System
Imports System.Web

Imports Neodynamic.SDK.Web


Public Class WebClientPrintAPI : Implements IHttpHandler

    '*********************************
    ' IMPORTANT NOTE 
    ' In this sample we store users related stuff (like
    ' the list of printers and whether they have the WCPP 
    ' client utility installed) in the Application cache
    ' object part of ASP.NET BUT you can change it to 
    ' another different storage (like a DB or file server)!
    ' which will be required in Load Balacing scenarios
    '*********************************

    Public Sub ProcessRequest(ByVal context As HttpContext) Implements IHttpHandler.ProcessRequest
        'get session ID
        Dim sessionID As String = ""
        If (context.Request("sid") IsNot Nothing) Then
            sessionID = context.Request("sid")
        End If

        'get Query String
        Dim queryString As String = context.Request.Url.Query

        Try
            'Determine and get the Type of Request 
            Dim prType As RequestType = WebClientPrint.GetProcessRequestType(queryString)

            If prType = RequestType.GenPrintScript OrElse prType = RequestType.GenWcppDetectScript Then
                'Let WebClientPrint to generate the requested script
                Dim script As Byte() = WebClientPrint.GenerateScript(context.Request.Url.AbsoluteUri.Replace(queryString, ""), queryString)

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/javascript"
                context.Response.BinaryWrite(script)
            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetWcppVersion Then
                '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
                Dim wcppVersion As String = context.Request("wcppVer")
                If String.IsNullOrEmpty(wcppVersion) Then
                    wcppVersion = "1.0.0.0"
                End If

                context.Application.Set(sessionID & "wcppInstalled", wcppVersion)
            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrinters Then
                'WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                'so store this info with the specified session ID
                Dim printers As String = context.Request("printers")
                If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(printers) Then
                    printers = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printers))
                End If

                context.Application.Set(sessionID & "printers", printers)

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientSetInstalledPrintersInfo Then
                'WCPP Utility is sending the installed printers at client side
                'so store this info with the specified session ID
                'Printers Info is in JSON format
                Dim printersInfo As String = context.Request.Form("printersInfoContent")
                If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(printersInfo) Then
                    printersInfo = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(printersInfo))
                End If

                context.Application.Set(sessionID & "printersInfo", printersInfo)

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetWcppVersion Then
                'return the WCPP version for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                Dim sidWcppVersion As Boolean = (context.Application(sessionID & "wcppInstalled") IsNot Nothing)

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"
                If (sidWcppVersion) Then
                    context.Response.Write(context.Application(sessionID & "wcppInstalled").ToString())
                End If

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrinters Then
                'return the installed printers for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                Dim sidHasPrinters As Boolean = (context.Application(sessionID & "printers") IsNot Nothing)

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"

                If (sidHasPrinters) Then
                    context.Response.Write(context.Application(sessionID & "printers").ToString())
                End If

            ElseIf prType = RequestType.ClientGetInstalledPrintersInfo Then
                'return the installed printers with detailed info for the specified Session ID (sid) if any
                Dim sidHasPrinters As Boolean = (context.Application(sessionID & "printersInfo") IsNot Nothing)

                context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"

                If (sidHasPrinters) Then
                    context.Response.Write(context.Application(sessionID & "printersInfo").ToString())
                End If
            End If
        Catch ex As Exception
            context.Response.StatusCode = 500
            context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain"
            context.Response.Write(ex.Message + " - " + ex.StackTrace)
        End Try



    End Sub


    Public ReadOnly Property IsReusable() As Boolean Implements IHttpHandler.IsReusable
        Get
            Return False
        End Get
    End Property

End Class

That's all. Just be sure that your project is now referencing new v4.0 of WebClientPrint assembly.

As always, do not hesitate to contact our dev team at http://neodynamic.com/support







Useful? Share it!

Need help? Contact Support

We provide best-in-class customer service and support directly from members of our dev team! If we are available when you contact us, you will get a response in few minutes; otherwise the maximum turnaround is 24hs in most cases.