Batch Printing ArcMap MXD Documents

It seems like right clicking on an MXD file in Windows Explorer and trying to print never works right. Here's a simple utility that lets a user select a whole bunch of MXD files and sends them all to the printer without having to open ArcMap. Fast and easy.



This was written in Visual Basic using Visual Studio 2008 and requires that ArcMap 9.3 or later is already installed on the machine.








Here's the full Visual Studio Project:



And here's an installer if you just want the executable:



Here's some sample code that shows how the actual printing function works:

    Private Function PrintMXD(ByVal FullFileName As String) As Integer

        'Function PrintMXD

        '

        'This opens an MXD file specified by FullFileName and sends it to the printer

        'The map will be sent to whatever printer is specified in the MXD document's settings

        '

        'Function returns value 1 for success, 0 for failure

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'Verify that the file exists

        Dim aFileInfo As FileInfo

        Dim DocName As String

        aFileInfo = New FileInfo(FullFileName)

        If aFileInfo.Exists Then

            'Create a short string to send to the printer later

            DocName = aFileInfo.Name

        Else

            MessageBox.Show(FullFileName & " does not exist", "File not found", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

            PrintMXD = 0

            Exit Function

        End If

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'Get this Application's hWnd

        Dim aHWnd As Long

        Dim m As System.Reflection.Module

        m = Me.GetType.Module

        aHWnd = System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetHINSTANCE(m)

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'Make a MapDocument and open the specified file

        'If this fails, exit the function with error code

        Dim aDoc As IMapDocument = Nothing

        Try

            While aDoc Is Nothing

                aDoc = New MapDocument

            End While

            aDoc.Open(FullFileName)

        Catch ex As Exception

            MessageBox.Show("Unable to start ArcMap..." & vbNewLine & ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

            PrintMXD = 0

            Exit Function

        End Try

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'When using IMapDocument, it it necessary to Activate the Page Layout and each Map to update the displays

        Dim i As Integer

        Dim pActiveView As IActiveView

        'Activate each map

        For i = 0 To aDoc.MapCount - 1

            pActiveView = aDoc.Map(i)

            pActiveView.Activate(aHWnd)

        Next

        'Activate the Page Layout and keep a reference to it

        pActiveView = aDoc.PageLayout

        pActiveView.Activate(aHWnd)

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        ' Get the printer's hDC, so we can use the Win32 GetDeviceCaps fuction to

        ' get Printer's Physical Printable Area x and y margins

        ' If this fails for some reason, batch printing won't work

        Dim pPrinter As IPrinter

        Dim hInfoDC As Integer

        Dim dpi As Double

        Try

            pPrinter = aDoc.Printer

            hInfoDC = CreateDC(pPrinter.DriverName, pPrinter.Paper.PrinterName, "", IntPtr.Zero)

            dpi = pPrinter.Resolution

        Catch ex As Exception

            MessageBox.Show("There was a problem with the printer settings for " & FullFileName & vbNewLine & _

                            "Please manually open and print this document.", "Print Settings Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Hand)

            PrintMXD = 0

            Exit Function

        End Try

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Dim docPrinterBounds As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geometry.IEnvelope

        Dim VisibleBounds As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geometry.IEnvelope

        docPrinterBounds = New EnvelopeClass()

        VisibleBounds = New EnvelopeClass()

        'Put the printer's physical bounds into docPrinterBounds

        aDoc.PageLayout.Page.GetDeviceBounds(pPrinter, 0, 0, dpi, docPrinterBounds)

        'userRect is used to specify the area on the page layout that is to be printed

        Dim userRECT As tagRECT

        userRECT.left = CType((docPrinterBounds.XMin - GetDeviceCaps(hInfoDC, 112)), Integer)

        userRECT.right = CType((docPrinterBounds.XMax - GetDeviceCaps(hInfoDC, 112)), Integer)

        userRECT.bottom = CType((docPrinterBounds.YMax - GetDeviceCaps(hInfoDC, 113)), Integer)

        userRECT.top = CType((docPrinterBounds.YMin - GetDeviceCaps(hInfoDC, 113)), Integer)

        ' Transfer offsetted PrinterBounds envelope back to the userRECT

        docPrinterBounds.PutCoords(0, 0, userRECT.right - userRECT.left, userRECT.bottom - userRECT.top)

        aDoc.PageLayout.Page.GetPageBounds(pPrinter, 0, 0, VisibleBounds)

        '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        'Send the Page Layout to the printer

        Dim hDc As Long

        Try

            hDc = pPrinter.StartPrinting(docPrinterBounds, 0)

            pPrinter.SpoolFileName = DocName

            pActiveView.Output(hDc, Nothing, userRECT, VisibleBounds, Nothing)

            pPrinter.FinishPrinting()

        Catch ex As Exception

            MessageBox.Show(FullFileName & vbNewLine & ex.Message, "Print Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)

            PrintMXD = 0

            Exit Function

        End Try

        PrintMXD = 1

    End Function