I am currently adding features to a PHP web application for a client. They require to be able to print some raw data to a ticket / thermal printer direct from the php which will be run on an internet browser from a self service kiosk.
The data needs to printed on the local kiosk's in built ticket printer.
From my preliminary research I understand that I must perform this task using javascript for any client side actions and wondered if anybody knew of any method or example function that will allow the printing of a string to a designated printer / com port which would bypass the printer dialog box?
Thanks in advance for any help
Alex
This plugin requires Java installed client-side, but after the first security prompt, this will do what you need (works with Linux, Mac, Windows, Solaris -- anything that can run Java desktop application)
https://github.com/qzind/tray
If it has to be cross browser and platform independent, stop right now and run. There is NOT way, and I mean NO way for Javascript to access information about printers, margins, paper size, and all the variables in printers. Even if your browser has some sort of fast print button, print using default settings and default printers, you have no idea the type of paper, the ink, the margins, etc, and you could be printing on A4 paper, or in the US, our legal size, 8.5" X 11.5".
Browsers, for security, do NOT give javascript any access to this information that is supplied to them by the Windows API and the printer drivers. The closest possible that I know of, is in small networks, where the variables are known, and configured using Internet Explorer's JScript or ActiveX. Short of this, your only other easy option is to write your own web browser/addon/plugin, or to modify one that will run on these platforms, that has this built in capability.
More info available here.
EDIT: Though if you really want to make your life simple, tell them to install Firefox, and check out this article for the simplest solution possible. Also, have you considered VBScript? It has this capability, I've seen it done before.
Not possible, at least not without some extra steps.
Without knowing more about the kiosk environment, you have three main options:
1). Install a Web service on the local kiosk. This Web service would manage printing and ultimately be the most extensible solution.
2). Create a plug-in for the print service. This would be uglier, and really tie you to a single browser solution forever.
3). Wrap the browser in custom code to allow external calls. Again, somewhat ugly, but since you're running a kiosk, you're likely to have some sort of custom/extensible wrapper anyway.
Related
I'm trying to develop a way to pull a list of printers (names and IPs at least), from a Windows print server. I plan to use this info in an external PHP-driven status website, running on a Linux webserver, which talks to the printers individually via SNMP. The SNMP communication is already functional. I just need a way of dynamically generating the list of printers it talks to, instead of hard coding all of the IPs/DNS Hostnames.
The idea here is that I do this entirely without touching or changing the print server(s), printers, or the underlying webserver. The only thing under my control is a shared, non-administrative CPanel account.
My research so far has led me to three potential leads. I have next to no experience with any of them.
1) The PHP printer_list command, which is part of the PECL extension. At the moment our webserver does not have this extension installed, and I'd prefer not to make that request unless I know it will work for my purposes.
2) The lpstat Linux command, part of CUPS. I've tried using it per the man page and it seems to just sit there doing nothing. I don't know if this is because it's expecting a CUPS response which I figure it will not be getting from a Windows server, or if this might be a firewall issue.
3) SMB or WMI queries of some sort. I have no idea how to even begin with these.
I'd like to ask for a recommendation on where to start. This has been a very troubling project to research because 90% of search results are about people wanting to print. Another 8% are about people polling a local system for printer info. The rest are black magic and proprietary enterprise solutions.
Any insights are very much appreciated.
== Matt
I am using WMI effectively to fetch printer information over network using :
Select * FROM Win32_Printer
To begin:
1 - Run wbemtest from run window.
2 - Connect to any machine where you know printers are configured.
3 - There is query option, copy Select * FROM Win32_Printer
4 - Step 4 will return you table, click on Show MOF, it will provide you printer information. Viola, you are done.
5 - I have used C# ManagementObjectSearcher & ManagementObjectCollection and it is pretty straightforward and easy to use.
There are some pros and cons of using WMI. Read it online.
A friend of ours is running the Plover software for her closed caption and other reporting work. She is trying to find a way to have this post in real time on a local server for others (Hard of Hearing) to watch in real time (but not allow them to edit) from their tablets or laptops on a LAN.
This would be similar to what Stack Overflow does when editing (but over a LAN rather than on the same machine). I type in an edit box, and it prints below in real time. How is this being done? Is there a place to find this code?
I can help her get the WiFi or Blue-tooth to connect to their systems, I just don't know how to get it to push to them. The reporting machine will be running Ubuntu. If I need to install Apache, PHP for her that's fine and just guide them to a URL.
It sounds like the Plover software works at a (keyboard) device driver level, and so can be used to enter steno-to-text in any desktop application. Thus I would arrange things this way:
Put Apache on your reporting server, and set up a web application on there which shows a text box. You can use sockets (ideally) or AJAX (as a fallback) to transport your text from a browser to the server. This can then be sent out to any number of clients on a different page, probably via a database as an intermediate store. AJAX requires frequent polls and so is inefficient and slow, but on a LAN with a small number of users it would still be OK. Sockets are better but need a library to implement - take a look here at a PHP example.
Take a look at this answer to understand the different ways a browser and server can communicate (especially the section on HTML5 Websockets). Pusher is mentioned - that makes it really easy, but if you are broadcasting on a LAN it seems pointless to need the internet. I'd do it myself, for what it's worth.
If you want to stick with AJAX, jQuery, MooTools or Prototype is fine. If you want to use sockets there are several libraries that will use sockets first, and then fall back to a variety of technologies (long polling) and then finally AJAX. This will depend mostly on browser support for these various things.
I believe web sockets need a server component for which Apache is generally considered unsuitable. The first link I gave, for the Ratchet library, looks like it has its own listener component. Perhaps a good first step would be to work through the demos, so you can understand the technology and customise it for your needs?
I have created a html page which sends custom data to a php file which then processes and evaluates it.
My next task is to make this into a GUI with the requirements:
1. A box for a custom search with button (it then posts this into the
php)
2. A box where xml/json request can be seen
3. A box where the xml/json response can be seen
4. A box where the parsed version is translated and made to look pretty.
***MUST CONNECT TO INTERNET, PHP ESTABLISHES CONNECTION BUT DO NOT WANT A GUI ISSUE
Any suggestions on programs or languages etc which can help me communicate with PHP in GUI form. It needs to be able to access the internet!
I was thinking perhaps Visual Basic as that's the only one I've ever used that really uses GUI's but I'm wondering what you all think!
Thanks!
Basically, what you're asking for is a web browser, with a very simple little HTML/Javascript front-end web page to make the PHP calls and display the results. I'm not entirely sure what it is about a browser environment that makes you think it's unsuitable, but it's basically exactly what you're asking for.
If a full-blown web browser really isn't suitable, you could try using a web browser control inside a simple GUI app. This would still work exactly the same, but would be without the browser controls, such as the URL bar.
Just use a browser.
If you don't want to do that -- build a browser.
If you are just looking for basically a web-based REST testing tool, try the Firefox RESTClient plug-in.
Why don't you use a framework ?
You may take a look here:
AppJS for Linux, Windows and Mac using HTML, CSS and Javascript
Adobe AIR : cross-platform using ActionScript/FLEX or HTML/Javascript
Titanium : HTML/CSS (no support anymore)
PhoneGap : mainly used for cross-phone-platform, but here's an Windows implementation of it (you should read the README.md ...)
You may also check this from Mozilla
I am looking for a way to run an executable on the server and display its UI in the browser, so that the user can interact. Is it possible? If so, please suggest some ways of how I should do this.
I think that this will have something to do with Flash, Flex, ActiveX (choose which applicable), but I am not sure and that is why I am actually asking this question.
Before you ask, "What do I need this for?", I would like to create a simple Intranet website for my local network so that my relatives can use few applications from their browsers instead of network shares or remote desktop connections.
The website will be done in PHP and running on Apache.
Any ideas, people?
This is difficult because you cannot magically transform the UI of those applications to a UI that would render in a browser. Also, your Delphi applications likely dont have any entry points for handling HTTP based requests. Even if you could provide those via PHP you'd still have to delegate them to the executable then somehow, which means your Delphi app needs to provide the full functionality via a command line interface or similar means.
EDIT came across https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO-qca9ddqg. The video shows how to run applications built with a GTK3 UI, like GIMP, in the browser. The application itself is run and maintained completely on the server. PHP does have bindings for GTK though not for GTK3, so while it's not currently possible, it is in theory.
Is it possible to take a screenshot of all the visible items displayed on the monitor of a client machine from a sever?
No. You would need some kind of client-side technology for this, but I doubt it is possible due to the restrictions in which browsers plugin operate.
For example, Fogbugz, a bug tracking software, has an option to do screen grabs, but to use it you need to install a local program on the computer.
from the client should send the items displayed for example with AJAX, and in server related to the capture of the user session
... a Java applet or an Activex control might able to pull it off. In theory anyway, in Java's case through JNI, so me thinks. Could be wrong though.
If it is possible it is definitely not with PHP. PHP is a server-side language, all of its work is done once the page is returned from the server.