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help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

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Join Date: Oct 2008

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psycho007

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help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 28th, 2008

Hi there, was wondering if somebody could help me.
I currently have a project to create a php/mysql system for a local pizza company, a touch screen system. Cut a long story short, I need to be able to print multiple lines from a txt file. I have got the php to output to txt file from mysqlusing variables and I can get the php script to print 1 line. As I am new I would imagine I would need some kind of loop maybe.
would be greatfull if somebody could help. (i am using a thermal receipt till printer)

for example

receipt.txt has content

receipt number: 24
time: 22:32
date: 22/09/2008

Delivery address
Name: joe blogs
house number:
street:
town/city:
Postcode:
Tel:

Order total
15" pizza £12
order total £12

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humbug

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 29th, 2008

So you want to physically print the contents of receipt.txt? What method are you using to print the first line?

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psycho007

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 29th, 2008

i am using:

 Help with Code Tags 
 php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
$file = 'receipt.txt';
$handle = printer_open('HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL6');
printer_set_option($handle, PRINTER_SCALE, 75);
printer_start_doc($handle, "My Document");
printer_start_page($handle);
printer_write($handle, "$file");
printer_end_page($handle);
printer_end_doc($handle);
printer_close($handle);
$file = 'receipt.txt';
$handle = printer_open('HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL6');
printer_set_option($handle, PRINTER_SCALE, 75);
printer_start_doc($handle, "My Document");
printer_start_page($handle);
printer_write($handle, "$file");
printer_end_page($handle);
printer_end_doc($handle);
printer_close($handle);

If I replace printer_write($handle, "$file"); with printer_write($handle, "TEXT TO PRINT"); this then prints the single line of text. I am not too sure how to print all the lines in the text file

Last edited by peter_budo; Oct 29th, 2008 at 6:36 pm. Reason: Keep It Organized - please use [code] tags

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Join Date: Oct 2005

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humbug

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 29th, 2008

Check out this and look into getting the entire file into a variable with "\n\r" (linefeed and carriage return) separating each line of text. Alternatively write each line to the printer with it's own call of printer_write() . The latter may be easier as you usually read data from a file line by line. It may also be torture for the printer and rather slow, I don't know how printer_write() works.

For this same reason I don't know how a new line command should be issued. Try the following and see what happens:

printer_write($handle, "Text \nTo print"); This is the most likely solution and sould print:

Help with Code Tags

(Toggle Plain Text)

Text 
To print

printer_write($handle, "Text \n\rTo print"); This may be needed instead to give the above result.

Also try:

Help with Code Tags

(Toggle Plain Text)

printer_write($handle, "Line 1");
printer_write($handle, "Line 2");
printer_write($handle, "Line 3");
printer_write($handle, "Line 4");

And see how it reacts and if it works. If your still can't get around it then tell me how each of those tests went.

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humbug

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 29th, 2008

Also check that out. Someone said that PRINTER_MODE must be set to "RAW" for printing to work... don't quite know what was meant but have a look anyway.

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psycho007

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 30th, 2008

Hi
I have tryed

 Help with Code Tags 
 php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
printer_write($handle, "Line 1");
printer_write($handle, "Line 2");
printer_write($handle, "Line 1");
printer_write($handle, "Line 2");

This seems to print 2 seperate pages
line 1 is one page
line 2 is the other page

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humbug

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 30th, 2008

Ok, that makes sense I guess.

What about the other tests? There has to be a character that will mean "new line" and I'm guessing that if "\n" won't work then "\r\n" will.

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psycho007

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Re: help with printing multiple lines print a txt file

Oct 30th, 2008

Thank you very much for your help so far :o)

ok i have completed the other test too.

It looks like that the

 Help with Code Tags 
 php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
printer_write($handle, "Text \n\rTo print");
printer_write($handle, "Text \n\rTo print");

did write 2 seporate lines. without using the \r switch the output was:

Text

To print

if i included the \r the output was:
Text
To Print

My next step would have the php code to send the text file to an array splitting the text file for each line and sending it to a loop to print to the printer. which im not really sure how to do?

Having studyed lots of code I have found the following code will output text file to an array

 Help with Code Tags 
 php Syntax (Toggle Plain Text) 
<?php
$file_handle = fopen("receipt.txt", "rb");
 
while (!feof($file_handle) ) {
 
$line_of_text = fgets($file_handle);
$parts = explode(':', $line_of_text);
 
print $parts[0] . $parts[1]. "<BR>";
}
 
fclose($file_handle);
 
?>
<?php
$file_handle = fopen("receipt.txt", "rb");

while (!feof($file_handle) ) {

$line_of_text = fgets($file_handle);
$parts = explode(':', $line_of_text);

print $parts[0] . $parts[1]. "<BR>";
}

fclose($file_handle);

?>

Which outputs sucessfully to the screen. But it looks like that when it gets to the end of the file having no more text to print it displays the following errors

PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25 PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25 PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25 PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25 PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25 PHP Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\takeaway\receipt.php on line 25