I am attempting to find the best practices to implement printing functionality. I am aware of the options for a paid plug-in as well as using the page browser, however, am looking for other methods that may be possible.
Some requirements for the print functionality are that:
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Hi joshuam3 (joshuam937)
The brief, general guidance for user-driven printing in the desktop/laptop use context is to use locally installed software to print your file.
For example, print Word docs from Word, and PDF's from Acrobat reader.I have used this model successfully with my customers, even when the document is generated by Appian.
In general, as a security measure, web applications don't send instructions outside of the client browser, to the PC's operating system, or other installed services.
Keep in mind, your interfaces should be designed to run anywhere. Any supported browser.There's a number of variables between Appian and all your user's printers. At this time, there's no component that could initiate a local, print job from any browser, on either a mac or a PC.
Now, for workflows that manage "print shop" or batch print operations - print jobs that are always sent to a specific set of network printers - this is a good Appian process use case. You might need to write a plugin that uses LPR or another printing protocol to establish communication with the network printer.
Keep in mind, that if you add print buttons to your interfaces, your probably going to want to hide them on mobile using mobile awareness.