How to Enable Silent PDF Printing from JavaScript without User Intervention?

Direct PDF Printing from JavaScript

With the ubiquity of PDFs, there often arises the need to enable users to print them directly from within a web application. However, opening a PDF viewer or displaying the PDF before printing can disrupt the user flow. This article explores a solution to silently open the Print dialog for a PDF without user intervention.

Approach Overview

Previously, it was possible to employ the tag to inject the PDF into the document and then trigger the .print() method on the embedded element once loaded. However, as mentioned in comments, modern browsers have nixed this method's functionality.

Alternate Solution

An alternative approach involves using an invisible iframe and manipulating the document within it. You can embed the PDF in the iframe and print it from within that context without user awareness.

Consider the following code snippet:

<code class="html"><iframe id="pdf-iframe" style="display: none;"></iframe></code>

This creates a hidden iframe with the id "pdf-iframe."

In JavaScript, you can manipulate the iframe's document to load the PDF and initiate printing:

<code class="javascript">function printPdf() {
  // Get the iframe document
  const iframeDoc = document.getElementById('pdf-iframe').contentDocument;
  
  // Create an embed element with the PDF source
  const embed = iframeDoc.createElement('embed');
  embed.setAttribute('src', 'path_to_pdf_document.pdf');
  embed.setAttribute('type', 'application/pdf');
  embed.style.display = 'none';
  
  iframeDoc.body.appendChild(embed);
  
  // Wait for the PDF to load
  setTimeout(() => {
    embed.print();
  }, 1000); // Adjust the timeout as needed
}</code>

This technique mimics the behavior of the previous method by using the embed element within an iframe, which is then made invisible through CSS. The print() method is called after a brief delay to ensure the PDF has fully loaded.

By utilizing this approach, you can seamlessly print PDFs directly from JavaScript without disrupting the user's experience.

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