How Can I Reliably Print Landscape from HTML?

Printing Landscape from HTML: Options and Limitations

Printing a report in landscape orientation is sometimes necessary due to the large number of columns. If you want to implement this functionality without requiring users to manually adjust the document settings, CSS provides a potential solution. However, browser support for this solution is inconsistent.

CSS Option

In CSS, you can set the @page property to specify the landscape orientation:

@media print {@page {size: landscape}}

Browser Support

The @page property is part of the CSS 2.1 specification, but the "size" attribute is not fully supported by browsers. In theory, it can set both the page size and orientation, but browsers tend to have mixed support for this feature.

Workarounds

If the @page property is not supported, there are several workarounds available:

• JavaScript or ActiveX: These methods send keystrokes to the browser to change the print settings. However, they are not ideal and may require adjustments to the browser's security settings.
• Content Rotation: Instead of changing the page orientation, you can rotate the content. However, this can lead to alignment and layout issues.
• PDF Creation: You can create a landscape version of the report in PDF format and redirect users to it when they select print. This approach may not work for all browsers, especially IE7.

Conclusion

Implementing landscape printing from HTML using CSS can be straightforward in some browsers, but support is inconsistent across different browsers. Workarounds such as JavaScript, content rotation, or PDF creation can provide alternative solutions depending on the browser and content. Google Documents addresses this limitation by automatically generating a PDF for printing, allowing for seamless landscape printing in most cases.

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