[whatwg] window.print() when printing is not supported

On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 10:18 PM, Ian Hickson <ian at hixie.ch> wrote:
> What could a Web page do that a browser couldn't do better in the same
> situation? (The browser could offer a PDF, so having the site offer a PDF
> when there's no printer doesn't seem like a good solution.)

Indeed, in my experience, it's usually possible to "print" regardless
of whether there's actually a printer present.  On Linux I generally
see a "Print to File" option when I try to print something, which lets
me output to PDF and maybe PostScript.  On Windows (at least Vista and
later) I recall always seeing a print to XPS option.  So on these
platforms, it's *always* possible for the user to print, although not
to a physical printer.  So even if it were desirable to let the
website know if the user can print, it's pointless, or pretty close.

Received on Wednesday, 24 March 2010 12:21:02 UTC