About
A CLI tool to print files from a folder. The files are converted to UTF8 before printing.
How it works
Monitors a folder for new files. The path of the folder and file extension is configurable in settings.json.
- When new files are found, they are moved them to a ./queue subfolder.
- Then, for each file in queue:
- we read the file content
- convert it to UTF8
- save it as utf8_[filename]
- send it to the printer
- move the original file and the file with the utf8_ prefix to a ./done subfolder, or delete them if the setting is set to true.
Configuration
The extension is configured in settings.json. The following settings are available:
App Settings
- "PrintFolder": the path of the folder to monitor. Note that the character "" must be escaped with another "". For example, "C:\Users\myuser\Desktop\printfolder" is a valid path.
- "FileExtensions": the file extensions to monitor. Example: [".txt"]. Leave blank to monitor for all files. Note that only text files are supported.
- "PrintCommand": The files are printed by executing a shell command. For example, 'powershell.exe' ...Args. The ags are provided in the PrintCommandArgs setting.
- "PrintCommandArgs": an array of arguments to pass to the print command. For example, ["-c", "Get-Content -Raw -Encoding Byte -Path %FILE_PATH% | Out-Printer -PrinterName %PRINTER_NAME%"]. The command must have two placeholders: %FILE_PATH% for the file path and %PRINTER_NAME% for the printer name.
- "PrinterName": the name of the printer to use. If not set, the default printer is used. If an invalid printer name is set, the app will show a list of all available printers and exit.
- "ConvertFiles": if true, the files are converted to UTF8 before printing. If false, the files are printed as they are.
- "PrintFiles": if true, the files are printed. If false, the files are only converted to UTF8.
- "DeleteOriginalAfterPrint": if true, the original file is deleted after printing. If false, they are moved to a ./done subfolder.
- "DeleteConvertedAfterPrint": if true, the file with the utf8_ prefix is deleted after printing. If false, they are moved to a ./done subfolder.
- "PauseBetweenChecks": the interval in milliseconds to check for new files in the folder
- "PauseBetweenPrints": the interval in milliseconds to wait between each print
- "ShowAvailablePrintersOnStartup": if true, the list of available printers is shown on startup.
Converting to UTF8
A list with all available encodings that can be converted to UTF8 is available in the encodings.json file.