eldan88 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) Hi, I have a custom build online ordering website application, that lets people order food online. The order then get sent to the restaurants order managment web application, that I set on up on their computer. The only problem is that when a new food order comes in, they need to view the order and then manually print it. Is there any possibility where I can write up a function, that will have the order manually print by it self when an order is sent? Something that will bypass the print window on a windows machine. Edited January 26, 2013 by eldan88 Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Did you look in the manual? http://php.net/printer Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408434 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 (edited) Did you look in the manual? http://php.net/printer No i haven't. But I will take a look at it right now. Thank you! Edited January 27, 2013 by eldan88 Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408570 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 I have looked into the manuel and it said "These functions are only available under Windows 9.x, ME, NT4 and 2000" Will they work for windows xp and above? Did you look in the manual? http://php.net/printer Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408576 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I'm fairly certain those functions only work on the server. So, unless you are hosting the site on a server in the restaurant they won't work. Trying to automatically print on a client browser would be a significant security risk. Could you imagine? Instead of all the popup advertising, all those internet advertisers would be trying to print to our printers. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408578 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 I'm fairly certain those functions only work on the server. So, unless you are hosting the site on a server in the restaurant they won't work. Trying to automatically print on a client browser would be a significant security risk. Could you imagine? Instead of all the popup advertising, all those internet advertisers would be trying to print to our printers. You do make a point. Is there a way where I can set their machine up as a local host and do it that way? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408590 Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Sorry, I misread your post and assumed the application was hosted in house. Is there a way where I can set their machine up as a local host and do it that way? Of course there is. But if you need to ask that questions, it's not likely you are the person to do it. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408592 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Sorry, I misread your post and assumed the application was hosted in house. Of course there is. But if you need to ask that questions, it's not likely you are the person to do it. What do you mean I don't follow? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408624 Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Setting up a publicly accessible server poses numerous security risks. If your not sure of what your doing, I'm not sure I would recommend doing it. It's up to you though. But yeah, of course it's possible. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408652 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 You could set up the app in the remote server as it is now and set up a local server in the restaurant that will query the application every x minutes for new orders and, if any are found, print them out. But, it seems like a lot of complexity for something that can be easily resolved by a human simply checking for the orders Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408668 Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFMaBiSmAd Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I would have the server send the order to a fax machine at the restaurant through an Internet based fax service. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408670 Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 People still use faxes? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408671 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 You could set up the app in the remote server as it is now and set up a local server in the restaurant that will query the application every x minutes for new orders and, if any are found, print them out. But, it seems like a lot of complexity for something that can be easily resolved by a human simply checking for the orders I get free food occasionally by placing an order online and expecting that a human on the other end will do their job correctly. (Hint: humans fail. A lot.) Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408724 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barand Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 ... they need to view the order and then manually print it. I guess clicking the "Print this email" button is a bit much to ask of anyone. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408728 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian F. Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Or just mail the printer? That is, if the printer is new enough to support this. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408731 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Or just mail the printer? That is, if the printer is new enough to support this. That's a great option. And buying one that does support it would probably be the cheapest option in terms of time and money, if you want to automate it. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408757 Share on other sites More sharing options...
totallytech Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I agree with buying a printer, I bought a HP 3050a printer and using HP E-Print you can set up an email address, then you can simply cc email the orders to the new printers email address. I have my fax number forwarding to an email address, which then prints out. The printer was around £40GBP ($70USD) ish So easy, I'm using the technology for other businesses which need to generate orders etc. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408779 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 You could set up the app in the remote server as it is now and set up a local server in the restaurant that will query the application every x minutes for new orders and, if any are found, print them out. But, it seems like a lot of complexity for something that can be easily resolved by a human simply checking for the orders I get free food occasionally by placing an order online and expecting that a human on the other end will do their job correctly. (Hint: humans fail. A lot.) Right, but ultimately a human is required to process the order (at least in the case of a food order). Even if the order is printed it still requires a person to check the printer. You could have a web page that routinely checks for new order and changes the color of the page if there are new, unprocessed orders. That doesn't require creating a second webserver or any way out solutions. At least that's my opinion. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1408788 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Right, but ultimately a human is required to process the order (at least in the case of a food order). Even if the order is printed it still requires a person to check the printer. You could have a web page that routinely checks for new order and changes the color of the page if there are new, unprocessed orders. That doesn't require creating a second webserver or any way out solutions. At least that's my opinion. Hey Physco, I already have a web management application that is on their computer, which notifies the restaurant when a new food order has arrived. But its really annoying when you have to manually print each food order when it comes in the order management. Espically when you get 20 orders a day, and you are in the middle of a lunch hours. I want it to have the food orders automatically print, and have them confirm it. A competitor of mine already has this, where every order that comes through their order management gets printed automatically. All i want is to have a file to be sent the the printer. Not necessarily have the actual browser print what ever it is is seeing on the screen. Is there anyway I can have a file get sent to the printer, and bypass the print dialogue box? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1409906 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 I agree with buying a printer, I bought a HP 3050a printer and using HP E-Print you can set up an email address, then you can simply cc email the orders to the new printers email address. I have my fax number forwarding to an email address, which then prints out. The printer was around £40GBP ($70USD) ish So easy, I'm using the technology for other businesses which need to generate orders etc. I have over 100 clients. This would be out of the picture. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1409907 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldan88 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Fax machienes are the least realiable. Busy signals, phone lines get cut off, and its slower. I would have the server send the order to a fax machine at the restaurant through an Internet based fax service. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1409908 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I believe we've already given you an option. Build a web app that will run on an internal server. The app will check the status of orders and print them out as they are placed. The trick is that the printing has to be done from the server - not the client. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/273675-is-there-a-way-to-set-up-an-automated-printing-in-php/#findComment-1409919 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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