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Overview

PrintingTools is a multi-package printing toolkit for .NET 10 and Avalonia applications that need a consistent print workflow across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What the project provides

  • A shared orchestration layer built around IPrintManager, PrintRequest, PrintSession, and PrintPreviewModel.
  • Platform adapters for Win32/XPS, AppKit/Quartz, and Linux CUPS or GTK-backed environments.
  • Optional Avalonia UI for page setup and preview windows through PrintingTools.UI.
  • CI-ready harnesses that exercise each platform path and validate metrics, accessibility, and golden output expectations.

Package selection

Scenario Recommended packages
Avalonia app that wants automatic adapter selection PrintingTools
Avalonia app that also wants packaged dialogs and preview windows PrintingTools + PrintingTools.UI
Service or headless pipeline that only needs preview generation or PDF export PrintingTools.Core + one platform package
Adapter-specific development or diagnostics PrintingTools.Windows, PrintingTools.MacOS, or PrintingTools.Linux directly

End-to-end workflow

  1. Configure the project once at startup through PrintingToolsAppBuilderExtensions or PrintServiceRegistry.
  2. Build a PrintDocument from a visual or page enumerator.
  3. Wrap the document in a PrintRequest.
  4. Ask IPrintManager for a session with RequestSessionAsync.
  5. Optionally call CreatePreviewAsync to obtain a PrintPreviewModel.
  6. Call PrintAsync to open a dialog or submit output directly, depending on PrintOptions.

What is already covered in the repo

  • Cross-platform NuGet packaging for six publishable assemblies.
  • GitHub Actions validation for restore, build, tests, harness execution, and package packing.
  • Generated API docs through Lunet api.dotnet.
  • Existing operational notes preserved under docs/ for deeper design history and parity tracking.