Editing Courses/Design & Technique-Essential Web Design/CSS4print


==HTML to print==
HTML to print allows you to create print layouts from your web pages.

You can create a PDF from your web-pages with specific designs for print, by using the browser function «Print to file» and dedicated CSS instructions.

We'll look into to them, however keep in mind that this system is still very unevenly implemented in browser. That can result in a lot of frustrations, discovery, surprises, and hacks.

==CCS for print==
Specific CSS rules allow you to specify how a webpage that was designed for screens, will be displayed in a page layout.

==What browser?==
'''Chrome/Chromium''' seems to be the best for designing the CSS for print as it provides a '''print preview option.'''

== @page==
@page rule defines context for printing. 

It describes the characteristic of sheet where web page is going to be printed on.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/CSS/@page

== @page property: size==
Possible values size: A5, A4, A3, landscape, portrait 

Note: Only Chromium's print preview can take the format specified by the CSS

 @page {
 size: A4 landscape;
 }

http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-page/#page-size

== left and right @page ==
Pseudo-class selectors for the left and right pages 

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/01/designing-for-print-with-css/#left-and-right-page-spreads


==  @page left @page right ==
Option for the left and right pages, such as the margin sizes, which have to alternate in order to produce a bound work, are correctly rendered.

<source lang="css">
@page:right {
  margin-left: 3cm; /*inner margin*/
  margin-right:1cm; /*outer margin*/ 
}

@page:left {
  margin-right: 3cm; /*inner margin*/
  margin-left:1cm; /*outer margin*/
}
</source>

[[File:weasyprint-margins.png|600px]]

==specific pages ==
'''Couldn't get specific pages work'''


<source lang="css">
@page :first {

}
</source>

The :blank pseudo-class selector targets any page that is “intentionally left blank.” To add this text, we can use generated content that targets the top-center margin box.

<source lang="css">
@page :blank {
  @top-center { content: "This page is intentionally left blank." }
}
</source>

=How to write CSS Rules only for Print?=
2 options:
* Link a CSS file with  media="print"
* use <code>@media print</code> 
==Link a CSS file with  media="print"==
Add this tag to the HTML file

 <link rel="stylesheet" href="print.css" type="text/css" media="print"> 

Which loads only the <code>print.css</code> file, when the page is printed.


==@media queries ==
'''@media CSS rules''' or '''media queries''' defines specific contexts, under which specific CSS rules can be used.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Media_Queries/Using_media_queries
For print:
<source lang="css">
 @media print {
    body {font-size: 12pt;}  
    img { width: 300px;}
 }
</source>

For screen:
<source lang="css">
 @media screen {  
    body {font-size: 14pt;}  
    img { width: 800px;}
 }
</source>

For screens with width smaller than 600px:
<source lang="css">
@media (max-width: 600px) { {  
    body {font-size: 10pt;}  
    img { width: 200px;}
 }
</source>

== @media print ==
You can decide to style very differently you page when it is printed.

You can use it to explore how the way information is displayed influences its message.

== page vs. screen==
* print exists in the space of the page, with fixed page dimensions and breaks 
* a webpage exists in a continuous screen space, often with varying dimensions

== page breaks of the document ==
To control where the pages break, in HTML to print, is tricky, and in part you don't control it.

What you can control is what elements '''must, can or cannot''' break, '''before, after, or inside''' themselves.

In CSS in translates to the rules: 
 page-break-before; page-break-after; page-break-inside 

And values 
 always; auto; avoid;

Example:

<source lang="CSS">

 h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {
  page-break-after: always;
}

p, table, figure {
  page-break-inside: avoid;
}

</source>

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/01/designing-for-print-with-css/#page-breaks

==More references to HTML-to-print==
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/01/designing-for-print-with-css/#page-breaks