Printing a Visitor sticker

[Ajilakes]

Good afternoon,

I have been tasked with a project from my corporate manager to create a badge registration application. So far I am about 95% completed with the project, but that 5% is a major issue with the application. The CM wants the visitor badge to have a printing option. For example, security would create the registration for the visitor; take their image an all and have it printed out with the special sticker printer. Would I have to do something with Dynamic or maybe SQL?

The best examples are the Hospital Visitor stickers. I am trying to get this part of my application to print visitor badges that way.

Look forward to hearing from you all. 

[v-xida-msft]

Hi @Ajilakes ,

Do you want to connect the PowerApps app to a sticker printer to print the visitor badges?

Do you want to add a print option within your app, press it to print the visitor badges?

Based on the needs that you mentioned, I afraid that there is no way to achieve your needs in PowerApps currently. Connecting to a third-party sticker printer from an app is not supported in PowerApps currently.

If you would like this feature to be added in PowerApps, please submit an idea to PowerApps Ideas Forum:

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Power-Apps-Ideas/idb-p/PowerAppsIdeas

Best regards,

[Ajilakes]

Hi @v-xida-msft,

I am currently looking for a solution around this, but our main goal is to add a print option within the app, press it to print the visitor badges? I know a possible way would be to convert the information into a pdf and maybe create a layout for the dimensions of the Visitor stickers. We currently have a third party that has a service for sticker badges. The exact same way they have it at the hospital. 

Look forward to hearing from you!

[v-xida-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ajilakes ,

As an alternative solution, you could consider construct visitor badges using HTML Text within your app, and then convert the visitor badges content into a PDF file hosted in your OneDrive folder through a flow (MS Flow).

After that, you could print the PDF File (visitor badges content) from your OneDrive folder using your Visitor sticker service.

More details about exporting content from PowerApps app into a PDF file, please check and see if the following videos could help in your scenario:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhE0-HumNNo&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfXV_GXc_JM

https://centricconsulting.com/blog/how-to-print-form-powerapps_portal/

Best regards,

[Anonymous]

@Ajilakes my experience using OneDrive to convert a PA HTML blob to PDF has been a little patchy. The OneDrive converter seems to need a lot more manipulation to get the PDF looking professional. I gave up and just used Flow to create a *.html file (when an item is created in SP) that looks great and can be converted manually (free online converters) to PDF. This may not suit your needs though?

You probably will need to send an image file with your html (if you go this way?) and Shane Young has a video that handles this. The OneDrive converter errors out with images, unfortunately.

My company is considering a 3rd Party PDF converter that works in Flow to handle our needs. Sorry I couldn't be anymore help, just throwing my experience in here for a different POV.

Cheers

[Ajilakes]

Thanks @Anonymous 

I appreciate the advice and will look into that video from Shane Young. 

[bouillons]

I have exactly the same requirement. I want to collect the data of our visitors from a kiosk (very easy, just linked a power app to a sharepoint list). And a button "Register" that should print out a visitor badge. I also add a QR code on the badge so that when the visitor leaves the building he can simply scan his badge on the kiosk to be checked out. I have all the pieces of the solution and managed to create the printable file (in Word).

The sticky part is how to silently print the ticket on the ticket printer attached to the machine, meaning without user interaction. I've tried multiple ways using Flow Power Automate and even UI Flows to pilot Word (btw, I also installed an On Premise Data Gateway to enable this), but have been unsuccessful so far, and I'm basically stuck at this point. If anybody has a workaround for the lack of printing support in PowerApps that would be great.

Stephane

[iani]

I've been developing a visitor registration app including printing with a badge printer in my company and am writing a blog series about this: https://iani.co/blog/badge-printing-and-more-with-power-apps/

[bouillons]

Wow, reading the intro already looks promising @iani can't wait to see what you came up with !

Stephane