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scheianuionut f09c365384 Fix printer detection, implement portable deployment with SumatraPDF

- Fixed network printer enumeration (PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL | PRINTER_ENUM_CONNECTIONS)
- Added printer name truncation to 20 chars with full name mapping
- Implemented silent PDF printing using SumatraPDF with landscape orientation
- Added auto-dismiss for success popup (3 seconds)
- Bundled SumatraPDF inside executable for portable single-file deployment
- Updated build script to embed SumatraPDF
- Added setup_sumatra.ps1 for downloading SumatraPDF portable
- Added DEPLOYMENT.md documentation

2026-02-06 14:00:17 +02:00

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Label Printer - Portable Deployment Guide

Deployment Structure

The app is now fully self-contained with SumatraPDF embedded inside:

LabelPrinter/
├── LabelPrinter.exe          # Main application (includes SumatraPDF inside)
├── pdf_backup/               # Auto-created: PDF backups
└── logs/                     # Auto-created: Print logs

No visible folders! SumatraPDF is bundled inside LabelPrinter.exe and extracted to a temporary location at runtime.

Setup Instructions

1. Download SumatraPDF (For Building Only)

This step is only needed when building the app. SumatraPDF will be embedded inside the executable.

# PowerShell command to download SumatraPDF
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File setup_sumatra.ps1

This downloads SumatraPDF portable (~5 MB) to the SumatraPDF folder.

2. Build the Application

.\build_windows.ps1

The build script will:

Check for SumatraPDF
Bundle it inside the executable
Create dist\LabelPrinter.exe (~80 MB including all dependencies)

3. Deploy

Simply copy LabelPrinter.exe to any Windows machine!

📁 Deployment (any folder)
└── LabelPrinter.exe  ← Just this one file!

No installation needed
No additional files or folders
Double-click to run
Works on any Windows 10/11 machine

Features

✅ Single Executable - Everything bundled in one .exe file (~80 MB)
✅ Fully Portable - No installation needed, no external dependencies
✅ Silent Printing - No PDF viewer windows pop up
✅ Network Printers - Supports printers from print servers (e.g. \\server\printer)
✅ PDF Backup - All labels saved to pdf_backup/ folder
✅ Print Logging - CSV logs in logs/ folder
✅ SumatraPDF Hidden - Embedded inside, not visible to users

Printer Name Display

Network printer names (e.g. \\filesibiusb05\ZDesigner_ZQ630) are automatically shortened to 20 characters in the dropdown for better display. The full printer name is used for actual printing.

Troubleshooting

Printing Not Working

Check Printer Connection: Verify printer is online and accessible
Check PDF Backup: Labels are always saved to pdf_backup/ folder even if printing fails
Check Logs: View print logs in logs/ folder for error messages
Rebuild App: If you built the app yourself, ensure setup_sumatra.ps1 was run first to download SumatraPDF before building

Network Printers Not Showing

Network printers must be installed/connected on the machine before running the app
For print server printers like \\filesibiusb05\printer, ensure the share is accessible
Run as administrator if printer enumeration fails

Notes

First run may be slower (Kivy initialization)
PDF backups are auto-deleted after 5 days
Log files are auto-deleted after 5 days
Supports Python 3.10-3.13 (Python 3.14+ may have issues with Kivy)

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