Add my Application to the Print-To Menu

[RockstarRob]

I'm developing a .NET windows-based application. This is somewhat new territory for me as I'm typically a web developer. For my project, I'm going to need to be able to capture input from programs such as Word, Excel, Adobe Reader, etc.

I need to add my application to the "Print To" dialog for the listed programs as more. Virtually any program that can print to the printer should be able to print to my application.

I've seen it done for PDF files, among others.


I've searched the web a bit, but I'm not really sure where to start for this feature.
What do I need to do to accomplish something like this?

[Plater]

You need to create a "virtual printer" then? Like Adob'e PDF printer and MS's "Document Image Writer" and such.

[RockstarRob]

Searching for the correct terminology was half my question, so thank you very much.

Yes, I need to create a virtual printer that dumps documents to my application, be them in their original format or pdf. All my application will do is then upload them to a file repository.

Where do I get started on creating the Virtual Printer solution?

[Plater]

That, I'm not sure. But if you figure out how to "be" a printer, let me know. I would be curious how you use software to mimic hardware (like the way ImageDrives mimic cd/dvd drives)