[Python] How to print a tkinter tree view to a printer?

Here are some of the problems i have ran into No Direct Printing Support: The Treeview widget in Tkinter doesn’t have built-in methods for printing its contents. This means we need to extract the data from the Treeview, format it, and then use external libraries or techniques to print it.

Pagination: The Treeview can contain a large number of rows. When printing, the content may span multiple pages. Handling pagination ensures that the table is split across pages without losing the column headers or misaligning rows.

Layout Control: To print the Treeview effectively, one must control the layout of the printed data. This involves defining the font size, column widths, page margins, and ensuring that the printed version matches the intended appearance.

I have tried using reportlab to make a pdf verison of my treeview

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter, landscape
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas


# Step 1: Generate the PDF
# Step 2: Extract data from the table and generate a PDF with row and column overflow handling
def print_table_to_pdf(tree, pdf_file):
# Create a PDF using ReportLab with landscape orientation
c = canvas.Canvas(pdf_file, pagesize=landscape(letter)) # Landscape orientation
width, height = landscape(letter)
y_position = height - 40 # Start position from the top (landscape)

# Max width available for content (to avoid overflow)
max_x_position = width - 50 # Add some padding from the right edge

# Extract the column headers from the table
headers = tree["columns"]

# Draw the headers in the PDF
x_position = 50 # Starting position for headers
for header in headers:
c.drawString(x_position, y_position, header)
x_position += 150 # Adjust space between columns

# Move down a little bit to print data
y_position -= 20

# Row count for pagination (limit rows per page to 30)
row_count = 0
max_rows_per_page = 30 # Limit to 30 rows per page

# Extract data rows from the table and write them to the PDF
for child in tree.get_children():
row = tree.item(child)["values"]
x_position = 50 # Reset x_position for new row

# Handle the x-overflow and ensure data is within the page bounds
for value in row:
if x_position > max_x_position:
# If x_position exceeds max width, move to the next line
x_position = 50 # Reset x-position for the next line
y_position -= 20 # Move down one line

# Check if we need to create a new page due to vertical overflow
if y_position < 40:
c.showPage() # Create a new page
y_position = height - 40 # Reset to top for new page

# Draw the value at the current position
c.drawString(x_position, y_position, str(value))
x_position += 150 # Adjust space between columns

# Move to the next row
y_position -= 20
row_count += 1

# Check if we need to create a new page after reaching 30 rows
if row_count >= max_rows_per_page:
row_count = 0 # Reset row count
if y_position < 40:
c.showPage() # Create a new page if the current one is full
y_position = height - 40 # Reset to top for new page

# Save the generated PDF
c.save()
print(f"PDF saved as: {pdf_file}")


But i cant get the pagination to work so all the data prints on top of each other

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