macOS: option to skip the print preview and open the system print dialog directly

Feature request
1

Summary

Please add a setting that lets users skip eM Client’s own print preview window. With the setting enabled, any Print command should immediately show the native system print dialog.

Current behavior

On macOS, every print command opens eM Client’s own preview window first. This applies to the File menu, the toolbar button, the context menus and ⌘P, for mails, notes, tasks, events and contacts. To reach the native print panel I have to click “Print using system dialog…” in the preview. That is one extra window and one extra click for every print job.

Desired behavior

A new checkbox, e.g. “Show print preview before printing”, enabled by default so nothing changes for existing users. When it is disabled, the Print command opens the native macOS print dialog directly. The preview of the system dialog is still available there.

A sensible place would be the existing print settings (Settings → General → Printing, where “Print in grayscale” and the calendar print options already live). Ideally the preview would remain reachable on demand, for example as a separate menu item “Print Preview…” or by holding ⌥.

Motivation

  • macOS users expect ⌘P to open the system print panel, which has its own preview, paper size, PDF export and printer presets. The additional preview window duplicates this.
  • Anyone who prints often, or always with the same printer, loses time on every print job.
  • The workflow differs from nearly all other macOS applications and is inconsistent for users.

Acceptance criteria

  1. With the option off, ⌘P and all other print entry points open the system print dialog immediately (mail, notes, tasks, events, contacts).
  2. Printing selected text in a mail still prints only the selection.
  3. The existing macOS print options (headers and footers, backgrounds) still work.
  4. With the option on, behavior is identical to today.

Alternatives considered

The existing “Print using system dialog…” link in the preview. It works, but it still requires opening the preview and an extra click on every print.

Environment

eM Client [10.4.5674], macOS [26.7.1], [Apple Silicon / Intel]

Technical note (optional)

Your code appears to already contain a direct-print path. A non-preview print mode ends in the same browser print call that the “Print using system dialog” link uses. In addition, a macOS-specific check in the printer base class seems intended to switch from preview to direct print but appears to have no effect. So the feature may need little more than a setting and a switch at the point where the preview flag is set.

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