Creating PDFs in Runtime

[Furball]

Has anyone come up with a usable method of scripting PDF creation and automated printer selection in FMP runtimes? I've noticed that both Affiler and Shubec have left the business, amnd MyFMButler apparently doesn't do encryption. (I've been using Affiler with some custom scripts done with AutoIT, but Aff won't install on Vista.) I've found some other PDF generators that look promising, but they use a COM interface, and I'm not a programmer.

[bcooney]

I just suggest to users who are not on Macs to use cutePDF. It's very hard to script this, because you don't have any idea what their PDF printer name is.

[Furball]

Unfortunately, I need to script everything. My runtime currently switches the printer to the PDF (I can control the printer name) prints the document, encrypts it using a stored hidden password, then attaches it to an email and sends it out to a predetermined address. Since most of my users are very basic, I need to do all of this for them.

I looked at CutePDF, but it doesn't appear to be scriptable. They do have another program that I'll have to check out.

Thanks

[bcooney]

If you know the printer name (that is the installed cutePDF printer), you can script this easily. FM10 remembers printer names in the print script step.

I ship a runtime to unknown users and so cannot determine the installed printer name.

[Furball]

That will help. I wrote this runtime in FM8, so I had to write a little windows script that allowed me to change printers within 8. Now, the users select which printers they will be using (I let them have a Printer, Fax and PDF printer) and after rinning a setup script that saves the names, the print script changes the printers. The problem comes in with scripting the encryption, as well as the file names and locations.

[bcooney]

Well, the file names and locations (paths?) are easy to script. However, I do agree that the PDF encryption will be a function of the pdf writer.