Creating PDF files from HTLM files

[jstansell]

Is there a free tool somewhere that will take a HTML file and create PDF files? Thanks!

[Pirate]

http://download.com.com/3120-20-0.ht...pdf&tg=dl-2001
read description of each one .

[Pirate]

oh btw , this place only for code . You could've asked in General Software forum .

[jstansell]

Thanks, but actually I was looking for a tool that I could use in VB.Net code. Some kind of API or OCX? Any recommendations?

[Pirate]

Well , you could've mentioned that in your first question . Anyways , I've seen couple of threads dicussing this issue . Also , Acrobat site has some APIs with documentation . If you couldn't find them , let me know .

[PT Exorcist]

there's at sourceforge an .net wrapper for pdf

look it there

[Pirate]

An example :
http://support.crystaldecisions.com/...export.exe.asp

Adobe PDF :
http://partners.adobe.com/asn/tech/pdf/index.jsp

[Evad]

I just got done writting a program that takes a html and converts it to a PDF file then faxes or emails it to the recipeient, I can't post the code due to company regulations but heres what process I envoked...

I used adobe 5.0 PDF Writer...

use the navigate2 function to load the file into the browser..

use the readystate to see if it is loaded

set the adobe writer as the default printer if not already set.

set the reg settings for the adobe writer located here:
current user\Software\Adobe\Acrobat PDFWriter

the settings to add are these
bDocInfo = 0
bExecViewer = 0
PDFFileName = "c:\myfilelocation\myfile.pdf"


call the browsers ExecWB function to print the params are
OLECMDID_PRINT, OLECMDEXECOPT_DONTPROMPTUSER

then do a loop until a file is created.

this will print the browser without any user interaction, once the pdf writer has created your document the reg setting for the filename will dissaprear.

good luck

sorry that its not actually code, but it should help you get started. and this way you could write it in vb7, my code is in vb6

[tswaters]

Evad, this is brilliant, however does not work with later versions of Distiller. For those users out there on the pain-staking search for how to do it and came accross this thread only to find it describing Acrobat 5, here:

Assuming you have a handy-dandy function called:
"SetRegValue (KeyRoot, Path, sKey, NewValue)"

Dim sPath As String, sKey As String, sValue As String
    sPath = "Software\Adobe\Acrobat Distiller\PrinterJobControl"
    sKey = App.Path & "\" & App.EXEName & ".exe"
    sValue = "C:\temp\test.pdf"
    createAcroKey = SetRegValue(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, sPath, sKey, sValue)

Basically the registry folder specified includes a list of key names that specify location of EXEs that, when run from distiller, will use the specified key value (a filePath which can include a specific PDF file) as the default path -- once printed, the key is removed.

If the path can't be found, it will try to get as close as it can but will eventually give up and go to the desktop I think. Don't bother looking at the registry values in the directory, they're very misleading and if used in the format as the keys in there, you can specify the directory, but not filename...

Good luck to any and all
-Tyler

oh, one more thing... the registry values in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\PDFMaker\7.0\Global\Settings
- ViewPDFFile
- PromptForPDFFilename
- ConvertDocInfo
...don't seem to do anything, strangely enough. I haven't figured that out yet

[Evad]

Yeah this was the quickest way that I could get a process up and running. And were still using this process at work. I do need to (when i find the time) move this process into .net.

Thanks for the feed back