Converting Postscript to PDF Documents

Last update: June 24, 2024

Applies to:
Experience Manager 6.5

CREATED FOR:

Developer

Samples and examples in this document are only for AEM Forms on JEE environment.

About the Distiller Service

The Distiller® service converts PostScript®, Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), and PRN files to compact, reliable, and more secure PDF files over a network. The Distiller service is frequently used to convert large volumes of print documents to electronic documents, such as invoices and statements. Converting documents to PDF also allows enterprises to send their customers a paper version and an electronic version of a document.

NOTE

For more information about the Distiller service, see Services Reference for AEM Forms.

Converting PostScript to PDF documents

This topic describes how you can use the Distiller Service API (Java and web service) to programmatically convert PostScript (PS), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), and PRN files to PDF documents.

NOTE

For more information about the Distiller service, see Services Reference for AEM Forms.

NOTE

To convert PostScript files to PDF documents, one of the following needs to be installed on the server hosting AEM Forms: Acrobat 9 or Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 redistributable package.

Summary of steps

To convert any of the supported types to a PDF document, perform the following steps:

Include project files.
Create a Distiller service client.
Retrieve the file to convert.
Invoke the PDF creation operation.
Save the PDF document.

Include project files

Include the necessary files in your development project. If you are creating a client application by using Java, include the necessary JAR files. If you are using web services, make sure you include the proxy files.

Create a Distiller service client

Before you can programmatically perform a Distiller service operation, you must create a Distiller service client. If you are using the Java API, create a DistillerServiceClient object. If you are using the web service API, create a DistillerServiceService object.

Retrieve the file to convert

Retrieve the file that you want to convert. For example, to convert a PS file to a PDF document, you must retrieve the PS file.

Invoke the PDF creation operation

After you create the service client, you can then invoke the PDF creation operation. This operation will need information about the document to be converted, including the path to the target document.

Save the PDF document

You can save the PDF document as a PDF file.

Converting a PostScript file to PDF using the web service API

Including AEM Forms Java library files

Setting connection properties

Output Service API Quick Starts

Convert a PostScript file to PDF using the Java API

Convert a PostScript file to PDF document by using the Distiller Service API (Java):

Include project files.

Include client JAR files, such as adobe-distiller-client.jar, in your Java project’s class path.
Create a Distiller service client.
- Create a ServiceClientFactory object that contains connection properties.
- Create an DistillerServiceClient object by using its constructor and passing the ServiceClientFactory object.
Retrieve the file to convert.
- Create a java.io.FileInputStream object that represents the file to convert by using its constructor and passing a string value that specifies the location of the file.
- Create a com.adobe.idp.Document object by using its constructor and passing the java.io.FileInputStream object.
Invoke the PDF creation operation.

Invoke the DistillerServiceClient object’s createPDF method and pass the following values:
- The com.adobe.idp.Document object that represents the PS, EPS, or PRN file to be converted
- A java.lang.String object that contains the name of the file to be converted
- A java.lang.String object that contains the name of the Adobe PDF settings to be used
- A java.lang.String object that contains the name of the security settings to be used
- An optional com.adobe.idp.Document object that contains settings to be applied while generating the PDF document
- An optional com.adobe.idp.Document object that contains metadata information to be applied to the PDF document
The createPDF method returns a CreatePDFResult object that contains the new PDF document and a log file that may be generated. The log file typically contains error or warning messages that are generated by the conversion request.
Save the PDF document.

To obtain the newly created PDF document, perform the following actions:
- Invoke the CreatePDFResult object’s getCreatedDocument method. This returns a com.adobe.idp.Document object.
- Invoke the com.adobe.idp.Document object’s copyToFile method to extract the PDF document.
Similarly, to obtain the log document, perform the following actions.
- Invoke the CreatePDFResult object’s getLogDocument method. This returns a com.adobe.idp.Document object.
- Invoke the com.adobe.idp.Document object’s copyToFile method to extract the log document.

See also

Summary of steps

Quick Start (SOAP mode): Converting a PostScript file to a PDF document using the Java API

Including AEM Forms Java library files

Setting connection properties

Converting a PostScript file to PDF using the web service API

Convert a PostScript file to PDF document by using the Distiller Service API (web service):

Include project files.

Create a Microsoft .NET project that uses MTOM. Ensure that you use the following WSDL definition: http://localhost:8080/soap/services/DistillerService?WSDL&lc_version=9.0.1.

NOTE
Replace localhost with the IP address of the server hosting AEM Forms.
Create a Distiller service client.
- Create a DistillerServiceClient object by using its default constructor.
- Create a DistillerServiceClient.Endpoint.Address object by using the System.ServiceModel.EndpointAddress constructor. Pass a string value that specifies the WSDL to the AEM Forms service (for example, http://localhost:8080/soap/services/DistillerService?blob=mtom.) You do not need to use the lc_version attribute. This attribute is used when you create a service reference. However, specify ?blob=mtom to use MTOM.
- Create a System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding object by getting the value of the DistillerServiceClient.Endpoint.Binding field. Cast the return value to BasicHttpBinding.
- Set the System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding object’s MessageEncoding field to WSMessageEncoding.Mtom. This value ensures that MTOM is used.
- Enable basic HTTP authentication by performing the following tasks:
  - Assign the AEM forms user name to the field DistillerServiceClient.ClientCredentials.UserName.UserName.
  - Assign the corresponding password value to the field DistillerServiceClient.ClientCredentials.UserName.Password.
  - Assign the constant value HttpClientCredentialType.Basic to the field BasicHttpBindingSecurity.Transport.ClientCredentialType.
  - Assign the constant value BasicHttpSecurityMode.TransportCredentialOnly to the field BasicHttpBindingSecurity.Security.Mode.
Retrieve the file to convert.
- Create a BLOB object by using its constructor. This BLOB object is used to store the file to convert to a PDF document.
- Create a System.IO.FileStream object by invoking its constructor and passing a string value that represents the file location and the mode to open the file in.
- Create a byte array that stores the content of the System.IO.FileStream object. You can determine the size of the byte array by getting the System.IO.FileStream object’s Length property.
- Populate the byte array with stream data by invoking the System.IO.FileStream object’s Read method and passing the byte array, the starting position, and the stream length to read.
- Populate the BLOB object by assigning its MTOM property with the contents of the byte array.
Invoke the PDF creation operation.

Invoke the DistillerServiceService object’s CreatePDF2 method and pass the following required values:
- The BLOB object that represents the PS file to convert
- A string that contains the path name of the file to be convert
- A string object that contains the Adobe PDF settings to be used (for example, Standard)
- A string object that contains the security settings to be used (for example, No Security)
- An optional BLOB object that contains settings to be applied while generating the PDF document
- An optional BLOB object that contains metadata information to be applied to the PDF document
- A BLOB output parameter used to store the PDF document
- A BLOB output parameter used to store the log
Save the PDF document.
- Create a System.IO.FileStream object by invoking its constructor. Pass a string value that represents the file location of the signed PDF document and the mode in which to open the file.
- Create a byte array that stores the content of the BLOB object that was returned by the CreatePDF2 method (the output parameter). Populate the byte array by getting the value of the BLOB object’s MTOM data member.
- Create a System.IO.BinaryWriter object by invoking its constructor and passing the System.IO.FileStream object.
- Write the contents of the byte array to a PDF file by invoking the System.IO.BinaryWriter object’s Write method and passing the byte array.

See also

Summary of steps

Invoking AEM Forms using MTOM

Invoking AEM Forms using SwaRef

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