up vote 1 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I am trying to create a scheduled task to convert all my .vsd files to pdf so all of our devices can read them (linux, mac, smartphones, etc..) and I would prefer not paying for something that can be done with Visio + PDFcreator.

The approach of using openoffice doesn't work with .vsd files since it's not a supported format ( Method/tools for batch-converting Microsoft Word files into PDF?)

What I've currently is this: 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio11\VISIO.EXE' /pt "Z:\Archive\Files.vsd",-PPDFCREATORPRINTER /nologo

That is able to open automatically the document I want and to prepare it to be printed, the only missing part is that it requires me to confirm on the printing dialog.

There's some information here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314392 but it doesn't explain abotu non interactive printing.

link|improve this question
feedback

migrated from serverfault.com Jun 23 '11 at 14:43

This question came from our site for system administrators and desktop support professionals.

3 Answers

up vote 0 down vote

Try the other way round, use PDFcreator to call the print job.

  1. Set pdf creator to autosave
  2. C:\Program Files\PDFCreator>PDFCreator.exe /PF"C:\V1*.vsd"

Search the PDFcreator help for autosave and command line parameters for the settings you need.

link|improve this answer
That seems a good aproach, but I'm having serious issues with 1.2.1 under 2008 server. The autoprinting doesn't seem to work properly. All the elements stay on the queue forever. – Aseques Jun 30 '11 at 14:31
Also the /PF flag doesn't have any documentation I could find... To bad that Microsoft didn't implement this from stock :( – Aseques Jul 19 '11 at 6:12
from the help file /PF<filename> Print a file with the standard program linking with the extension of the file. In general, this option is useful in connection with Auto-Save mode. It is not possible to use this parameter in conjunction with the /OF parameter. There is NO space between the parameter and the file name. Example: pdfcreator.exe /PF"C:\help.doc" You can also use wildcards to create PDF's of all documents in a specified folder. Example: pdfcreator.exe /PF"C:*.doc" – JoeOD Aug 29 '11 at 22:18
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

You may be able to use AutoHotKey to automate the confirming-the-print-dialog part.

link|improve this answer
I've been looking at this, but this seems more like a set of libraries to be used with VBA, or am I wrong. I'd like something that can be automated but with an easier language... – Aseques Jul 19 '11 at 6:11
AutoHotkey is a way to script keyboard and mouse interactions. It has nothing to do with VBA specifically, although you can use it to automate interactions with VBA programs. – Handyman5 Jul 19 '11 at 7:23
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

You can use PrintConductor together with PDFCreator to complete your task. Go to PDFCreator -> Options -> Auto-save -> check "Use Auto-save" and select desired settings. All your result pdf files will be stored in the folder you specified.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.