How can I explode and email my "tagged" PDF which was generated using another PDF creator?

ISSUE:

I have an existing report in PDF format, occasionally created by another PDF engine (or in some cases, previously generated by PDF-eXPLODE itself).  I need to regenerate this report to email the pages. I have no way of regenerating the source report. However, when I open the PDF in a PDF reader (like Adobe) and then Print it to the PDFeXPLODE printer, it never processes.  In fact if I print this PDF again, besides printing reports generically through Crystal Reports, all reports in the PDF-eXPLODE print queue that follow on from the reprinted PDF will stall in the queue.

1.  What can I do to get this one (or more) reprinted PDFs processed and emailed?

2.  How can I clear the print queue so new generic reports can be printed and emailed?

ANSWER:
Please also read this related article: Each time I reprint a previously produced tagged PDF using the PDFeXPLODE printer in Adobe Reader, it always fails to create an exploded PDF and email

The Print Queue has stalled as a result of 2 possibilities:

• You have opened an existing PDF in a PDF Reader (like Adobe, for instance) and have then attempted to FILE/PRINT to the PDFeXPLODE printer.

When you do this, Windows creates incorrect Postscript code (language for convering a document to PDF) based on laguage level 3, whereas the PDF-eXPLODE engine needs language level 2. Since the file has corrupt code, it never gets processed and remain in the printer queue, blocking the next file waiting to be processed.

So you need to remove this corrupted file from the queue. Go to [INSTALL FOLDER]\TEMP\%USER%\ (Desktop license) or   [INSTALL FOLDER]\TEMP\ADMINISTRATOR\ ( Server license) and delete the ~PD999.TMP file which has the most recent date/time or Remove All files in this folder, if you are sure you can regenerate the reports again. The correct way to process an existing PDF (previously created by PDF-eXPLODE or by a 3rd party PDF engine) is shown later in this article.

• It is possible that you did not configure the PDFeXPLODE printer correctly.

It takes just a few minutes to configure, so why don't you attempt that now. Just download the How to configure the PDFeXPLODE Printer.PDF attached to the sidebar under  "Attachments" here =======================================================================>>>

Please ensure you configure PDFeXPLODE Printer Properties -  General tab /Printer Preferences and Advanced tab/ Printer Defaults. You will need to clear the queue and then regenrate the printer code so it can correctly create the PDF, explode and then email.

Special Method of Processing Pre-existing PDFs

PDF-eXPLODE allows you to use a third party PDF creator (besides a PDF previously generated by PDFeXPLODE printer) as long as the PDF-eXPLODE tags are embedded in the PDF. The processes shown below are "Command Line"  or " Drag and Drop " processing or the use of PDF-eMONITOR. You can read about PDF-eMONITOR here : (  https://www.pdf-explode.com/pdf-emonitor.php   )

Command Line Processing

Running PDF-eXPLODE from a command line can be used to accomplish such applications as:

• Using Window Task Scheduler to automate the execution of PDF-eXPLODE
• Exploding an existing PDF created by another application.  For example:

• Some applications (e.g. SQL Server™ Reporting Services) print an image rather than text which makes the PDF-eXPLODE tags unreadable. So, instead of printing to PDF-eXPLODE you need to export to PDF and then explode the PDF.
• Some applications produce smaller PDF files so it may be advantageous to create the PDF using software other than PDF-eXPLODE

"Program Path" -PRINTFILE"master PDF path"

For example:

"C:\Program Files\PDF-eXPLODE\PDF-eXPLODE.exe"  ‑PRINTFILE "C:\Program Files\PDF-eXPLODE\PDFS\PDF-eXPLODE.pdf"

Note that there is no space between -PRINTFILE and the name of the PDF. When you run the shortcut, PDF-eXPLODE will start up and immediately start exploding, skipping the PDF creation stage as a Master PDF already exists. This method is quicker than the End to End process.

 

Drag and Drop Processing

[Applies to PDF-eXPLODE versons 3.3.9.98/99 + and V4.0+]

There is no need to create a shortcut with this solution. When the PDF is created, drag and drop the newly created PDF onto an open PDF-eXPLODE printer queue window. This action will commence processing exactly like the command line. This method is a preferred method of processing but can't be used if the User has no direct access to the PDF-eXPLODE EXE. For instance, the User has full access to the PDF-eXPLODE app when using the program on his/her Desktop PC. However, this may not be possible on a Server depending on whether the User has login permissions to the server.

Drag and Drop  is the fastest way to process any pre-existing tagged PDF report. You can drag and drop up to a maximum of 5 PDFs in the one drop, by dragging all 5 together.

Click on the PLAY  (>)  icon ( bottom left)  on the video, to start the  Drag and Drop video clip. Click the [] icon (bottom right)  to maximize the viewing screen  :

NOTE:  When processing via command-line or Dag and Drop, always be mindful of the fact the PDF-eXPLODE.EXE  creates a lot of temporary files whilst exploding in the location where the source PDF is located. So never start Drag and Drop or command line from a Desktop of a server or PC - if the process fails for some reason, you could be faced with manually removing many temporary files from this location.