Report filtering email as pdf

[QMcKay]

@QMcKay

I am having some issues with the COM method. It works just fine with certain file types like TXT, but with XPS it does not work properly.

It has to do with the way the COM method actually works.

• opens the file using the associated application in a hidden window
• prints the file to the PDF Creator printer, using one of the profiles

With TXT it actually opens the file in Notepad in a hidden window, then prints.

With XPS it opens the file in XPS Viewer then attempts to print, but instead of doing so automatically, it brings up the Choose Printer dialog and does nothing until you click “Print”

SendKeys and a Sleep function to the rescue…

function sleep(milliseconds)
{
   var currentTime = new Date().getTime();
   while (currentTime + milliseconds >= new Date().getTime()) {
     // do nothing
   }
   return milliseconds;
}

function printPDF(f)
{
	var tmout = 5;
	
	var objFSO = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
	var objShell = new ActiveXObject("Shell.Application");
	var WshShell = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");

	var filename = f;

	if(!objFSO.FileExists(filename))
	{
	 return "File does not exist: " + filename;
	}

	
	try
	{
	var PDFCreatorQueue = new ActiveXObject("PDFCreator.JobQueue");

	PDFCreatorQueue.Initialize();

	//Since we are using the "DefaultGuid" pdf is our output format
	var fullname = objFSO.GetFileName(filename);
	var name =  fullname.replace(objFSO.GetExtensionName(fullname),"pdf");
	var fullPath = objFSO.GetParentFolderName(filename) + "/" + name;

        // invoke associated program and call it's "print" verb
	objShell.ShellExecute(filename,"", "", "print", 2);

        // call our sleep function
        var sleeping = sleep(500);
	// send ENTER key
	WshShell.SendKeys('{ENTER}');

	if(!PDFCreatorQueue.WaitForJob(tmout))
	{   
		PDFCreatorQueue.ReleaseCom();
		return "The print job did not reach the queue within " + tmout + " seconds";
	}
	else
	{
		var job = PDFCreatorQueue.NextJob;
		job.SetProfileByGuid("DefaultGuid");						
		
		//Assuming you want to convert to a .tif-file you can do this by
		//simply changing the output format setting of your current profile
		//job.SetProfileSetting("OutputFormat", "Tif");
		job.SetProfileSetting("OutputFormat", "Pdf");
		
		//Get the guid of the used profile
		var guid = job.GetProfileSetting("Guid");
		
		job.ConvertTo(fullPath);
		
		if(!job.IsFinished || !job.IsSuccessful)
		{
			PDFCreatorQueue.ReleaseCom();
			//WScript.Echo("Could not convert the file: " + fullPath);
			return "Could not convert the file: " + fullPath;
		}
		else
		{
			PDFCreatorQueue.ReleaseCom();
			//WScript.Echo("Job finished successfully");
			return "Success";
		}
	}
	PDFCreatorQueue.ReleaseCom();
	}
	catch(e)
	{
		PDFCreatorQueue.ReleaseCom();   
		return "ERROR: " + e.message;
	}
}

Here is the Rule I use which is fired when I click a button…

This actually uses the Save Report Action, then uses JScript to convert. The reason I like the Save Report Action is that it allows us to specify the FileName, so we have full control over it. You could add one more Action to Send Email with attachment at the end of it all.