EXP Systems Forum: Pro 2.1.9 problem under Win2k

Message

   I'm evaluating PDF reDirect Pro (2.1.9) under Win2k w/SP4 and have run into a major bug.  PDF_reDirect.exe cannot be accessed except through the printer driver configured during installation.  That is, the following do not work:

-- Typing a filename into the textbox next to the Save button.  The text appears, but the Save button remains grayed. 

-- Dropping a filename into the text box, or pasting a filename from the clipboard.  The Save button remains grayed.

-- Dropping a filename onto the Files or Merge list or attempting to paste to them from the clipboard.  Nothing appears in either list.

-- Dropping a filename onto any shortcut to PDF_reDirect.exe.  The EXE starts but without any evidence of the filename.

Creating PDFs through the printer driver is useful, but I also intend to run a PDF creator through a shortcut in Send to.  That obviously doesn't work right now with PDF_reDirect. 

Do you have a Win2k system available for testing?

Author	Message
g-man Newbie Joined: 23 Mar 06 Location: United States Posts: 3	Topic: Pro 2.1.9 problem under Win2k Posted: 23 Mar 06 at 6:18PM
	I'm evaluating PDF reDirect Pro (2.1.9) under Win2k w/SP4 and have run into a major bug. PDF_reDirect.exe cannot be accessed except through the printer driver configured during installation. That is, the following do not work: -- Typing a filename into the textbox next to the Save button. The text appears, but the Save button remains grayed. -- Dropping a filename into the text box, or pasting a filename from the clipboard. The Save button remains grayed. -- Dropping a filename onto the Files or Merge list or attempting to paste to them from the clipboard. Nothing appears in either list. -- Dropping a filename onto any shortcut to PDF_reDirect.exe. The EXE starts but without any evidence of the filename. Creating PDFs through the printer driver is useful, but I also intend to run a PDF creator through a shortcut in Send to. That obviously doesn't work right now with PDF_reDirect. Do you have a Win2k system available for testing?
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Michel_K17 Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: 25 Jan 03 Posts: 1673	Posted: 24 Mar 06 at 12:31AM
	Hello "g-man", Thank you for your interest in PDF reDirect. Unfortunately, converting files from other formats to PDF is difficult, and typically done by "printing" a file from the original application (such as Word, Excel, etc.). This ensures that the proprietary format is converted to a more universal "Postscript" printer file, which is then converted to PDF. Indeed, the PDF and the Postscript formats are very similar (the format was both established by Adobe) except that the PDF format is more efficient and supports the compression of the data contained inside. Therefore, you will not be able to take a file, and be able to drag-and-drop it into PDF reDirect. Sorry. You can, however, "drag-and-drop" PDF files into PDF reDirect, into the Merge list. That part will work fine, and I do it all the time. Your last comment is correct: converting files from their native format to PDF via a "send to" shortcut is not possible: I would have to write code to be able to read every file format out there (.doc, . xls, .ppt, etc.) which would be a staggering amount of work. What I do use myself is the "Print" command, with the same effect. With PDF reDirect setup as the default printer, you can right-click on a file, and select "Print" instead of "Send". The file will then appear as a PDF in the PDF reDirect user interface. With PDF reDirect Pro, you can setup a batch printer and even further automated that process. Yes, I do have a W2K system. I have 5 computers here: A Windows 2003 Server, a WinXP Home, a Win XP Pro, a Windows 98 laptop and a Windows 2000 laptop. On one of the main computers, I also have a system of removable hard drives so that I can test other versions of Windows, with the next project being Windows 64. I have also started doing some initial testing on Windows Vista, and although it works (partially), there were a few visual artifacts that will need some cleanup. I wish it were simpler to create PDF files than going through the "Print" function, but right now, I don't know of any other way that will support all programs out there. Cheers! Michel.
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g-man Newbie Joined: 23 Mar 06 Location: United States Posts: 3	Posted: 24 Mar 06 at 2:48AM
	Edited by g-man
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g-man Newbie Joined: 23 Mar 06 Location: United States Posts: 3	Posted: 24 Mar 06 at 2:50AM
	Thanks for your prompt reply. You can, however, "drag-and-drop" PDF files into PDF reDirect, into the Merge list. That part will work fine, and I do it all the time. As I said in my original posting, I cannot do this at all. Let me point out as well this posting by you on this forum: Topic: How to Convert to PDF by dragging The action you describe in this posting also does not work on my system, as I stated originally. And finally, let me state once again the following. -- Typing a filename into the textbox next to the Save button does not work. The text appears, but the Save button remains grayed. -- Dropping a filename into the text box, or pasting a filename from the clipboard into the textbox, does not work. The Save button remains grayed. These aren't limitations. They're bugs. I can live without the Send to capability. Edited by g-man
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Michel_K17 Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: 25 Jan 03 Posts: 1673	Posted: 25 Mar 06 at 2:32PM
	Hello, I agree with you: there does seem to be a problem with the "drag-and-drop" feature if you cannot drop into the Merge List. In addition, you mentioned that you were also unable to drag a file to the printer. This feature is actually a Windows feature, not one from PDF reDirect. Are you aware that a "hotfix 890047" from Microsoft for Windows 2000 is causing users to lose the "drag and drop" functionality? I'm wondering if this is what you might be experiencing. However, I will boot up my test Windows 2000 machine today and will test it to see if I can duplicate the problem you are reporting. Your last two comments were: -- Typing a filename into the textbox next to the Save button does not work. The text appears, but the Save button remains grayed. -- Dropping a filename into the text box, or pasting a filename from the clipboard into the textbox, does not work. The Save button remains grayed. That is indeed correct. The "save" button will remain grayed out as long as there are no files listed in the Merge List. There must be at least one file in the merge list before the save button will become available. You can "Paste" a path and filename in the Filename textbox and that will set where the output will be saved, but doing so will not add that file to the merge list. Thank you for your observation. I will rethink my logic here for the next version. I can see if I can add "drag and drop" to the filename box in addition to the Merge List (ie dropping a PDF file in the filename box will update the name AND add that file to the Merge list). I have added that to my "todo" list. Cheers! Michel
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