Compiling the Source Text File

After you have created the source text file, the next step is to compile the file using the Pdfcomp (PDFCOMP.EXE) utility located in the \platform\SYSTEM\PRINTSRV directory. To run Pdfcomp, type the following at the command prompt.

input_file output_file  
  

You must specify the full name (including file extensions) of the input and output files.

For example, to compile the sample PDF file, copy PDFCOMP.EXE and HPLJ2.PDF to a directory on the server's hard disk, open a Command Prompt window and change the current directory to the directory containing the copied files. Then, type the following at the command prompt.

  
hplj2.pdf hplj2.pdt  
  

This creates the binary PDT file in the current directory. Specifying this file in the properties of a printer session allows Host Print service to send preformatted data to the printer, bypassing the formatting function of the Windows printer driver.

Compilation of the PDF file into a PDT is not strictly necessary. If an uncompiled PDF file is selected in a Print Session under the SNA Manager, the compilation is performed automatically each time the print session is used. This feature has a performance overhead and is available mainly for ease of development. For production systems, it is strongly recommended that you pre-compile PDF files.

See Also

Printer Definition Files