Question

Cannot get Excel VBA to create PDF files

Asked by: taduh

I am on Excel 2003, Adobe Acrobat PDFWriter 5.0

I am trying to set up an Excel spreadsheet so that the user can push a button and create multiple PDF files without having to answer prompts to name them. I have done some research and tried some of the suggested code, but I keep getting files without the .PDF extension that have 0 kb.

Here is my code - in the first IF, I tried to print using the PDF_Distiller; in the remaining IFs, I simply tried to print using the Acrobat PDFWriter.

Sub Print_All_Detail()

Dim I As Integer
Dim objPDF_Distiller As PdfDistiller

I = 1

Do While Sheet6.range("F" & I).Value <> ""

    Sheet1.range("R7") = I
    Sheet1.Activate
    ActiveSheet.PageSetup.PrintArea = "$P$3:$Q$50"
    With ActiveSheet.PageSetup
        .PrintTitleRows = ""
        .PrintTitleColumns = "$A:$A"
        .LeftMargin = application.InchesToPoints(1)
        .RightMargin = application.InchesToPoints(1)
        .TopMargin = application.InchesToPoints(1)
        .BottomMargin = application.InchesToPoints(1)
        .HeaderMargin = application.InchesToPoints(0)
        .FooterMargin = application.InchesToPoints(0)
        .CenterHorizontally = False
        .CenterVertically = False
        .Orientation = xlPortrait
        .Zoom = False
        .FitToPagesWide = 1
        .FitToPagesTall = 1
    End With
   
    Set objPDF_Distiller = New PdfDistiller
           
   
    If I = 1 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, Collate:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter on LPT1", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\temp.ps"
        objPDF_Distiller.FileToPDF "C:\temp.ps", "C:\AAA DLS\Excel\CobbLPO.pdf", ""
        Kill "c:\temp.ps"
        Set objPDF_Distiller = Nothing
    ElseIf I = 2 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\CherConLPO"
    ElseIf I = 3 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\DawsonLPO"
    ElseIf I = 4 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\ForsythLPO"
    ElseIf I = 5 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\FairburnLPO"
    ElseIf I = 6 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\GwinnettLPO"
    ElseIf I = 7 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\HallLPO"
    ElseIf I = 8 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\HenryLPO"
    ElseIf I = 9 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\RockNewLPO"
    ElseIf I = 10 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\WGALPO"
    ElseIf I = 11 Then
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\MarLPO"
    Else
        ActiveWindow.SelectedSheets.PrintOut Copies:=1, _
        PrintToFile:=True, _
        ActivePrinter:="Acrobat PDFWriter", _
        PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\AtlRgnLPO"
    End If
   
   
    I = I + 1

Loop

MsgBox ("Report files have been created.")

End Sub


Thanks in advance for your help!

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-10-24 at 06:52:40ID22914558
Tags

vba

,

excel

,

pdf

Topics

VB Objects

,

Adobe Acrobat

,

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Software

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Distiller
    I am using Distiller to create PDF output files from Office documents. I need to know why Word prepends 'Microsoft Word - ' to the file it is printing e.g. If I open a file called abc.doc and print via Adobe Distiller, then the file C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat\Distillr\PD...
  2. PCL and Adobe Acrobat distiller
    Can a printer with PCL and Postscript emulation create pdf files using Adobe Acrobat distiller Thinking of buying a Lexmark or Samsung with both Thanks trexette
  3. adobe distiller
    Hi all, I need to print rtf documents to the Acrobat Distiller virtual printer automatically. And I need to be able to specify what the output PDF filename should be. Any one can provide example using adobe ocx ?
  4. Generate PDF with VBA code Acrobat Distiller
    Hello, I know this topic has been discussed, but I am a novice to this whole thing so I could not keep up with the treads. My issue is that I want to print Reports from Microsoft Access to a .PDF with a specific path and specific filename. I need code showing how to print t...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: slam69Posted on 2007-10-24 at 07:53:04ID: 20139462

Have you tried using cutepdf? When I have used this in the past i have found it a better tool for converting excel sheets into pdf?

Also you may want to upgrade the acrobat version you are using, the later versions of acrobat allow you to turn off the save as naming option which is causing you the problems. without that i am not sure if you will be able to do this.

i has a similar problem converting as400 files into pdf's with my new company.

 

by: punisher39Posted on 2007-10-24 at 09:36:13ID: 20140492

Hi

I noticed in your codes that the print to file name is missing the file extension (.pdf) For example
PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\AtlRgnLPO

Try including the file extensiion, for example
PrToFileName:="C:\AAA DLS\Excel\AtlRgnLPO.pdf

 

by: taduhPosted on 2007-10-24 at 09:48:01ID: 20140611

slam69,

Thanks for responding. Switching to another PDF writer or another version of Adobe is not really an option. Others within the  corporation make those decisions. If its going to happen, its going to have to happen on Adobe Acrobat PDFWriter 5.0.

Thanks.

 

by: taduhPosted on 2007-10-24 at 09:50:26ID: 20140637

punisher39,

I think I've tried that - I think I get files with the.PDF extension, but that still have no data in them. I will, however try that again and let you know the results in a little while.

Thanks.

 

by: punisher39Posted on 2007-10-24 at 09:56:22ID: 20140696

Hi Taduh

If that  does not work, here is a suggestion that could be used to redesign your codes.


 'Define the postscript and .pdf file names.
Dim PSFileName as String
Dim PDFFileName as String
PSFileName = "c:\myPostScript.ps"
PDFFileName = "c:\myPDF.pdf"

' Print the Excel range to the postscript file
Dim MySheet As WorkSheet
Set MySheet = ActiveSheet
MySheet.Range("myRange").PrintOut copies:=1, preview:=False, ActivePrinter:="Acrobat Distiller", printtofile:=True, collate:=True, prttofilename:=PSFileName

' Convert the postscript file to .pdf
Dim myPDF As PdfDistiller
Set myPDF = New PdfDistiller
myPDF.FileToPDF PSFileName, PDFFileName, ""

Regards

 

by: taduhPosted on 2007-10-24 at 10:03:19ID: 20140767

Punisher39,

It was as I thought. I get a PDF file, but with nothing in it.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...