Hi Tom,
Thanks for the help. Yes, I am working/developing in Windows. I want to use AbtProgramStarter or at least something like it. I am developing in Windows (a Seaside app) but plan to deploy it to Linux.
I think as you say that all should be okay. I need the function of AbtProgramStarter to start wkhtmltopdf that can convert html/css into a PDF file. If anyone is interested it can be found here:
http://code.google.com/p/wkhtmltopdf/. It should run on Windows and Linux (I've tested it on Windows). It is run as a command line program. You give it a URL or html input filename and an output pdf filename (where it writes the pdf file).
I have taken the guts of the Windows version AbtProgramStarter to start the program without opening a window. Now I have taken the guts of the UNIX version to run the program and wait for it to finish. The original UNIX code doesn't wait.
I think I have everything right but can't tell for sure until I can package it up and test it under Linux.
Thanks, Lou
P.S. wkhtmltopdf looks pretty good. It is based upon Apples Safari web browser. It seems to generate a nice PDF copy of my web reports. I use one base CSS file for the screen and add another "Printer Friendly" CSS file to paint the screen in a more printer friendly way. When I want a PDF file I use the printer friendly CSS file and capture the html before it would go to the browser. Then I send it to wkhtmltopdf, read its output PDF file and send it to the browser.