Virtual PDF-printer for PPC2003
WebDoc
I have a PocketLOOX 720 and would like to be able to create PDF-files from
different applications through a virtual printer. I had such a printer some
years ago on my PDA, but for some reason it was removed from the application
I used, so after an update of the software the device was removed. The
sofware company does not know anything about this device driver, and is
unable to find out were it came from.
However, I'm unable to find any such virtual printer software.
Does anyone know about a Virtual PDF-creator/printer for PPC?
Thanks in adv.
WebDoc
Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]
options... for example, a web based fax service that converts emails to
fax and/or pdf output.
Is there a reason for pdf as, imho, pdf files are a pita in general...
why not word files?
Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
Mike Edwards
> options... for example, a web based fax service that converts emails to
> fax and/or pdf output.
I use Hylafax here to receive faxes, which delivers them as a PDF attachment
to local users. If you're in control of the receiving environment that would
work for you. Being a Linux product, however, it's a pain to configure. It's
not that great a solution, though, unless you have some way to send faxes
from your PPC. There is an open-source project called PDFCreator which is
fine for desktop, but I can't see a Pocket PC version. I also found this:
http://www.pocketpclouisville.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3084&sid=befee60d506d06f6bb57602d117b3407
which might be what you want.
> Is there a reason for pdf as, imho, pdf files are a pita in general... why
> not word files?
PDF is much more portable to non-MS environments, and generally easier to
prevent people from editing.
Mike.
WebDoc
only...
Suggestions anyone? :-|
Problems still unsolved...
/WebDoc
Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]
To clarify, afaik, there is no pdf generator for any windows mobile os
including wm5
I think the suggestions I posted are the only options you will find to
generate pdf's using a ppc.
Mike Edwards
used to use before you uninstalled it. Did you contact the company that
announced that product for WM5, see if they have an older version? But
otherwise, all you can do is keep searching.
Mike.
"WebDoc" <Web...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AE47C2A1-38D4-4F4E...@microsoft.com...
WebDoc
the application for WM5 did not have any earlier version with PDF-writing
function.
The lead I'm following now is what Beverly suggested - a fax/printing
software for PPC2003. As it seems it just might be a possible way to do it -
even though I havn't had time to test any such program yet, some of them
seems to have a function were the fax is installed as a printer, MAYBE with a
pdf-option... :-)
I'll post a comment if it works.
But I must say that I'm surprised that such a utility isn't considered as
more important for the PDA:s...
I mean: if you can print to pdf-file, any printout you make can then easily
be mailed to anyone anywere with a minimum of hussle and no problems to view
and print it in "the other end"...
Thanks so far anyway!
WebDoc
Chris Laarman
3E734FA3-8649-4A1E...@microsoft.com:
> I've done extensive search through Google with poor result. The
> company with the application for WM5 did not have any earlier version
> with PDF-writing function.
> The lead I'm following now is what Beverly suggested - a fax/printing
> software for PPC2003. As it seems it just might be a possible way to
> do it - even though I havn't had time to test any such program yet,
> some of them seems to have a function were the fax is installed as a
> printer, MAYBE with a pdf-option... :-)
> I'll post a comment if it works.
> But I must say that I'm surprised that such a utility isn't
> considered as more important for the PDA:s...
> I mean: if you can print to pdf-file, any printout you make can then
> easily be mailed to anyone anywere with a minimum of hussle and no
> problems to view and print it in "the other end"...
Somehow I would figure that a PDF driver would be something for Westtek
(http://www.westtek.com/pocketpc/) with their ClearVue line and JETCET
PRINT. (I have been unable to install their trial stuff on my WM5 device,
and they haven't reacted to my help request.)
I happen to have an application that does print to PDF, but I have chosen
not to suggest it earlier, as it is a drawing program (like Corel Draw).
<quote (edited) from http://www.vectorsoft.gr/draw/index.htm>
Vectorsoft Draw 3 for Pocket PC
Product description
- View and Compose Vector Graphics (Adobe® AI, AutoCAD® DXF, Windows®
Metafiles EMF/WMF, HPGL® PLT), Publish PDF Documents.
- Exchange Drawings with Microsoft Office, CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator,
Acrobat Reader, AutoCAD, etc.
- Send files via e-mail and ftp.
Requires: Pocket PC with 2MB RAM free
Supported devices:
· Compatible with Pocket PC 2000/2002/2003/Mobile 5 devices.
· Landscape, Square, VGA screen support.
Vector File formats:
- Open: Adobe® AI, AutoCAD® DXF, Windows® EMF / WMF, HPGL® PLT.
- Save: PDF Documents, Adobe® AI, AutoCAD® DXF, Windows® EMF, HPGL® PLT.
Bitmap support:
- Import: BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, 2BP.
- Save: BMP, JPG.
· Antializing support for saved bitmaps.
</quote>
So the question of usability would be on the input side.
Price: USD 30 at http://www.handango.com/.
--
Chris Laarman
Todd Allcock
.
> But I must say that I'm surprised that such a utility isn't considered
as
> more important for the PDA:s...
PDAs are typically seen as a device that allow you take documents from
your PC, view or edit them while on the road, then return them to your PC
for final use. (I'm not saying I agree with that, but that seems to be
the design intenr.)
> I mean: if you can print to pdf-file, any printout you make can then
easily
> be mailed to anyone anywere with a minimum of hussle and no problems to
view
> and print it in "the other end"...
Except as a rule, PPCs don't really support printing ANY document or file
type, so the PDF format isn't being discriminated against any more than
any other format! Any PPC printing solution is generally via a 3rd party
application.
WebDoc
I have to comment on Todds comment though:
There is definetely a print out command in the PPC2003, but for some reason
it is limited to either IR or Bluetooth devices. Both are to limited to be
useful for my needs, the time it takes to print otu over IR is disturbingly
long...
And to comment on Chris' reply:
I've contacted Westek, but ClearVue is not a PDF-printer, it needs to be
able to open the document in question and after that convert it to pdf if
needed. Unfortunately if you have an application were the output file is a
special and application specific format (the application I'm using saves
everything in a database with their own design) that is not commonly used, it
does not help at all.
Still...back in 2002 there was a company from Australia (MicroMedical) that
had such a printer driver...but the company has seized to exist so I don't
know how to find it...
"Todd Allcock" wrote:
> At 12 Apr 2007 03:08:01 -0700 WebDoc wrote:
> ..
Chris Laarman
1FD9BEC5-87CB-496C...@microsoft.com:
> And to comment on Chris' reply:
> I've contacted Westek, but ClearVue is not a PDF-printer, it needs to
> be able to open the document in question and after that convert it to
> pdf if needed.
I didn't say (not even suggest, I hope) that any part of the ClearVue range,
nor their JETCET PRINT, is a PDF printer driver.
I merely said that Westtek is rather into PDF (on the INPUT side).
Did you happen to consider Vectorsoft Draw, which I did suggest (as a
workaround)?
:-)
--
Chris Laarman
WebDoc
Vectorsoft Draw, since I couldn't find any option to transfer the output from
the database to the application...
However, although I'm not known to quit so easily, I think that I'll have to
find the smallest PC available were I can install a pdf-writer as on any
normal PC instead of solving this problem...it seems to complicated to me.
Not the best solution, but probably to only one available...
Chris Laarman
5E282D6E-2F1C-4596...@microsoft.com:
> Thanks for all your help and suggestions. To Chris: No, I haven't
> tried the Vectorsoft Draw, since I couldn't find any option to
> transfer the output from the database to the application...
> However, although I'm not known to quit so easily, I think that I'll
> have to find the smallest PC available were I can install a
> pdf-writer as on any normal PC instead of solving this problem...it
> seems to complicated to me. Not the best solution, but probably to
> only one available...
I see. :-)
These smallest PCs would be Tablets or subnotebooks.
But at their price tags I would look for other options.
I tried to read back the thread and understand your problem, but I may miss
a message.
So you have data from different applications (including a database manager)
on your WM2003 device that you want to share with people using PCs. You want
these data to land in PDF for portability (the "P" in PDF) and
edit-protection. Right?
Would it help to split the answer into portability and protection?
I could then think of using "basic" file types (RTF, CSV, HTML), packed in
an archive with authenticity and/or password protection. My version of
Pocket RAR isn't as advanced as my WinRAR, so that wouldn't be useful. But
somebody may be inspired by this.
I notice that both DOC and XLS, native file formats of Microsoft Office,
offer some form of protection (Ididn't check if it's read at all or just
write). Their pocket counterparts don't seem to have that option. But
SoftMaker Office for Pocket PC can handle the unconverted "desktop" file
formats. http://www.softmaker.com/english/
This leaves out the database manager, but that may offer its own scheme
anyway.
That's all /I/ can think of...
--
Chris Laarman
xTenn
>
> Did you happen to consider Vectorsoft Draw, which I did suggest (as a
> workaround)?
>
> :-)
>
Forgive me while I hijack this thread but:
FWIW, I consider Vectorsoft Draw to be a great program. Definitely IMHO
the best vector graphics program available for the PPC platform.
One Cat Doodler was great at one time, but since it has not been brought
forward with more capabilities to match the hardware (no rotate on
grouped items, etc..)
WebDoc
PDF-printer, sorry for that. Let's see if I can make it a bit more clear:
I'm working as an anesthesiologist at the local ambulance helicopter
service. The software I'm using is Pocket Medic, produced by QRS
Diagnostics(www.qrsdiagnostics.com) for gathering ECG:s. The ECG is stored in
the database, and when the PDA is connected to a PC the database is synced
between the two - OfficeMedic is installed on the PC. Thereafter the ECG can
be printed out from the PC, or saved to a PDF-file and then mailed were
anyone with Acrobat Reader installed can read it.
The limitation is, as you probably understand, that I can record the ECG
from the patient in the field (pre-hospital care) but not send it, since the
reciever dos not have the correct software for vieving the ECG. Since I'm
working at a ambulance helicopter with VERY tight weight limitations, every
gram counts!
The difference between a PDA-based solution and one with a light PC is
probably not more that 2 pounds (1 Kg), but since everything has to be
carried from the helicopter to the patient (most of it in my mock suit
pockets!), it's not accepable.
That is why I want to have a PDA-based ECG-recording utility.
The reason for the PDF-format is because it would cause to many problems if
I would have to install the specific Office Medic software in every ER at the
several hospitals we operates on.
It would increase the risk that that particualar computer would be broken,
removed, moved or simply just not available when we need it, and therefore
the ECG might just be unusable for that particular patient.
With the PDF-format (as some of you already have mentioned) as a print-out,
I can mail the file through the e-mail system via a GPRS/3G cellular phone,
or if needed just send it to a USB-memory and dowloaded to any local computer
at any hospital (in the world!!) and then viewed or printed as preferred.
As I can see it from the suggested solutions in this thread, to find a
virtual PDF-printer for a PPC will probably be impossible, and I'm not an
software engineer, so to write my own PDF-printer driver is not an option...
:-(
I'll have to either spam the QRS Diagnostics and provoke them to come up
with a solution, or just try to find a PC-solution.
Thank you everyone for your help!
/WebDoc
Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]
limitations, every gram counts! <<
And, since every gram counts, why can't a solution back at base be
considered?
Even if the "receiver software" can't be updated to process the actual
data, it would seem that the data could be transmitted to a receiver pc
which could generate the file format that is required and re-transmit it
to the original cobbled receiver.
xTenn
I am not sure about how you use the software or the size of the
displayed ECG graph, but would a screen capture be possible? You could
then email or store the picture as you see fit.
If the image is multiple screens then obviously this may not work.
Todd Allcock
> That is why I want to have a PDA-based ECG-recording utility.
> The reason for the PDF-format is because it would cause to many
problems if
> I would have to install the specific Office Medic software in every ER
at the
> several hospitals we operates on.
>
> I'll have to either spam the QRS Diagnostics and provoke them to come
up
> with a solution, or just try to find a PC-solution.
> Thank you everyone for your help!
Question: can the PPC data be moved to the PC any other way besides
syncing, say, via e-mail attachment, file transfer, or direct import of
the file on the PC into the PC version of the program?
If so, perhaps something like GoToMyPC might work- you could e-mail the
data (or transfer it w/GoToMyPC's file transfe utility) then control your
desktop PC from the PPC with GoTo over GPRS, create the PDF on the PC
remotely and e-mail it to whomever you wish (including your own PPC.)
If syncing is a requirement, you could sync over VPN with GPRS if you're
using (or are willing to downgrade to) a WM2003 phone (remote sync over
IP was removed in Activesync 4.x, but 2003 devices can still sync over
GPRS with 3.x.)
As long as you can get the data to your PC by any remote means, then you
can use GoToMyPC (or it's cheaper cousin LogMeIn.com) to control the PDF-
creation and delivery, at least until you can get your software vendor to
add that ability to the PPC version!
Good luck!
WebDoc
varied population of co-workers with very different levels of computer
knowledge) a solution with a back at the base, which needs to be configured
for relaying the file after conversion to pdf will probably cause to many
sources of errors that will annoy the users and then probably in the end to
user-hostile.
I also would expect the time from recording of the ECG to transmission to
the reciever, will be to long and therefore not acceptable.
With the PDF-printer solution averone only needs to learn how to record and
then send the file - easy and fast (as weight is one important issue, time is
really of essence!)
WebDoc
WebDoc
important data, which is on the printed page of the report...
WebDoc
though I could do as you suggest, beeing a computer geek ;-), I'm afraid that
my collegues would rather throw the device in the ocean at the first
malfunction...we do not have time for erratic behaviour on data connections
when working to save lives... :-)
Todd Allcock
> Thank you all for your suggestions.
> I have to comment on Todds comment though:
> There is definetely a print out command in the PPC2003, but for some
> reason
> it is limited to either IR or Bluetooth devices. Both are to limited to be
> useful for my needs, the time it takes to print otu over IR is
> disturbingly
> long...
But those print options are built into the software, correct? A big problem
is that there's no NATIVE printing support in the PocketPC OS- it's kind of
like old DOS computers- any printing support must be part of the PROGRAM
itself, unlike (PC) Windows, which handles all of that so any program can
print to "Windows" and Windows itself interfaces to any supported printer.
(Remember in the DOS days you had to tell each program what kind of printer
you had, and hoped the program supported whatever oddball printer you owned!
In Windows, any program that prints can print to whatever printer you have a
Windows driver for without any additional setup.)
So even if you found a Virtual PDF-printer for the PPC, it wouldn't
necessarily be able to print anything from your specific application- the
PDF driver would have to be part of your app (or a compatible plug-in.)
Take the Field Software printing products for example (don't get excited-
they don't print to PDF!)- they are written to print specific PPC files
(e-mail, Word/Excel docs, IE pages, etc.) to a specific set of printers they
support. They can't import data directly from any old application and print
it. (Except through screen capture which is rarely useful due to the low
res.) Similarly, any mass-market "generic" virtual PDF printer would have
to be designed the same way- the app would have to parse the data you wanted
to convert to PDF itself, and generate the resulting file.
Unless a virtual PDF printer was specifically made to directly import
whatever proprietary format Office Medic uses on the PPC, it wouldn't be
able to convert your data to PDF. The various PDF printers for PCs have it
easy by comparision- they only have to convert a single format to PDF- the
generic "Windows printer" format any and all Windows apps generate (that
Windows itself passes to the driver software for Windows printers.)
As I see it, you're up the proverbial creek unless the vendor (QRS?) decides
to add additional ways to output the information besides the current choices
of sync-to-PC, and print to IR/BT. Obviously, if they added an output to
PDF format you'd have it made. But alternatively, if they could add an
output to Word, Excel, (or even JPG or TIFF), then you'd have a document
that could be e-mailed as an attachment or faxed via a fax-to-email service.
For example, I can "create"a PDF of any Word, Excel, or graphics file on my
PPC right now by "faxing" it to myself via my e-mail-to-Fax service. The
service takes my attachment, faxes it to my fax number, which is actually a
fax-to-e-mail service which e-mails it, as a PDF, back to my PPC. The round
trip can take up to 5 minutes, however, and is certainly akward (which makes
this unsuitable for your time/complexity of use parameters!)
Sadly, then, your problem here is two-fold- your software wasn't designed to
output the data except to a handful of specific, (and in your case, woefully
incomplete!) options , and that the PPC doesn't follow the Windows paradigm
of allowing any data to be printed to a "system printer" (either real or
virtual) like "real" Windows does. This probably limits you a
vendor-supplied solution, or a custom programming job that is unlikely to be
cheap or easy.
> Still...back in 2002 there was a company from Australia (MicroMedical)
> that
> had such a printer driver...but the company has seized to exist so I don't
> know how to find it...
I assume MicroMedical sold that driver specifically for use with Office
Medic, though, correct? I can't imagine how a "generic" PDF creator could've
parsed the proprietary output. If it helps, it seems that MicroMedical is
now called Ventracor, and while their website wasn't helpful, you might want
to contact them to see if they can dust off a copy of whatever solution they
offered before.
Assuming that doesn't pan out (likely, I'm afraid!) I think your own of
suggestion of "spamming" QRS for a solution is the best one-
industry-specific packages tend to have higher price tags and smaller
user-bases (compared to mass-market apps like GPS navigation or games) so
the developers are MUCH more likely to incorporate user requested (or
demanded!) features more quickly than a mainstream product might.
Good luck!
WebDoc
Thank you, Todd, for the "closing argument" - couldn't have said it better
myself!! :-)
Thank you all for your intelligent and enlightning comments. Hopefully this
discussion will in the end help me do a better job as a pre-hospital doctor
and MAYBE make a difference!!
IF I solve the problem, I'll post a comment in this forum FYI.
Thanks again!
Anders/WebDoc