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PDF Creation APIs and Specifications> Acrobat Distiller API Reference> Windows Messaging> Command line options
Command line options
Distiller 6.0 and above support command line and WM_COPYDATA interfaces and add the --deletelog and --nosecurity switches. Options can be passed as arguments on the command line.
The command line syntax is:
acrodist [switches] [inputFiles]
If any switches are present, they must come before any input files. Switches and input file names are both optional. The command acrodist by itself runs Distiller, or if a normal instance of Distiller is already running, it brings Distiller to the foreground.
The switches parameter is a list of optional commands. Either the dash or slash character can begin a switch, which is identified by a single case-independent letter. (Note, however, that the deletelog and nosecurity switches can only be preceded by a double dash (--).) There should be a space after the switch letter, and if the switch takes a parameter, another space after the parameter. The parameter should be in quotes if it contains any spaces. Do not combine switches—give each one its own prefix (- or /).
The parameter inputFiles is a list of file names, separated by spaces or commas. Spaces and commas are both legal file name characters; if a file name contains spaces or commas, enclose it in double quotes.
To process a list of PostScript files, use this syntax:
acrodist [switches] inputFiles[, inputFiles...]
The following table lists the optional command line switches.
Command line switches
Switch | Description |
--deletelog:on --deletelog:off | Forces Distiller to create or delete the log file after the PDF file is created. --deletelog:on turns on logging for the generated PDF. --deletelog:off turns off logging for the generated PDF. |
/E [pdfSettingsFilePath] | Opens the Distiller Adobe PDF Settings dialog box to edit the specified Adobe PDF settings file. If you specify a file name with no path, Distiller looks in its Settings folder for the file. If you omit the file name, Distiller uses the current default settings file. This switch cannot be combined with any other command line options. Distiller will not process any PostScript files and does not display its main window. It just opens the Adobe PDF Settings dialog box and exits when you close that window. Put quotes around Adobe PDF settings file names that contain spaces. For example: "High Quality" "High Quality.joboptions" |
/F | Enables or restricts files that can be accessed by PostScript operators, depending on the version of Distiller. Typically, this switch affects file embedding. Between Distiller 8.0 and 8.1, the sense of this switch was reversed to address security concerns. For Acrobat Distiller 8.1 and greater, the /F switch permits the PostScript file operators unlimited file access. Caution: Enabling unlimited file access can pose security problems. For Acrobat Distiller 5.0 through 8.0, the /F switch restricts PostScript file operators to fonts, color profiles, and other system resources needed for normal operation. Regardless of the /F switch, all versions of Acrobat Distiller can access fonts, color profiles, and other system resources needed for normal operation. |
/J [pdfSettingsFilePath] | Uses pdfSettingsFilePath as the Adobe PDF settings file for any input files specified on the command line. If you specify a file name with no path, Distiller looks in its Settings folder for the file. If you omit the file name, Distiller uses the current default settings file. Does not affect any of the Adobe PDF settings you can set with the user interface. Put quotes around job option file names that contain spaces. For example: "High Quality" "High Quality.joboptions" |
/N | Runs a new instance of Distiller, even if another Distiller instance is already running. Without this switch, Distiller switches to any “normal” previous instance. The Distiller instance created with this switch does not process watched folders and is marked so that it will not get activated by other “normal” Distillers that get launched later. The number of new instances of Distiller that can be created with this switch is limited by system resources. Note: When using this switch, do not use the command line start command with the /wait option. The command “start /Wait” negates the effect of using /N with Distiller. |
--nosecurity | Suppresses the Confirm Security dialog box. No security will be applied to the file. Note: This option was implemented only for the Adobe PDF printer and should be passed as a WM_COPYDATA message or through the COM interface. If it is used as a command line option, then the PDF file (from the command line PostScript stream) will not have any security. But if the user drags and drops another PostScript file from the user interface, then the security settings in the registry will be applied; this is the reason to show the Confirm Security dialog box. |
/O outputFileOrFolderPath | Specifies the output PDF file name or a directory name to put PDF files in. If you specify a directory name, Distiller uses the input file name for each input file. To process a PostScript language file and name the output PDF file use this syntax: acrodist /o destFilesrcFile To process a list of PostScript language files and place the output PDF files in a specified directory, use this syntax: acrodist /o directorysrcFile1[, srcFile2...] |
/Q [:seconds] | Instructs Distiller to exit immediately when it becomes idle. Distiller checks this switch only if Distiller is launched as a new instance (/N); otherwise idle time is limited by the watched folder timer. If /N is also used, Distiller quits after processing all files on the command line. If /N is not used, Distiller quits after processing all PostScript files in watched directories and any that were specified on the command line. To force Distiller to terminate when it has finished distilling all PostScript files in watched directories and any that were specified on the command line, use this syntax: acrodist /q [sourceFile1[, sourceFile2...]] /Q also accepts an optional timeout value in seconds, /Q:n. Use the timeout to instruct Distiller to wait for n seconds of idle time before exiting. n must be a positive integer and cannot be greater than 2147483 seconds (Ox7fffffff/1000), or about 24.8 days. The default watched folder timer is set to 10 seconds, so every 10 seconds Distiller wakes up to check the watched folder. Since it is checking every 10 seconds, it is idle for no more than 10 seconds. If the SetTimer value is less than 10 seconds, then the system rounds this value to 10 seconds. |