Limited time promo

MFC Converter - SDK sample

English en

This article applies only to novaPDF. If you don't have it yet, you must download it first.

Download now Buy licenses
Feb 25, 2019


We strive to keep our articles as accurate as possible. If you notice any inconsistencies or outdated info please let us know.
The MFC Converter sample demonstrates how to convert an existing file by printing it to novaPDF using the ShellExecute function. It also demonstrates how to set different options and manage profiles.
The same approach should be taken if you print using a "Print()" method from another object (like an internet browser or a report control). Just replace the ShellExecute call with the call of your Print method.
The same approach should be taken if you print using a Print() method from another object (like an internet browser or a report control). Just replace the ShellExecute call with the call of your Print method.
Note: To be able to use the samples you must install novaPDF SDK as samples work only with it. Download it here: nova PDF SDK.


When the application starts, it creates a few profiles and makes different settings in the profiles. Then it shows a dialog from where the user can select the active profile and change its settings using the controls from the dialog.
After that a document can be selected from the harddisk and printed to novaPDF using the ShellExecute function call.
When using this technique to convert a file to PDF, you have to take care of the fact that ShellExecute prints to the default printer. This function returns immediately and does not wait until the print is finished (it may return before the printing is actually started).
Therefore you have to set the default printer to novaPDF before calling ShellExecute (using the SetDefaultPrinter method), register FileSaved message (or any other novaPDF message) to be sure that the print job was started. In this message handler restore the default printer (with the RestoreDefaultPrinter method). This way you made sure that the default printer was restored and your document is printed to novaPDF.

Source Code Snippets
csharp //1. Declare INovaPdfOptions variable //declare an INovaPdfOptions member variable private : INovaPdfOptions *m_novaOptions; //2. Register <%SDK_SAMPLE_PRINTER%> messages const UINT wm_Nova_FileSaved = RegisterWindowMessageW( MSG_NOVAPDF2_FILESAVED ); const UINT wm_Nova_PrintError = RegisterWindowMessageW( MSG_NOVAPDF2_PRINTERROR ); BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CnovaPrintDlg, CDialog) //... ON_REGISTERED_MESSAGE(wm_Nova_FileSaved, OnNovaPDFFileSaved) ON_REGISTERED_MESSAGE(wm_Nova_PrintError, OnNovaPDFPrintError) //... END_MESSAGE_MAP() //3. Initialize INovaPdfOptions BOOL CnovaPrintDlg::OnInitDialog() { //... HRESULT hr = S_OK; m_novaOptions = 0; //create an instance of INovaPdfOptions hr = CoCreateInstance(__uuidof(NovaPdfOptions80), NULL, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, __uuidof(INovaPdfOptions80), (LPVOID*) &m_novaOptions); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { // initialize the NovaPdfOptions object to use with a printer licensed for SDK hr = m_novaOptions->Initialize(PRINTER_NAME, L""); } else { ::MessageBoxW(NULL, L"Failed to create novaPDF COM object", L"novaPDF", MB_OK); } //... } //4. Release INovaPDFOptions CnovaPrintDlg::~CnovaPrintDlg() { //... //delete profiles if (m_wsProfileSmall) { hr = m_novaOptions->DeleteProfile(m_wsProfileSmall); CoTaskMemFree(m_wsProfileSmall); } if (m_wsProfileFull) { hr = m_novaOptions->DeleteProfile(m_wsProfileFull); CoTaskMemFree(m_wsProfileFull); } // destroy our nova options object if (m_novaOptions) { m_novaOptions->Release(); } // uninitialize COM libraries CoUninitialize(); //... } //5. Set <%SDK_SAMPLE_PRINTER%> Options BOOL CnovaPrintDlg::OnInitDialog() { // Add a profile called "Small size". If profile L"Small size" exists this will fail hr = m_novaOptions->AddProfile(SMALL_SIZE_PROFILE, PROFILE_IS_PUBLIC, &m_wsProfileSmall); //load the newly created profile if (SUCCEEDED(hr) && m_wsProfileSmall) { //load profile m_novaOptions->LoadProfile(m_wsProfileSmall); // disable the "Save PDF file as" prompt m_novaOptions->SetOptionLong(NOVAPDF_SAVE_PROMPT_TYPE, PROMPT_SAVE_NONE); // set generated Pdf files destination folder ("c:\") m_novaOptions->SetOptionLong(NOVAPDF_SAVE_LOCATION, LOCATION_TYPE_LOCAL); m_novaOptions->SetOptionLong(NOVAPDF_SAVE_FOLDER_TYPE, SAVEFOLDER_CUSTOM); m_novaOptions->SetOptionString(NOVAPDF_SAVE_FOLDER, szExeDirectory); // set output file name m_novaOptions->SetOptionString(NOVAPDF_SAVE_FILE_NAME, L"PDF Converter small size.pdf"); // if file exists in the destination folder, append a counter to the end of the file name m_novaOptions->SetOptionLong(NOVAPDF_SAVE_FILEEXIST_ACTION, FILE_CONFLICT_STRATEGY_AUTONUMBER_NEW); //Set other options //... //save profile changes m_novaOptions->SaveProfile(); } } //6. Start a print job void CnovaPrintDlg::OnBnClickedOk() { //... HRESULT hr = S_OK; // set the active profile to be used for printing hr = m_novaOptions->SetActiveProfile(m_strProfileId); // register our window to receive messages from the printer hr = m_novaOptions->RegisterEventWindow((LONG) GetSafeHwnd()); // set novaPDF as default printer, so it will be used by ShellExecute hr = m_novaOptions->SetDefaultPrinter(); // license file for ShellExecute hr = m_novaOptions->LicenseShellExecuteFile(m_strFileToConvert.AllocSysString()); // print the document m_bPrintJobPending = TRUE; HINSTANCE hExec = ShellExecute(GetSafeHwnd(), L"print", m_strFileToConvert, NULL, NULL, SW_HIDE); //... } //7. Restore default printer when printing finished LRESULT CnovaPrintDlg::OnNovaPDFFileSaved(WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) { // restore original default printer m_novaOptions->UnRegisterEventWindow(); m_novaOptions->RestoreDefaultPrinter(); m_bPrintJobPending = FALSE; return 0; } LRESULT CnovaPrintDlg::OnNovaPDFPrintError(WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) { switch(wParam){ case ERROR_MSG_TEMP_FILE: MessageBox(L"Error saving temporary file on printer server", L"novaPDF", MB_OK); break; case ERROR_MSG_LIC_INFO: MessageBox(L"Error reading license information", L"novaPDF", MB_OK); break; case ERROR_MSG_SAVE_PDF: MessageBox(L"Error saving PDF file", L"novaPDF", MB_OK); break; case ERROR_MSG_JOB_CANCELED: MessageBox(L"Print job was canceled", L"novaPDF", MB_OK); break; } // restore original default printer m_novaOptions->UnRegisterEventWindow(); m_novaOptions->RestoreDefaultPrinter(); m_bPrintJobPending = FALSE; return 0; }