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Contents

Contents ........................................................................................................... 3

Preface ............................................................................................................. 5
What’s in this guide?........................................................................................................................................... 5

Who should read this guide? .............................................................................................................................. 5

Related documentation ...................................................................................................................................... 5

OLE Automation ............................................................................................... 6

PhantomPDF.Application ................................................................................................................................ 7
CloseDocument .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
CreateBlankDoc ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Exit ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
GetDocument ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9
IsValidDocument ....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
OpenDiskFileAsMemPDF ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
OpenDocument ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10
CreateWatermarkElementInfo .............................................................................................................................................. 11

PhantomPDF.Creator ..................................................................................................................................... 11
ConvertToPDF .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
CombineFiles ............................................................................................................................................................................ 12

PhantomPDF.Document ............................................................................................................................... 13
Export ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Save ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
RotatePage ............................................................................................................................................................................... 14
GetFieldValue ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14
SetFieldValue............................................................................................................................................................................ 15
AddWatermark ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16
OCRAndExportToExcel ............................................................................................................................................................ 16

PhantomPDF.Page ......................................................................................................................................... 17

PhantomPDF.WatermarkElementInfo ........................................................................................................ 17
Serialize ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
 PhantomPDF.CombineFlags ......................................................................................................................... 19
COMBINE_DEFAULT ................................................................................................................................................................ 19
COMBINE_STOP_CONVERTFAIL ............................................................................................................................................ 20
COMBINE_ADD_CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................... 20
COMBINE_TRAVEL_SUBDIR ................................................................................................................................................... 20

Demo for VBA ................................................................................................. 21

Example 1 A simple VBA code skeleton of your application ................................................................... 21

Example 2 Adding a text watermark to the center of all pages ............................................................. 22

Example 3 Adding an image watermark to the center of all pages ....................................................... 23

Example 4 Converting non-PDF to PDF....................................................................................................... 24

Example 5 Combining several documents to a PDF ................................................................................. 24

Example 6 Getting/Setting a PDF form’s value ......................................................................................... 25

Appendix 1 Last-Error Code List....................................................................... 27

Preface
The Foxit® PhantomPDF® Software Development Kit (SDK) provides a set of API calls for creating PDF from
other document types and controlling PhantomPDF to do something you are interested in
automatically without manual intervention.

What’s in this guide?

This document provides a detailed reference of all the APIs that are used to communicate with PhantomPDF.

Who should read this guide?

This guide is for developers that want to communicate with PhantomPDF from another application, or
who are writing tools that need to do something about PDF automatically.

You can use all the APIs easily if you are familiar with VBA or C++.

Related documentation
For information about See

FoxitPhantomPDF_Manual.pdf FoxitPhantomPDF83_Manual.pdf
OLE Automation
This chapter describes the objects, data types, and methods in the OLE automation interface.

The name PhantomPDF.Application is the external strings OLE clients use to create object of application type.
For convenience, the PhantomPDF developer type libraries also call it PhantomPDF.Application.

For all the other automation objects (for example, Document and Creator), you can get them through
PhantomPDF.Application.

The following table summarizes the available objects and data types.

Object Description

PhantomPDF.Application The application itself.

PhantomPDF.Creator Represents a creator object that is used to convert non-pdf

to PDF
PhantomPDF.Document Represents a document that is currently opened in
PhantomPDF.

PhantomPDF.Page Represents a page in a document.

PhantomPDF.WatermarkElementInfo Represents a watermark structure.

PhantomPDF.CombineFlags An enum use for Creator.CombineFiles’s parameter

uCombineFlags.
PhantomPDF.Application
Represents the Foxit application. The Application object includes properties and methods that return
top-level objects. For example, the CurrentDocument property returns a Document object.

Methods
The Application object has the following methods.

Method Description

CloseDocument Close a Document.

CreateBlankDoc Create a blank Document.

Exit Exit PhantomPDF.

GetDocument Get a Document object by index.

IsValidDocument Check whether a document object is valid.

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF Open a PDF document as a memory document in PhantomPDF.

OpenDocument Open a PDF document in PhantomPDF.

CreateWatermarkElementInfo Create a WatermarkElementInfo object.

Properties
The Application object has the following Properties.

Property Description

CountDocuments Count of documents opened in PhantomPDF, read only.

Creator Creator object that is used to convert non-pdf to PDF, read only.

CurrentDocument The current document object, read/write.

LastError The Last error code, read only.

CloseDocument
Close a Document.

Syntax
HRESULT CloseDocument(IDocument* doc, VARIANT_BOOL bPromptToSave);

Parameters
doc The document to be closed.

bPromptToSave Prompt user to save if the document is modified.

Return value
S_OK if successful, S_FALSE if not.

See Also
CreateBlankDoc

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF

GetDocument

OpenDocument

CreateBlankDoc
Create a blank document.

Syntax
IDocument* CreateBlankDoc(FLOAT fWidth, FLOAT fHeight);

Parameters
fWidth Width, the unit is inches. (0.14~200).

fHeight Height, the unit is inches. (0.14~200).

Return value
Pointer of Document if successful, NULL if failed.

See Also
CloseDocument

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF
 GetDocument

OpenDocument

Exit
Exit PhantomPDF. You should close all the documents before exiting PhantomPDF. The function will return a
value immediately after sending the exit command to PhantomPDF.

Syntax
HRESULT Exit();

Return value
S_OKif exit command is sent to PhantomPDF, S_FAILif not.

GetDocument
Get a Document object by page index.

Syntax
IDocument* GetDocument(SHORT index);

Parameters
index Page index, beginning with 0.

Return value
Pointer of Document if successful, NULL if failed.

See Also
CloseDocument

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF

CreateBlankDoc

OpenDocument

IsValidDocument
Check whether a Document object is valid.

Syntax
VARIANT_BOOL IsValidDocument(IDocument* doc);
 Parameters
doc A Document object.

Return value
-1 if the Document object is valid, 0 if not.

See Also
CloseDocument

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF

GetDocument

OpenDocument

OpenDiskFileAsMemPDF
Open a PDF document as a memory document in PhantomPDF.

Syntax
IDocument* OpenDiskFileAsMemPDF(BSTR PDFFilePath, BSTR Title);

Parameters
PDFFilePath The PDF document Path.

Title The memory document’s title.

Return value
Pointer of Document if successful, NULL if failed.

See Also
CloseDocument

CreateBlankDoc

GetDocument

OpenDocument

OpenDocument
Open a PDF document in PhantomPDF.

Syntax
IDocument* OpenDocument(BSTR PDFFilePath, BSTR Password, VARIANT_BOOL bMakeVisible, VARIANT_BOOL
bAddToMRU);
 Parameters
PDFFilePath The PDF document Path.

Password If the document does not have a password, you should set it to an empty
string.

bMakeVisible Whether to show the document in PhantomPDF.

bAddToMRU Whether to add the document to most recent documents list.

Return value
Pointer of Document if successful, NULL if failed.

See Also
CloseDocument

OpenDiskFileAsMenPDF

GetDocument

CreateBlankDoc

CreateWatermarkElementInfo
Create a WatermarkElementInfo object.

Syntax
IWatermarkElementInfo* CreateWatermarkElementInfo();

Return value
A IWatermarkElementInfo object.

See Also
Document.AddWatermark

PhantomPDF.Creator
The Creator object is used to convert non-pdf to PDF.

Methods
The Creator object has the following methods.
 Method Description

ConvertToPDF Convert non-pdf to PDF.

CombineFiles Combine multiple documents to a PDF.

ConvertToPDF
Convert non-pdf to PDF.

Syntax
HRESULT ConvertToPDF(BSTR bstrSrcPathName, BSTR bstrDestPathName);

Parameters
bstrSrcPathName The source document path.

bstrDestPathName The dest pdf document path.

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

See Also
CombineFiles

CombineFiles
Combine multiple documents to a PDF.

Syntax
SHORT CombineFiles(BSTR bstrFiles, BSTR DestPDFFile, SHORT uCombineFlags);

Parameters
bstrFiles The source files.

DestPDFFile The dest pdf document path.

uCombineFlags The flags, Enum CombineFlags

Return value
Number of combined files, less than zero if there are any errors.

Remarks
The parameter bstrFiles can be either a folder path or a string that is made from different file paths
 joining together and between each file path separated by '|'.

The flag COMBINE_TRAVEL_SUBDIR of uCombineFlags can be ignored if bstrFiles is not a folder path.

See Also
ConvertToPDF

PhantomPDF.Document
Represent a document that is currently opened in PhantomPDF.

Methods
The Document object has the following methods.

Method Description

Export Export the document to disk.

Save Save the document.

RotatePage Rotate specified pages.

GetFieldValue Get the value of a specified form.

SetFieldValue Set the value of a specified form.

AddWatermark Add a watermark.

OCRAndExportToExcel OCR and export the document to an Excel document.

Export
Export the document to disk.

Syntax
HRESULT Export(BSTR SaveAsPath);

Parameters
SaveAsPath The dest pdf path.

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

See Also
Save
Save
Save the document.

Syntax
HRESULT Save();

Return value
S_OK if successful, S_FAIL if not.

See Also
Export

RotatePage
Rotate specified pages.

Syntax
HRESULT RotatePage(SHORT nPage, SHORT nRotate);

Parameters
nPage The pages index that begins with 0.

nRotate nRotate , 0 for 0°, 1 for 90°, 2 for 180°, -1 for -90°

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

Remarks
The parameter nRotate is only 0, 1, 2 or -1, and any other value will result in failure.

GetFieldValue
Get the value of a specified form.

Syntax
BSTR GetFieldValue(BSTR FieldName);

Parameters
FieldName The form name.
 Return value
Value of specified form.

Remarks
At present for the form types supported, see the following:

 Text Field

 Push Button

 List Box

 Combo Box

 Radio Button

 Check Box

See Also
SetFieldValue

SetFieldValue
Set the value of a specified form.

Syntax
HRESULT SetFieldValue(BSTR FieldName, BSTR value);

Parameters
FieldName The form name.

value Value to set.

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

Remarks
At present for the form types supported, see the following:

 Text Field

 Push Button

 List Box

 Combo Box

 Radio Button
  Check Box

See Also
GetFieldValue

AddWatermark
Add a watermark.

Syntax
HRESULT AddWatermark(IWatermarkElementInfo* pWatermarkInfo);

Parameters
pWatermarkInfo A watermark information object.

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

Remarks
The parameter pWatermarkInfo is always created through calling Application.CreateWatermarkElementInfo,

See Also
Application.CreateWatermarkElementInfo

OCRAndExportToExcel
OCR and export the document to an Excel document.

Syntax
HRESULT OCRAndExportToExcel(BSTR ExcelPathname, SHORT start, SHORT end, VARIANT_BOOL bAllPages,
VARIANT_BOOL bText);

Parameters
ExcelPathname An Excel Pathname.

start Page index of start page, ignored if bAllPages is true.

end Page index of end page, ignored if bAllPages is true.

bAllPages Whether to work on all pages.

 bText Text-based document or Image-based document mode. Text-based
document is the default mode.
In the Text-based document mode, bText is True: Images will not be
OCRed.
In the Image-based document mode, bText is False: Images will be
OCRed.

Return value
S_OKif successful, S_FAILif not.

Remarks
The parameter ExcelPathname must add .xlsx as suffix, otherwise it will automatically append .xlsx as suffix. The
parameters Start and End both begin with 1, and will both be ignored if bAllPages is true.

If ExcelPathname already exists, the old file will be replaced with a new generated excel file directly, and you need
to pay attention to it.

See Also
Export

PhantomPDF.Page
Represent a Page in a Document. Not yet supported.

PhantomPDF.WatermarkElementInfo
Represent a data type of watermark info. WatermarkElementInfo is usually a parameter of the interface
Document.AddWatermark.

Methods
The WatermarkElementInfo object has the following methods.

Method Description

Serialize Serialized as a string.

Properties
The WatermarkElementInfo object has the following Properties.

Property Description

Type 0-Text, 1-File. The default value is 0.

 WMFile Watermark file path. Ignored if Type is 0.

WMText Watermark text. Ignored if Type is 1.

FontName Watermark font name. Ignored if Type is 1.

FontSize Watermark font size. Ignored if Type is 1 or WMScale greater than or

equal to zero.
TextColorRef A color, for example 0x000000, 0xFFFFFF and 0x888888. Ignored if Type
is 1.

Rotation Rotation Angle (0 ~ 360) °.

Opacity Opacity (0 ~ 1).

WMScale Scale relative to the target page, (-1 ~ 1). -1 means no scale, and
FontSize will be ignored if WMScale greater than or equal to zero.

Top 0 - Appear behind page, 1 - Appear on top of page.

VerticalDistance Vertical offset, inch, (-100000.00 ~ 100000.00)

VerticalDistanceFrom Top 0, Center 1 , Bottom 2

HorizontalDistance Horizontal offset, inch, (-100000.00 ~ 100000.00)

HorizontalDistanceFrom Left 0, Center 1 , Right 2

Start The Start page that needs watermark, with the page index beginning
with 1.
End The End page that needs watermark, with the page index beginning
with 1.

Even The even pages between the Start page and the End page that need
watermark.
Odd The odd pages between the Start page and the End page that need
watermark.

WMFilePageIndex The page index of the Watermark file. Beginning from 1. Ignored if Type
is 0.

Remarks
When the properties Start and End are -1 at the same time, it will mean all pages, and without doubt
that the properties Even and Odd are still working.

For VBA code, the property TextColorRef can be assigned to &H0, &HFFFFFF.For more details of
common color, please see the following table.

Constants value describe

vbBlack RGB(0, 0, 0) Black

vbRed RGB(255, 0, 0) Red

 vbGreen RGB(0, 255, 0) Green

vbYellow RGB(255, 255, 0) Yellow

vbBlue RGB(0, 0, 255) Blue

vbMagenta RGB(255, 0, 255) Magenta

vbCyan RGB(0, 255, 255) Cyan

vbWhite RGB(255, 255, 255) White

Serialize
Serialized as a string.

Syntax
BSTR Serialize();

Return value
A string representing the WatermarkElementInfo.

Remarks
In general, you don’t need to care the interface. But if you want to save a WatermarkElementInfo
permanently, serializing it as a string is a great way.

PhantomPDF.CombineFlags
An enum use for Creator.CombineFiles’s parameter uCombineFlags.

Constants
The PhantomPDF.CombineFlags enum has the following constants.

Constants value

COMBINE_DEFAULT 0x00

COMBINE_STOP_CONVERTFAIL 0x01

COMBINE_ADD_CONTENTS 0x02

COMBINE_TRAVEL_SUBDIR 0x04

COMBINE_DEFAULT
 0x00, Default.

Remarks
Skip the error file and continue. Don't build the contents index page. Don't traverse subdirectory.

COMBINE_STOP_CONVERTFAIL
0x01, Abort the combination and exit the function if any error occurs.

COMBINE_ADD_CONTENTS
0x02, Add contents index to the first page.

COMBINE_TRAVEL_SUBDIR
0x04, Traverse subdirectory.
Demo for VBA
The following are some sample VBA codes you can use for your application.

Example 1 A simple VBA code skeleton of your application

Dim phApp As PhantomPDF.Application

Set phApp = CreateObject("PhantomPDF.Application")

Dim phCreator As PhantomPDF.Creator

Set phCreator = phApp.Creator

Call phCreator.ConvertToPDF("D:\image.png", " D:\image.png.pdf")

Dim phRotateDoc As PhantomPDF.Document

Set phRotateDoc = phApp.OpenDocument("D:\image.png.pdf", "", True, True)

Dim bValidDoc As Boolean

bValidDoc = phApp.IsValidDocument(phRotateDoc)

If bValidDoc Then
Call phRotateDoc.RotatePage(0, 1)
phRotateDoc.Export ("D: \rotateDest.pdf")

'do other things ……

Call phApp.CloseDocument(phRotateDoc, False)

End If
phApp.Exit
Example 2 Adding a text watermark to the center of all pages
Dim phWmInfo As PhantomPDF.WatermarkElementInfo
Set phWmInfo = phApp.CreateWatermarkElementInfo()

phWmInfo.Type = 0
phWmInfo.WMText = "Foxit PhantomPDF"
phWmInfo.FontName = "Helvetiva"
phWmInfo.FontSize = 24
phWmInfo.TextColorRef = &H0
phWmInfo.Rotation = 0
phWmInfo.Opacity = 1
phWmInfo.WMScale = 1
phWmInfo.Top = True
phWmInfo.VerticalDistance = 0
phWmInfo.VerticalDistanceFrom = 1
phWmInfo.HorizontalDistance = 0
phWmInfo.HorizontalDistanceFrom = 1
phWmInfo.Start = -1
phWmInfo.End = -1
phWmInfo.Even = True
phWmInfo.Odd = True

Call phRotateDoc.AddWatermark(phWmInfo)
phRotateDoc.Export ("D:\watermark.pdf")
Example 3 Adding an image watermark to the center of all
pages
Dim phWmInfo As PhantomPDF.WatermarkElementInfo
Set phWmInfo = phApp.CreateWatermarkElementInfo()

phWmInfo.Type = 1
phWmInfo.WMFile = "D:\image.png"
phWmInfo.Rotation = 0
phWmInfo.Opacity = 1
phWmInfo.WMScale = 1
phWmInfo.Top = True
phWmInfo.VerticalDistance = 0
phWmInfo.VerticalDistanceFrom = 1
phWmInfo.HorizontalDistance = 0
phWmInfo.HorizontalDistanceFrom = 1
phWmInfo.Start = -1
phWmInfo.End = -1
phWmInfo.Even = True
phWmInfo.Odd = True
phWmInfo.WMFilePageIndex = 1

Call phRotateDoc.AddWatermark(phWmInfo)
phRotateDoc.Export ("D:\watermark.pdf ")
Example 4 Converting non-PDF to PDF

Dim phCreator As PhantomPDF.Creator

Set phCreator = phApp.Creator

Call phCreator.ConvertToPDF("D:\image.png", " D:\image.png.pdf")

Call phCreator.ConvertToPDF("D:\excel.xlsx", "D:\excel.xlsx.pdf")

Example 5 Combining several documents to a PDF

The path "D:\CombineFiles" is a folder which contains several files that are supported.

Dim phCreator As PhantomPDF.Creator

Set phCreator = phApp.Creator

Dim nCombinedCnt As Integer

nCombinedCnt = phCreator.CombineFiles("D:\image1.png|image2.png", "D:

\combineFiles_files.pdf", COMBINE_ADD_CONTENTS)

Call phCreator.CombineFiles("D:\CombineFiles", "D:\combineFiles_folder.pdf",

COMBINE_ADD_CONTENTS)
Example 6 Getting/Setting a PDF form’s value

Dim phFormDoc As PhantomPDF.Document

Set phFormDoc = phApp.OpenDocument("D:\testForms.pdf", "", True, True)

'Text Field
Dim strTextField0 As String
strTextField0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Text Field0")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Text Field0", "sally zhong for Testing")
strTextField0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Text Field0")

'Push Button
Dim strPushButton1 As String
strPushButton1 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Push Button1")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Push Button1", "I am Button")
strPushButton1 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Push Button1")

'Check Box
Dim strCheckBox0 As String
strCheckBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Check Box0")

If strCheckBox0 = "Yes" Then

Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Check Box0", "Off")
Else
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Check Box0", "Yes")
End If

strCheckBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Check Box0")

'Radio Button
Dim strRadioButton0 As String
strRadioButton0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Radio Button0")

If strRadioButton0 = "Yes" Then

Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Radio Button0", "Off")
Else
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Radio Button0", "Yes")
End If

strRadioButton0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Radio Button0")

'ComboBox
Dim strComboBox0 As String
strComboBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Combo Box0")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Combo Box0", " Combo Data1")
strComboBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Combo Box0")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("Combo Box0", "out of term")
strComboBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("Combo Box0")

'List Box
Dim strListBox0 As String
strListBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("List Box0")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("List Box0", " List Data1")
strListBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("List Box0")
Call phFormDoc.SetFieldValue("List Box0", "out of term")
strListBox0 = phFormDoc.GetFieldValue("List Box0")

phFormDoc.Save
Call phApp.CloseDocument(phFormDoc, False)
Appendix 1 Last-Error Code List
The Last-Error Code is an integer that you can use to know about reasons for errors when calling the API fails. You can
get a LastError value by the following code.

' phApp is a PhantomPDF.Application Object

MsgBox phApp.LastError

Here is the detail about the LastError List.

ErrorName value Description

EC_UNKNOWN_ERROR 32767 An unknown error

EC_OK 0 OK

EC_CANCEL 1 Cancel

EC_INVALID_PARAMETER 2 Invalid parameter

EC_TIME_OUT 3 Time out

EC_OUT_OF_RANGE_ADJUST 4 Input out of range. Automatic adjustment has

been made.

EC_PERMISSION_DENIED 5 Permission denied

EC_FILEPATH_INVALID_OR_OPENED 6 The specified file path is invalid or already has

been opened

EC_FILE_NOT_EXIST 7 The specified file does not exist

EC_FILE_FORMAT_SUPPORTED 8 File format is not supported

EC_PRINTER_NOT_EXIST 9 The specified printer does not exist

EC_COM_INIT_FAILED 10 COM initialization failed

EC_BLANK_PPT 11 Can't convert a blank PPT

EC_BLANK_EXCEL 12 Can't convert a blank Excel

EC_DOCUMENT_SAVED_BEFORE_OCR 13 The document should be saved before OCR

EC_LICENCE_INVALID 14 The license is invalid

EC_OUT_OF_RANGE 15 Input out of range

EC_NO_CURRENT_DOCUMENT 16 There is no current document

EC_CAN_ONLY_OPEN_PDF 17 Can only open a PDF file

EC_FORM_NOT_EXIST 18 The specified form does not exist

EC_CANT_FIND_ITEM 19 Can't find the specified item value

EC_CONNECTING_PH_FAIL 20 Connecting to Foxit PhantomPDF failed

EC_DOCUMENT_OBJECT_IS_INVALID 21 Document Object is invalid

EC_OCR_ERROR 22 OCR error

EC_PORT_USED 23 The specified port is being used

EC_NO_MODIFY_PERM 24 There is no Modify permission

EC_NO_PRINT_PERM 25 There is no Print permission

EC_NO_Fill_FORM_PERM 26 There is no FillForm permission

EC_OPEN_DOCUMENT_FAIL 27 Failed to open the document.

EC_TRIAL_EXPIRED 28 The trial has expired

EC_MODULE_NOT_IN_KEY 29 The module about the interface is not included

in your keyfile