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What this means is that when Q encounters a DWG, SLDDRW, DOC,
XLS, or PPT file, Q can call the appropriate plugin to process the
conversion. Via the plugin, Q can set parameters such as whether or
not to transfer file properties, bookmarks and hyperlinks, set pen
tables and page sizes to use within AutoCAD and specify named
layout sheets to convert. The linking of associating files types to
specific plugins are set in the basicconfig.xml.
Mime: There is a MIME printing path for those applications which Q
does not directly integrate with. Using this path, Q issues the
equivalent of a File > Print command to the application. An example
of this would be a Microsoft Visio file. Q can be instructed to take any
VSD file and, so long as the Visio application is installed on the Q
server, will launch Visio, open the document and issue a print
command to save the file in the specified output format. There are no
mechanisms for controlling the page setup in applications using the
MIME printing path; that is, the page setup (page size, scaling factor,
etc.) in the mode which the files were last saved will be used when
converted using the MIME conversion path.
Postscript: Any encountered postscript (.ps) file can be handled
natively by Q. A postscript file will be converted to the specified output
format.
Graphics: A set of standard raster based graphics formats can also
be handled natively by Q. TIF, BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF are valid
formats.
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Section 11.0 Script Engine & Conversion API
Q provides a powerful set of automation functionality, enabling both
the conversion of source documents (AutoCAD, SolidWorks) to PDF
as well as the processing of PDFs in order to combine, flatten, stamp
and perform up to 50 other functions. There are 2 sets of API function
calls: one focused on the source file to output file creation (e.g.,
AutoCAD to PDF, Word to PDF); and the other available through the
Script Engine interface for automating the processing of PDFs. The
following figure depicts the API at a high level.
The Bluebeam Q distribution includes many examples of using the
API in the {Q Install folder}\Bluebeam Software\Conversion
Server\Code Samples directory. A readme.txt file describes the
sample projects included with the distribution.
The Script Engine
With Q, performing automated operations on your existing PDF files is
now possible. The possibilities include applying Headers & Footers,
Stamps, PDF Security and much more. Scripting is the mechanism
that enables this functionality. Within Q there are several ways to
utilize scripting. The following diagram depicts the interfaces to the
Scripting Engine.