problem with faxserver accepting pdfs

[former_member186143]

we try to implement a faxserver where we send an email with the pdf attachment to be faxed.

the problem is that sometimes the pdf is not accepted and a conversion error occurs in the faxserver

now I found out that sap doesn't support the international standard PDFA/A-1a for pdf ? can this be a cause to the problem of conversion of the pdf by the faxserver

I also found someone got a similiar problem but still no answer to that

anybody got a clue why this conversion sometimes fails while the method to create the pdf is exactly the same ?

we use

CALL FUNCTION 'SX_OBJECT_CONVERT_OTF_PDF'
       EXPORTING
            format_src      = 'OTF'
            format_dst      = 'PDF'
            devtype         = 'MAIL'
*           FUNCPARA        =
       CHANGING
            transfer_bin    = xtransfer_bin
            content_txt     = t_cont_txt
            content_bin     = t_cont_bin
            objhead         = objhead_att
            len             = tabsize
       EXCEPTIONS
            err_conv_failed = 1.

to convert the otf to pdf

kind regards

arthur de smidt

Edited by: A. de Smidt on Nov 25, 2009 10:25 AM

[Sandra_Rossi]

I guess you should ask the question to the faxserver company instead, they will confirm you whether the PDF sent by SAP is compliant, or if there is a bug in the faxserver.

I never saw in SAP notes whether SAP PDF converter is valid from a particular PDF version.

Note: you should prefer to convert to PDF using SCOT options, or use CONVERT_OTF (SX_OBJECT_CONVERT_* are not released by SAP for customers).

[former_member186143]

how do you mean convert pdf using scot options ? are these options also available in functions or methods ?

it all happens automaticly when saving an purchaseorder that the fax email is triggered ?

ofcourse we have also checked the suplier of the faxsoftware but we also found out about a pdf/a-1a standard which is not supported by sap. and the strange thing is that the conversion error is not consistent. the same message can be converted correctly a few minutes later on.

kind regards

arthur de smidt

[Sandra_Rossi]

1) SCOT

There are some settings in SCOT transaction: when data is sent by fax for example, or by mail, etc., the OTF is converted to PDF (among 4 formats if I remember well). You will find more information in the forum (For more information, see also Note 171698 - SAPconnect: Formats, conversion, device type). SAP has only one PDF converter, so it's the same algorithm as the one you get via the function module you call (so custom code is maybe useless here).

2) does SAP support PDF/A?

In Note 883381 - PDF/A support in SAPscript/Smart Form archiving, SAP says that the OTF-PDF converter does not support PDF/A format

SAP embeds only TTF fonts which were uploaded with option "do not embed in PDF" unchecked (default).

I read that PDF/A is based on PDF 1.4 version, maybe standard Adobe fonts (like Arial, etc.) do not need to be embedded... (?) In that case maybe it could work if you make sure that your OTF contains only these standard Adobe fonts.

For that, display your original spool request in raw representation via menu Goto | Display request | Settings, display the spool, the fonts are indicated in lines starting by "FC". If some of them are custom TTF fonts, you may check whether these TTF fonts have "do not embed in PDF" option checked or not (use RSTXPDF2 program, execute option "show available font files", an ALV is displayed, last column is the option).

If you are not sure, could you tell us the list of fonts contained in the spool (COURIER, HELVE, etc.)

[Sandra_Rossi]

I think that it is possible to force all fonts (even standard Arial, etc.) to be embedded by uploading the corresponding TTF fonts (delivered by Microsoft in Windows systems) with "do not embed in PDF" unchecked, and defining a ZPDF1 device type for which you don't assign any standard SAP fonts (which are not related to TTF), but only the TTF fonts you have uploaded. SAP has a font replacement non-customizable algorithm that I hope will replace correctly the SAP fonts you have in your OTF by the TTF fonts you have uploaded.

You should also assign your printer to ZPDF1 device type. And if you want to use SCOT PDF converter instead of your custom program, you indicate that you use ZPDF1 instead of PDF1.