Posted at: 12:18 on 26 January 2010 by Muhimbi

We get a great amount of interest from our existing PDF Converter customers for the Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint. I am not really surprised as there is a lot of of synergy between the two.

Last week I described how to configure PDF Security settings from a SharePoint workflow. This time I’ll describe another common request; adding a watermark to a PDF File.

A quick introduction for those not familiar with the product: The Muhimbi Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint allows custom C# or VB.NET code to be embedded in SharePoint Designer Workflows without the need to resort to complex Visual Studio based workflows, the development of bespoke Workflow Activities or long development cycles.

The solution presented below executes a workflow whenever a PDF file is added or updated. As part of the workflow it loads portrait and landscape based watermarks and applies the relevant template to each page of the document. The workflow author can specify if the watermark goes in the foreground or the background, the SharePoint location of the watermarks as well as the level of transparency. As the code is well documented it is easy to make further changes and customisations, e.g. the PDF file that needs to be watermarked may not be the file the workflow is acting on.

Update: An article describing the use of dynamic text in the watermark is now available as well. As of version 3.5 the PDF Conversion Service also supports a native watermarking interface.

 
Create the workflow as follows:

1. Download and install the Muhimbi Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint.
    
2. Download and install the Muhimbi PDF Converter for SharePoint.
   Note that you need version 3.1.2.18 or newer, older versions do not allow watermarking.
    
3. Download this article’s source code and sample watermarks.
    
4. We need to be able to access functionality in the Muhimbi.SharePoint.DocumentConverter.PDF and System.Drawing assemblies. Add these references to the relevant Web Application using the Workflow Power Pack Central Administration screens as described in the Administration Guide. Make sure to place each reference on a new line.
     
5. Make sure you have the appropriate privileges to create workflows on a site collection.
    
6. Create a new workflow using SharePoint Designer.
    
7. On the Workflow definition screen associate the workflow with the Shared Documents library, tick the boxes next to both ‘Automatically start….’ options and proceed to the next screen.
    
8. We only want to act on files of type PDF. Although we could have put this validation in the code, in this example we use a workflow condition for it so add a Compare Any Data Source condition and:
    
   a.  Click on the first value followed by the display data binding (fx) button.
   b.  Select Current Item as the Source and select File Type in the Field. Click the OK button to continue.
   d.  Click on the second value and enter pdf. (Use lower case as the compare option is case sensitive).
    
9. Click the Actions button and insert the Execute Custom Code action.
    
10. Optionally click parameter 1 and enter a relative or absolute destination path. Leave the parameter empty to save the watermarked file on top of the existing PDF file. For details about how paths are handled, see this post and search for the words ‘this url’.
     
11. Insert the C# based code embedded in step #3’s download (also listed below) by clicking this code.
     

    /*********************************************************************************************

                                 Muhimbi PDF Converter - Watermarking

                  Copyright 2010, Muhimbi Ltd - www.muhimbi.com - All rights reserved

     The following code shows a simple way of adding a watermark to existing PDF Files. 

     Error and permission checking as well as other minor features have been omitted for the sake 

     of brevity and clarity.

     Ideally PDF Conversion, applying security and watermarking is executed in the same step, see 

     http://www.muhimbi.com/blog/2010/01/configure-pdf-security-from-sharepoint.html

     This code requires Muhimbi’s PDF Converter and Workflow Power Pack to be installed.

    *********************************************************************************************/

    using System.Drawing;

    using System.IO;

    using Syncfusion.Pdf;

    using Syncfusion.Pdf.Parsing;

    using Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics;

    using Muhimbi.SharePoint.DocumentConverter.PDF;

    SPFile spSourceDocument = MyWorkflow.Item.File;

    string destinationFileName = spSourceDocument.Name;

    string destinationFolderName = MyWorkflow.Parameter1 as string;

    string watermarkDocumentPortraitPath = @"Shared Documents/Watermarks/WatermarkA4Portrait.pdf";

    string watermarkDocumentLandscapePath = @"Shared Documents/Watermarks/WatermarkA4Landscape.pdf";

    // ** z-order and transparency of the watermark

    bool watermarkInBackground = true;

    float watermarkTransparancy = 0.25f;

    // ** Load the document and watermarks

    PdfLoadedDocument sourceDocument = new PdfLoadedDocument(spSourceDocument.OpenBinary());

    SPFile spWatermarkDocumentPortrait = MyWorkflow.Web.GetFile(watermarkDocumentPortraitPath);

    PdfLoadedDocument watermarkDocumentPortrait = new PdfLoadedDocument(

                                                    spWatermarkDocumentPortrait.OpenBinary());

    SPFile spWatermarkDocumentLandscape = MyWorkflow.Web.GetFile(watermarkDocumentLandscapePath);

    PdfLoadedDocument watermarkDocumentLandscape = new PdfLoadedDocument(

                                                    spWatermarkDocumentLandscape.OpenBinary());

    // ** Create the PDF Templates

    PdfTemplate watermarkTemplatePortrait = watermarkDocumentPortrait.Pages[0].CreateTemplate();

    PdfTemplate watermarkTemplateLandscape = watermarkDocumentLandscape.Pages[0].CreateTemplate();

    // ** Iterate over all pages and apply watermark

    foreach (PdfPageBase page in sourceDocument.Pages)

    {

        // ** Is the current page portrait or landscape?

        PdfTemplate watermarkTemplate = null;

        if (page.Size.Width > page.Size.Height)

            watermarkTemplate = watermarkTemplateLandscape;

        else

            watermarkTemplate = watermarkTemplatePortrait;

        // ** Place watermark behind or in front of text?

        if (watermarkInBackground == true)

        {

            PdfTemplate pageTemplate = page.CreateTemplate();

            page.Layers.Clear();

            PdfGraphics g = page.Graphics;

            g.SetTransparency(watermarkTransparancy);

            g.DrawPdfTemplate(watermarkTemplate, PointF.Empty, page.Size);

            g.SetTransparency(1f);

            g.DrawPdfTemplate(pageTemplate, PointF.Empty, page.Size);

        }

        else

        {

            PdfGraphics g = page.Graphics;

            g.SetTransparency(watermarkTransparancy);

            g.DrawPdfTemplate(watermarkTemplate, PointF.Empty, page.Size);

        }

    }

    // ** Construct the path and file to write the watermarked PDF file to.

    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(destinationFolderName) == true)

        destinationFolderName = spSourceDocument.ParentFolder.Url;

    SPFolder destinationFolder = Utility.GetSPFolder(destinationFolderName, MyWorkflow.Web);

    string destinationFilePath = string.Format("{0}/{1}", destinationFolder.Url,

                                               destinationFileName);

    SPWeb destinationWeb = destinationFolder.ParentWeb;

    SPFile spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.GetFile(destinationFilePath);

    // ** If a document library requires manual checkout and the file is not checked out, then 

    // ** check the file out before uploading.

    if (spDestinationFile.Exists && spDestinationFile.Item.ParentList.ForceCheckout &&

        spDestinationFile.CheckOutStatus == SPFile.SPCheckOutStatus.None)

    {

        spDestinationFile.CheckOut();

    }

    // ** Add the file to the site including the meta data

    using (MemoryStream watermarkedFile = new MemoryStream())

    {

        sourceDocument.Save(watermarkedFile);

        spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.Files.Add(destinationFilePath, watermarkedFile,

                                                     spSourceDocument.Item.Properties, true);

    }

    // ** Check the file back in if this script was responsible for checking it out.

    if (spDestinationFile.Item.ParentList.ForceCheckout == true)

    {

        spDestinationFile.CheckIn("Auto check-in after PDF watermarking.");

    }

        
12. Click the Actions button, select Log to History List, click this message and enter File watermarked.
     
13. Close the Workflow Designer.
     
14. In the Shared Documents library create a sub folder named Watermarks and copy the 2 watermark files that are part of step #3’s download into it. If the watermarks are named differently or stored in a different location then update the paths in the script accordingly. Note that the sample watermarks are exactly A4 sized but they work fine on differently sized documents.
     
15. Update an existing PDF or add a new PDF file to your library to trigger the workflow and apply the watermarks.
     

Naturally this is just a simple example. Feel free to play around with the code, change which parameters are passed into the workflow, modify where watermarked files are written to or add dynamic text as a watermark. Leave a comment below if you are trying to do anything specific.

.

Labels: Articles, PDF Converter, Products, Watermarking, Workflow, WPP

Posted at: 12:03 on 22 January 2010 by Muhimbi

Labels: MuSH, Partnering, PDF Converter, PDF Converter Professional, PDF Converter Services, Products, WPP

Posted at: 16:10 on 20 January 2010 by Muhimbi

It has been exactly 2 months since we released a completely overhauled version of our PDF Converter for SharePoint. We are seeing a considerable increase in downloads as well as purchases, which means one thing….. increased customer feedback!

The new version of the software resolves the most urgent issues, removes a number of pain points that should make configuration for certain scenarios a lot easier, improves support for the more complex InfoPath forms and adds support for converting MS-Visio files as well as a number of related vector formats (vsd, vdx, svg, svgz, dwg, dxf).

For those not familiar with the product, the PDF Converter for SharePoint is a lightweight solution (4MB download) that allows end-users to convert common document types to PDF format from within SharePoint without the need to install any client side software or Adobe Acrobat. It integrates at a deep level with SharePoint and leverages facilities such as the Audit log, localisation, security and tracing. It runs on both WSS 3 as well as MOSS and is available in English, German, Dutch, French and Japanese. For detailed information check out the product page as well as the following blog postings:

• Using the PDF Converter from a SharePoint workflow.
• Configure PDF Security from a SharePoint Workflow.
• Inserting SharePoint List data into a PDF document using a workflow.
• Using the PDF Converter for SharePoint from your own code.
• Automatically convert files to PDF using an e-mail enabled SharePoint Document Library.
• Batch print InfoPath Forms using the PDF Converter for SharePoint.
• Converting Office files to PDF Format using a Web Services based interface.
• Troubleshooting steps for the PDF Converter for SharePoint.
• Troubleshooting InfoPath to PDF Conversion / Document Converter Architecture.

The main changes in version 3.1 are as follows:

For more information check out the following resources:

• Product Page.
• FAQ.
• Release Notes.
• Administration Guide.
• User Guide.
• Screenshots.
• Message Board.

As always, feel free to contact us using Twitter, our Blog, regular email or subscribe to our newsletter.

Download your free trial here (4MB). .

Labels: News, PDF Converter, PDF Converter Services, Products

Posted at: 16:35 on 15 January 2010 by Muhimbi

Our PDF Converter for SharePoint is getting great reviews, but naturally we cannot please everyone, or at least not yet. One of the requests we get from time to time is to add support for the ability to specify PDF Security settings (Open Password, Owner Password, Block Print, Block Copy etc).

Update: It is now possible to apply PDF Security settings using a native SharePoint Designer workflow activity. It is no longer necessary to use the Workflow Power Pack approach outlined in this post, although it may still be useful for those users who want ultimate control and carry out the conversion and application of security in one go.

The thing is, our underlying engine and Web Service interface already support this functionality. However, the user interface and workflow action have not yet been updated. In this article we describe how to access this ‘hidden’ functionality from a workflow using the Workflow Power Pack.

A quick introduction for those not familiar with the product: The Muhimbi Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint allows custom C# or VB.NET code to be embedded in SharePoint Designer Workflows without the need to resort to complex Visual Studio based workflows, the development of bespoke Workflow Activities or long development cycles.

The solution presented below automatically converts any updated or newly created files to PDF format and applies the DisablePrint and DisableContentCopy security flags to the file. As the code is well documented it is easy to make further changes and customisations.

 
Create the workflow as follows:

1. Download and install the Muhimbi Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint.
    
2. Download and install the Muhimbi PDF Converter for SharePoint.
    
3. We need to be able to access functionality in the Muhimbi.SharePoint.DocumentConverter.PDF, System.ServiceModel and System.Runtime.Serialization assemblies. Add these references to the relevant Web Application using the Workflow Power Pack Central Administration screens as described in the Administration Guide. Make sure to place each reference on a new line.
     
4. Make sure you have the appropriate privileges to create workflows on a site collection.
    
5. Create a new workflow using SharePoint Designer.
    
6. On the Workflow definition screen associate the workflow with the library of your choice, tick the boxes next to both ‘Automatically start….’ options and proceed to the next screen.
    
7. To prevent the code from acting on files that are already in PDF format, add a Compare Any Data Source condition and:
    
   a.  Click on the first value followed by the display data binding (fx) button.
   b.  Select Current Item as the Source and select File Type in the Field. Click the OK button to continue.
   c.  Click equals and change it to not equals.
   d.  Click on the second value and enter pdf.
    
8. Click the Actions button and insert the Execute Custom Code action.
    
9. Click parameter 1 and optionally enter a relative or absolute destination path (For details see this post and search for the words ‘this url’). Leave the parameter empty to write the PDF file to the same directory as the source file.
    
10. Download the source code or insert the C# based code listed below by clicking this code.
     

    /********************************************************************************************

                                      Muhimbi PDF Converter

                  Copyright 2010, Muhimbi Ltd - www.muhimbi.com - All rights reserved

     The following code is a simplification of the code that is normally executed by the Muhimbi 

     PDF Converter Workflow Action. Error and permission checking as well as other minor features

     have been omitted for the sake of brevity and clarity.

     This code allows more control over the PDF Conversion process compared to what is possible 

     with the Out-Of-The-Box action, for example: PDF Security Options, Use of PDF/A, Quality, 

     Enable Macros and the ability to specify a password to open a source file.

     This code requires Muhimbi’s PDF Converter and Workflow Power Pack to be installed.

     For details about the Web Services interface see:

     http://www.muhimbi.com/blog/2009/12/converting-office-files-to-pdf-format.html

    ********************************************************************************************/

    using Muhimbi.SharePoint.DocumentConverter.PDF;

    using Muhimbi.SharePoint.DocumentConverter.PDF.WebServiceClient;

    using System.Collections;

    // ** Set all variables required for the conversion of the file.

    SPFile sourceFile = MyWorkflow.Item.File;

    // ** Specify an empty string or null to use the same directory as the source file. 

    // ** Alternatively specify an absolute or relative (to the web) path, e.g. 

    // ** subsite1/Shared Documents/PDF  or /sites/HumanResources/subsite1/Shared Documents/PDF

    string          destinationFolderName   = MyWorkflow.Parameter1 as string;

    string          destinationFileName     = Utility.ExtractFileName(sourceFile.Name) + ".pdf";

    string          openPassword            = "";

    string          ownerPassword           = "A Nice And Strong Password!";

    SecurityOptions securityOptions         = SecurityOptions.DisablePrint | 

                                              SecurityOptions.DisableContentCopy;

    bool            copyMetadata            = true;

    // ** Get a reference to the PDF Converter web service.

    DocumentConverterServiceClient client   = WebServiceConverterHelper.OpenService();

    //** Set the various open options

    OpenOptions openOptions                 = new OpenOptions();

    openOptions.Password                    = "";

    openOptions.OriginalFileName            = sourceFile.Name;

    openOptions.FileExtension               = Utility.ExtractFileExtension(sourceFile.Name);

    openOptions.AllowMacros                 = MacroSecurityOption.None;

    openOptions.RefreshContent              = true;

    //** Specify the various security settings

    ConversionSettings conversionSettings   = new ConversionSettings();

    conversionSettings.Fidelity             = ConversionFidelities.Full;

    conversionSettings.Format               = OutputFormat.PDF;

    conversionSettings.Quality              = ConversionQuality.OptimizeForPrint;

    conversionSettings.Range                = ConversionRange.VisibleDocuments;

    conversionSettings.StartPage            = 0;

    conversionSettings.EndPage              = 0;

    conversionSettings.GenerateBookmarks    = BookmarkGenerationOption.Automatic;

    conversionSettings.PDFProfile           = PDFProfile.PDF_1_5;

    // ** Specify either an Open or Owner Password in order to activate the security Options

    conversionSettings.OpenPassword         = openPassword;

    conversionSettings.OwnerPassword        = ownerPassword;

    conversionSettings.SecurityOptions      = securityOptions;

    // ** Read the content of the source file

    byte[] sourceFileArray = sourceFile.OpenBinary();

    // ** Carry out the actual conversion to PDF

    byte[] convertedFile = client.Convert(sourceFileArray, openOptions, conversionSettings);

    // ** Construct the path and file to write the PDF file to.

    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(destinationFolderName) == true)

        destinationFolderName = sourceFile.ParentFolder.Url;

    SPFolder destinationFolder = Utility.GetSPFolder(destinationFolderName, MyWorkflow.Web);

    string destinationFilePath = string.Format("{0}/{1}", destinationFolder.Url, 

                                               destinationFileName);

    SPWeb destinationWeb = destinationFolder.ParentWeb;

    SPFile spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.GetFile(destinationFilePath);

    // ** If a document library requires manual checkout and the file is not checked out, then 

    // ** check the file out before uploading.

    if (spDestinationFile.Exists && spDestinationFile.Item.ParentList.ForceCheckout && 

        spDestinationFile.CheckOutStatus == SPFile.SPCheckOutStatus.None)

    {

        spDestinationFile.CheckOut();

    }

    // ** Copy metadata, if requested.

    if (copyMetadata == true && 

        sourceFile.Name.EndsWith("x", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase) == false)

    {

        // ** Pre office 2007 formats (without the trailing x) are treated differently 

        // ** from the office 2007 formats when it comes to copying meta data.

        Hashtable metadata = sourceFile.Item.Properties;

        // ** Add the file to the site including the meta data

        spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.Files.Add(destinationFilePath, convertedFile, 

                                                     metadata, true);

    }

    else if (copyMetadata == true)

    {

        // ** Add the file to the site.

        spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.Files.Add(destinationFilePath, 

                                                     convertedFile, null, true);

        // ** Copy the Actual meta data to the newly created file.

        foreach (SPField field in sourceFile.Item.Fields)

        {

            if (field.ReadOnlyField == false && 
                spDestinationFile.Item.Fields.ContainsField(field.InternalName) == true)

            {

                spDestinationFile.Item[field.InternalName] = sourceFile.Item[field.InternalName];

            }

        }

        // ** Update the meta data

        spDestinationFile.Item.Update();

    }

    else

    {

        // ** Actively strip all meta data

        Hashtable metadata = new Hashtable(sourceFile.Item.Properties.Count);

        foreach (Object key in sourceFile.Item.Properties.Keys)

        {

            metadata.Add(key, string.Empty);

        }

        // ** Add the file to the site with all meta data stripped

        spDestinationFile = destinationWeb.Files.Add(destinationFilePath, convertedFile, 

                                                     metadata, true);

    }

    // ** Check the file back in if this script was responsible for checking it out.

    if (spDestinationFile.Item.ParentList.ForceCheckout == true)

    {

        spDestinationFile.CheckIn("Auto check-in after PDF Conversion");

    }

      
11. Click the Actions button, select Log to History List, click this message and enter File converted to PDF.
     
12. Close the Workflow Designer and update or add an item to your library to trigger the workflow.
     

 
Naturally this is just a simple example. Feel free to play around with the code, change which parameters are passed into the workflow or modify where converted PDF files are written to.

.

Labels: Articles, PDF Converter, Products, Workflow, WPP

Posted at: 10:34 on 11 January 2010 by Muhimbi

Wow, this is a nice Monday morning surprise. When I checked my mailbox this morning there was an email from SharePointReview’s Inna Gordin announcing that the Muhimbi PDF Converter for SharePoint has won the December 2009 Top User Rated Product Award.

So, we are now officially Award Winning, which is great. We’ll aim to keep our products’ quality and degree of innovation at a high level to make sure this is not the last award we’ll win.

Please check out our other products on SharePointReviews.com and leave a rating if you like what you see. We are a small company and it really means a lot to our team.

• PDF Converter for SharePoint.
• SharePoint URL Shortener.
• SharePoint Infuser.
• Workflow Power Pack for SharePoint.
• SharePoint Audit Suite.

For the latest news please subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

.

Labels: News, PDF Converter, PDF Converter Services, Products

Posted at: 15:02 on 07 January 2010 by Muhimbi

We are getting some fantastic feedback from users who are using our free SharePoint Infuser tool to inject all kinds of Magic into their SharePoint pages.

However, some users who are using Publishing Sites have reported that the tool is not working for them. This is because the ‘AdditionalPageHead’ delegate control is usually not present in the Master Page of a publishing site.

If you are keen to use Infuser in your Publishing Site then add the following line to your Publishing Site’s master page.

    <SharePoint:DelegateControl runat="server" ControlId="AdditionalPageHead" AllowMultipleControls="true"/>

That’s all. Have fun.

.

Labels: Articles, Infuser