The Adobe PDF Library is a useful tool for creating PostScript and PDF output. The PDF documents can be created at the time of composition or by transforming legacy print streams. Therefore, customers have the option of creating PostScript or PDF from applications, or taking previously created output (except PostScript) and converting it to PDF.

NOTE:  The conversion of PostScript to PDF is not supported, since Adobe Distiller and Adobe PDF Converter SDK are available for this purpose. Further information on Adobe PDF Converter SDK is available from the Datalogics website.

After you build a PDF file, you can work with it in Adobe Acrobat.

Additional customer applications may be required to transform legacy print streams.

To create a simple PDF document using the Adobe PDF Library, follow these basic composition steps:

1. Allocate memory for and specify the location of the application-specific font resource
2. Initialize the Library
3. Create a document
4. Create the content object for a page
5. Create text
6. Add text to the page
7. Release the text
8. Include another PDF document as a graphic on the page (optional)
9. Include an image in the page (optional)
10. Add the page to the document
11. Release the content object for the page
12. Repeat as needed
13. Output the document
14. Release the document
15. Terminate the Library
16. Release any allocated memory

PDF files can be created at the complete output stream level, user-defined document level, or any combination. For example, in a statement application, one PDF file could be created for the whole run, or one PDF file could be created for each statement. Using the concept of PDF threads, it is also possible for users to create multiple output sorts from the same application execution, and to apply different file definitions to each output. This could be used, for instance, to create one PDF file sorted for printed output and mail delivery and another sorted by sales territory and destined for online access.