Is there any command line support?

[Al]

I have successfully converted some models and it looks good.

Is there any command line support? i.e. can I convert using a batch script?

No - we have not done that yet. Are you thinking of :


Multiple PDF's - with the same sizes and text - but different SKP files?
Remaking existing PDF's - using the text and size settings saved in the PDF
Saving PDF information (text, size, etc.) in SKP models, so we can automatically create a PDF form an SKP
A robust batch language which would let you sepcifiy text, sizes, etc. and then create a PDF.


(If we did #4, we would probably use ruby, and have you execute the ruby files from inside SketchUp.)

We are also considering a multi-view-page version, where we would create one PDF per SketchUp view page, or create a multiple page PDF one per view page.
This would be useful if you changed layers per view, and is a drastic case, you could load separate SketchUp files into a single mode as components.

[danglass]

I wish to programatically create the PDF from the SKP file. If I could specify an rps, skp & pdf, that would be everything needed to run the task.

i.e.

C:\> 3d_rps.exe settings.rps input.skp output.pdf

[Al]

We'll take a look at that. But it may take a few weeks before we get to it...

[danglass]

I can successfully run RPS in command line batch mode with the following command:

"C:\Program Files\Render Plus Systems\3D_PDF\skp_to_3d_pdf.exe" "C:\aa\test.rps" "C:\aa\test.skp" "C:\aa\test.pdf"

However, the command forks from the console or batch, meaning I cannot script out a batch convert because many processes will fork. Also, an accurate exit status can't be checked.

Thanks,
Dan Glass

[Al]

Give us some more input on what you would like to do.

We could have a "batch" mode from within RPS 3D PDF where you would supply a CSV file of .RPS file names and we would process them all from within the session of RPS 3D PDF.

We could also have a command line option to run RPS 3D PDF in this batch mode.

We could create a log file showing the PDF's created (and time, etc.) to use to track progress.

[danglass]

Hi Al.

I need it work just how it is now but just not fork. Anything more is gravy.

Thanks,
Dan

[Al]

But skp_to_3d_pdf.exe is a windows program, so I don't know how to run it from the command line and wait for completion.

So the other solutions would be better for us.

[danglass]

I have made a mistake. From within a .bat file, the process will not fork windows applications. I can do what I need without any changes.

Thanks,
Dan Glass

[Al]

Good news! :)

If we made a batch mode from within 3D PDF, we could set things like the title, etc. and use the same RPS file for all of the PDFs.

You may also be able to do that by creating the .RPS file programatically.

[Al]

Note:

start /wait xxx.exe will execute the exe and wait until it completes, even if it is not in a command line.

Similarly, start (without the /wait) in a .bat file will execute the .exe and not wait for it to complete

[sketcher]

I would like to do something similar, but am an RPS-PDF newbie. I'm not sure how to create the necessary .rps file -- could you help?

[rich]

You can save .rps files by using the Save Style button on the dialog.