Is it possible to merge Smart forms and ADOBE forms in one PDF file?

[Former Member]

Dear colleagues,

In the SAP ERP system we support there is finctionality where user can see multiple invoice outputs merged in one PDF file. There are different invoice output types for diffrent materials and some of the outputs are using smart forms while others are using ADOBE forms. Currently we have developed a custom code to merge all ADOBE forms in one PDF file or all Smart forms in one file. We are now trying to merge both smart forms and ADOBE forms in one PDF file.

Do you have an idea if this is possible to be done and how to achieve it?

Attached is the code we have developed for this purpose.

We will appreciate your advise.

Best regrads,

Gergana Yankova

SAP Consultant

[Former Member]

Peter, how to implement smartforms invoice outputs merged in one PDF file? can you give me details?

[Privete_member__1194304]

Hello,

I think it will be easier to do such things outside of SAP. Use simple web tools like smallpdt<dot>com or install a PDF printer (downloadable from the internet) on your desktop and issue print from SAP directly to the PDF printer producing a single document.

Regards,

Navin

[Former Member]

Hi,

I have similar requirement can you please tell me how have you combined multiple adobe output in to single output....

Regards,

Gunjan

[alexander_bolloni]

Hello,

I don't think this can currently be done inside SAP. Even if you used the same SPAD printer for both Adobe Forms (IFbA forms) and Smart Forms, for example a printer with device type PDFUC (PDF, Unicode), what will happen is the following:

Spool requests created via IFbA have, as actual content of the spool request payload, a PDF file which is stored on the appserver's file system (report RSPO0020 can be used to check the various files  of a IFbA spool request). This is a  PDF file created by ADS server.

Smart Forms spool requests have, as contents, OTF data which SF generates, which is an intermediate format which needs to be run through function module CONVERT_OTF  (or the Spool Work Process which internally uses the same OTF-PDF converter)  to result in an actual PDF file.

So, in order to have one final PDF file which contains all your various input, you will always have the task of merging several PDF files into one large PDF file; a functionality currently not included in SAP. You would need to use 3rd party tools for this.

You cannot simply concatenate PDF files and expect them to merge when displayed - try it and view the result in Adobe Reader...

Regards,

  Alexander

[Former Member]

It is not a problem to concatenate diffrerent PDF's into one. According to me concatenation between ADOBE and Smart form depends on the use of the same DEVICE TYPE before file generation for each type of print forms.

The other way ( i do not know whether it works ) is to use of PDFTK binary and install it into application server.

[Florian]

It is just possible if you do it via an webservice or an ghostscript afterwards (As far as I know) there is no ABAP-function available to merge or "concatenate" different pdfs.

~Florian

The brackets are for the case that someone raise his/her hand and tell me that it is possible with a working example.

PPS: By the way, to use different names is not necessarily reliable