Creating a pdf using Word VBA and Adobe Acrobat

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06-10-2024

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From Word Document to PDF: A Guide to Automating the Conversion with VBA and Acrobat

Tired of manually saving your Word documents as PDFs? Wish there was a way to streamline the process and automate it? This article explores how to leverage the power of Word VBA and Adobe Acrobat to create PDFs effortlessly.

Scenario: Imagine you're a busy professional who regularly needs to convert Word documents into PDFs. You've done it manually for years, but now you want to automate this process to save time and effort.

Original Code:

Sub ConvertToPDF()
    Dim objWord As Object
    Dim objDoc As Object
    Dim strFileName As String
    Dim strPath As String

    ' Set the path to the Word document
    strPath = "C:\Users\YourName\Documents\MyDocument.docx"
    
    ' Set the output filename
    strFileName = "MyDocument.pdf"

    ' Create Word application object
    Set objWord = CreateObject("Word.Application")
    objWord.Visible = False

    ' Open the Word document
    Set objDoc = objWord.Documents.Open(strPath)

    ' Save the document as PDF
    objDoc.SaveAs strPath & ".pdf", FileFormat:=17
    
    ' Close the Word document
    objDoc.Close
    
    ' Quit Word
    objWord.Quit
    
    ' Release the objects
    Set objDoc = Nothing
    Set objWord = Nothing

    ' Open the PDF using Acrobat
    Shell "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat.exe" & " " & strPath & ".pdf"
End Sub

Understanding the Code:

This code snippet leverages Word VBA to open your Word document, save it as a PDF using the FileFormat property, and then automatically open the newly created PDF using Acrobat.

Key Considerations:

• File Path: Ensure you replace C:\Users\YourName\Documents\MyDocument.docx with the actual path to your Word document.
• Output File Name: The code will save the PDF with the same name as your Word document, appending ".pdf".
• Acrobat Location: Verify that the path to your Acrobat executable is correct. It may differ slightly depending on your installation.

Expanding on the Code:

1. Batch Conversion: Modify the code to loop through a folder of Word documents, converting them all to PDFs.
2. Customization: Add more functionality like setting PDF security, adding watermarks, or specifying PDF settings like compression.
3. Error Handling: Include error handling routines to gracefully handle scenarios like missing files or incorrect paths.

Additional Tips:

• Document Properties: The objDoc object in VBA offers properties like Author, Subject, and Keywords that you can modify before saving as a PDF.
• Acrobat Automation: You can use Acrobat's JavaScript API to further automate the conversion process, adding advanced functionalities like adding comments, bookmarks, or altering the document structure.

Beyond VBA:

While VBA is an effective tool, you may consider utilizing other methods like using external libraries or exploring cloud-based solutions that offer more sophisticated PDF conversion functionalities.

Conclusion:

Automating your Word document to PDF conversion with VBA and Acrobat can save you significant time and effort. This article provided a basic framework to get you started. By understanding the fundamentals and exploring the advanced features of both Word and Acrobat, you can customize the conversion process to meet your specific needs.