Saving Publisher files as PDFs in VBA

[DougRobertson]

Greetings!

Years ago I created a macro which converted Publisher files to PDFs and created emails which they would then be attached to. It's worked flawlessly for years.

Then along came the Windows 10 Anniversary Update . . . . or so the timing would suggest, and now most of the PDFs show up with internal boxes for text, but no actual text. When I run the code line by line everything comes out perfectly, but when I run the macro in real time, again the text is missing.

Here's the code I'm using:

    Dim pubApp As Publisher.Application
    Dim pubDoc As Publisher.Document
    Set pubApp = New Publisher.Application

    pubApp.Open "C:\Folder1\EAGLE'S VIEW.pub"

    pubApp.ActiveDocument.ExportAsFixedFormat pbFixedFormatTypePDF, _
        "C:\Folder2\" & _
            "EAGLE'S VIEW - A.pdf"

Thank you in advance for any and all help!

~ DWR

 

[jamcall]

I recall seeing a similar problem on here recently, and someone suggested using DoEvents... I don't recall if that resolved the issue.

Anyway, could try putting DoEvents after the .Open method.

More info here, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/118468

HTH,
~ Jim

 

[DougRobertson]

Thanks Jim, however that doesn't change the way the macro works. It still opens the first Publisher file, doesn't export it properly (no text), then stays open.

When I step through the code line by line it works properly, but I noticed that the Publisher file doesn't actually open. It does however export the Publisher document to PDF properly - any idea how it can do that if it doesn't actually open?

~ DWR

 

[DougRobertson]

Okay, after a substantial trial-and-error session, I've discovered that it seems to be a timing issue. By inserting a 1-second pause before the first Open command, it works like a charm again!

As in:

    Dim pubApp As Publisher.Application
    Dim pubDoc As Publisher.Document
    Set pubApp = New Publisher.Application

    If iFirstTimeThrough <> "NO" Then Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:01"))   ' 1 second pause
    iFirstTimeThrough = "NO"

    pubApp.Open "C:\Folder1\EAGLE'S VIEW.pub"

    pubApp.ActiveDocument.ExportAsFixedFormat pbFixedFormatTypePDF, _
        "C:\Folder2\" & _
            "EAGLE'S VIEW - A.pdf"

Thanks for your help Jim,

~ DWR