macOS Automate doc/xls/ppt -> pdf conversion?

[whooleytoo]

I'm looking to automate the conversion of Office docs to PDF format. Obviously it's possible via "Save as pdf..", but I'm not sure how to automate it, or if it's possible.

I can automate conversion for 'generic' filetypes (txt, jpg etc.) using cupsfilter, but not for Office documents. (I tried using cupsfilter with an .xls, and it stated "Unable to determine MIME type of ABC.xls", but even with that fixed I'm sure it would complain about the lack of an appropriate filter?)

Anyone know how to do this? A command-line option would be ideal, I guess I can try UIScripting if all else fails. (Office is installed on the target machine).

Any help much appreciated!

 

[swiftaw]

this might help:
http://www.maciverse.com/automator-tip-of-the-week-3-convert-word-documents-to-pdf.html

 

[whooleytoo]

this might help:
http://www.maciverse.com/automator-tip-of-the-week-3-convert-word-documents-to-pdf.html

Thanks! I didn't have the Office '08 installed so that Automator action wasn't available.

I'll try now with the trial version and see how that works. Thanks again.

 

[whooleytoo]

That works fine!

It's pretty clunky, visually, but it gets the job done. Now, I just need to look at watching a folder for new documents (launchd, I assume).

I also need to figure out how to customise that workflow. I need to delete the originals once converted; and rename the converted files to a an ID returned from an asp page.. but the most important part is working, thanks!

 

[swiftaw]

You can set up a folder action that will run that workflow any time something is placed in that folder.