Command Line Options
The command line options listed below are available for PDF-Tools. Please note:
•If any values have spaces, backslashes or forwardslashes then the entire options list should be enclosed in quotation marks.
•If the optionslistfile contain spaces then it must be enclosed in quotation marks.
•If a profile is specified, changes will be made to that profile. If not then the changes will apply to the current printer's settings.
•These options are for the PDFXTools.exe executable, the default location of which is:
"C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF Tools\PDFXTools.exe"
•Unless the path to PDFXTools.exe is added to the system %path% variable, the full path to PDFXTools.exe must be specified.
•Use semicolons to delimiter options when more than one option is being used.
Formal Syntax
<anytext> means any text string.
<a>|<b> means <a> or <b>.
<filename> means full or relative path to file. When the path contains white spaces it should be enclosed in quotation marks. For example: c:\MyDocuments\MyTestDocument.pdf should be "c:\My Documents\My Test Document.pdf".
[expression] is the optional part of the command line. For example if the syntax is: /RunTool[:showui=yes|no][;showprog=yes|no][;showrep=yes|no] <ToolID> [<filename1> [<filename2> ... <filenameN>]] then the following examples are correct:
/RunTool imagesToPDF
/RunTool imagesToPDF "c:\picture1.png" "c:\picture2.png"
/RunTool:showprog=no imagesToPDF "c:\picture1.png" "c:\picture2.png"
Command Line Options
/DumpCategories
This command line saves identifiers of all existing tool categories to a plain text file. Please note that an existing destination file is required for this command line to operate.
Syntax
/DumpCategories <filename>
Parameters
•<filename> - is the path to the text file where identifiers of all existing tool categories will be saved.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /DumpCategories "c:\PDF-Tools.txt"
/DumpTools
This command line saves identifiers of all existing tools to a plain text file. Please note that an existing destination file is required for this command line to operate.
Syntax
/DumpTools <filename>
Parameters
•<filename> - is the path to the text file where identifiers of all existing tools will be saved.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /DumpTools "c:\PDF-Tools.txt"
/ExportSettings
This command line exports all program settings to a specified file.
Syntax
/ExportSettings <filename>
Parameters
•<filename> - is the path to the file where program settings will be saved.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /ExportSettings "c:\PDF-Tools_AppSettings.pdts"
/ExportTools
This command line exports tools and their settings to a specified file.
Syntax
/ExportTools[:showui=no|yes|full] <filename>
Parameters
• showui - if 'yes' is specified then the Choose Tools for Export dialog box will be displayed. This allows users to select manually the tools to be exported. If 'full' is specified then the main window of the user interface will also be displayed. The default value is 'yes'.
•<filename> - is the path to the file where exported tools will be saved.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /ExportTools:showui=full "c:\PDF-Tools_Exchange.pdtex" - to export tools via the Choose Tools for Export dialog box and display the main window of the user interface.
/ImportSettings
This command line imports program settings/tools from a specified file.
Syntax
/ImportSettings[:showui=no|yes|full] <filename>
Parameters
•showui – if 'yes' is specified and the <filename> is a path to a PDF-Tools export file then the Choose Tools for Import dialog box will be displayed. This allows users to select manually the tools to be imported. (If settings are being imported then the import will take place without a dialog box). If 'full' is specified then the main window of the user interface will be displayed, and if the <filename> is a path to a PDF-Tools tools export file then the Choose Tools for Import dialog box will also be displayed. The default value is 'yes'.
•<filename> - is the path to the file that contains program settings/tools. These can be created using the /ExportSettings or /ExportTools commands (or the corresponding features in the user interface).
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /ImportSettings "c:\PDF-Tools_AppSettings.pdts" - to import all settings from the file "c:\PDF-Tools_AppSettings.pdts".
PDFXTools.exe /ImportSettings:showui=full "c:\PDF-Tools_Exchange.pdtex" - to display the main window of the user interface and import tools from the file "c:\PDF-Tools_Exchange.pdtex" via the Choose Tools for Import dialog box.
/ImportTools
This command line imports tools to PDF-Tools.
Please note that this tool is identical to the /Open and /ImportSettings command line options in cases where the <filename> contains a path to a file that contains exported tools.
Syntax
/ImportTools[:showui[=no|yes|full]] <filename>
Parameters
•showui – if 'yes' is specified then the Choose Tools for Import dialog box will be displayed. This allows users to select manually the tools to be imported. If 'full' is specified then the main window of the user interface will also be displayed. The default value is 'yes'.
•<filename> - is the path to the file that contains previously exported tools. The /ExportTools command (or the corresponding feature in the user interface) can be used to export tools to file.
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /ImportTools "c:\my-custom-tools.pdtex" - to import all tools from the file "c:\my-custom-tools.pdtex".
PDFXTools.exe /ImportTools:showui "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" - to import tools from the file "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" via the Choose Tools for Import dialog box.
PDFXTools.exe /ImportTools:showui=full "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" - to import tools from the file "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" via the Choose Tools for Import dialog box and display the main window of the user interface.
/Open
This command line imports tools/program settings for PDF-Tools that have been exported to file.
Syntax
/Open[:showui=no|yes|full] <filename>
Parameters
•showui - if 'yes' is specified and the <filename> is a path to a PDF-Tools export file then the Choose Tools for Import dialog box will be displayed. This allows users to select manually the tools to be imported. If 'full' is specified then the main window of the user interface will be displayed, and if the <filename> is a path to a PDF-Tools tools export file then the Choose Tools for Import dialog box will also be displayed. The default value is 'yes'.
•<filename> - is the path to the file that contains exported tools/program settings. The /ExportSettings or /ExportTools commands (or the corresponding features in user interface) can be used to create these files.
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /Open "c:\my-custom-tools.pdtex" - to import all tools from the file "c:\my-custom-tools.pdtex".
PDFXTools.exe /Open "c:\pdf-tools-settings.pdts" - to import all program settings from the file "c:\pdf-tools-settings.pdts".
PDFXTools.exe /Open:showui "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" - to import tools from the file "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" via the Choose Tools for Import dialog box.
PDFXTools.exe /Open:showui=full "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" - to import tools from the file "c:\pdf-tools.pdtex" via the Choose Tools for Import dialog box and display the main window of the user interface.
/Output
This command line specifies parameters for the output action of the tool when it runs.
Syntax
/Output[:folder=ask|source|path][;filename][;overwrite=yes|makeunique|ask|no|][;showfiles=yes|openfolder|no|]
Parameters
•folder - determines the output path. If 'ask' is specified then the Choose Folder dialog box will be displayed when the tool runs. If 'source' is specified then the source folder path will be used as the output path. If '\"<path>\"' is specified then <path> will be used as the output path. If no value is specified then the output action will take the output path from the tool settings. If the folder parameter is not specified then the tool settings that determine the output folder will be used.
•filename - determines the name template for generating the names of the output files. Users must provide the name template for this parameter as it does not have a default value. If the filename parameter is not specified then tool settings that determine the output filename will be used.
•overwrite - determines the action taken in cases where the output filename is already in use. If 'yes' (or no value) is specified then existing files will be overwritten with the new files. If 'makeuniq' is specified then a unique file name will be generated. If 'ask' is specified then a dialog box for selecting an overwrite action will be displayed. If 'no' is specified then the file will be skipped. If the overwrite parameter is not specified then the tool settings that determine the overwrite action will be used.
•showfiles - determines whether or not the output files are displayed in their destination folder. If 'yes' (or no value) is specified then the tool settings will be used. If 'openfolder' is specified then the output folder will be opened and the output files will be selected. If 'no' is specified then the output files will not be displayed. If the showfiles parameter is not specified then the tool settings that determine the show files action will be used.
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF /Output:folder=\"D:\PDFs from images\";filename=\"%[Date].pdf\";overwrite=makeuniq;showfiles=no - to run the Create PDF from Images tool, save the result to the "D:\PDFs from images" path, name the output files using the "%[Date].pdf" name template, automatically generate unique filenames and not display the output files.
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool pdfToDOCX /Output:folder=ask;overwrite=yes;showfiles=yes - to run the Export PDF to Microsoft Word Document tool, ask for the folder in which to save files, overwrite existing files in cases where filenames are already in use and use tool settings to determine the show file action.
/ResetSettings
This command line restores all program settings to their default state.
Syntax
/ResetSettings
Parameters
There are no available parameters for this command line option.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /ResetSettings
/RunFldMon
This command line launches a folder monitor. The GUID of the folder must be used to specify it.
Syntax
/RunFldMon <FolderMonID>
Parameters
<FolderMonID> must be the GUID of the the folder monitor to be launched. The GUID of folder monitors can be retrieved from the context menu of the Folder Monitors dialog box. Right-click the dialog box to select this option.
Example
PDFXTools.exe /RunFldMon {23954F34-C10B-4819-B15B-D35631D3CD94}
/RunTool
This command line runs the specified tool. If custom tools are used then it is necessary to specify the GUID of the tool. (The /DumpTools command line, detailed above, can be used to create a breakdown of all existing tools and their identifiers).
Syntax
/RunTool[:showui=yes|no][;showprog=yes|no][;showrep=always|yes|no][;sort=name|size|mdate|cdate[,dsc]][;subfolder=yes|no] <ToolID> [<foldername> |<filename1> [<filename2> ... <filenameN>]] [/Log[:full=yes|no][;shared] <logfilename>][/Output[:folder[=ask|source|\"<path>\"]][;filename=\"<name_template>\"][;overwrite[=ask|yes|no|makeuniq]][;showfiles=[no|yes|openfolder]]]
Parameters
•showui - if 'yes' is specified then the main window of the user interface will be displayed. The default value is 'no'.
•showprog - if 'yes' is specified then the progress bar will be displayed. The default value is 'yes'. Please note that when showui=yes is specified then showprog=no will be ignored.
•showrep - if 'yes' is specified then the Tool Report pane will be displayed when errors/warnings occur during the operation of tools. If 'always' is specified then the Tool Report pane will always be displayed. The default value is 'yes'.
•sort - sorts input files by name, creation date (cdate), modification date (mdate) and size. See below for examples.
•<ToolID> - specifies the tool to run. The string that contains the GUID of the tool must be used to identify the tool. (The /DumpTools command line, detailed above, can be used to create a breakdown of all existing tools and their identifiers).
•<filename1> ... <filenameN> - is an optional list of input files that the specified tool will process. It is also possible to specify folders, in which case the tool will process all corresponding files recursively.
•[<foldername> |<filename1> [<filename2> ... <filenameN>]] - is an optional parameter that can be used to specify the full or relative path to a folder, or to list full or relative file names. If the path used contains white spaces then it must be enclosed in quotation marks. For example C:\My Documents\My Test Document.pdf must be entered as "C:\My Documents\My Test Document.pdf".
•subfolder - if 'yes' (or an empty value) is specified then the 'Choose Input Files' action of tools will also search for input files in the subfolders of the folder specified in the command. If 'no' is specified then the 'Choose Input Files' action of tools will look for files only in the specified folder and will skip all nested folders. If the 'subfolder' option is not specified then the parameters of the 'Choose Input Files' action will be used to determine which folders/subfolders are searched.
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF "c:\picture1.png" "c:\picture2.png"
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool:showprog=no;showrep=no imagesToPDF "c:\picture1.png" "c:\picture2.png"
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool:showprog=no;showrep=no imagesToPDF "c:\FolderWithPictures"
PDFXTools.exe "/RunTool:sort=size" imagesToPDF "c:\FolderWithPictures" - to run the Create PDF from Images tool and order files from the smallest to the largest.
PDFXTools.exe "/RunTool:sort=mdate,dsc" imagesToPDF "c:\FolderWithPictures" - to run the Create PDF from Images tool and order files and from the most recently modified file.
/Log - creates a log when the tool runs and then writes it to file. This option has the parameter full, which determines the messages included in the log. If 'yes' is specified then all application messages will be written to the log. If 'no' is specified then the only default messages (errors, warnings and summary information) will be written to the log. The /Log option has the parameter shared. If this parameter is specified then the file specified by <logfilename> can be shared between different instances of PDF-Tools running in command line mode at the same time.
The Tool Report settings determine the default messages included in the log.
Examples
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF /Log:full “c:\pdf-tools.log” - to run the Create PDF from Images tool and create a full log when the tool runs.
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF "c:\MyPhotos\" /Log:full=no “c:\pdf-tools.log” - to run the Create PDF from Images tool, process all files in the folder "MyPhotos" and create a full log when the tool runs.
PDFXTools.exe /RunTool imagesToPDF /Log:full;shared “c:\pdf-tools.log” - to run the Create PDF from Images tool, create a full log when the runs and make the pdf-tools.log file available to other instances of PDF-Tools running in command line mode.