Frequently Asked Questions
on PDFlib Products
Is the API compatibility preserved?
The product APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) will never be incompatibly changed from one major release to the next. However, API entries marked as »deprecated« may be removed in the next major release after the release where they have been marked for the first time. Usage patterns which violate the documented rules and restrictions are not guaranteed to work in the next minor or major release, even if they are tolerated by an earlier version.
Why does a stamp with the text www.pdflib.com appear on all my pages?
This demo stamp appears when one of the binaries distributed by PDFlib GmbH is used.The stamp can be disabled by purchasing a PDFlib license, and applying the delivered license key (serial) at runtime with the PDF_set_parameter() function or a license file as indicated in the manual. On Windows the license key can also be supplied during the COM/.NET installation process.
I have trouble compiling PDFlib Lite on platform X with version Y of language Z. Can you help?
We do not provide build (configure/compile/link) support except for customers with a source code license. However, informally build-related questions can be discussed on our mailing list. Alternatively, you may want to use one of our precompiled binaries.
How can I install PDFlib with PHP?
The PDFlib-in-PHP-HowTo document discusses deployment options, and explains the use of DSOs and required tasks to use PDFlib versions (i.e. PDFlib Lite or the commercial PDFlib, PDFlib+PDI, or PPS products) with PHP 4 or 5 on various systems.
Which spot colors are built into PDFlib, and can be referenced by name without explicitly defining the spot color and specifying the corresponding alternate colors?
The PDFlib tutorial contains a list of all supported Pantone and HKS library names which are built into PDFlib. You can browse all known spot color names with the PDFlib Block Plugin 3 (create a block with the PDFlib Block tool, go to General, backgroundcolor, click "..." , select "Separation" color space, and click on "..." at Spot color name. PDFlib customers can also request a machine-readable list of all supported spot colors. Due to licensing restrictions we cannot make available this list for download, though.
On IBM zSeries systems, how can I get the CPU identification?
To purchase a PDFlib product for your IBM zSeries system you need to supply the CPU identification in the purchase order.
To retrieve the CPU ID on zLinux, issue the following command:
(1)$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
You will get an output similar to the following:
vendor_id: IBM/S390
# processors: 2
bogomips per cpu: 262.14
processor 0: version = FD, identification = 001234, machine = 2096
processor 1: version = FD, identification = 101234, machine = 2096
The last four characters of the "identificaton", e.g. "1234", are the CPU ID to be supplied in the purchase order.
To retrieve the CPU ID on USS or MVS, issue the following command from the z/OS console:
D M=CPU
You will get an output similar to the following:
RESPONSE=LRST
IEE174I 14.47.11 DISPLAY M 001
PROCESSOR STATUS
ID CPU SERIAL
00 + 03FEDC2086
01 + 03FEDC2086
...
The characters at position 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the string in the SERIAL column, e.g. "FEDC", make up the CPU identification to be supplied in the purchase order.