OT tools: invoking Distiller on Solaris with any kind ofscript

["Jason Aiken" <jason.aiken@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Please be sure to send all responses to me privately, as I have recently
unsubscribed from many of the lists. I'll be sure and provide a summary
should anything useful come out of this query.

We're trying to build a CGI script that performs several functions from
a web browser:
1. Author Submits SGML book.
2. Tools write a PS file.
3. Distiller distills PS into PDF via Solaris Acrobat Distiller 3.x.
4. Web browser provides completed PDF for download on subsequent page.

We've got it working except for the Distiller. As far as I can tell,
Distiller isn't silently producing the PDF but rather demands an
interactive session to bypass some prompts (such as Acrobat
compatibility even though this is already set in the Distiller job
options).

I know there's the watched folder thing to automatically distill PS
files into PDF, but I'm wondering to what degree you've had success
automatically invoking Distiller on UNIX via a CGI script. Despite
trying the "-noprefs" and "-quiet" options, Distiller still hangs the
batch process asking the user for choices [1] and [2] about something or
other. An error log is generated ad infinitum, as if Distiller is
engineered not to be run without a terminal session.

We would prefer to avoid the watched folder business provided by
Distiller so that the CGI script can handle the whole process from start
to finish as efficiently as possible.

Any comments, commiserations, blazing epiphanies, or mere Happy Fridays
welcome.

Best regards and thanks to you all. Over the years, I cannot think of a
single more useful and rewarding experience than participating in (and
sometimes scoffing at), the varied online Framers discussions.
Jason Aiken
ex-Frame Templar

Notes:
1. I've cross-posted this query everywhere I can think of because it's
my guess that most people simply use watched folders and haven't gone to
this level. Apologies if you've seen this more than once.

2. I am aware that Distiller, especially at version 4.x, may not
legally be used to watch network folders or operate from a web server.
Our limited user base each possesses a local version on their own
machine with a valid license.

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