create custom module for pdf manipulation

Question

I want to create a custom Kofax module. When it comes to the batch processing the scanned documents get converted to PDF files. I want to fetch these PDF files, manipulate them (add a custom footer to the PDF document) and hand them back to Kofax.

So what I know so far:

• create Kofax export scripts
• add a custom module to Kofax

I have the APIRef.chm (Kofax.Capture.SDK.CustomModule) and the CMSplit as an example project. Unfortunately I struggle getting into it. Are there any resources out there showing step by step how to get into custom module development?

So I know that the IBatch interface represents one selected batch and the IBatchCollection represents the collection of all batches.

I would just like to know how to setup a "Hello World" example and could add my code to it and I think I don't even need a WinForms application because I only need to manipulate the PDF files and that's it...

Answer 1

Since I realized that your question was rather about how to create a custom module in general, allow me to add another answer. Start with a C# Console Application.

Add Required Assemblies

Below assemblies are required by a custom module. All of them reside in the KC's binaries folder (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\Kofax\CaptureSS\ServLib\Bin on a server).

Setup Part

Add a new User Control and Windows Form for setup. This is purely optional - a CM might not even have a setup form, but I'd recommend adding it regardless. The user control is the most important part, here - it will add the menu entry in KC Administration, and initialize the form itself:

[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIDispatch)]
public interface ISetupForm
{
    [DispId(1)]
    AdminApplication Application { set; }
    [DispId(2)]
    void ActionEvent(int EventNumber, object Argument, out int Cancel);
}

[ClassInterface(ClassInterfaceType.None)]
[ProgId("Quipu.KC.CM.Setup")]
public class SetupUserControl : UserControl, ISetupForm
{
    private AdminApplication adminApplication;

    public AdminApplication Application
    {
        set
        {
            value.AddMenu("Quipu.KC.CM.Setup", "Quipu.KC.CM - Setup", "BatchClass");
            adminApplication = value;
        }
    }

    public void ActionEvent(int EventNumber, object Argument, out int Cancel)
    {
        Cancel = 0;

        if ((KfxOcxEvent)EventNumber == KfxOcxEvent.KfxOcxEventMenuClicked && (string)Argument == "Quipu.KC.CM.Setup")
        {
            SetupForm form = new SetupForm();
            form.ShowDialog(adminApplication.ActiveBatchClass);
        }
    }

}

Runtime Part

Since I started with a console application, I could go ahead and put all the logic into Program.cs. Note that is for demo-purposes only, and I would recommend adding specific classes and forms later on. The example below logs into Kofax Capture, grabs the next available batch, and just outputs its name.

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, eventArgs) => KcAssemblyResolver.Resolve(eventArgs);
        Run(args);
        return;
    }


    static void Run(string[] args)
    {
        // start processing here
        // todo encapsulate this to a separate class!

        // login to KC
        var login = new Login();
        login.EnableSecurityBoost = true;
        login.Login();
        login.ApplicationName = "Quipu.KC.CM";
        login.Version = "1.0";
        login.ValidateUser("Quipu.KC.CM.exe", false, "", "");

        var session = login.RuntimeSession;

        // todo add timer-based polling here (note: mutex!)
        var activeBatch = session.NextBatchGet(login.ProcessID);

        Console.WriteLine(activeBatch.Name);

        activeBatch.BatchClose(
            KfxDbState.KfxDbBatchReady,
            KfxDbQueue.KfxDbQueueNext,
            0,
            "");

        session.Dispose();
        login.Logout();

    }
}

Registering, COM-Visibility, and more

Registering a Custom Module is done via RegAsm.exe and ideally with the help of an AEX file. Here's an example - please refer to the documentation for more details and all available settings.

[Modules]
Minimal CM

[Minimal CM]
RuntimeProgram=Quipu/CM/Quipu.KC.CM/Quipu.KC.CM.exe
ModuleID=Quipu.KC.CM.exe
Description=Minimal Template for a Custom Module in C#
Version=1.0
SupportsTableFields=True
SupportsNonImageFiles=True
SetupProgram=Minimal CM Setup

[Setup Programs]
Minimal CM Setup

[Minimal CM Setup]
Visible=0
OCXFile=Quipu/CM/Quipu.KC.CM/Quipu.KC.CM.exe
ProgID=Quipu.KC.CM.Setup

Last but not least, make sure your assemblies are COM-visible:

I put up the entire code on GitHub, feel free to fork it. Hope it helps.