# Class: PDFDCEX

## PDFNet. PDFDCEX

#### new PDFDCEX()

  PDFDCEX is a utility class used to represent a PDF Device Context (DC).

  Windows developers can use standard GDI or GDI+ API-s to write on PDFDCEX and to generate PDF documents based on their existing drawing functions. PDFDCEX can also be used to implement file conversion from any printable file format to PDF.

  PDFDCEX class can be used in many ways to translate from GDI to PDF:

  - To translate a single GDI drawing into a single page PDF document.
  - To translate a single GDI drawing into an object which can be reused many times throughout a PDF document (i.e. as a Form XObject).
  - To translate many GDI drawings into single page or multipage PDF document. ...

  Very few code changes are required to perform the translation from GDI to PDF as PDFDCEX provides a GDI Device Context handle which can be passed to all GDI function requiring an HDC. PDFDCEX does use a "Virtual Printer" approach so the translation should be of both high quality and speed.

  For more advanced translations or creations of PDF documents, such as security handling, the use of other PDFNet classes will be required.

  An example use of PDFDCEX can be found in PDFDCTest.cpp:

      // Start with a PDFDoc to put the picture into, and a PDFDCEX to translate GDI to PDF
      PDFDoc pdfdoc;
      PDFDCEX pdfdcex;

      // Begin the translation from GDI to PDF, provide the PDFDoc to append the translated
      // GDI drawing to and get back a GDI Device Context
      HDC hDC = pdfdcex.Begin(pdfdoc);
      ::StartPage(hDC);

      ... perform GDI drawing ...

      ::EndPage(hDC);
      // Complete the translation
      pdfdcex.EndDoc();

      // Save the PDF document
      pdfdoc.Save("PDFDCEX_is_cool.pdf", SDF::SDFDoc::e_remove_unused, NULL);

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