Can't start PDF Service

[Alan Yabroudy]

Hi,

I'm running CF 2023 Update 6 on Windows Server 2022. According to the package manager the htmltopdf package is installed but cfhtmltopdf isn't working. On the CF admin -> PDF Service page it looks like everything is setup properly:

• Name: localhost
• Host Name: 127.0.0.1
• Port 8995
• Engine: 2.0

When I try to start the service I get "Error enabling PDF Service Manager. Check logs for more details" In the coldfusion-out.log I get:

Mar 19, 2024 10:54:15 AM Error [http-nio-8500-exec-3] - Connect to 127.0.0.1:8995 [/127.0.0.1] failed: Connection refused: connect http://127.0.0.1:8995/PDFgServlet/verify
Mar 19, 2024 10:54:15 AM Error [http-nio-8500-exec-3] - Error enabling PDF Service Manager.
Mar 19, 2024 10:54:15 AM Error [http-nio-8500-exec-3] - coldfusion.document.webkit.PDFgErrorHandler$ConnectionVerificationFailedException: Connection verification failed.

Using "netstat -an", I don't see any service listening on port 8995.

What am I missing?

Sincerely,

  Alan Yabroudy

[Charlie Arehart · Accepted solution]

Alan, I have good news. This should be easily solved.

As for what's up, and how you got into the situation, that takes a bit more explaining.

If you look at Windows Services, do you have a "coldfusion 2023 add-on service" listed? If it's listed but not running--or if it's not listed at all, that's why this fails. CF wants to talk to THAT service, and is expecting to find THAT running on that port 8995.

A) So first if you DO see the service there, just not started, then if you start it, does your netstat now show it listening on 8995? If so, the cf admin pdf service page should now find it you can start and/or verify it there.

If it doesn't verify or pages don't produce PDFs, try restarting the cf service. (There's a bug where if the add-on service is started or restarted after CF, then CF can't connect to it. The easiest solution is to restart CF. Another option is to simply "edit" the PDF service in the CF Admin, and without making any change, submit that "edit". Then often the PDFs will start working.)

B) If instead you DON'T SEE the add-on service listed (right above the cf2023 service), then the issue is that the person installing cf did either of two things:

1. They either used the traditional (full/gui) cf installer, but they told the installer NOT to enable the addons service (referred to in obviously as supporting solr and "pdfg")
2. Or they used the "zip" installer (new for cf2021 and above), and sadly that add-on installer does not even OFFER to install the addon service. (This is mentioned in an Adobe blog post about the zip installer from when CF2021 came out, but it is NOT made clear on the doc page about installing CF via the zip.) 

In either case, if you "need the add on services to be installed", there is an available separate installer for that (for CF2023, and for cf2021, and so on), offered at the Adobe page offering downloads RELATED to CF. Once you install that add-on service, note that by default it will put itself in a separate directory from CF (so some resources you read online will refer to this addon service being found in the cfusion/jetty folder within CF. It will not be, for folks who run this alternative installer.)

You will also find that the installer also picks a port that the service will run on. If it's other than 8995 (or you fail to change it to that), then be aware that you'd find it listening on that other port it picks and you'd also need to change the CF "pdf service" (and "solr server") page to point to that different port.

C) Let us know if all this gets you going. It is unfortunate that it can happen, and for these various reasons (and thus is not a simple answer for your seemingly simple question.)

[Alan Yabroudy]

Hi Charlie,

Thank you so much for your quick reply! I had not installed the add-on service when initially installing CF. Your solution solved our problem!!!

Thank you,

  Alan

[Charlie Arehart]

Very good to hear, and glad to have helped. Before you may move on, could you please mark my first reply as the answer, to help others who may find the thread? 🙂 Also, Adobe keeps track for internal purposes of how often someone's replies are marked as "answers". Thanks.