"Export *.PDF" function in PageMaker 6.5(+)

[Guest_imported]

Hi Folks,

I´ve heard very often in certain forums that many users have problems using the "Export Adobe *.PDF" function.
What I figured out are the following topics:
1. The problem always appears with certain windows-fonts like "Webdings" and "Wingdings " fonts.
2. If the error occurs you can visualize the error by using the ghostscript-viewer "GSVIEW" from Russell Lang (rjl@aladdin.com) which comes up with the message "Unrecoverable error: invalidexit in .stop"
3. According to the 912-page manual of the "PostScript Language Reference, 3rd edition" the corresponding text to this error message is:
invalidexit (error) ->
An EXIT operator has been executed for which there is no dynamically enclosing looping context (for example, FOR, LOOP, REPEAT, or PATHFORALL), or it has attempted to leave the context of a RUN or STOPPED operator.
4. As soon as you find in the postscript-file entries like,
%%BeginResource: font MSTT31907b7642O09406402
instead of correct entries like,
%%DocumentNeededResources: font Times-Roman
something went horribly wrong.

Does "MSTT" stand for "Macro-Shit-True-Type-fonts" (ooops - sorry, I mean "Micro-Soft-True-Type-fonts" of course) ?!?!

Unfortunately I´m not in the position to determine who made what wrong but either Adobe made a mistake when converting a PageMaker-file into PostScript or certain Windows-fonts are terribly wrong and will not be recognized by PageMaker correctly!
What ever the heck is going on there, either you live with it or you have to use the work-arounds to get rid of this misbehavior ..., with all advantages and disadvantages.

If there is a PostScript guru out there, maybe he (or she) finds out what went wrong.


Best Regards

Captain Black Bird

 

[viol8ion]

Cap't...

Ghostscript viewer is an excellent resource, and best of all, it is free! You are right on in figuring that many PDF failures are caused by faulty fonts.

It seems that TT fonts can easily become corrupted. On top of that, there are many free fonts that are poorly designed.

PM's Export is not a one-step process even though it appears to be. It merely automates the print to .ps and distill process. I use it all the time with no problem on smaller docs. It seems to choke on complex docs. Distil always chokes on bad fonts.

If you have these problems, and can pinpoint the bad font(s), simply delete them from your system and then reinstall from the source disk. This generally will clear it up. Also, the Export will choke on larger documents. Always keep your docs to 30 pages or less. Use the Book feature to join several books into one larger doc. When Exporting, do not try to Export all of the books, but rather export each separately.

In the end, my personal opinion is that the Export feature is a bit buggy and unstable, and it is well worth your while to print to .ps file and then open distiller and distil that way. You have more control over the options and finished prouct this way, and I have few problems with this method.

There is also a free app out there called PDF995 (

http://www.pdf995.com)

that works like a printer PPD, and does a respectible job of one-step PDF creation. When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com

 

[zefir]

Viol8ion,

thanks again.
I am really annoyed, that my URL cannot be found.
People may think I am stupid ...

Please test again:

http://www.fho-emden.de/~hoffmann/colordog.pdf

This is Wulli Wedel

My main page is

http://www.fho-emden.de/~hoffmann

The PDFs are in "Documents"

I have tested both URLs here in the Forum.

Best regards --Gernot Hoffmann

 

[viol8ion]

zefir,

Very nice design on your website. And like the dog! I have seen other complaints here that hyperlinks do not always work, and found that by opening a new browser window and copy/pasting the url in I can open the pages. Not sure what theproblem would be, but at least there is a workaround. When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com

 

[zefir]

viol8ion,

thanks for the test.
I had a fast look at wuli.com.
Works here flawless and is interesting for me, because
my wife is painting too. When I have more time I will
view the paintings in large size. Anyway, pretty good
work.
Based on this general appreciation, may I comment
the introduction ?
This is technically very complex, congratulation to the
programming. But it is too long, IMO.
And the style is, also, IMO, not really appropriate to
the further content. An excellent recommendation for a
commercial Webdesigner, but I think, it´s too much action.

As so often - ask a good friend. My opinion is not relevant.

Best regards ---Gernot Hoffmann

 

[viol8ion]

zefir,

Thanx for your time and commentary... That was actually my first attempt at Flash, and was trying everything in the one project. It is lengthy, but I did hide a skip movie link at the bottom

Oh, and never ask a friend an opinion, they will always say it is the greatest. LOL

Anyway, my website is overdue for it's annual re-design and makeover.. but the good news is that I am kept so busy with new website projects I don't have time to spend on my own. When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com