Converting a Word X file to a PDF file

[Carolyn Panting]

I am currently using Word X and want to convert my files into a PDF format.
On my tool bar it gives me two options, one to convert to PDF the other to
PDF and email. i have tried using these facilities but neither work, I get
80% through the conversion and the process freezes/stops. Does anyone know
how to help me?
Thanks

 

[Elliott Roper]

I am currently using Word X and want to convert my files into a PDF format.
On my tool bar it gives me two options, one to convert to PDF the other to
PDF and email. i have tried using these facilities but neither work, I get
80% through the conversion and the process freezes/stops. Does anyone know
how to help me?
Thanks

That's the horrible PDF maker. Bin it.

Simply hit cmd-P for print, then take the PDF options in the Apple
print dialog. A straight print to PDF works in most cases. Choose the
save as postscript if your document contains eps illustrations, then
open the .ps in preview and save that at pdf. Its a pain, but it tricks
Word into handing off the eps to the printer instead of dropping the
grotty raster preview of your beautiful eps into the PDF.

There is one more gotcha. If you have section breaks that change the
margins, you will get more than one PDF. The fix for that is a trip to
versiontracker for one of the pdf joiner lumps of shareware out there.

That method of print to PDF production is so good, I always include a
PDF when I e-mail a .doc to someone else. That way they can see what it
looked like before Word mangled the pagination to match the recipient's
printer, fonts and current phase of moon. I gotta say I'm learning a
few tricks to minimise that misfeature.

 

[Helpful Harry]

That's the horrible PDF maker. Bin it.

Simply hit cmd-P for print, then take the PDF options in the Apple
print dialog. A straight print to PDF works in most cases. Choose the
save as postscript if your document contains eps illustrations, then
open the .ps in preview and save that at pdf. Its a pain, but it tricks
Word into handing off the eps to the printer instead of dropping the
grotty raster preview of your beautiful eps into the PDF.

There is one more gotcha. If you have section breaks that change the
margins, you will get more than one PDF. The fix for that is a trip to
versiontracker for one of the pdf joiner lumps of shareware out there.

That method of print to PDF production is so good, I always include a
PDF when I e-mail a .doc to someone else. That way they can see what it
looked like before Word mangled the pagination to match the recipient's
printer, fonts and current phase of moon. I gotta say I'm learning a
few tricks to minimise that misfeature.

Be aware: many professional print companies will not accept PDFs
generated by Microsoft applications. I have no real idea why, but they
won't. Best to check with your print company BEFORE starting any work
on something that's going to go to them for final printing.

Then again, PDFs are not the be-all and end-all of super compatibility
that they've been hyped up to be. There's still problems and you should
ALWAYS see a proof print before giving the print company the go ahead
to print off 10,000 copies.




Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)

 

[Elliott Roper]

<[email protected]> wrote:

Be aware: many professional print companies will not accept PDFs
generated by Microsoft applications. I have no real idea why, but they
won't. Best to check with your print company BEFORE starting any work
on something that's going to go to them for final printing.

Then again, PDFs are not the be-all and end-all of super compatibility
that they've been hyped up to be. There's still problems and you should
ALWAYS see a proof print before giving the print company the go ahead
to print off 10,000 copies.

If the OP had said 10,000 copies or even mentioned a print house I
might have offered different advice, which would have been not unlike
your, so thanks.

Print to PDF is almost pure Apple. Microsoft can't take too much of the
blame, except for the odd superfluous showpage and offering bitmap
previews of eps illustrations that I have already whined about.

I can see why a print company might barf at Word's typography. If
something of mine is going to print, it makes a pass through InDesign
before the typesetter gets a chance to laugh at me. Word and InDesign
can be made to co-exist fairly happily. It is a royal pain to word
process in InDesign, and its almost impossible to do decent page layout
in Word, yet placing a Word doc in a prepared 'book' in InDesign is
simple and effective.

Apple's print to PDF is pretty good, but its treatment of bitmaps is a
bit idiosyncratic, although not half as much as Word's. I particularly
like Preview in 10.3.9 and beyond for viewing PDFs. If I need to
quickly scan read and or search a long Word doc, I make a PDF and read
that. It is far quicker and nicer to look at and use. Another advantage
is that Spotlight indexes the whole thing, instead of giving up after
the first 100K of a Word doc.

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Harry:

Be aware: many professional print companies will not accept PDFs
generated by Microsoft applications. I have no real idea why, but they
won't. Best to check with your print company BEFORE starting any work
on something that's going to go to them for final printing.

Very good point! I think most of the print shops that used to do that have
now gone out of business, but it certainly pays to check

I have not found one for a couple of years or so. Last time I did, I said
"OK, this job is only worth about a $150,000 to you. I can see how you may
not want to go down the road and spend $235 on a copy of Microsoft Word for
that. Never mind, the shop across the road will handle it..."

Three days later I walked out of that shop with my print job and a price
discount

The only issues I have currently are with fonts. On the PC it's a
no-brainer because the PC "just handles" it. Going from, or too, a Mac you
need to make sure that you embed the fonts in the PDF, otherwise the print
shop may be unable to run the job.

A professional print shop usually has a full copy of the Adobe Type Library
installed. So the only things they are likely to be missing from a document
made in Word is the Microsoft fonts. If they have Word installed on the
machine that runs the print job, they will have those too. If not, they
will have trouble instead

Cheers

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410