Creating PDFs

[Kath]

Hi,

Please help me create a PDF from a Word file, for my Word
help menu does not have any info on this topic. In
addition, I had no luck with the Acrobat help menu
instructions, for everything they suggested didn't work. I
am running Word 2001 (Office 2001) and Acrobat 5.0 on a
beige Macintosh G3 with OS9.

Per Acrobat's help instructions, I chose the AdobePS driver
in my chooser and when I subsequently dropped Word files
onto the Create Adobe PDF icon, I got error messages
stating, "This document cannot print because of an error.
Files may be missing or damaged. Error = -2807." I also
tried Acrobat's other directions stating that I should
choose file>page setup in Word, then from the printer
pop-up menu, select Create Adobe PDF -- but no printer
pop-up menu exists when I try this!

In addition, I have been told that I should be able to find
a macro for doing so where macros are stored in Word, but
the macro isn't there. I have also been told that I should
have a file menu named "Create PDF file" in Word, but the
menu isn't there.

I really need to learn how to create a PDF from a Word
file. Please help me. Thanks!

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Hi Kath,

I'm using Word 2001 and Acrobat 4.0, but maybe this will help. In Chooser, I
have both Acrobat PDF Writer and Adobe PS set up, acting like they are
printers. I select Acrobat PDF Writer in the chooser, then use File | Print
in Word, and get a dialog box for creating a PDF from my word doc, options
for where to save it, a dialog box saying the file is spooling, and the
document shows up on my desktop.

The same process with Adobe PS selected appears to do the same thing.

Hope that helps,

Dayo

 

[Kath]

Hi, Dayo --

Thanks so much ! However, I had no luck.

When I discovered that I do not have Acrobat PDF Writer, I
checked Adobe's Web site for a download. Unfortunately, I
found that it's only available for Windows users, and I'm
on a Mac. I'll contact Adobe to find out if a similiar
download exists for Mac users.

When I try to open the print dialog box with AdobePS
selected in the chooser, I get the following error message:

"This document cannot print because of an error. Files may
be missing or damaged. Error = -2807."

Thanks again. Any other suggestions in the interim?

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Sorry, no other suggestions. I guess they changed stuff between Acrobat 4
and 5. Best of luck. Could you possibly have a bad install of Acrobat?
Might be worth trying re-installing, certainly 4.0 put Acrobat PDF writer in
my chooser automatically, I think. Or it might be that there a few
different but related programs on the CD that you need to install. I think
Distiller, which serves this function as well, for instance, is actually a
separate program.

Dayo

 

[Robert R. Rahl]

Kath:

The PDFWriter printer-driver extension was included in Acrobat v.4 for Macintosh but
not in Acrobat v.5 for Macintosh. I held on to it when I upgraded. If you write me
with your real email address I'll send it to you. (Since you have a license for
Acrobat there's no problem with piracy.)

PDFWriter from Acrobat version 4 is quicker and easier to use than the various
equivalents in version 5. The tradeoff is that the quality of the output (the PDF
document you make) is not quite as good. The reason for all of this is that PDFWriter
from v.4 is a standalone utility while the v.5 strategies all employ Acrobat Distiller.

It is certainly possible to get the Word 2001 & Acrobat 5 interconnection to work but
the configuration can get somewhat complicated with a corresponding potential for
exasperation. Using the version 4 PDFWriter will at least give you immediate
satisfaction. If you have any deadlines approaching you'll be able to meet them. Then
you can sit down and spend the time to get Acrobat 5 working properly. The
improvement in quality using v.5 is worth the time and effort. Reinstalling Acrobat
5, which has already been suggested, is a good place to start that process.

Robert R.

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

My thanks as well for the very useful info re Acrobat, Robert.

Dayo