Making PDFs in Office 2008

[Petertje]

I wonder if the PDF saving capablities have improved in Office 2008. In 2004 the PDF Maker buttons (and commands) on the Mac version lacked support for Bookmarks. Only links in a TOC came through. The Windows version offered much more of these options, like Bookmark derived from a document's structure (headings).
The Save as PDF dialogue in 2008 only produces a PDF with visual content, still no navigational features. I haven't tried reinstalling my Acrobat Pro (8) yet.

 

[Michel Bintener]

I'm not sure how Acrobat integrates with Word, but I would assume that it is
through VBA, and in that case, it is not going to work with Word 2008.
Anyway, there is very little reason to hope for an improvement with Word
2008, as the features provided by the Adobe toolbar are still the same; in
other words, Mac Word's inability to generate PDFs that contain links and
bookmarks is not a Word issue, but a problem caused by the lack of features
provided by Adobe.

I wonder if the PDF saving capablities have improved in Office 2008. In 2004
the PDF Maker buttons (and commands) on the Mac version lacked support for
Bookmarks. Only links in a TOC came through. The Windows version offered much
more of these options, like Bookmark derived from a document's structure
(headings).
The Save as PDF dialogue in 2008 only produces a PDF with visual content,
still no navigational features. I haven't tried reinstalling my Acrobat Pro
(8) yet.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[Petertje]

Thanks for the reply !

To produce the PDF on the Mac, the Adobe toolbar uses the 'hooks' that Apple provides to print to a PDF. I don't know if that is a VBA generated method. Only inline links were supported.

You state that it's not a Word issue, but why offer users a genuine but halfbaked command to generate a PDF from the File menu, to replace an ancient and just as compromised toolbar ? It would be easy enough for Office to tap into their content and offer more options through this more obvious and more capable method ?

I bet it has to do with brand politics and strategic choices...

 

[Michel Bintener]

As you have noticed, the PDF file format that is accessible in the Save As
dialogue window is equivalent to the File>Print, Save As PDF file format. In
other words, Word does not generate the PDF by itself, but only creates a
shortcut that makes it easier for users to create PDF files. If Word were to
create its own PDF files, it would be able to include metadata, such as
hyperlinks and bookmarks, but Word 2008 currently does not offer that
functionality (whereas the major applications of the Office 2007 suite on
Windows do). If you would like to see that feature added, make sure you send
your feedback to Microsoft (Help>Send Feedback about Word).

Thanks for the reply !

To produce the PDF on the Mac, the Adobe toolbar uses the 'hooks' that Apple
provides to print to a PDF. I don't know if that is a VBA generated method.
Only inline links were supported.

You state that it's not a Word issue, but why offer users a genuine but
halfbaked command to generate a PDF from the File menu, to replace an ancient
and just as compromised toolbar ? It would be easy enough for Office to tap
into their content and offer more options through this more obvious and more
capable method ?

I bet it has to do with brand politics and strategic choices...

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[Petertje]

Thanks again for the quick reply and the candid response
that the lack of PDF capabilities is indeed an MS Office issue,
while the PDF toolbar is - of course - an Adobe Acrobat issue.
I'll definitely send my feedback/request.

 

[joelwnelson]

I've found three ways to generate PDFs from Word 2008 (12.0.1):

1. "Save As PDF" in the Print dialog box (OS built in functionality)
2. Adobe PDF printer option (if you have Acrobat CS3 installed)
3. Word built-in, located in the Save As dialog box.

Only option #3 seems to preserve hyperlinks.

 

[Michel Bintener]

Option 3 does not preserve hyperlinks for me, nor do I think it should, as
it is basically the same method as #1, only through a different menu.

I've found three ways to generate PDFs from Word 2008 (12.0.1):

1. "Save As PDF" in the Print dialog box (OS built in functionality)
2. Adobe PDF printer option (if you have Acrobat CS3 installed)
3. Word built-in, located in the Save As dialog box.

Only option #3 seems to preserve hyperlinks.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[Petertje]

I'll restate the issue:
Not getting those Hyperlinks through is one part of the matter;
not having the complete structure of the sections and headings
presented as a list of Bookmarks, is a long-standing hiatus in
the Word for Mac versions. One would expect that step forward
from a menu command like that, and certainly not a step back...

 

[keith bierman]

Anyway, there is very little reason to hope for an improvement with Word

2008, as the features provided by the Adobe toolbar are still the same; in

Funny, OpenOffice does it without any connection to Adobe. FrameMaker does it right, but of course they have a close working relationship with Acrobat, Distiller and friends.