Anyone good with PDF's?

[Leon]

I've got the 2013 catalogue sorted, which has been done in a booklet format in Publisher.  My version of Publisher 2003 doesn't want to save as PDF's anymore, and when I have used Office 2007 previously, the PDF option didn't save the booklet in a nice viewable format either. 

So, does anyone have any working knowledge of PDF's and Office, and how I can create a nice page-by-page layout PDF of the catalogue?

[Fenton]

Techno might know

[barbarian]

Depends of the format, I may be able to.

[Techno]

Techno might know

Errrr....

Maybe not....What's it stand for then ?....Something to do with Hefferlumps ?
Pachyderms Digest Fruit ?
Ask me another...
Cheers - Phil.

[Leon]

Depends of the format, I may be able to.

Each page is A5, with them all in sequence so that it prints as an A4 booklet which can be folded in half.  When I've put it into PDF previously, it changes the format so that the PDF has page 1 with page 56, page 2 with page 55 instead.  That's fine if people want to print it out, but for viewing it's no good at all.

[sebigboss79]

Have you tried pdfcreateor?
Happy to help you out. Basically you want an A4 sized landscape format that incorporates 2 (consecutive) of your A5 pages?

[barbarian]

I guess this is an option.

You can "print" on a virtual printer to have a pdf. Check the options of the virtual printer.

[Leon]

Have you tried pdfcreateor?
Happy to help you out. Basically you want an A4 sized landscape format that incorporates 2 (consecutive) of your A5 pages?

Yep, basically that.  If a separate pdf of the cover could be thrown in at the beginning that'd be a bonus, but it's not the end of the world if not.

[sebigboss79]

hmm..if your free tomorrow after 10am I can guide you through the process with skype.....
Basically pdfcreator installs itself as a "printer" so you need to arrange the pages in consecutive order and just hit print. Works same as any printer as in arranging pages to fit 2on1 or so.

For more sophisticated pdfs you would need to "merge" several prints, I would need to google free software for that though...

[Leon]

hmm..if your free tomorrow after 10am I can guide you through the process with skype.....
Basically pdfcreator installs itself as a "printer" so you need to arrange the pages in consecutive order and just hit print. Works same as any printer as in arranging pages to fit 2on1 or so.

For more sophisticated pdfs you would need to "merge" several prints, I would need to google free software for that though...

Ain't got Skype I'm afraid.   

If you've got a brief run-through you can post here, I should be able to find my way through it?

[sebigboss79]

any other messenger software?

I can try to pm you . Just hit me up when you have installed the software

[barbarian]

Check "Pagination" options.

[WeeWars]

Problem is A5. If you were doing the same thing with A4, there wouldn't be any expectation of viewing A4 on line and printing to A6 and folding. Simple solution: suggest using A5 paper for printing or provide both a print and an online copy.

[Leon]

The printed copies are fine, we've been doing those for years, and it they come out without any bother.  It's just this PDF aspect, so that we can offer it as an online download as well.  It's been done before, but I have no idea how it was managed.

I'll give the pdfcreator a go and see how it turns out.

[WeeWars]

I think you're suggesting that you need two options for saving a PDF - re barbarian's "Check "Pagination" options". In my copy of Adobe Acrobat, Page Layout options include Continuous, Facing, and Continuous - Facing. I think you just have to change the Page Layout settings before each save of your PDF file and you will have the two versions you require.

[Leon]

I think you're suggesting that you need two options for saving a PDF - re barbarian's "Check "Pagination" options". In my copy of Adobe Acrobat, Page Layout options include Continuous, Facing, and Continuous - Facing. I think you just have to change the Page Layout settings before each save of your PDF file and you will have the two versions you require.

It's getting it into a PDF which is the stumbling block, as the only way I can save it from Publisher throws the layout completely out of whack.

I can send the file to anyone if they want to have a play about with it.

[WeeWars]

Go on, then, you have my email.

[fred.]

Leon  - I've not followed in detail what you have tried. But it sounds like in Publisher you are choosing a Save As PDF option, to save a copy of the file as a PDF?

It may be better to install a PDF printer and use that to 'print' the file to create a PDF file. This sounds a bit odd, printing to make a file, but it generally works better as most applications are better at printing, than saving in a different file format.

The PDF printer that I use quite a lot is CutePDF, a free download. It will probably need to GhostScript as well (I can't recall if it will auto download this).

[Leon]

Leon  - I've not followed in detail what you have tried. But it sounds like in Publisher you are choosing a Save As PDF option, to save a copy of the file as a PDF?

The Pendraken catalogue is a Publisher file, on A5 pages.  The pages are all in sequence, and the software rearranges them all during printing, so that Page 1 goes with Page 56, Page 2 with Page 55, etc. so that we end up with an A4 stack of pages which can be folded in half to make the A5 catalogue.

Now when I try and PDF this Publisher file, instead of keeping the pages in sequence like on the screen, it rearranges them again so that they are in the printing order.  That's fine if people want to print their own copies I suppose, but for viewing them it would be a nightmare, as you'd be flicking all over to follow the lists.

Go on, then, you have my email.

Cheers, I'll throw it over.

[sebigboss79]

That sounds to me like publisher is the problem....