"Save as PDF" issue
 

Hi,

We use PowerPoint to make presentation (obviously) and we save them as PDF with the integrated "Save as PDF" in the Print Window of Mac OS X. Unfortunately, the resulting files cannot be read on windows and linux. No problem on the mac.

If we save the PPT file in pdf and open the pdf file in Acrobat and re-save the file in pdf...the resulting file is good and can be open in all OS.

I was wondering if someone else encounter the following problem.

Sounds strange!
--
Vincent

Re: "Save as PDF" issue
 

Good that you found a work-around.

I have been successful in reading pdf-printed files in Windows. I wonder if this is an issue of how it's done in Power Point?

system option
 

Actually, PowerPoint is not the problem but how Mac OS X handle and save PDF file in the Print Window.

Because it is not an PowerPoint option but an OS X option that let you save in PDF format...

do the test
 

hi,

I checked to see if the employee was making a mistake in the process of saving the file in PDF...and nothing was wrong...it's as easy as 123...and I do the same on my computer with a complete new presentation made from a template and immediately save the file in PDF..no changes at all... and tried to open the file under redhat and it was not working...so maybe we have two computer with a bad configuration...maybe we are too dumb! :rolleyes: Or there is a problem!

;)

--
Vincent

works for me on RedHat
 

I opened an existing PowerPoint presentation (in the mode with no notes showing), saved as PDF, ftp'd the PDF file to a RedHat machine (I think it is RH 7.2) and opened it up using 'xpdf' with no problem.

redhat
 

Hi hayne,


I use KGhostView not xpdf and my files aren't working on Windows 2000 with Acrobat itself...

I don't know what's going on...if you are able to do it...it means that both mac here are going crazy with the "Save as PDF" option....it's really strange

I'm going to do some more test with my email client...I will ftp'd the files instead! We'll see!

More news later...

Thanks...

Something is not meshing here. Of the posters in this thread, what versions of OS X are you using. I think that some improvements (how substantial, I am not sure) have been made lately in 'Print to PDF/Save to PDF'.

Hi macmath,

Both mac are running OS X 10.2.5

Bye

Oh.

To steal a phrase from Rosanna Rosannadanna:

Nevermind!

work-around
 

Ok, well since I found a work-around I would like to build an Applescript doing the job because I can handle the process but most employees here are newbies...so I need to gave them a simple solution.

So, I build a droplet applescript to do all the work...but I have one problem. The script execute himself perfectly but no file is saved after the process...God knows why!

I'm new to AppleScript...but it's not so complicated!
:p

--
Vincent

Oh!, the problem is not in mac os x
 

OK...well finally realize that the problem was not in mac os x but in the way that the people retrieved the mail....

Most user use the web interface of our mail server because they can take mail from everywhere...


Continue my investigation...

strange anyway
 

it is strange that by using the Print As PDF option in mac os x, we are having such a problem....because if we use Acrobat...the problem is not even there!

Anyway...I'll take a closer look at this tomorrow...

this sounds suspiciously like the problem i have been having sending pdf's made with print-to-pdf in word, I had a thread here about. I also found that re-saving them in acrobat solved the problem. I'd be interested to know what mail server/clients are having the problem.

I use eudora 5.2 on 10.2.5 on a tibook. Some people on pc and mac have trouble opening the pdfs, they turn up as zip files or pdfs that can't be opened.


supernaut

wow
 

We use eudora 5.2 and OS X 10.2.5 just like you... and the mail server is sendmail.

And I didn't find another way to solve the problem and my applescript isn't working for the moment...as soon as it works I will post the resulting code here. But some help would be very appreciated because I don't know Applescript a lot.

Have a nice weekend

zip it
 

It sounds to me as if there is something (characters) in the PDF file that gets corrupted when you send it via your email system.

I would verify this by comparing a file that arrived on your Linux machine with one that was ftp'd there. (Use "binary" mode in ftp). You could use 'cmp' to check for an exact match, then use something like 'od -c the_file' to try to find out what the difference is.

But this is rather mysterious.
One posisbile work-around that would be simpler (than re-saving the file in Acrobat) might be to zip the files before emailing them. Stuffit includes zip capabilities and PC machines almost always have a version of zip installed.

There's definitely corruption taking place. But the majority of it happens with word-made pdfs (i don't use the other office products enough to comment on them).

Acrobat-made pdfs seem to be more robust. Sometimes just resending the attachment works, other times using yahoo mail works, sometimes nothing.

i've just started using the zip approach, but havn't heard back as to how successful - i guess not hearing back indicates there's no problems if they are not requesting me to send it again.

i'll try the ftp/terminal approach though, at least working out what goes wrong is a start

Well, I just discovered I have the same problem in 10.3.2 sending to a windows user (two different ones actually). I am having one of them send me the file back so I can check it.

Glad I am not sending out resumes at the moment!

Any notions about fonts used in the documents? Maybe Acrobat is doing font embedding that 'Save to PDF' isn't?

I create PDF invoices from QuickBooks Pro 5 and send them to both Mac and Windows clients all the time, and have never had a problem, under either Jaguar or Panther. I always used Mail.app to send them, with zero additional compression/encoding applied.

Well, I got the file back from one windows user and it opens fine on my system, so it is not a transfer problem.

The file I am sending is a screen capture, so it should be a bitmap, not text, therefore fonts should not be an issue....

I agree that it is rather unlikely, but there is still at least a theoretical possibility that the file might be corrupted going one way and get de-corrupted (i.e. fixed) going back.
If you want to investigate thsi possibility, you should get the Windows user to calculate the MD5 digest for the file on their system. There are several MD5 apps available for download for Windows - I'm not sure if there is anything that comes with XP. On the OS X side, you can use /sbin/md5

You mean the bits that fell off on the way from Oz to Canada got stuck back on on the way back? Darn static cling! :D :D

Well, I have a hard enough time teaching my windows using Dad to attach it pictures to send me much less get him to do an md5 (although I have some other users I can try it out with I suppose).

I suppose I should even try it on another Mac user. I will send it to my brother today....

Just got a note back, my brother-in-law can open the file on his windows system. Must be my Dad's bad driving! I wiill get my brother-in-law to check it on my Dads system to verify....

that is a question of probability
 

The probability that a file get corrupt when you send it and get fixed on its way back is very VERY low... I personnally never saw this in my life. You can give it a try but I think it is useless.