how do you setup a PDF printer?
 

in Windows, with adobe acrobat installed, you can setup a PDF printer so that in other applications, you can print to a pdf printer which will generate a PDF file.

i can't seem to figure out how to do that on a mac. can anyone help me out? i have adobe acrobat 6 installed.

thanks!

If you have Office for Mac.... Go to File --> Print on the bottom there should be an option for Save as PDF...
If you don't have Office then you need to be more specific about what app you're using.
cheers,
n

It doesn't need to be Office. Any OS X application can print to PDF.

i'm not sure the question was if mac can do it.... but how.. :) I was just trying to get the specifics on which app was being used...
cheers,
n

Go to Printer Utility and see if you can do it there.

>>It doesn't need to be Office. Any OS X application can print to PDF.<<

Yes, that's true, and very convenient, but I've found that this particular method produces inferior quality PDFs when printed from graphics applications such as QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign. In those cases, I always print to a PostScript file first, and then create the PDF with Acrobat Distiller.

For greater flexibility and some additional features, you can also download the Adobe PDF PPD, which will allow you print directly to PDF. http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa...141&fileID=141
Place it in Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj. And while you're in there, create a folder called Unused Printers, into which you'll place all those unused PPDs so they no longer show up as a long list of unused printers your printer menu.

I've also used Printer Setup Utility to create a PDF printer, but I can't remember if it required the presence of Acrobat 6 (which is also installed on my G4) or just the Adobe PDF PPD.

Oh, and one more thing, you can make any printer a desktop printer by dragging it from Printer Setup Utility to the desktop, if you so desire.

I hope this helps! :)

John M.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but....every single print dialog I open has a "Save to PDF" button on it. I assume all Macs do...?

i guess here's what i'm looking for (what i can do in windows):

1) there are options for n-up pages.
2) change the default pdf pagesize at the time of creation
3) color or bw

once these options are set/saved, all of "prints" are done based on the above settings.

anyways.. thanks again.

Edit: question, the save to PDF thing.. is that enabled because I installed adobe acrobat? or is it somethingn that's native to all mac apps?

I think you are seeing a PDF printer on Windows because Acrobat was installed (the paid version, not the free version). Windows cannot make PDFs by default.

Mac OS X can make PDFs by default as described above, clicking the Save As PDF button, but that's not the same as what you saw in Windows.

BUT...if you also install Adobe Acrobat for the Mac (the paid one not the free one), you will see an additional PDF printer just like on Windows, with the same options.

you are exactly right, except for the fact that with adobe acrobat 6 (the paid version) installed on my powerbook.. i'm not seeing the extra printer.. unlike the adobe acrobat 6 that i installed w/ windows.

You need to set up a new printer:

• Start Printer Setup Utility
• maintain the [alt] key while chosing to add a new printer
• select "other", then "PDF"
• confirm
• Before the first use of this virtual printer, you may be asked to locate the Distiller.app.

Happy pdf-ing !

PDF printer
 

try this link out to set up a pdf printer:
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/w...ml.1@.1de9dcce

i apologize, but i'm not able to follow your directions.. here's what i'm doing:

1) going to system preferences
2) open up print & faxes
3) open up set up printers
4) it says that i have no printers setup and asks if i want to add a printer, while holding down alt, i press add.
5) now i'm at a add printer dialog box, i've got a few things:
a) i have a picker at the very top, it has these options: Appletalk, Bluetooth, IP printing, Open directory, rendezvous, usb, windows printing, about 4 epson options, hp ip printing and lexmark inkjet. which one should i pick?
b) depending on what you select in a), the options changes, if i select ip printing, then i've got a printer type, which has these options: rendezvous, lpd/lpr, internet printing protocol, socket/hp jet direct, i've also got a printer address and a queue name.
c) at the bottom (again, assuming that i'm supposed to pick ip printing), the printer model has a bunch of options, including Generic, Other, adobe, apple, brother, canon..... xerox) i've tried selecting other, but then it presents me w/ a "choose a file" dialog box, dunno what to do with that. if i select adobe, it has "Adobe PDF 3015.102", but the "Add" button is grayed out.

so.. what do i do now? :)

can anyone help me out? after purchasing this powerbook for my gf, i'm actually liking it a lot and am thinking about buying another one to replace my aging pc laptop for work. however.. not able to use a pdf printer as i've described is a deal breaker for me..

thanks a bunch!

I'm able to do all you describe directly from OS X, no other software needed. First I do a Page setup to set the page size, then after selecting Print, I click on Copies & Pages, select the item(s) I wish to change, and then click Save as PDF.

I'd show samples, but this site won't let me upload files larger than 100 K.

i understand you can do that on with a single file, but imagine doing that w/ 5000 files.. hence a specific PDF printer w/ profiles on things like color, landscape vs. portrait, etc is useful. it's also easier to drag a bunch of files into a printer then to open each individual file and click on "save as pdf".

maybe what i'm looking for isn't possible with a mac..

Setting Up Adobe PDF Printer
 

Hi dude,

Try this (again):
1. Go to Printer Setup Utility.
2. Option (or Alt) click on the Add Printer Button
3. Choose 'Advanced' From the list of printing protocols
4. Now in the 'Device:' list choose Adobe PDF. But make sure you choose the one near the bottom of the list! I know that i have two for some reason, and the first one 'Adobe PDF (pdf)' refuses to install . . .
5. Enter 'pdf://distiller' into the 'Device URI:' area
6. Choose 'Adobe' from the 'Printer Model' list
7. And that should automatically bring up that 'Adobe PDF 3015.102' driver
8. Hopefully you should now be able to 'Add' the printer

Now when you choose to print from whatever app you're in:
1. You should be able to choose 'Adobe PDF' from the printer list :)
2. In the 'Copies & Pages' list you should find 'PDF Options', which once selected will give you two extra options: 'Adobe PDF Settings' & 'After Creation' options . . .
3. The 'Adobe PDF Settings' are all pre-defined settings which need to be configured in Acrobat Distiller, mostly because this is the App that is doing the actual printing behind the scenes . . .

Hopefully this should all work nicely!

Good Luck!!!

Try to re-do setup as I recommended.

Key issue is to press the [alt] key +before+ clicking on add a printer, then choose the last option "Other Options" (text may vary, I don't use the US-language setting).

From there you'll get a set of other, more arcane options not visible before. Among those, there should be Adobe PDF.

If you can't add the printer consider Print Center Repair or a re-install of Acrobat, but if you do it exactly the way I tried to describe you should be fine.

Good luck !

thanks! i think the problem was that since i had no other printers installed, it asks me if i want to add a printer, and i'm pressing alt-clicking there, which for some reason did not have the "advanced" protocol.

anyways, i was able to print to pdf. yay! :) really appreciate the help.

Glad it worked out.

Looks like there is still some room to improve the user experience here...