Fixing ZapfDingbats Display Problem

[isa...@adobe.com]

You should NEVER use anything other than a PostScript printer driver instance that uses the Acrobat Distiller PPD to produce PostScript for distillation. By the way, do you actually have ITC Zapf Dingbats installed on your system?

- Dov

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

I followed Dov Isaacs' workaround in the topic dated 11/16/01 entitled "Windows 2000/XP Zapf Dingbats Display Problem." I am running Windows XP Professional. Now when I try to generate a PDF file of a FrameMaker 6.0 document that contains some ZapfDingbats characters, those characters are blank while the rest of the document is correct. What happened?

In FrameMaker I am printing to a file using an HP4000 PS driver and then converting the PS file to a PDF file in Distiller 6.0.

Sincerely,
Dan

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

I don't know what you mean by your first sentence. I make my HP4000 PS printer driver the default, start FrameMaker, print to file, exit FrameMaker, click on the PS file in Windows Explorer, and Distiller starts and creates the PDF file. How do I know whether I'm using the Acrobat Distiller PPD to produce PostScript for distillation? Are you saying that I should have an Acrobat Distiller driver as the default when printing from FrameMaker instead of the HP4000 PS driver that I'm using?

The ZapfDingbats font says that it is an Adobe font but it doesn't have "ITC" in front of the name when I open it in Control Panel.

Sincerely,
Dan

[isa...@adobe.com]

Absolutely correct. PostScript is device-dependent. You should only use the "Acrobat Distiller" PostScript printer driver instance to create PostScript for distillation to PDF. Anything else is at best, suspect. In the case of a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4000 PostScript printer driver instance, you are dealing with a monochrome PostScript language level 2 emulation device with support for minimal paper sizes as opposed to a composite color PostScript language level 3 device supporting multiple resolutions and a vast array of paper sizes with (essentially) no built-in fonts.

Your font should be fine.

- Dov

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

Yesterday, before attempting to fix the ZapfDingbats problem and before I sent this series of messages, I installed Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional.

In my Printers Control Panel, the only printer driver that seems related to Acrobat Distiller is one called "Adobe PDF". Is that what you mean by "the 'Acrobat Distiller' PostScript printer driver instance"? When I make "Adobe PDF" the default printer and go through the sequence described above to create a PS file from FrameMaker and then a PDF file, the PDF file still has blanks where there should be check marks from the ZapfDingbats font.

In the C:\Windows\System32\...\3 folder, there are two PPD files that might be related to Acrobat: ADPDF6.PPD and pspdfdrv.ppd. In the former there is a very small set of fonts listed, mostly Courier, and not ZapfDingbats. None of them is commented out. In the latter file, there is a longer list of fonts, including ZapfDingbats, and all of them are commented except the one line for plain, non-bold, non-italic Courier.

Dan

[isa...@adobe.com]

The "Adobe PDF" PostScript printer driver instance is what you use to create PDF from an application in Windows if you have Acrobat 6 installed. The "Acrobat Distiller" PostScript driver instance was what was used with Acrobat 4 and 5.

I have no idea what the pspdfdrv.ppd file is about. It is not from Adobe and has nothing to do with Acrobat.

- Dov

[isa...@adobe.com]

Send a small, sample FrameMaker document that exhibits the problem to me via email and I will try to reproduce it here at Adobe.

- Dov

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

That's helpful. Thank you.

I'm still left with the original problem. Using the "Adobe PDF" driver, when I create a PS file from FrameMaker and then distill it with Distiller 6, the ZapfDingbats check characters ("3" in the ZapfDingbats font) are all blank. Where did they go?

-Dan

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

I'll be happy to. What e-mail address should I use?

-Dan

[Se...@adobeforums.com]

Dan, click the name "Dov Isaacs" to see his profile.

[Dan_...@adobeforums.com]

I sent a file by e-mail Wednesday night. Hopefully you received it.

Thanks for your help.

-Dan

[isa...@adobe.com]

Got it; will analyze it when I get back into the office Monday.

- Dov

[isa...@adobe.com]

Using FrameMaker 7 and printing to the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance, I could replicate the problems that Dan Macy had with Zapf Dingbats check marks not printing or showing up in the PDF file. This wasn't an area modified from FrameMaker 6 to 7.

I have e-mailed my resultant PDF file to Dan for him to either concur or point me to something I may have missed.

- Dov

[Se...@adobeforums.com]

Ugh. I don't suppose you could comment on any testing you did with FM 7.1? Although, it seems to me that the same features were not a focus of that upgrade, either.

[isa...@adobe.com]

There were no bugs reported for which work needed to be done.

- Dov