Can't create PDF in PM 7.01

[R Rose]

I thought the problem was that I was using W2K with PM 6.52, so I upgraded to PM 7.01 this afternoon. I upgraded W2K with the most recent service pack yesterday.

I then reinstalled Acrobat 5 and Distiller from the CD, even installed the Adobe general PPD as well as the HP 4100 PostScript Driver, I copied the ADIST5.PPD into the RSRC\USENGLISH folder where PM7 is now installed (I've got admin permissions). I've read through reams of replies, but I'll happily cop to user error if I could figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I pre-flighted the publication and my fonts and links are ok. This is the familiar error message.

%%[ Error: undefined; OffendingCommand: sBdx ]%%

Stack:
0.0
[]
10.0
0
0
1.0
false
( )
-mark-

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%
%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

I'm trying all sorts of combinations of print to Distiller? to PDF? and have lost my perspective.

I'm on my own here, and thank you for pointing me in the right direction to get this publication to my printer next week.

R.

[Bob Levine]

Does this happen with all documents? If it's just one, then you have a
problem with that document. Sounds like a corrupt graphic or font of
some sort.

Bob

[R Rose]

I tried a new simple publication this morning, and it PDF'd fine. However, the default PPD used is Acrobat Distiller 3011.104, which is not a choice when I print my troubled publication.

I can't find anything called that when I search for PPD, what is it and how do I get it where it ought to be, please?

[Bob Levine]

If the PPD is a choice for one publication when printing to Distiller it
has to be there when printing anything to Distiller.

Bob

[John Davies]

Hi, R,

> I can't find anything called that when I search for PPD, what is it and
> how do I get it where it ought to be, please?
>

See my installation guide and tutorial:
http://www.ieuanfawr.btinternet.co.uk/pmwin/exportpdf/ppd.htm

Any questions, post them back here.

Iechyd da! John
Merseyside UK
Written at Fri, 23 May 2003 18:55 +0100, probably posted later.

[R Rose]

To Robert:

Oh that that were so. In the troubled publication, the PPD choices are ADIST5.PPD, CGENERAL AND GENERAL.

In a new publication, the choices are Acrobat Distiller 3011.114, Color and General. This second works fine.

[Bob Levine]

Ah ha! Got it. They are the same thing. Under file>preferences>more, you
have selected display PPD name. Uncheck it and you'll see the same PPD
descriptions you're seeing in new files.

Bob

[R Rose]

Yup, but the error message remains:

[Bob Levine]

Which brings me back to my original response. Something in that file is
corrupt. Either a graphic or a font.

If it's a small document then start deleting graphics until you get the
PDF to work. One note, before even starting. Make sure all of graphics
are either EPS or TIFF and that you have not used insert object to bring
any graphics into your document.

Bob

[R Rose]

It's 35 pages, and I don't have graphics per se to delete. The purpose of the document is a way to link Word tables and Excel charts using OLE. They are pretty basic tables, but full of scientific data and numbers and super/subscripts, a proofreading nightmare. There is minimal type in PageMaker itself, primarily the table titles headers. This all worked fine in W98 with my older HP4000N printer and PM6.5.

We use PM because the tables are not a uniform size, so we can make them a little wide and shrink them to fit the 4x6 finished booklet.

I'm thinking of starting with a new document to link with the revised for this year tables. I'd paste one at a time, and make a PDF each time. It will only take a few more hours...

Thanks, you're terrific for hanging out with me on a Friday afternoon!

[Bob Levine]

All I can tell you is that OLE is poison in a postscript workflow.
You're likely to run into the same problems over and over using this. If
all you need a black and white document with links to Excel charts and
table, my advice is to do it in Word.

Bob

[R Rose]

I would be happy to do it in Word. But I don't know how to make my odd-sized (like a 6-3/4 inch wide table and a 7-1/4 inch wide table) fit in a 5 1/2 inch print area. All my page titles and page numbers and so forth are a uniform size now because they are in PM. I'm still hoping I can rescue the method. When I tried to export to PDF, my PostScript file came up with no HELVETICA found this time. I fear the person who helped me used the font to update a table and that's what I'll check next.

The commercial printer we were using for the job suggested OLE, and it worked fine for the past 8 or 9 years. Until W2K appeared.

I'm off to open up the linked docs to look for Helvetica. And then to have a weekend!

R.

[John Davies]

Hi, R,

> When I tried to export to PDF, my PostScript file came up with no HELVETICA found this time.
>

See: "FAQ 1.10 - Helvetica or Times Roman Error When Creating PDF"
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?5...@181.zZLRaPc0Qut.317298@.1de87439/0

Iechyd da! John
Merseyside UK

Written at Sat, 24 May 2003 01:10 +0100, probably posted later.

[R Rose]

It has to be another setting; I'm getting good ol' sBdx again.

%%[ Error: undefined; OffendingCommand: sBdx ]%%

Stack:
0.0
[]
10.0
0
0
1.0
false
( )
-mark-

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%
%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

Distill Time: 0 seconds (00:00:00)
* *** End of Job ****

[John Davies]

Hi, R,

> OffendingCommand: sBdx
>
The only page I can find on the web is this:
http://faqdb.adobe.co.jp/TechDB.nsf/0/E8595ABE410F3F1949256BF000304AB8?OpenDocument

but it's all in Japanese... :-(

You're not still using OLE are you?
See: "FAQ: 1.12 - Export… Adobe PDF… - common errors"
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?5...@181.BtdXa10yRIy.462681@.1de8e4ee/0

Iechyd da! John
Merseyside UK

Written at Tue, 27 May 2003 20:11 +0100, probably posted later.

[R Rose]

Alas, I still am using OLE. I have 35 complex and densely formatted (paragraph spacing, raised character spacing) tables that were fine last year. Only part of some of the text is changed. It would take me 40 hours to retype and proofread every table. This has to be a font or other setting conflict.

I'm creating PDFs in groups of pages to find the hangup.

[John Davies]

Hi, R,

> I still am using OLE.
>

OLE and Postscript do not mix well - not recommended.

You should be able to export or convert your MS to EPS or PDF.

See: "FAQ 4. Tables "
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?1...@181.xvadadjlRQb.0@.ef8504d

and

"FAQ 3. Imported Graphics Issues"
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?1...@181.xvadadjlRQb.2@.ef8501c

Iechyd da! John
Merseyside UK

Written at Tue, 27 May 2003 22:42 +0100, probably posted later.

[Bob Levine]

> Alas, I still am using OLE.

Suit yourself. But you've been given good advice and chosen not to
accept it. Good luck, you're going to need it.

Bob

[R Rose]

I think that I'm stuck with OLE, though I will attempt the .PRN method suggested in the FAQ noted above, as well as the second FAQ's approach. I have only 5 days to complete the job now.

However, my professional on Campus can PDF my document without errors and I can't. This still says to me that I have an incorrect setting, not that OLE isn't working. At this point, my landscape tables are cutting off so that they only print portrait width.

[Roger Aslin]

R Rose
If it's all worked well for 8 years, then why change to win2K?
Ask your tech guy to give you a dual boot on your machine.
Roger

[Carl B. Johnson]

> Uh, what's a .PRN? Not in the PageMaker Help file, not in this topic search.

A PRN file is a printer file. When you open Word, and go to File>Print
you have an option to select that says "Print to File". Select that and
you will create a document with your document's name but with a .PRN
extension. Open Adobe Distiller, and then distill this file into a
PDF. Now you have a file that you can place in your PM document.

Don't worry about the screen view of the PDFs that you place into the PM
document, they will look funky but will print okay.

--
Carl B. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some people are alive only because it is illegal to shoot them.
www.wuli.com

[Bob Levine]

> Don't worry about the screen view of the PDFs that you place into the PM
> document, they will look funky but will print okay.

One note: This is only true if printing to a postscript printer or
creating a PDF.

Bob

[R Rose]

Roger, the Department chose W2K to prevent abuse and restrict usage to staff with login codes only. This is a university medical center, I have little say in alternative approaches, although I keep an OS 8.6 Mac around to open old documents. No one uses DTP in our departments, I inherited the project and will suggest an entirely different approach next year.

I'm having more, not less difficulty, as I try the different things you folks suggest. My pages now are printing some portrait, some landscape in PageMaker, even those that were OK a couple of days ago, so the document has corrupted and I'll need to go back to an earlier version.

I uninstalled some Type 1 fonts hoping to minimize conflicts, and installed a TT Helvetica (both properly) but my System font now looks odd. I'm still getting PostScript errors.

It appears that a Campus resource still can make a PDF with my files using PM7 with Win98, so I'm just going to make the most accurate PageMaker 7 file that I can, and hand it off to him to send to my printer.

This has been a very frustrating experience. Attempting to give help remotely is so very difficult, and I appreciate it immensely. If I solve it (after we've gone to press) I'll re-post. Thank you.

[John Davies]

Hi, R,

> OffendingCommand: sBdx

I suggest you ask in the Postscript or Acrobat forum what the likely cause of this error is.

If you haven't already, you could check you have the latest Aodbe PS Drivers from <http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=44&platform=win>

Iechyd da! John
11:40 29/05/03 BST