Save as PDF

Jason, apologies if some of this was specified earlier, but the thread is getting long.

Have you tried taking a problem chapter and doing Save As MIF, then reopening the MIF file and saving again as a regular FM binary file? This sometimes cleans out gremlins.

What kind of content is in the problem FM files, i.e. is it text only or are there graphics (what kinds of file types), what type of fonts. What we need to concentrate on is where there might be differences between your printing / non-printing files.

For the text, was the content entered directly into FM via the keyboard or could it have had some/all copied and pasted in, e.g. from another FM doc, from Word or somewhere else?

If there are graphics, how are they inserted into the file, by reference in anchored frames, copied and pasted, inserted as OLE objects (linked or unlinked). As a test could you take a backup copy of the problem book and remove all the graphics files, then try making a PDF.

Another troubleshooting step is to save the problem file as MIF and then look at the MIF in a text editor or else (much easier) via MifBrowse, a freebie available here:
http://www.grahamwideman.com/gw/tech/framemaker/mifbrowse.htm

Is it possible that you can provide a sample FM chapter for examination?

Save as PDF works on some .fm files, but not on this particular one. When I check in Distiller (9), I see the following message:
"Warning: empty job. No PDF file produced." But no other error messages.

From looking elsewhere on the forum, I thought it might be a .joboptions file issue, or an issue with user permissions in folders. However, since the problem occurs only on some files and not others, I don't think it can be due to this.

Art, when I try to print as a .ps file, a .ps file is generated that is 0 kb.

I have even tried to copy/paste all the content into a new .fm file and still no luck. If it were only this one file having problems, I'd chalk it up as a corrupt file, but since there are multiple .fm documents (but not all) experiencing the problem, something else must be going on. I've run out of ideas for places to look to identify a problem.

Jason:

Have you experimented with Save As PDF? I hope Art's suggestion works for you, but I never did find a solution except to return to Save As PDF. (I know everyone...I'm not following "best practice".) I had the Print to File box unchecked and performed a search on my whole computer for .ps and .pdf files. Nothing was returned.

I haven't experienced the issues of missing text or graphics that others have experienced with Save As PDF. The only quirkiness that I have found is PDF creation can take 3 minutes one time and almost an hour the next time for the same document, regardless of whether my files are stored on our network or locally. So if you go with this method, you may have to create a song & dance routine that's about an hour long to entertain your customer while he/she waits for the PDF! On the bright side, Save As PDF has been working in the less than 10 minute range lately (usually closer to 3 minutes).

Good Luck!
Janice

Jason,

On the FM print dialog box, the default setting, when you select the Adobe PDF printer is to make the Print To File checkbox active.

Which produces the status bar and a .ps file, but not a .PDF.

So uncheck that checkbox and also do a search in your file directory for a .ps file.

Art

Hello all,

It appears that I am experiencing EXACTLY the same problem as Janice when it comes to printing a PDF out of FM 8 (p277). When I do a File-> Print and set the printer to PDF, once I click "print" the status bar indicates a PDF is being generated...without ever prompting me to specify the file name. And no file is generated. This also happens when I use the Save as PDF option.

Things I've tried:
1. Installing the hotfix referenced here: http://blogs.adobe.com/techcomm/2008/07/hotfix_for_framemaker_1.html.
2. Printing as a .ps file first. Interestingly, a .ps is generated that is 0 bytes in size.
3. Saving the .fm as a MIF file and printing from that. Again, nothing.
4. Verifying that my PDF settings have the "Prompt for Adobe PDF filename" setting. It still appears to be ignored by the printing process.

Other tidbits:
1. I am running Vista Business SP1 (which, of course, could be the real problem).
2. The problematic .fm file was a version 7 that I saved as into a new version 8 file. However, some .fm files that I converted to 8 work fine.
3. Adobe Distiller version is 9.0.

From reading these forums, there appear to be significant problems with creating PDFs in Framemaker 8. That is pretty disheartening. Fortunately we have a v7 in the office so I was able to re-do all my changes in a v7 file and create a PDF.

I have no idea what else to check to figure out where the culprit is. Is there anyone out there who has also experienced this problem and found a workaround (besides downgrading back to FM7)?

Janice,

I have noticed the switch from All pages to Start Page, but it notice that it happens when I have opened a document, scrolled to another page, make a change, and then print. Frame thinks I may want to print just that page, so it selects the Start Page and End Page, setting both to the current page number. I do not know if this is the only situation that causes this, but it is the only one that I have noticed. I have got into the habit of always looking at the top of the print dialog box when it opens to make sure All is selected; however, there are times when I want to print must a page or two.

Van

Art,
I am 100% sure that the Print to File checkbox is not checked. I had confirmed the Programs>Distiller preferences previously. I also experimented with the two-step process to generate the pdf. My only issue with that is sometimes it works in 3 minutes for my book and sometimes it takes 50+ minutes for the same book. (This is also true using Save As PDF, regardless of whether my files/images are on my desktop or accessed over our network). So essentially, I exchange one problem for another.

Sheila,
The only thing that thread that I haven't already discussed with anyone, but that also happened to me was after confirming my printer set-up, the Print Page Range would switch from All pages to Start Page. I caught the auto-change and reclicked All before clicking Print. But I think that's odd.

Janice

Janice, there are a couple of possible cause/solutions in this thread:

http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b712cd/2

OK, I understand what you're saying.

That's the behaviour you get if the Print To File checkbox is active in the FM Print Dialog box. If you're 100% sure that checkbox is NOT checked when you click Print... maybe check the Distiller settings.

When you open Acrobat Distiller from the Programs menu, there should be preferences that "Ask for PDF file destination" and "View PDF when using Distiller." You might try activating those, but they're normally over-ridden by the settings in FM.

If it all looks OK, you could try a two-step process to generate a PS file in FM (to do this, you want to check that Print To File checkbox is active in the FM Print Dialog box and fill in the path, taking care to specify a .ps file extension. That'll generate a PS file that you can File > Open in Distiller.

Art

Art,
I'm with you up until the Save PDF File As dialog. That's my problem...I never see that dialog from my FM document print job. Adobe PDF is my printer by default. I have View Adobe PDF results checked. I unchecked Delete Log Files this time. All pages are selected.

When I click Print, I get a FrameMaker dialog that says Printing: xxx.book with the printing status as it goes through my document. When that dialog closes, nothing else happens. I have selected Prompt for PDF File Name as Van had suggested, assuming I would be prompted for a file location and be given an opportunity to rename the file if I wanted, but nothing...The settings are all the same as when I printed from Word when I did see the Save PDF File As dialog (except for unchecking Delete Log Files, of course).