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Garry2Rs
Participating Frequently
December 12, 2013
Question

How can I create a PDF directly from RH10?

  • December 12, 2013
  • 1 reply
  • 1279 views

It seems a bit absurd that the creators of PDF don't have any way to output a RH10 project directly to a PDF without using Word. Perhaps I'm missing something but I don't get why the resulting PDF ALWAYS has a screwed up TOC. It doesn't recognize the bookmarks as does HTMLhelp or WebHelp. (My source docs are HTMs for all projects)

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1 reply

Peter Grainge
Community Expert
Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 16, 2013

PDF is effectively a printer so to create a single PDF file, which is what you want, Rh creates a Word document. If it took the individual HTM files it would have to keep appending one after the other. Then having an index and a TOC of any sort would be a bit of an issue.

Have you checked the PDF Settings? (Using the Settings button next to the PDF option?

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

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Garry2RsAuthor
Participating Frequently
December 16, 2013

Thanks, Peter!

Yes.., I understand that RH10 uses a Word template for PDF output. This is what I'm trying to avoid since I now append each htm to my output file, then use Acrobat (or Nuance PDF Creator) Pro to assign/set bookmarks/security. I'd like to also avoid this if possible. I don't see (nor understand) why Adobe would persist a dependancy on MS Office when it has the ability to do this directly from RH. (If I can do it manually then surely they can do it programatically!)

I've played with the settings for PDF output with no success/solution. I get a completely different TOC every time, which suggests the existing TOC structure is ignored. Note that all elements are created in RH and so one would think they'd be recognized by the app that created them!

Also, a different Word template would be necessary if page layouts differ from project to project. I don't see any provision in RH10 for doing page setups for printed documentation output.

Perhaps the problem for me is more that I'm not a fan of MS Word! I thought doing PDFs from RH9 might be a better approach because the project in Word is linked, but not so (as it turned out). So basically, if a user doesn't have Word (or MS Office) installed then they're SOL! I invested in RH because I was looking to simplify my processes to a "single-source, multiple output" solution. I already have working solutions for doing CHM, WebHelp, stand-alone HTML.EXE, and PDF. RH can't replace the HTML.EXE solution, but I was hoping it would handle the rest. (I don't need the various device output formats because all of them [except Kindle perhaps] can access WebHelp)

Again, thanks for your interest!

Peter Grainge
Community Expert
Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 16, 2013

Going via Word also generally produces a better document. Today I printed a single topic direct to PDF and the images were a mess that Word fixes as it creates the document.

When you print you have choices, map the styles to a Word template, use a single CSS to apply to all topics, or use the topics individual CSS files. All three of them then create a single document with the styles defined.

I have many projects and use the same Word template for all. The projects have different CSS files. In the last page of the print dialog I map the project styles to the template styles. If for some reason I do need a different appearance in a document I amend the Word template or create a new one according to which is most expedient. The Word template gets changed in Word.

Yes having Word installed is a prerequisite to importing from Word, linking to Word and generating printed documents. As you are working with linked documents I assume you must have Word and you will find using that is the way to go, your TOC problem aside. Are you perhaps letting your Word prejudice get in the way?

I think you would do better if we focus on why you have TOC problems. Where exactly are these bookmarks? In linked documents or in Rh topics?

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

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