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skotsmith
skotsmith
Participant
July 18, 2018
Answered

uspto.joboptions file

  • July 18, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2981 views

I searched but.... here's my question"

I'm switching over from a Windows machine (Acrobat X) to a Mac (Adobe Acrobat Pro 2017).  I can't seem to be able to use the uspto.joboptions file. It's in the correct directory on the system (.../Adobe PDF/Settings).  Where or how do I select the option?

In Windows, I would "print" a doc and use the option. I am trying to "save as" or "export" and nothing. 

On the Mac, if i double click the joboptions file, it launches Distiller, but I can only add Word docs, not .PDf files. Even the, I get errors but the error log is not useful

Thanks-

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dov Isaacs

For a good number of releases, Apple has not permitted Adobe to have an Adobe PDF PostScript printer in MacOS. If you have an application which can generated PostScript to file, whether natively or via printing to a file via a PostScript driver (using an appropriate PPD file), you can manually (or via a watched folder) distill such PostScript into PDF. It isn't as simple as on Windows. Generally speaking, most Mac users of non-graphic arts software simply go to the print dialog and choose the PDF option and create PDF natively via the operating system, although it doesn't provide many options.

          - Dov

1 reply

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Legend
July 18, 2018

For a good number of releases, Apple has not permitted Adobe to have an Adobe PDF PostScript printer in MacOS. If you have an application which can generated PostScript to file, whether natively or via printing to a file via a PostScript driver (using an appropriate PPD file), you can manually (or via a watched folder) distill such PostScript into PDF. It isn't as simple as on Windows. Generally speaking, most Mac users of non-graphic arts software simply go to the print dialog and choose the PDF option and create PDF natively via the operating system, although it doesn't provide many options.

          - Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    skotsmith
    skotsmithAuthor
    Participant
    July 18, 2018

    Thanks Dov. What I'm trying to do is take a Microsoft Word doc and convert it to a USPTO acceptable PDF by using the USPTO.joboptions file. I see no way to do that on the Mac side.

    The USPTO documentation, as you have stated previously in other threads, is woefully out of date and applies to Windows only. The "print" option only shows my physical printers in Acrobat.

    Am I just missing something?

    Thanks-

    Skot

      Dov Isaacs
      Dov Isaacs
      Legend
      July 18, 2018

      I'm going to be quite frank about this. Producing customized, high quality PDF on MacOS is very problematic, even with Acrobat installed due to Apple/MacOS limits on what Adobe can provide and the fact that Microsoft Office on MacOS doesn't have the same hooks that allows Adobe to provide a full function PDFMaker on MacOS.

      My best solution to you to is to go back to Windows for this purpose. Quite frankly, despite the devotees to St. Steve the Infallible, in terms of use and availability of Adobe software, there is no real advantage to using such software on MacOS as opposed to Windows.

                - Dov

      - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
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