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Bob289369038zo1
Participant
March 18, 2023
Question

Plotting maps

  • March 18, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1684 views

I am trying to plot large size PDF maps . The maps are dsize and larger. I can view them within Adobe Acrobat Reader (64 bit). But when trying to plot them, Adobe defaults to a lettersize rather than the actual size of the map. I have tried using custom pages sizes , changing the orientation of the map from portrait to landscape, let the program choose the paper size of the PDF, installed the latest version of Adobe, unplugged and replugged the plotter, rebooted the computer. And still I cannot plot the map. It is very annoying that Adobe cannot plot any map on a single sheet if it is larger than a letter.  Is there a solution to this?

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1 reply

ls_rbls
Community Expert
ls_rblsCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2023

Hi,

 

What do you mean by plotting exactly?

 

Acrobat is a PDF editor not a tool designed to plot or produce maps.

 

The best way to work around this is to customize a printing profile with the desired page dimensions.

 

For instance, if you are on Microsoft Windows, this can be configured via Control Panel => Devices and Printers =>  left-click once with your mouse pointing device  to select the Adobe PDFMaker icon (or whatever you have as default printer device).

 

See here:

 

 

If you follow the steps describes on the first link (Microsoft Support forums), A tool bar will become visible at the top of the working windowa.

 

Click on the  "Print Server" tab.

 

It is in the Print Server settings that you can customize a new page with the desired page dimensions.

 

Once you create that print profile, save it with a name.

 

When you're done customizing  a printing profile, go back to Acrobat.

 

Create a blank PDF  document.

 

With that new blank document opened in Acrobat, select Print => Use AdobePDF instead of a regular default printer device.

 

When the Print dialogue opens up, click on Properties (shown in the next link below):

 

 

In that dialog, Select from the dropdown menu the page printing profile that you created earlier. It will appear on that list.

 

Then click OK to commit the print action.

 

After the print job completes, the resulting document will be  a blank PDF document with the page dimensions that were acquired from the Print properties.

 

NOTE:

If you miss these steps you'll never get it right.

 

Next, To embed your map image file onto the newly created blank PDF document,  open the "Scan & OCR" tool to upload that image.

 

Using this tool will upload the map image file onto that blank PDF document and fit the the map image automatically to page dimensions of that document.

 

 

B
Bob289369038zo1Author
Participant
March 18, 2023

Thanks for the reply. I agree that Adobe is not designed to create or produce maps. The issue is I already have a PDF of a map that is 24" X 33". I am trying to print the map using a plotter that can handle that size of document. When I select the print option, and set the required paper dimensions Adobe does not recognize the new paper size I am specifying. Instead it defaults to and remains lettersize. Fortunately on an older backup computer I was able to plot the map to its true paper dimensions. Yet on my main computer I not able to accomplish the same task. 

ls_rbls
Community Expert
ls_rblsCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 18, 2023

That is not handle entirely through Acrobat, it is preferable to configure the page settings via Print Server. Then print.

 

But I think you may be missing a step because it shouldn't revert like that.

 

See slides:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottom left corner of this last slide shows the output result in page dimensions. I rotated the page in landscape.

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