I really can't print to PDF on Mac..??

[Angell EYE]

I'm working with fillable form PDFs on Mac.  I'm able to open the form and fill it all out as expected, but now I'm simply trying to "print to PDF" or save or whatever...just some way to turn this into a clean PDF with the data filled in and not the form fields still there.

In Windows, I simply go to File -> Print, I choose PDF from the printers, save it, and it gives me exactly what I need, which I can then deliver to whoever I'm sending it to.

On Mac this is apparently impossible..??  I used to be able to do it in the past, but now the info I'm getting from Adobe live chat is that this is simply not compatible on Mac and cannot be done.  This essentially renders Adobe forms useless in Mac in my opinion, and frankly I'm having a hard time believing there isn't a way to do what I'm trying to do.

On Mac, when I go to File -> Print, Adobe PDF doesn't even show up in the printer list.  The only way to get to to the option is to click on "Printer" settings, which opens this up...

This is how I used to be able to do it just fine, but now, no matter what I choose in here I get this...

If I do that, though, then the fillable form fields are still there and accessible to whoever I send the file to.  I need a clean PDF with just the data filled in, but not editable. 

I did some Googling and I found this article, but it's confusing because it's talking about removing the PDF printer, not adding it or making it work..??  Also, I don't get the option it says I should when following those instructions.

At the bottom of that article, though, I see this link: Error | Save as PDF options unsupported | Create PDF | InDesign, Illustrator | Mac OS 10.6 or later

That seems to be specific to InDesign and Illustrator issues, but I tried the work-around it talks about to Print to PostScript, but that gives me the same error as above when I try to print to PDF.

At the bottom of that article it has another promising link: Can't print PDFs | Mac OS X 10.6 and later.

That's the same page as the original article I found, though, so now I'm going in circles.

Is this really the case that you simply can't do this from Mac any more?  Again, this renders forms useless in Acrobat Pro on Mac, so that's just amazing to me. 

Any information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[Bernd Alheit · Accepted solution]

You can flatten the form fields with the Preflight Tool of Adobe Acrobat Pro.

[Angell EYE]

Can you elaborate on that for me please?  When I open the Preflight window there all lots of different options in there, but I don't see anything about forms or flattening fields..??

[Bernd Alheit]

In the Preflight Tool search for flatten.

[Angell EYE]

Thanks!  I knew there had to be a simple solution to this.  Too bad the Adobe live chat rep wasn't aware of this.

[JR Boulay]

Hi.

Never, never, never, refry a PDF file!

You should read this document, wrote by the PDF godfather: http://abracadabrapdf.net/file/Refrying_PDF.pdf

And read this page: Refrying PDF files | How to troubleshoot and solve a problem with PDF data

[philipp_ebneter]

I found a simple way: Save the document as PDF and open with macOS preview (special form elements are still visible).

Select "File -> Export as PDF..." and you get a clean looking PDF.

Weird that Adobe Reader cannot do this directly.

[try67]

Not weird at all. Reader is not capable of creating new PDF files, at all.

[JR Boulay]

About Apple Preview, aka "the PDF killer":

- http://khkonsulting.com/2013/06/preview-app-killer-of-pdf-files

- Apple’s Preview: Still not safe for work – Duff Johnson Strategy & Communications