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ArielTWF
Inspiring
July 29, 2021
Answered

Print Book to PDF Missing in Framemaker

  • July 29, 2021
  • 9 replies
  • 2569 views

Hello,

Seemingly overnight my option when being able to print a book to PDF has disappeared. Yesterday, I was able to select a book in Framemaker, go to File > Print Book, and then have Adobe PDF be the Printer option in the menu. Now, that option is gone and the only PDF option generates very slowly till it eventually hangs at 50% and fails.

 

What happened? What can I do to fix this? I just updated my Framemaker 20 to the latest version but I am still facing this issue. See image for more context

 

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer ArielTWF

    This issue has been resolved. After working with our IT team, we were able to find out what was preventing us from restoring the Adobe PDF printer. It was likely tied to the Print Nightmare vulnerability, but the main thing that was stopping me from re-adding the printer manually was actually my McAfee Anti-Virus software's rules. If other people experience the same issue and are unable to re-add the printer, let them know that their anti-virus may be the one responsible as well.

    9 replies

    A
    ArielTWFAuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    August 6, 2021

    This issue has been resolved. After working with our IT team, we were able to find out what was preventing us from restoring the Adobe PDF printer. It was likely tied to the Print Nightmare vulnerability, but the main thing that was stopping me from re-adding the printer manually was actually my McAfee Anti-Virus software's rules. If other people experience the same issue and are unable to re-add the printer, let them know that their anti-virus may be the one responsible as well.

      A
      ArielTWFAuthor
      Inspiring
      August 4, 2021

      Unfortunately the manual steps in https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/add-pdf-printer-manually.html did not work. I get an error of "Printer driver was not installed. Access Denied," when I attempt to perform the final steps. I contacted my IT about this issue hoping that it was just a permissions problem, but it still occurs even with administrative permissions on my device. I'm at a loss at what to do when all other methods, including uninstalling and reinstalling Acrobat and Framemaker, don't work.

      Bob_Niland
      Community Expert
      Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 4, 2021

      It might be no coincidence that these printing problem have emerged while Microsoft is trying to respond to print spooler vulnerabilities, with multiple patches that may be having unintentional side effects.

      Matt-Tech Comm Tools
      Community Expert
      Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 2, 2021

      I've had that driver "go missing" a time or two.

      Try reinstalling Adobe PDF per this thread

      https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/add-pdf-printer-manually.html

      -Matt

      -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
      A
      ArielTWFAuthor
      Inspiring
      July 30, 2021

      I tried the Publish method in Framemaker, but I got the same error as when I tried to save it as a pdf.

       

      Unfortunately, I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling both Framemaker and Acrobat, to no avail. I even tried using some of the specific Acrobat installers in my Tech Suite install package and saw the line appear in the install window "Installing Adobe PDF printer" but it was never added to my list of printers.

       

      As you might imagine, this is very odd and infuriating. I'm not sure what actions to take other than the manual steps I mentioned in a previous comment. If that works I will update this thread with the results.

      Bob_Niland
      Community Expert
      Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 30, 2021

      re: I tried the Publish method in Framemaker, but I got the same error as when I tried to save it as a pdf.

      Very interesting.
      Thanks for the report.
      My understanding is that versions of FM that have the Publish feature are using a new PDF engine, and not doing an obvious or hidden Distill. But it rather looks like the PDF driver is still needed for some aspect of it.

      A
      ArielTWFAuthor
      Inspiring
      July 29, 2021

      Thank you all for your help with this bizarre situation. I tried using the Save as PDF option but it gave me an error "Framemaker could not find Adobe PDF printer instance, which must be installed to execute Save as PDF command."

      I also tried the steps here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/add-pdf-printer-manually.html but it seems that I lack the administration access to complete these steps so I'm working with my IT department to resolve this as well. I will try reinistalling Acrobat, then Framemaker if that doesn't work.

        Bob_Niland
        Community Expert
        Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 30, 2021

        re: I tried using the Save as PDF option but it gave me an error "Framemaker could not find Adobe PDF printer instance, which must be installed to execute Save as PDF command."

        Well, depending on your FM version, the PDF choices are
        4. The ancestral Print-to-Ps & Distill
        3. Print to PDF
        2. Save as PDF
        1. Publish to PDF
        #1 is presently the most capable, and probably doesn't rely on the PDF driver. It can do things {in FM2020} that are otherwise unavailable.

        Jeff_Coatsworth
        Community Expert
        Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 29, 2021

        It will, as long as you don't have the full version of Acrobat Pro - then you'd want to reinstall that one, not FM.

          Barb Binder
          Community Expert
          Barb BinderCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          July 29, 2021

          Hi Ariel:

           

          That is very odd. I just need to mention that in Fm 2020, the preferred way to create a PDF is to use File > Save as PDF or use the Publish Pod (both are basically the same thing).

           

          But if you're set on printing to PDF, what about uninstalling FrameMaker and then reinstalling it? I believe the Adobe PDF driver is installed with the FrameMaker installation. Jeff and Bob should correct me if I'm wrong about that.

           

          ~Barb

          ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
          A
          ArielTWFAuthor
          Inspiring
          July 29, 2021

          Thank you for your fast reply!

          It seems to have been removed from my list of printers without my knowledge. I'm assuming some Windows update may have removed it or something. Is there an easy way to re-add it to my list of printers?

           

          Thanks!

          Bob_Niland
          Community Expert
          Bob_NilandCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          July 29, 2021

          re: It seems to have been removed from my list of printers without my knowledge.

          Now that's darn peculiar. At this specific moment in the Windows Insecurity era, you need to take steps to verify that your machine (or network) hasn't been compromised by the CVE-2021-34481 PrintNightmare exploit.

          That done, you may need Admin privileges to restore/add the AdobePDF printer instance.

            Jeff_Coatsworth
            Community Expert
            Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            July 29, 2021

            You should have an Adobe PDF printer instance in your list of Windows printers.

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