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TICKET ARCHIVE -> mac pdf not readable by Adobe Reader 7 Win

weknowjack - May 30, 2006 - 9:30 pm

I have created several PDF on my iBook OSX 10.4.6 machine from Word 2004. They are unreadable on my Windows XP PC or for anyone else I have asked. All kinds of errors... font, too many whatever, too many oper ands, etc. Even tried to make image pdfs to no avail. They read on the Mac, no problem. Tried reading locally and in the PC browser. Nothing. No, or very little display. Latest versions of everything.

grggary - May 30, 2006 - 10:11 pm

I troubleshoot PDF files for pre-press output for a living. I wouldn't mind looking at one of your errant files if you could provide one for inspection.
Gary

weknowjack - May 30, 2006 - 10:40 pm

Thanks, Gary. I just sent you the latest. Hope I uploaded it correctly.
Jack

grggary - May 31, 2006 - 3:09 am

Can you tell me how you went about uploading it so I can find it? I might have to ask another tech where I'm supposed to go for uploaded files. I'll re-open this and see if someone here can help me out

weknowjack - May 31, 2006 - 8:14 am

I uploaded via Fetch ftp client. Used the automatic setting and noticed that it went up as text. I have done this before countless times with no problems. Since you last email, I went to the Adobe web site to their Create PDF Online feature and did two there. I downloaded the finished PDFs and could not read them, Mac or PC. I wrote their tech dept and they responded that they were able to open them.

Here is an interesting note: I was using the latest Firefox during this last process. I uploaded the Adobe-created PDFs I had just downloaded from the Adobe site, went to the PC and tried to view them. It opened a broken HTML page of the Adobe download page! That is what I had downloaded from their site via Firefox.

I switched to Safari, downloaded again, and was able to view on the Mac. I uploaded to the site, went back to the PC and got the same errors I had been getting before. I can't find anything on known issues with Adobe Reader 7,0.7 on the PC.

Here is the URL of the folder on the site where the files live: http://www.cbcdallas.org/cbc-pdf

Thanks for your time.

grggary - May 31, 2006 - 11:33 am

Thanks. I'll look at those files and give them a thorough going over and then I'll give you some tips and tricks for creating flawless PDF files. I'll respond again after I get home from work, sometime around 6:00 p.m. PDT

grggary - May 31, 2006 - 12:18 pm

Can you give me the procedure you normally use when creating PDF files? Also, when you tell a document to print have you tried pressing the PDF button rather than the Print button? This is generally a fast, easy way to create PDF files using the Mac OS rather than using a distiller or using a specific programs export as PDF feature. Anyway, I'll get back to you this evening.
Gary

weknowjack - May 31, 2006 - 12:47 pm

I do File>Print>PDF>Save As PDF
Is that what you mean?

I also tried creating the files using Acrobat 4 in Classic, opened and resaved. I also created a .ps file, using File>Print>PDF>Save PDF As Postscript, processed through Distiller 4, to Acrobat 4 and up to the web server. Same problems on the PC.

Hope this helps.

weknowjack - May 31, 2006 - 10:38 pm

Problem is solved. I just learned that PDFs must be uploaded as BINARY data. I was using an Automatic setting on Fetch, which was interpreting the data as TEXT and uploading it as TEXT. I changed the setting to BINARY and they all work now.

Duh! Thanks for your time and assistance.

weknowjack - May 31, 2006 - 10:40 pm

One more thing: as I stated previously, there apparently is a problem with Firefox that caused a download of the download page of the Adobe site, instead of the PDF file the link was pointing to.

grggary - Jun 1, 2006 - 1:57 am

Interesting. Glad you found something that works. So the problem was that you could create PDF files from your machine by telling the document to print and then pressing the PDF button rather than the Print button, if I am correct? Then I am assuming your next step is uploading them to an FTP site and that is where the chaos ensues? Yes, selecting Binary is essential when using an FTP client such as Fetch or a related program. Otherwise you wind up with all of the fatal errors you were experiencing. None of the samples you sent were viable and all were riddled with errors that rendered them unusable. If that solves your problem I will close this thread, but keep in mind that PDF files are wonderful creatures with an amazing array of options available for cross-platform use should you ever decide to buy a full version of Acrobat (not just the free reader). In the event you ever want to get fancy, feel free to contact me again since this is my major area of expertise and the main skill I utilize that keeps the paychecks rolling in. Keep in touch and if you get the urge, give me a rating. Thanks!