pdfFactory FAQs
- How do I start pdfFactory?
- Where do I enter my licence number?
- Why is the Send button missing or not working?
- How do I upgrade to pdfFactoryProfessional?
- Is product support free and unlimited?
- What is an embedded font?
- What types of font does pdfFactory support?
- Why do my pictures appear coarse when printed?
- Why are hatched and patterned fills replaced by solid colours in the PDF?
- What is the difference between the pdfFactory preview and the actual PDF file?
- How do I combine documents into a single PDF?
- What is the difference between Acrobat and pdfFactory?
- Does pdfFactory work with Citrix Metaframe or Windows Terminal server?
- How do I convert a batch of files to pdf?
- Why am I experiencing slow printing to pdfFactory?
- Can the contents of PDF files be edited?
- How do I remove the margins in pdfFactory?
- Can I download pdfFactory 2.x or 1.x?
- I can't print to pdfFactory.
- My pdf files are surprisingly big. How can I produce small pdf files?
- How can specify the compression of images in pdf files?
- How can I change the resolution of my PDF files?
- Can pdfFactory handle A0 size?
- Can I download a licence to use my laptop off the network?
- I am running JD Edwards ERP software and pdfFactory is insisting on being the default printer. How can I return to my original default printer?
How do I start pdfFactory?
Usually you do not load and run pdfFactory, you simply click on Print from an application like Word or Excel and select pdfFactory as the printer. Note that you get a few more options tabs if you select Properties when pdfFactory is highlighted as your printer than you do when you see the tabs from the pdfFactory preview screen. Specifically 'Metrics', which allows you to set the margins and 'Graphics'. This allows you to decide the compression to be used for graphics used in the pdf.
Where do I enter my licence/registration key?
In the Workstation edition print to FinePrint, wait for the preview window to appear and click the About tab. Enter the serial number there.
In the Server Edition go to Control Panel and Printers. Right mouse click on pdfFactory and select Printing Preferences. All the tabs will show. Select the Licensing tab.
The Send button is removed when pdfFactory cannot initialize MAPI. This could happen if the email client you are using is not MAPI compatible or if the default email client is not configured.
If the button is present but opening the wrong email program:
1. In the pdfFactory preview go to Settings and click on the Email Settings button.
2. Click on Use Specific Program and select the program from the drop down list.
3. Click on Ask which profile. This is needed here it might ot be with your version of Windows.
If the button is not present. Open Internet Explorer, go to Tools/Internet Options/Programs. Click on Set Programs in the last section Internet Programs and select your email client under the section Set Your Default Programs.
How do I upgrade to pdfFactory Professional?
You can upgrade for the difference in price between the two. Go to the Order Page on the www.software-partners.co.uk web site and see the Upgrades box. Click to go through to the Upgrades Orders page.Is product support free and unlimited?
In the UK we provide the first level of support for the product. You can email us or phone us with questions. We have been selling pdfFactory and FinePrint for about five years now and we have had very few help or technical queries from customers, as the programs are both reliable and simple to use. If we are unable to answer a help request we pass it on by email to the authors and they generally get back to us the following day. Our support is available 9-5.30 Monday to Friday. There is no charge from us or from the authors for this support.
In the US the authors offer a year of free upgrades for a maintenance charge of 15%. This is a relatively recent introduction and it extends the time period for a free upgrade to major product revisions. We have not added the maintenance option here in the UK as yet.
In the US the authors offer a year of free upgrades for a maintenance charge of 15%. This is a relatively recent introduction and it extends the time period for a free upgrade to major product revisions. We have not added the maintenance option here in the UK as yet.
One other very useful benefit with pdfFactory is that the authors maintain a permanent download facility for replaced versions. As an example, pdfFactory3 has been replaced by version 4 and you will always be able to download bug-fixed versions of version 3 for free. The authors retrospectively "fix" old versions with bug-fixes from the new versions whenever this is possible.
a font that is embedded directly into the PDF file. Using embedded fonts guarantees that the recipient of the PDF will see the original font, regardless of whether or not they have the font installed on their system. In general it is not necessary to embed fonts, since a close match to the original will be substituted if it is available on the computer where the pdf file is displayed.
TrueType fonts, OpenType fonts and postscript type 1 are supported
OpenType is an extension of TrueType. pdfFactory also supports Asian fonts and non-ANSI character fonts such as Hebrew, Greek, and central European fonts.
OpenType is an extension of TrueType. pdfFactory also supports Asian fonts and non-ANSI character fonts such as Hebrew, Greek, and central European fonts.
How can I change the resolution of my PDF files? At the moment my pictures appear coarse when printed.
The default setting in pdfFactory is to downgrade all bitmap images to 96 dpi. This is fine for computer displays and greatly reduces file size. However if you wish to print from the pdf the detail in bitmaps may not be sufficient. You can improve image clarity at the expense of file size through the Graphics tab. You can get at this either by clicking on the Properties button alongside where you select pdfFactory as the printer or in the Control Panel. Remove the tick from the box that says 'Downsample images to 96dpi'. We recommend that you leave jpeg compression ticked, as this will help reduce the graphics size considerably and will not make too noticeable a difference to the image quality.Cross hatching faults
PDF 1.2 format did not support patterned or hatched brushes for fills, so they were replaced with an appropriate solid colour. These fills are supported from version 1.3. Make sure you have selected Automatic or Acrobat version 1.3 or higher for the The PDF level option in the pdfFactory settings window. Note that the Acrobat reader version 3 does not support cross hatched fills so you will need to download Acrobat 5.What are the differences between preview and the final pdf?
In most cases they are the same. If your original document contains complex graphics or if you are embedding fonts, it is best to verify that the pdf is correct by using the View PDF button.Combining documents
pdfFactory will automatically combine documents for you once the pdfFactory screen is displayed. Just keep printing to pdfFactory and the preview window will update when new print jobs are received.pdfFactory v Acrobat
Even if you own Acrobat, pdfFactory is still useful for these reasons:· Ability to seamlessly combine multiple print jobs (even from separate applications) into a single pdf file
· pdfFactory has a Send button to email a PDF to someone without having to Save As and type a file name
· better font embedding UI
· preview jobs before freezing into pdf
. ability to delete pages
· all print jobs automatically saved for later retrieval if you need them again (especially useful for transient content like Web page searches, ecommerce receipts, emails that get deleted, etc.)
· smaller files than PDF Writer (usually, but not guaranteed)
Does pdfFactory work with Citrix Metaframe or Windows Terminal Server?
Yes it does. pdfFactory registers users by their User ID under both these operating systems. In a normal Windows environment users are registered against the workstation ID. This may have benefits in a "hot desking" environment. When a user logs in at any workstation he will have his licensed server copy of pdfFactory available. In a standard Windows environment, where the workstation is registered, the number of licenses may not reflect the number of users correctly.Batch conversion of files to pdf
1. START/Control Panel/Printers and Faxes2. Right mouse click on pdfFactory and select 'Set as default printer'.
3. Right mouse click on pdfFactory and select 'Properties'. In the General tab click 'Printing Preferences' and tick 'Do not show dialog'.
4. Open the Windows folder containing the files and group select the files to be printed as pdf files.
5. Right mouse click on the block of files and select 'Print'.
The above steps will print all the marked files to pdfFactory. You will find the pdf files in the pdfFactory Autosave folder.
Can I download pdfFactory 2.x or 1.x?
pdfFactory 1.x is no longer supported but you can download a version with (in most cases) the latest bug fixes using the links below.Why am I experiencing slow printing to pdfFactory?
The problem may be with any of the printers on your computer. First try uninstalling and then reinstalling pdfFactory and then if necessary uninstall all the printers. Reinstall them one a ta time testing with pdfFactory after each installation. This should solve the problem.
Can the contents of PDF files be edited?
Yes, they can, but only with the full Adobe Acrobat product, not the Adobe Reader. In order to prevent editing, pdf files must be encrypted. Both versions of pdfFactory (Standard and Pro) support pdf encryption.
How do I remove the margins in pdfFactory?
Margins can be removed from the pdfFactory properties in the Printers folder. Right click on pdfFactory and select Properties (Win9x) or Document Defaults (NT) or Printing Preferences (2K/XP) and set the pdfFactory margins to 0.
I can't print to pdfFactory. When I click the 'Details' button (in the error message window) I see that the dispatcher and the printer have different revision numbers.
How do I change the resolution of my PDF files?
The default setting in pdfFactory is to downgrade all bitmap images to 96 dpi. This is fine for computer displays and greatly reduces file size. However if you wish to print from the pdf the detail in bitmaps may not be sufficient. You can improve image clarity at the expense of file size through the Graphics tab. You can get at this either by clicking on the Properties button alongside where you select pdfFactory as the printer or in the Control Panel. Remove the tick from the box that says 'Downsample images to 96dpi'. We recommend that you leave jpeg compression ticked, as this will help reduce the graphics size considerably and will not make too noticeable a difference to the image quality.
Can pdfFactory handle A0 size?
pdfFactory goes up to A0 and then you can add custom paper sizes. Graphics compression may be better than Adobe as there are separate routines for grayscale and colour. In addition, you can separately specify dpi and jpeg compression.
I am running JD Edwards ERP software and pdfFactory is insisting on being my default printer. How can I return to my original default printer?
Even if you have a default Windows printer set up, you need to have a default printer set up in JD Edwards. When you are doing a print screen the printer does not come from the Windows default. When you set up a default printer in JDE for your profile it will pull in the correct printer.
Click on START and go to pdfFactory and select the Dispatcher. You should be able to print now.
My pdf files are surprisingly big. How can I produce small pdf files?
We would expect a Word document to be anything from a third smaller to two thirds smaller. The biggest savings come when you have a highly formatted document with pictures. The default setting for pdfFactory is to reduce the resolution of pictures to 96 dpi, which is perfectly fine for previewing pdfs on a screen but perhaps to little for high quality printed results.
A likely cause of large pdfs from text files is that you are embedding too many fonts with the document. Check that this is not happening by looking at the Fonts tab in the preview screen. Make sure that you do not have 'Always Embed All Fonts' ticked. It is not necessary to embed Arial and Times New Roman. You only really need to embed other fonts if they are unusual and you need that particular font to be used when the recipient prints the document. To give you an idea of the difference it can make, a 4 page Word document with Arial embedded is 70 Kb and without it is 21 Kb.
My pdf files are surprisingly big. How can I produce small pdf files?
We would expect a Word document to be anything from a third smaller to two thirds smaller. The biggest savings come when you have a highly formatted document with pictures. The default setting for pdfFactory is to reduce the resolution of pictures to 96 dpi, which is perfectly fine for previewing pdfs on a screen but perhaps to little for high quality printed results.
A likely cause of large pdfs from text files is that you are embedding too many fonts with the document. Check that this is not happening by looking at the Fonts tab in the preview screen. Make sure that you do not have 'Always Embed All Fonts' ticked. It is not necessary to embed Arial and Times New Roman. You only really need to embed other fonts if they are unusual and you need that particular font to be used when the recipient prints the document. To give you an idea of the difference it can make, a 4 page Word document with Arial embedded is 70 Kb and without it is 21 Kb.
If you want to check some of the pdfs you've already done, when they are in the Adobe Reader you can click on File and Document Properties. Click on Fonts. If the fonts are embedded they will be listed and alongside in brackets put Embedded Subset. To give you an idea of the difference it can make, a 4 page Word document with Arial embedded is 70 Kb and without it is 21 Kb.
Bitmaps will have a very large effect on file size. The pdfFactory default is to compress coloured bitmaps to 96 dpi and grayscale to 300 dpi. If this results in either files which are too large or images that are too coarse through this level of compression yu can change it throughthe graphics tab whichj is available from Control Panel/ Printers/pdfFactory.
How do I change the resolution of my PDF files?
The default setting in pdfFactory is to downgrade all bitmap images to 96 dpi. This is fine for computer displays and greatly reduces file size. However if you wish to print from the pdf the detail in bitmaps may not be sufficient. You can improve image clarity at the expense of file size through the Graphics tab. You can get at this either by clicking on the Properties button alongside where you select pdfFactory as the printer or in the Control Panel. Remove the tick from the box that says 'Downsample images to 96dpi'. We recommend that you leave jpeg compression ticked, as this will help reduce the graphics size considerably and will not make too noticeable a difference to the image quality.
Can pdfFactory handle A0 size?
pdfFactory goes up to A0 and then you can add custom paper sizes. Graphics compression may be better than Adobe as there are separate routines for grayscale and colour. In addition, you can separately specify dpi and jpeg compression.
The default setting in pdfFactory is to downgrade all bitmap images to 96 dpi. This is fine for computer displays and greatly reduces file size. However if you wish to print from the pdf the detail in bitmaps may not be sufficient. You can improve image clarity at the expense of file size through the Graphics tab. You can get at this either by clicking on the Properties button alongside where you select pdfFactory as the printer or in the Control Panel. Remove the tick from the box that says 'Downsample images to 96dpi'. We recommend that you leave jpeg compression ticked, as this will help reduce the graphics size considerably and will not make too noticeable a difference to the image quality. pdfFactory goes up to A0 and then you can add custom paper sizes. Graphics compression may be better than Adobe as there are separate routines for grayscale and colour. In addition, you can separately specify dpi and jpeg compression.
Can I download a licence to use my laptop off the network?
An SE client installation can be converted to a standalone version that does not require a network connection to operate. To convert an installed SE product from network to local, open the Settings tab on the client and select the “Create New Printer” button. The new printer that is created will be a local printer that does not require network access. To complete the operation, you should delete the old printer (the network connection to the server’s shared printer).Note: you must have administrative privileges on the client in order to do the “Create NewPrinter”operation.
An SE client installation can be converted to a standalone version that does not require a network connection to operate. To convert an installed SE product from network to local, open the Settings tab on the client and select the “Create New Printer” button. The new printer that is created will be a local printer that does not require network access. To complete the operation, you should delete the old printer (the network connection to the server’s shared printer).Note: you must have administrative privileges on the client in order to do the “Create NewPrinter”operation.
I am running JD Edwards ERP software and pdfFactory is insisting on being my default printer. How can I return to my original default printer?
Even if you have a default Windows printer set up, you need to have a default printer set up in JD Edwards. When you are doing a print screen the printer does not come from the Windows default. When you set up a default printer in JDE for your profile it will pull in the correct printer.
