Generating PDF from FrameMaker
We ship Adobe PDF versions of all our books.
This Web page describes how to generate a PDF version
of your FrameMaker book.
Note: Before performing the following procedures, be sure
you have Adobe Acrobat Distiller 3.0 or higher on your computer.
(When IS first sets up your computer, they usually install
only the Acrobat Reader, not the Distiller.)
You can install Acrobat Distiller from the FrameMaker 5.5 CD.
Generating the PDF file is a four-step process:
- Update the FrameMaker TOC and Index
- Create the PostScript File
- Use the Distiller to Create the PDF File
- Test the PDF File
The following procedure ensures that your TOC and index are
accurate and that the Bookmarks tab of your PDF document reflects
the organization of the document correctly
(no duplicate bookmarks; Title and Contents bookmarks appear in the display).
-
In FrameMaker, open the book file and choose File > Generate/Update
to update the page numbers and links for the TOC and index.
-
Open the FrameMaker TOC file and remove the bookmark
information as follows:
- Choose File > Print.
- Click Acrobat Setup.
- In the Acrobat Setup dialog box, double-click each entry in the
Include Paragraphs pane until all have been transferred
to the Don't Include pane except for the
toc title 2 entry (which creates the Contents bookmark on
the Bookmarks tab of the PDF document). If toc title 2
is in the Don't Include pane, double-click the entry
there to transfer it to the Include Paragraphs pane.
Note: You might have to do the same thing for Title if that doesn't appear
in your list of items that you select when organizing your bookmarks later on in this procedure.
- Click Set.
- Select the Print Only to File box.
- Click Print.
- Choose File > Save.
- Choose File > Close.
This procedure creates the PostScript file that we use to generate
the PDF. Note that there is an optional step (10) that enables you to include
a watermark on each page to indicate that the PDF document is a draft
version.
Note: This is not the PostScript file we send to the
print vendor. It is an interim file only. To create a PostScript file
for a print vendor, see Make PostScript.
-
With the FrameMaker book file open, choose File > Print.
-
In the Print Files in Book dialog box, click
the Print... button. The Print Book Dialog box appears.
-
In the Print Book dialog box, select the Print to file: box and
then specify the pathname to which the PostScript
file should be written.
For performance reasons, specify a pathname
on your local drive (for example c:\guide.ps).
-
If there is a check mark in the Spot Color as Black/White
box, clear that box by clicking the check mark.
-
Click Setup.
-
In the Name: field of the Print Setup dialog box, select the
BRL-DC-2 PostScript printer (Type: HP LaserJet 5Si/5Si MX PS). If you use a
different printer, be sure it is a PostScript printer of the same type.
-
Click the Properties button.
-
In the Page Setup tab, be sure the
options are specified as follows:
-
Copy Count: 1.
-
Orientation: Portait
-
Print on Both Sides (Duplex Printing): None
- Color (*Required to get blue links in your document)
- Do one of the following:
- If this is a draft document, go to step 10.
- If this is not a draft document, click OK
and go to step 11.
- (For draft documents only) Do the following to
insert the word "Draft" as a watermark on each page of the
PDF document:
- Click the Advanced tab.
- In the upper box of the tab, click Document Options.
- From the list of Printer Features options, select Watermark.
- In the Change 'Watermark' Setting box at the bottom of the tab,
select Draft.
- From the list of Printer Features options in the upper box,
select Watermark Size.
- In the Change 'Watermark Size' Setting box at the bottom of the tab,
select 72 Points.
- From the list of Printer Features options in the upper box,
select Watermark Style.
- In the Change 'Watermark Style' Setting box at the bottom of the tab,
select Narrow Outline.
- Click OK.
-
Click the Advanced tab and then do the following:
- Select Document Options.
- Select PostScript options.
- If Generate Job Control Code is set to Yes, select that entry and
change it to No.
-
Click OK in the Print Setup dialog box.
- In the Print Book dialog box, click the Acrobat Setup... button.
In the Acrobat Setup dialog box, specify the settings as shown in the
following figure:
Be sure you include the following the entries in the
Include Paragraphs pane:
- title
- toc title 2
- section title
- appendix title
- chapter title
- head A (all variations)
- head B (all variations)
- head C (only in certain cases, usually for reference books)
- unnumbered title (which you can't see in the screen shot)
Use the Bookmark Level arrow buttons to indent and align the entries
in the pane to clearly show a consistent hierarchy.
Note: Do not select the Include Paragraph Tags in
Bookmark Text option.
-
Click Set, then click Print.
This procedure creates the PDF file from the PostScript
file. Be sure the Acrobat Distiller is installed on your system.
-
Start Acrobat Distiller. (You can just double-click the .ps file.)
- Choose Distiller > Job Options....
- Click the Compression tab.
- Clear all check boxes that are selected for Downsampling.
- Click the Font Embedding tab.
- Select the Embed All Fonts check box.
- Clear the Subset fonts below box.
-
Click OK.
- Choose File > Open.
-
In the Acrobat Distiller - Open PostScript File dialog box,
select the PostScript file that FrameMaker created and then click Open.
-
In the Filename: box, specify a directory for the PDF file that
you are about to create and then click Save. Acrobat Distiller creates the PDF file and saves it in
the specified directory.
Note
If you get a warning message from Acrobat Distiller about "maximum named destinations reached", we now know
what it means---and it is not something to be ignored. It means that your system is running out of memory during
the conversion from PS to PDF, which can result in random index links that don't work. (You get the pointer but it
doesn't click to anywhere.) It happens when we embed our fonts in our PDFs, which, for large, books causes the memory
problem on some of our systems.
The workaround is to open up Distiller, select Job Options under the Distiller pull-down
menu (Settings if you have Distiller 4.0). Select the fonts tab. Clear the first
check box that says to embed and instead select the second check box. Save that setting. The tradeoff will be that
users' systems will be able to substitute fonts, which should be ok online but may not allow them to print if their
printer doesn't substitute properly, which may explain why we received some complaints about some people not being able
to print certain documents. It's another reason why the redesign of the template will use standard fonts. If you get that warning message, check the
PDF index links.
It is important to test the PDF file to make sure it is
accurate, complete, and functionalwhen you view it online
and when you print any of the pages.
-
Open the Acrobat Reader.
- Click the open folder button on the toolbar or choose File > Open.
- Select the PDF file.
- View the Acrobat TOC for the document. Make sure the title/copyright
page, contents, and index are all accessible and that the chapters and appendixes
expand correctly.
- Click a few links in the TOC, selected chapters, and the index to make
sure they work correctly. Make sure all cross-reference links are blue.
- Scroll through the document to make sure all the
figures are there and that each appears on the page in
an acceptable screen resolution.
- Print a few pages containing figures, such as screen captures
and line drawings, to confirm that the print quality is acceptable.
- If you find any errors, correct them in the FrameMaker file and
then repeat the entire PDF process, making sure that you update your TOC
and index and create a new PostScript and PDF file.