pdf generators

Yuriy K. wrote:

Jim Thomps>Yep, CutePDF acts just like a printer.

Considering that you probably use Distiller more than anyone else here, I expected your response in this thread to be of greater note.

I was hoping you had used several and could compare them and contrast them with the Adobe offering

--especially if there are significant differences in file sizes produced.

I only use Distiller to convert files sent to me by customers who don't have PDF capability.

I only use Adobe v7 when forced ;-)

But some comparisons for a size A schematic...

CutePDF, 144dpi, 16kB

Adobe v4, 150dpi, 13kB

No discernable differences in appearance.

I use CutePDF from the scanner, less overhead crap, but use Adobe v4 for schematics and PSpice Probe print-outs because of the ease of text touch-ups and "forms" capability.

I was just musing to myself about software companies... which turns out the worst bloated crap...

hp Adobe Micro$oft Cadence/PSpice

I'm really tiring, in my old age, with having to use "work-arounds" for just about every piece of software that I own :-(

==

I just got a call that a contemporary, Gunnars Bilsens, who some of you may have known at Motorola GED (military division in Scottsdale), fell off his roof and died from the subsequent blood clot on his brain :-(

...Jim Thompson

As others have said, use Open Office! Its free, runs on M$ or Linux, reads and writes M$ formats, creates good PDF's.

I use it a lot. You have to download two install files - the printer driver and the converter. When you install it, it just shows up as another printer. There's a free version that puts up a nag screen and a popup ad every time you use it, with the option to buy the registered version, but I figure two mouse clicks is a fair enough price for the free version. :-)

I don't have anything to do with the company (I don't even know who they are), I'm just a satisfied user.

Cheers! Rich

I think I blew up over this one about last August.

Having downloaded lots of bits of shit in an effort to produce 'integrated' documentation in pdf format I was forced to re-install the shitputer. I will tell you this.... you will not get one program to produce nice results and some cunts need a serious kicking to sort their f*ck ups out.

Anyway, having avoided commiting suicide by a slim margin, I ended up with something that did the job. Unfortunately it's been a while since I did it so it's all gone shit again.

However there is a method and you have to suck it and see but you can get good results from the stuff you have control over but good to shit results from the stuff that other people produce.

I think you need....

Since I am not bothered anymore you can have a look at what might be possible at....

That's a 700K+ download and since me upload speed is 20K you might have to wait a while.

I'm not sure how that got put together but PDF creator might have buggered things up in terms of prettyness and a lot of it might have been done by inserting encapsulated postscript files, printed to file from somewhere else using the printer driver, in Open Office and then printing stuff back out and converting it using ghostscript to get the final result.

Anyway.... it was all too much like hard work so I opted for instability benefit.

DNA

I get: Page Not Found

We're Sorry! We can't locate the page you requested.

Check the spelling on the Web address (capitalization and punctuation count). Otherwise, go to EarthLink.net, enter a search key word, or check out any of our services below.

How weird, seeing as it does not need one.

That file, along with a couple others had disappeared from the server. You have to save, then open the file because of the way the server is set up. The missing files were there a few days ago. :( That is why I keep a full backup of each website on the hard drives of several computers.

It is a PDF version of:

The HTML page is 13.3 kB' The PDF file is 4.5 kB.

PrimoPDF has worked well on many sources - PaperPort can also work well even on Flash.

OO does it but it is adding one step.

Have a look at cutepdf : a PDF printer with a free version and a full (low cost) version.

I use it all the time and am very satisfied with it.

John: if you don't need the full pdf edition capabilities there's no point to going the acrobat way.

I'll put in another vote for PDFCreator. Works great, free, and it also will output various picture formats (takes advantage of various GhostScript output options). PDFCreator also has a nice feature that allows you to que a bunch of print jobs, combine, and print them out to one document. Any print driver that uses GhostScript creates PDFs much faster than Acrobat. I also use FoxitReader as a PDF reader. Opens much quicker than Acrobat, but will have problems with some pesky PDF files.

Open Office (OO) graphics quality is poor if you have graphs and schematics. I ran a comparison between MS Word and OO with WMF graphics imports. There is a visible difference between the two. Perhaps I'm missing a setting. I do like OO's equation editor. Way easier to use than Word's.

Mis-communicated via the rumor chain... it was Bilsens' neighbor ;-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

To use directly as a printer, rather than as a file converter? Why doesn't ghostscript show up on my (very long) list of available network printers?

To use it directly as a printer needs a wrapper of some sort. You can probably do it manually if you are masochistic enough, but ready-made setups are easier. Aladin, the guys who make Ghostscript, have a printer redirector program (I've had it installed on a server for nearly ten years, long before these click-and-drool installs were available). You'll probably find that pdf995 et.al. are based on it.

Yes. Like I said earlier, it is a shell for Ghostscript so it is transparent.

So, when are you going to make them clickable? ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Ha, i spent 30.00 bucks for the professional PDF creator? are we talking about the same thing here? it's called "PDF PRODUCER" professional. Maybe other products out there that produce PDF's ?

that depends whatm features you need.

ghostscript works for me, the price is right.

Bye. Jasen