Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

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Nic Swart
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Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by Nic Swart »

I'm experiencing abnormal wide spaces (one space looks more like 10 spaces) in the PDF docs generated under Version 5.0.4 Build 574 when using Courier New or Courier. Spaces of the exact paragraph turns out correctly under Version 4.5.0 Build 1344. Any guidelines?

I also notice that you have a discrepency between the latest download version/build on your web and that being reported by 'check for updates'. When the check is done while running Version 5.0.4 Build 574 it reports Version 5.0.3 Build 549 as the latest. You may wish to investigate.

Otherwise its a brilliant program, worth its money.

Nic
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Tim Green
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Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Nic,

Try switching your PDF reference device from the screen device (now the default in HM5) to your default printer, in View > Program Options > PDF.

On my machine the check shows the latest version as the latest -- maybe old files in your proxy cache?

You should also update your HM4 installation, the latest version there is 4.5.1 Build 1380, which you can get from the main download page at http://www.ec-software.com/downloads.html (it's a couple of lines down from the HM5 link).
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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John Waller
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Unread post by John Waller »

Nic Swart wrote:When the check is done while running Version 5.0.4 Build 574 it reports Version 5.0.3 Build 549 as the latest.
Mine reports Build 574 as the latest.
spartacus
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by spartacus »

Hi Tim,

I recently upgraded from HM3 to HM5 and am too now seeing the Courier font issue (extra spaces being added).
I tried the Program Options > PDF settings change as you suggested and while it got rid of the white-spacing problem; the font is still not displaying as Courier... it seems to be displaying in Arial (or something similar)

Anything else I can try?

I need to use courier as it really stands out when you are providing code snippet examples in the help file.

... alternatively, is there a quick way of changing all instances of Courier font in the HM5 document to a different font maybe?

Thanks in advance,

Steve
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Tim Green
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Steve,

You are probably using the wrong version of Courier. Make sure that you are using the standard Windows Courier New font, which is the TrueType version. :)
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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spartacus
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by spartacus »

Correct, I am using Courier as opposed to Courier New; however this was not an issue in the older versions of H&M... only since upgrading to v5.

Is there any quick way of replacing all instances of Courier font with Courier New font, or is this going to be a manual operation? I have a lot of places where Courier is used for code examples, so it would take ages to manually go through each page to find them.

Steve
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Tim Green
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Steve,

You can generally change the font globally quite easily: You just need to change the font definition for the Normal style in Styles > Edit Styles. Since almost all styles are based on Normal this will propagate down to the other styles. It won't work for styles not based on Normal (those must be changed as well) or for manually-formatted text where the font has been changed explicitly in the editor.

I'm asking the developers about the problems with the old non-TrueType version of Courier. It definitely doesn't work at the moment, I just tested it. :?
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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spartacus
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by spartacus »

Hi Tim,

Courier code snippets in my document are manually-formatted text, rather than applying a particular style. :(
I noticed there are styles of 'Courier Fixed' and also a 'Code Example' available in HM5. Looks like I may need to update the snippets in my doc to use this instead.
Are these working correctly for PDF in HM5, or is this what you tested and found wasn't working?

Still a time consuming task I'd rather not have to do; so would be interested to hear what your developers come back with as to why this suddenly isn't working for HM5 but was fine for PDF's in older HM versions... and if there is any workaround (or fix being considered for release).

Regards,

Steve
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Tim Green
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Steve,

This doesn't need to be time-consuming at all, particularly for manually-formatted text. Have a look at the Replace Styles feature in the Write > Styles > Replace Styles menu. You should be able to use this to change all the Courier texts to Courier New in a few seconds. :)
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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spartacus
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Re: Abnormal spaces in PDF doc

Unread post by spartacus »

Awesome! Thanks Tim :D
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