PDF and expanded text

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John Johann
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Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:35 pm

PDF and expanded text

Unread post by John Johann »

Some of the text styles I use include expanded text for highlighting commands in a sentence, e.g., for the command "XYZ" --> "XYZ does whatever". The "XYZ" is in the expanded style, the rest of the sentence is "Normal".

When I output to PDF, the space between the command and the subsequent text gets lost and the command and the following text run into eachother.

If I increase the "Character spacing" for the style even more, the command runs behind the subsequent text when output to PDF. Output to CHM and Word is fine. From Word to PDF is also fine.

Is there a way around this?
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Tim Green
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Re: PDF and expanded text

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi John,

If this isn't a bug it is probably an issue with using the wrong reference printer driver for PDF, which would be giving you incorrect kerning values. In addition to this if you are using an unusual font it may have to do with not embedding the font in the PDF. Then if PDF Reader doesn't find the font on the computer Windows substitutes another one and you can also get kerning tables that don't match.

If the instructions below don't help then it may really be a PDF rendering bug. In that case please mail a small sample project and the .mnl PDF template you are using to support AT ec-software.com (replace the AT with @) and we'll check it out.

H&M uses a printer driver to generate PDFs. You can access the reference printer driver settings in View > Program Options > PDF. By default, H&M will use the screen device driver, but you can often get better results by using a real printer driver. By the same token, some printer drivers can also cause problems, particularly optimized drivers from printer manufacturers. It is generally better to use one of the standard drivers supplied with Windows.

We recommend using the Microsoft XPS Document Writer driver included with all current versions of Windows. It produces good results and is always pre-installed. You just need to select it as your reference driver. Otherwise you can activate and select one of the known good standard drivers included with Windows. You don't have to actually have the physical printer. Just add the driver with Add Printer in the printer section of the Windows Control Panel and then select it as your reference driver in Help & Manual. The standard Windows Brother HL-2040 and HL-2060 drivers deliver good results, and standard LaserJets and DeskJets are usually also OK.

Important Notes:

DON'T use use "PDF printer drivers" like Adobe Distiller for this! This will not work properly and is actually counter-productive.

The default page size set for the printer driver in the Windows control panel must be at least as large as the page size you have set in your print manual template. If it is smaller you will get clipping in your PDF pages.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
John Johann
Posts: 305
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:35 pm

Re: PDF and expanded text

Unread post by John Johann »

Hi Tim,
I'd read about changing the reference printer driver and tried that out -- no dice.

I thought maybe my styles (originally imported from a Word document) had maybe become corrupted, so I:

1) Opened a new empty project
2) Created two styles based on "Normal"
a) Changed the character spacing of "KerningOne" to "Expanded, 1" (and changed the colour so I can see better)
b) Changed the character spacing of "KerningTwo" to "Expanded, 2" (and changed the colour so I can see better)
c) Made no other changes

3) Inserted the following text:

Code: Select all

<body>
    <header>
      <para styleclass="Heading1"><text styleclass="Heading1" translate="true">Introduction</text></para>
    </header>
    <para styleclass="Normal"><text styleclass="Normal" translate="true">Enter topic text here.</text></para>
    <para styleclass="Normal"></para>
    <para styleclass="Normal"></para>
    <para styleclass="Normal"><text styleclass="Normal" translate="true">Kerning equals </text><text styleclass="KerningOne" translate="true">one</text><text styleclass="Normal" translate="true">, this follow on text is normal.</text></para>
    <para styleclass="Normal"><text styleclass="Normal" translate="true">Kerning equals </text><text styleclass="KerningTwo" translate="true">two</text><text styleclass="Normal" translate="true">, this follow on text is normal.</text></para>
  </body>
4) Published to PDF using the standard PDF templates (tried them all), with Reference printer = Screen, an HP Laserjet driver, a Dell colour laser driver, the XPS driver --> same result each time (expanded text runs behind following text).
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Tim Green
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Re: PDF and expanded text

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi John,

OK, something seems to be there but just discussing it here won't help. Please mail a demo project illustrating the issue and your .mnl template to support AT ec-software.com (replace the AT with @) and we'll check it out. It would be good to do this as quickly as possible as the 7.3.2 maintenance update is due out soon. :twisted:
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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John Johann
Posts: 305
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:35 pm

Re: PDF and expanded text

Unread post by John Johann »

The e-mail is in your in-box :-)
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Tim Green
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Re: PDF and expanded text

Unread post by Tim Green »

John Johann wrote:The e-mail is in your in-box :-)
Confirmed. It's an editor issue, we're looking into it.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
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