Differences

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--- faq:makepdf [2014/12/22 18:07] – Warning about two programs Colin Liebenrood
+++ faq:makepdf [2021/02/19 18:41] (current) – [Producing PDF Files] Added W10 facility Colin Liebenrood
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ===== Sending Trees by E-mail =====
 The best way to send PediTree output in electronic form whilst preserving the layout is to
-make a Portable Document Format (PDF) file from it and send that.
+make a Portable Document Format (PDF) file from it and send that. How? See below.
-A PDF file can be displayed by using
+A PDF file can be displayed by using a suitable program.  The standard program for this is //Adobe Acrobat Reader//, often pre-installed on a new computer. Otherwise, it is readily available at no cost with some purchased applications, or by download from http://www.adobe.com/. There are alternatives, one of which is //PDF-XChange Viewer 2.0//, to be described below.
-a suitable program, often pre-installed on a new computer.  The standard program for this is //Adobe Acrobat Reader//,
-which is readily available at no cost on many magazine-cover CD-ROMs,
-with some purchased applications, or by download from http://www.adobe.com/. A faster and smaller alternative is
-//Foxit Reader//, which can be downloaded from http://www.foxitsoftware.com/.  Both are free of charge.
+==== Producing PDF Files ====
 There are several different ways to produce a PDF file from PediTree output without spending much money.
 They all involve installing a Windows Printer-driver that either produces a PDF file as output or an intermediate
 file that can be converted to the PDF form.
-The writer uses PDF Creator, available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/.
+Windows 10 now includes //Microsoft Print to PDF// that you can select as a printer. This works perfectly well for
-Once downloaded and installed, this appears as a Windows printer called //PDF Creator//.
+PediTree Reports, Tables and Trees, either in Portrait or Landscape format.  The default paper size is A4, but other sizes can be selected.
-If you select this printer to 'print' a Tree or other chart in the usual way, then you are prompted for a
-filename for the PDF output. Here is a {{faq:pdftree.pdf|small two-page example}}.
+The writer uses PDFCreator. This appears as a Windows printer called (guess what) //PDFCreator//.
+If you select this printer to 'print' a Tree or other chart in the usual way, then on choosing **Save** you are prompted for a
+filename for the PDF output. The result is then automatically displayed. Here is a {{faq:pdftree.pdf|small two-page example}}.
 Other software suggested by contributors to the PUG-L mailing-list is:
-  * Use a Windows printer-driver to produce a PostScript output file, such as the HP1200PS driver supplied with most versions of Windows. Then use Acrobat Distiller (expensive) or Ghostscript (free from http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost) to convert the PostScript file to PDF. (This is effectively what PDF Creator does in one step, but is more complicated to use.)
   * PDF995 from http://www.pdf995.com/ (small licence fee to stop nagging)
   * PDFill from http://www.pdfill.com/ (free; small cost for additional PDF editor)
+  * Use a Windows printer-driver to produce a PostScript output file, such as the HP1200PS driver supplied with most versions of Windows. Then use Acrobat Distiller (expensive) or Ghostscript (free from http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost) to convert the PostScript file to PDF. (This is effectively what PDFCreator does in one step, but is more complicated to use.)
-==== Update December 2014 ====
-I have recently encountered some issues with both Foxit Reader and PDF Creator.  Until I can resolve these **do not attempt to install either of these programs**.
 ==== Other Uses of Print to PDF ====
-As well as providing files for easy sharing, printing to PDF provides a way to check the layout of a proposed Table or Tree without
+As well as providing files for easy sharing, printing to PDF provides a way to check the layout of a proposed Table or Tree without actually spending ink and paper.  You can simply view the result on-screen and then make changes if needed.
-actually spending ink and paper.  You can simply view the result on-screen and make changes if needed.
 It is also possible to produce PDF files for large-format printing.  How would you like a big Tree on A0 paper (841 x 1189mm)?
-Set that paper-size in your PDF printer, produce the file and take it to a local shop that can print it for you. That is, after you
+Set that paper-size in your PDF printer, produce the file and take it to a local shop that can print it for you. That is, after you have checked it on-screen first, of course.
-have checked it on-screen first, of course.
+==== Installing PDF Creator ====
+This can be downloaded from http://www.pdfforge.org/.  There are two versions, one free, the other (PDFCreator Plus) costs a small amount (£3.29 in December 2014).  The free version attempts to install a program that serves adverts during the installation process; this advert-server is often intercepted by anti-virus software as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP). I recommend that you pay for the ad-free Plus version. You will be asked for contact details, including name, address and telephone number. The web-sites privacy statement says that these will not be passed on to others without your explicit permission.
+After payment, an email will provide a link to download the installer (c. 26Mb) and a password that is needed during installation. After download, run the installer, pasting in your password as requested.  You will be asked to choose some installation options: I suggest you **deselect** //PDF Architect//, as this takes a long time to download and install.  You can always change your mind about this at a later date.
+==== PDF-XChange Viewer 2.0 ====
+This is a free alternative to Adobe Reader, which is somewhat faster to load and display your files. I use this myself. It can be downloaded from https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer.
+There is a note saying that this has been discontinued and replaced by another product (which I haven't tried).  However, you can still download PDF-XChange Viewer and use it.
+This is smaller and less troublesome in many ways than my previous recommendation (Foxit Reader).  It doesn't get involved with cloud storage and has a nice clean interface.