Expert: Ken Black - 11/10/2008

Question
Hello, I am running CS3 and Acrobat 9 Pro on Vista. Although I can convert files to pdf in AI with no issues, when I open up a Word or Excel document and click on the convert to pdf icon, the program gets to the "converting to pdf" and just hangs. I left it one time for over an hour. Any help please?

Answer
Hi John,

Microsoft doesn't play well with Acrobat 9. Instead of using the convert to pdf function, create a postscript (.ps) or as Microsoft likes it a printer file (.prn).

Do this by checking the print to file box in the print dialogue and selecting Adobe PDF as your printer. You will also want to go into the advanced options and choose the color space for your output, composite cmyk if you are doing this as a print job. You can also check the allow bleeds box if necessary. If your document bleeds, you will need to change the paper size to something larger than the document, as in letter extra for a letter size sheet at full bleed.

With the settings in place, click print. A save file dialogue will open and prompt your for a spot to save and a filename.

After that is complete you will now need to open Distiller from the Acrobat folder. Select the job options according to your need, PDF x1-a works pretty much all the time for print work. Next drag and drop the postscript file onto the Distiller window, this will create the pdf and place it in the same folder as your postscript file.

Thanks,

Ken Black

www.bestprintingonline.com