Expert: Ken Black - 9/24/2009

Question
We use both versions 10 and 12 of Quattro Pro for spreadsheet applications (prefer it to Excel) but Quattro does not have its own pdf export utility.  In other applications we print to the Acrobat Distiller (version 5) to generate pdfs internally (Word Perfect's pdf publishing utility generates files that are too large) and have no problems.  However, Acrobat Distiller will not return a full page spreadsheet out of Quattro Pro.  Any spreadsheet content on about the lower 1/3 or 3/8 of the page is simply truncated.  This is true whether the print range is selected manually or automatically, and no matter what print scaling is selected.  The only workaround I have found is to print the file to something like PaperPort Image Printer which makes a jpg, then import the jpgs into Acrobat and output a pdf but that again results in huge files.  

Do you know how I can, without buying a separate pdf utility (which might not solve the problem anyway if Distiller can't) generate full-page pdfs using Distiller from Quattro Pro?

Answer
Hi Bob,

I am not familiar with Quattro Pro at all, but this may help -

Make sure the page size in Distiller is as large as the page size is in Quattro.

In the print dialog there should be an advanced options or a properties that refers to the printer itself. Within these properties you should set the page size to something equal or larger than what the spreadsheet itself is.

You should also have this same page size set within the job options being used in Distiller.

After doing a quick search around the web, I have found that people have used the following pdf conversion tools to create pdf files from Quattro Pro -

http://abc-amber-quattro-pro-converter.en.softonic.com/

http://www.primopdf.com/

http://www.docudesk.com/

Primopdf is a free conversion utility and I have seen good results from people using it in various situations.

I cannot speak for the other two, abc amber or docudesk, other than to say these are what others on the web have indicated as working. Also, those are not free.

Thanks,

Ken Black

www.bestprintingonline.com