Expert: Amy - 3/14/2006

Question
Amy,

Hardware/Software:  PC, Windows 98SE, Illustrator 10, Acrobat Reader 6

BACKGOUND INFORMATION:
I have downloaded and saved a PDF document.  It has a mixture of "text", "vector" graphics, and "bit-mapped" graphics.

When I “Open” (File>Open) or “Place” (File>Place) the document in Illustrator and view it in the Preview mode, all of the "text" and all of the "bit mapped" graphics appear as they do in my Acrobat Reader- BUT only "some" of the "vector" graphics appear, while other "vector" graphics do not appear at all (are missing).

When I switch to view the page in the Outline mode (View>Outline), the "text" remains visible (but more jagged), the “bit-mapped” graphics become invisible, showing just a block outline representing the size/dimensions of the graphic (which I expect), and the "vector" graphics that DO appear show all the outlines that make up the image (again, as expected)…but the same “vector” graphics that are missing in the Preview mode as noted in the previous paragraph are also missing and not viewable in the Outline mode as well.

I am positive that the graphics that are missing/lost when opened in Illustrator are vector, since the image resolution remains sharp with no “pixilation” or “jaggies” effects whatsoever even when viewed zoomed to 6400% in the PDF document.

QUESTIONS:
1. Why are some of these vector graphics from the PDF not appearing when Opened or Placed in Illustrator?

2. How can I get the "missing" vector graphics to appear in Illustrator?

Thanks,

Tom

FYI, below is some selected info about the PDF document:  File>Document Properties-
Application: PageMaker 7; PDF Producer: Acrobat Distiller 6.0; PDF Version: 1.5 (Acrobat 6.x)
Document Security:  No Security; Can be opened by all Acrobat versions
Document Restrictions Summary:  
Allowed:  Printing, Content Copying or Extraction, Content Extraction for Accessibility, Filling of Form Fields
Not Allowed:  Document Assembly, Commenting, Signing, Creation of Template Pages, Submitting Forms


Answer
ANOTHER THOUGHT
I just thought of a reason that the object might be missing.  The person who created the PDF file didn't flatten it and the objects that disappeared require flattening.  Effects like drop shadows or possibly even overprinting might be traits of these objects that aren't showing up.
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Hi Tom,

I know this frequently happens with embedded fonts in PDF files.

But the only time I've had this happen with objects is when the objects were part of compound paths or clipping masks that didn't make it in the conversion to Illustrator, if you can call it a conversion.

Where is this PDF file?  Is it something I can download, too, to take a look at?  If not, can you send it to AmyLynPace@yahoo.com

-Amy