Excerpt from Adobe Acrobat & PDF - Microsoft Office & PDF Maker
Creating PDF files from Microsoft Office
Regardless of your type of work, you probably use some Microsoft Office products. Maybe you write memos in Microsoft Word or create spreadsheets in Excel or presentations in PowerPoint. Microsoft Office has become the standard for creating documents. But not everyone has Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint so Adobe PDF is a great solution for sharing documents with users who might not have the same software you have. But even with the widespread use of Microsoft Office programs, you might have documents in which you want to restrict the editing or copying of information. To help with these concerns, you can convert your files to Adobe PDF. Additionally, if you are using Internet Explorer to view Internet web pages or Microsoft Outlook to manage your email, you will want to join us as we examine how Adobe Acrobat integrates with these programs.
PDF Maker for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
When you install Adobe Acrobat-whether Standard, Professional, or Elements-additional utility software is also installed to help Adobe Acrobat integrate with Microsoft Office. This utility software is called PDF Maker, and it only installs with Adobe Acrobat on computers that use Microsoft Office programs. The PDF Maker utilities automate and control the conversion of Microsoft Office documents to Adobe PDF.
This chapter discusses how PDF Maker works directly with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and examines the enhanced PDF creation options for IE and Outlook.
PDF Maker Buttons
When you have installed Adobe Acrobat, you can easily convert your Microsoft Office documents to Adobe PDF files at the click of a button. But the type of PDF you attain is based upon certain preferences.
The Convert to Adobe PDF button automates the process of creating an Adobe PDF file. In short, it prints the file through the Adobe PDF print driver and Adobe Acrobat Distiller. Because the entire process is automated, you do not need to pay too much attention to what is happening under-the-hood if you do not want to know. You simply click the button and get a PDF. However, just like some folks want to understand how their car runs (and tinker with it), you might want to know exactly what happens when you click the button.
You can use the Convert to Adobe PDF and Email button to have your Microsoft Office documents automatically converted and attached to a new email message using your default email software. The script runs through the same conversion process, but then creates a new email message and attaches the Microsoft Office document (in PDF format) to the message.
You can use the Convert to Adobe PDF and Send for Review button to convert your documents to Adobe PDF and send the file to reviewers using Acrobat. As the message and PDF are sent, Acrobat keeps track of who received the file and maintains a list of who has responded and who has not yet participated in the review. By initiating a review of the PDF, you can organize a document review process and involve all necessary participants.
PDF Maker Settings
Adobe PDF Maker installs a separate menu adjacent to the Help menu in your Microsoft Office programs (actually, two menus in Microsoft Word) along with the three separate PDFMaker buttons on the toolbar discussed previously. The buttons’ same functionality can be accessed from the Adobe PDF menu, which is located to the right of the Help menu. But you can also change the settings that are used to determine the quality, file size, and other attributes of the Adobe PDF that is created when the button is clicked. Simply put, you can use the Conversion Settings to change the preferences associated with the PDF Maker buttons and how they convert the file to Adobe PDF.
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Although many of the PDF Maker settings are consistent across all Microsoft Office applications, you will find some additional options in each program. To change the Conversion Settings, choose Adobe PDF, Change Conversion Settings.
Under the Settings tab, you can modify the following two settings: the PDF Maker Settings and the Application Settings. The PDF Maker settings control the fundamental attributes of how the PDF file will be produced.
You can select Conversion Settings to change the overall attributes of the resulting PDF, including the compression that is applied to images and whether fonts are embedded in the resulting PDF file. Figure 4-4 lists the six default settings, arranged in order of highest quality (and largest file size) to lowest (and smallest file size).
Smallest File Size
You can use this setting to create PDF files for posting online (on the Internet or your company intranet) or for sending PDF files via email. This setting applies compression and downsampling to intentionally reduce the size (and therefore the quality) of bitmap images that are used in documents as they are converted to PDF. For example, a photograph of a product that had been scanned at 300 pixels per inch (ppi) and used in a brochure contains less information and clarity after being converted to a PDF with the Smallest File Size setting. This is because the image inside the resulting PDF file only contains 100 ppi of image information for color images, or 150 ppi of image information for grayscale images. The remaining information is discarded to help reduce the file size. Additionally, the remaining graphic information is then compressed quite heavily using a data compression method that throws away data (never to be recovered) that further reduces the file size.
When you choose the Smallest Files Size option, fonts are not included (not embedded) in the resulting PDF file; this helps to further reduce the file size. In most situations, not embedding the fonts produces text that is similar, if not exactly the same as the original file because of font substitution that Adobe Acrobat technology uses. Chapter 10, “Creating PDFs”, discusses font options that are associated with creating PDF files in more detail.
When you choose the Smallest File Size setting, you convert all color that is used in documents to the sRGB color space. Because there are only three channels of color information, it is smaller than the CMYK color space that is typically used for printing. The sRGB color space is essentially the same color space that is used for viewing your documents on a computer monitor. When you create a file with this setting, anyone with Adobe Reader version 5 or later can view it.
Standard
You can use this setting to create Adobe PDF files that are printed on laser or inkjet printers, or distributed electronically. Graphics that contain too much information for a typical laser printer also have data discarded using downsampling; grayscale and colored bitmap graphics are reduced to 150 ppi, even if they were scanned or captured via a digital camera at a higher resolution. As with the Smallest File Size option, graphics are also compressed, but not as significantly as when using the Smallest File Size option; therefore, less data is discarded. Again, like the Smallest File Size option, colors are converted to the sRGB color space to help reduce the file size.
However, fonts used in the source document are built into the PDF file (embedded) if they are not part of the standard group of fonts that ship with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. This increases the file size of the resulting PDF, but ensures that text remains loyal to the original document.
This setting most closely matches the eBook setting from previous versions of Acrobat.
Press Quality
If you create documents that are sent to a commercial printer for reproduction, the Press Quality settings are designed to meet your needs. For example, if you create brochures, newsletters or marketing materials that you must then deliver to a printing company for reproduction, you can supply them with Press Quality Adobe PDF files. Adobe PDF files include all necessary printing elements-the fonts and graphics are built into the file. Because the goal is to create the highest quality printed document and because consideration is not given to overall file size, Adobe PDF files that are created using the Press Quality settings are typically larger than those that are created using the Standard or Smallest File Size option.
The bitmap graphics that are used in the source document are only modified if their resolution is above 450 ppi and if they are then downsampled to 300 ppi. Images that have a resolution below 450 ppi are not downsampled. Note that the resolution that is used with this setting is twice the Standard Quality settings and three times higher than the Smallest File Size setting. Images are modestly compressed when using this setting. The colors that are used in the source document are not modified. If they are use Cyan Magenta Yellow and Black, then these colors remain in the file. Likewise, if you are using spot colors (such as a Pantone color for a logo), this color remains in the file. We assume that you are familiar with working with colors and graphics, and have discussed submitting Adobe PDF files with your commercial printer. This setting does not correct inaccurate graphic settings. If graphics are incorrectly set to an RGB color space (which is not appropriate for commercial printing) or if graphics were scanned or captured at too low a resolution, choosing the Press Quality setting does not fix them. The original file must contain sufficient information to be included in the Adobe PDF file at the time it is converted. The old adage “garbage in-garbage out” applies to Adobe PDF files; if the original document is of an inferior quality, the resulting Adobe PDF will not improve the document’s appearance.
When you use the Press Quality setting, fonts that are used in the source document must be embedded in the PDF file. If PDF Maker is unable to embed the fonts, the document is not converted to an Adobe PDF file. You also receive an error informing you of this in order to keep you from creating a PDF file that might not include everything that is necessary for high resolution printing and then inadvertently supplying an incomplete file to your printer. This assures you that, if you choose the Press Quality settings and receive a PDF file, all the fonts needed to produce the job have been located and are included in the resulting PDF file.
You should talk with your printer before submitting Adobe PDF files to them. Now that you have a grasp of the concepts, it is important for you to understand several details associated with creating high-quality PDF files.
High Quality
You can use the Press Quality and High Quality settings almost interchangeably, except for one small difference: the High Quality setting attempts to embed fonts at the time it creates Adobe PDF files. If it is not successful, the setting still generates the Adobe PDF document, even without the fonts. Simply put, the High Quality setting is not as picky as the Press Quality setting.
PDF X1a and PDF X 3
You know that Adobe PDF files are becoming more significant when standards-making organizations begin holding meetings and determining methods for how PDF files should really be produced. Several ISO (Industry Standards Organization) groups have met to develop standards that are associated with the creation of PDF files for delivering graphical content. These standards can govern, for example, what standards are to be used when advertisers submit PDF files to newspapers or magazines. The PDF X1a and PDF X3 standards are the results of ISO committees that have set the ground-rules for how to create PDF files that include graphical content and that must be delivered to a publisher, printer, newspaper, or magazine. While these are voluntary standards, your printer or the publications through which you advertise might use them. You should check with them to determine whether any of these settings are appropriate for you to use.
PDF/A Draft
These files are primarily used for archiving. Because long-term preservation is the goal, the document must contain only what is needed for opening and viewing throughout the intended life of the document. PDF/A files can only contain text, raster images and vector objects. Also, all fonts must be embedded so the document can be opened and viewed as created.
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