Home | Tips | Library | Other Authors | Other WP Sites | Writer's Links | Contact | Site Map

Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2008 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

Publishing to PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) with WordPerfect 9 and later versions

Here are some tips to get the best from this feature (which was new with WP9). It is not a comprehensive list, so suggestions are welcome.

GENERAL TIPS:

Trying to use the Publish to PDF feature and getting a grayed-out (i.e., inoperative) menu choice? Make sure your have a document open first. (This seems to be a common "problem.") Need to e-mail a large PDF file created in WordPerfect? You may be able to considerably reduce the file size of the PDF document. In WP9: Click the Details tab in the Publish to PDF dialog, then checking (in WP9) the box "Publish text as graphics." This is not a "sticky" setting in WP9, so you'll need to check the box each time you publish to PDF. Publishing a large document to PDF in WP9 can take several minutes, even though the process may appear to have been completed by WordPerfect. If you get an error message when trying to view the PDF file immediately after publishing to PDF with WordPerfect, try waiting a few minutes before viewing the PDF file with Adobe Reader. In WordPerfect 10/11/12, Publish to PDF feature, the related option seems to be under the Objects tab, "Export all text as curves," which eliminates font variances on different computers. (However, there may not be as much of a difference in the resulting file size when you check this box as there can be in WP9's Publish to PDF.) Also: From Corel's support database (support.corel.com), Article ID 201544: "Publish to pdf increases file size" Details: "When publishing a document to pdf format the file increases in size instead of compressing (this includes both files containing graphics and those which do not)." Answer: "Deselecting the following options solves the problem: 1) Go to File | Publish to pdf 2) Click the Details tab 3) Deselect the options to "Include Fonts in the document", "Include base 14 fonts" and "Convert True Type to Type 1". See also the FAQ about PDFs on WordPerfect Universe, "How to use WordPerfect's Publish to PDF feature". Using a PostScript printer driver as the default print device [when using Publish to PDF] helps in creating cleaner/consistent PDF output. See this post on WordPerfect Universe, which shows (1) how to install and use a standard PostScript printer driver (even if you do not have the physical printer); and (2) how to use it when publishing to PDF in WP. Here are alternatives WordPerfect's built-in Publish to PDF feature, as well as to Adobe Acrobat: pdf995, pdfFactory, Win2PDF. and PDFtypewriter (the latter bills itself as an alternative to Adobe Acrobat at a fraction of the cost). All have free trial downloads. pdf995 (US$9.95) has been reported to maintain hyperlinks better than some versions of WordPerfect. pdfFactory is made by the same company that publishes the excellent FinePrint "save paper and ink" program. "How do I add a Hyperlink to a PDF file from WordPerfect?" From Corel's support database Article 754077: Details: "WordPerfect lets you publish documents to PDF. Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to print, view, and share PDF files. You can publish the active document or a document to which you have access. You can include hyperlinks and bookmarks in a PDF file. Hyperlinks are useful for adding jumps to other Web pages or to Internet URLs. Bookmarks allow you to link to specific areas in a PDF file. When the PDF file is first opened in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, you can specify whether bookmarks are displayed." Answer: "When you publish a file to PDF that includes hyperlinks, the links will automaticaly be added to the PDF. When you publish a table of contents, index, list, or table of authorities to PDF, WordPerfect numbers each marked heading or subheading sequentially. The entries display in the PDF as numbered bookmarks in the document. To Create a Hyperlink: Select text or a graphic Click on the Tools menu and select Hyperlink Type a path and filename in the Document/Macro box NOTE: You can also create a hyperlink to a Web address by typing a URL in the Document/macro box. If you want to browse for the URL, click Browse Web If you want to link to a bookmark, choose a bookmark from the Bookmark list box Type the name of the frame in the Target frame box NOTE: When publishing to the Web or PDF, WordPerfect uses absolute URLs rather than relative URLs, meaning that you need to enter the full location path to the link, not just the filename. If you are linking to a document, you must have the full path to the document. If not, you will get "file not found" errors when clicking on the link." See also pdf995 ($9.95) which has been reported to do a better job in some cases of maintaining hyperlinks. You can use a macro to publish the current (.WPD) document directly, using WordPerfect's Publish to PDF feature. See Footnote 1.

WORDPERFECT 10 AND LATER:

See "Optimizing PDF files in WordPerfect 11," which discusses the optional settings in the Publish to PDF dialog, such as image compression, embedding fonts, etc. (This article also applies to WP10 and WP12. The only difference is in WP10, which does not have a "compatibility" option for the [newer] Adobe Acrobat 5.)

WORDPERFECT 9: GETTING WP'S "PUBLISH TO PDF" OPTION TO WORK

Here are some tips from Doug Collins of West Hills, CA (Reprinted with permission) Many users have reported difficulties getting WPWin9's "Publish to PDF" function to work properly [in WP9]. Here are a few tips for creating good PDF versions of your documents. 1. Download and install Service Pack 3. Several problems were fixed in Service Pack 1 (which is incorporated in SP3), including the improper alignment of fully justified text, the display of extended characters ("curly" quotation marks and apostrophes, em and en dashes, etc.). 2. When saving the file in PDF format, click on the "details" tab of the PDF dialogue box. Change the options as follow: a. Uncheck "include fonts in the document." This greatly reduces the size of the PDF file but it may cause font substitutions if you document uses a font that's not on the computer used to print the file. That can affect alignment of text, line breaks, pagination, etc. b. Check "publish text as graphics." This improves the appearance of the PDF file. c. Check "compress text streams." This also helps reduce the size of the PDF file. 3. If the printed version the PDF file has problems with spacing between words, try one of the following: a. Change your printer's settings. Go to My Computer, double click on the printers icon, right click on your printer, choose properties, click on the print quality tab, and set graphics mode to raster and text mode to truetype as bitmaps. b. Change the options on the Adobe Acrobat Reader's print menu. Check the box labeled "print as image" and uncheck the box labeled "fit to page." Note that the print quality will not be as high with this setting. c. If the problem persists, try switching to left-justified text (this problem should be fixed by Service Pack 1 and later). If available, try a different font. Adobe Type 1 fonts may give better results on some computers (such fonts require that an additional program called Adobe Type Manager or "ATM" be used with Windows 95/98). 4. If you're having problems displaying graphics in your PDF file, use graphic files in the JPEG or BMP format instead of the WPG format when creating your WP file. WPWin9 will convert the JPEG or BMP files to WPG format when they are inserted in your WP document. They will then translate properly to your PDF file (don't ask why no one knows just try it). However, be aware that large graphics may continue to cause problems. 5. Be prepared to accept some problems the translation from WP format to PDF isn't perfect, but it's pretty close, at least for straight text. However, dashed lines created with WP may display as solid lines in the PDF file, and large graphics and equations reportedly cause problems for many users.

Footnote 1

The code shown in blue are the operative lines. Other lines provide messages and feedback to the user, but they can be removed.

// Macro code begins

// This macro is based on one posted by Roy ("lemoto") Lewis at
// http://www.wpuniverse.com/vb/showthread.php?postid=165850#post165850

vFilename = ?Path+?Name
vFilename = StrLeft(vFilename;StrScan(vFilename;-1;;".")-1)
pdfName=vFileName + ".pdf"
HRt:=NToC(0F90Ah)

//Label(Confirm@) // <= Optional; see under GetString below
Messagebox (vAns;"Verify Path+Filename for the PDF file:";
"The path and filename for the PDF file will be -"+HRt+HRt+
" "+pdfName+HRt+HRt+
"Continue? (Yes = Publish to PDF, No = Rename the file first, Cancel = Quit now)";
YesNoCancel! | IconQuestion!)
If(vAns=2) Quit Endif
If(vAns=6) Go(Yes@) Endif
If(vAns=7) Go(No@) Endif

Label(No@)
OnCancel(QuitNow@)
GetString (pdfName;
"The new path+filename will be as shown below."+HRt+HRt+
"Press OK to accept the new name."+HRt+
"Be sure to retain the '.pdf' filename extension!"+HRt+HRt+
"(Press Cancel to quit now.)"+HRt;
"Rename the PDF file?")
If(pdfName="") Messagebox(;"Ooops!";"You must enter something!") Go(No@) Endif
//Go(Confirm@) // <= Optional: Loops back for re-confirmation

Label(Yes@)
PdfDlg(pdfname)

Label(QuitNow@)
Return
// End of macro