[SpaceMonkey]

I wasn't sure if I should put this in the Lounge or in "Alternative Operating Systems," but I'm having some difficulty with a project on my PC at work and I'd appreciate any help.

I have a MS Publisher 2003 document (I know, I know) that I need to convert to PDF using Adobe Acrobat 7.0. If I convert it using the Adobe application, it seems to ignore the master page on the Publisher document. If I use the Adobe printer driver to create the PDF, then I get the master page, but of course the links that were in the Publisher document don't work.

Is there any way for me to create a PDF file that includes the master page AND the links?

[Oisín]

Doesn’t Publisher have an actual export function that has some more PDF functions?!?

(Wouldn’t really surprise me if it didn’t, now that I think of it... but it’s pretty basic functionality for a supposed design program.)


P.S.: I trust you’ve already duly gobthwacked the IT twit that pushed Publisher on your company and actually made people use it for projects/presentations/anything?

[OwlBoy]

One thing would be to try and print to the PDF. I am not positive how it is set up when in windows. But poke around in the print dialog. See if you can select Adobe PDF or something as your printer. Or there might be an extra button somewhere like on the Mac.

This would make the master-page work for sure if you have access to a print to pdf function.

-Owl

[Oisín]

One thing would be to try and print to the PDF. I am not positive how it is set up when in windows. But poke around in the print dialog. See if you can select Adobe PDF or something as your printer.

I think that’s what he means by “using the Adobe printer driver”.

[scaught]

Try printing it to .ps and convert the .ps to .pdf manually in acrobat later?

(can you still do that? I'm thinking back to when I used to have to do stuff like this in the Kinko's days)

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

I wasn't sure if I should put this in the Lounge or in "Alternative Operating Systems,"

The correct answer is in Art and Graphic Design, where we can all commiserate some more about <ew> Publisher.

but seriously, Scaught basically said what I was thinking. Get a .ps doc and find an old copy of distiller.

[KeriVit]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

I wasn't sure if I should put this in the Lounge or in "Alternative Operating Systems," but I'm having some difficulty with a project on my PC at work and I'd appreciate any help.

I have a MS Publisher 2003 document (I know, I know) that I need to convert to PDF using Adobe Acrobat 7.0. If I convert it using the Adobe application, it seems to ignore the master page on the Publisher document. If I use the Adobe printer driver to create the PDF, then I get the master page, but of course the links that were in the Publisher document don't work.

Is there any way for me to create a PDF file that includes the master page AND the links?

Precisely why we stopped taking Publisher where I worked. We couldn't even make it work right and we were the "experts". So, as long as you don't expect it to print exactly like it looks now or with spot colors, I would go the .PS route. Also, Microsoft has a pretty good help section about this.

[SpaceMonkey]

Thank you everyone for your help. Outputting to .ps first didn't seem to work for maintaining the links, either, but I ended up just working around it by eliminating the "master page" and putting everything that was there into the main working area. It's just a simple 3 page internal newsletter-type thing, so it was easier to do that than to figure out how to actually make it work.

I'll look at some of the other apps we have available that might be easier to work from in the future. We do have the full Adobe Creative Suite, but Publisher is easier in the sense that it's right there on my office PC, so that's what I started with.

Adobe CS might be overkill for this (heck, I could probably make this thing in Word, if I had to), but it would be nice just to pick up the basics of it in case I someday have to sell my rudimentary design skills to a potential employer (I'm young enough that I could literally be doing anything in 10 years).

[olePigeon]

You could try using CutePDF, it's a 3rd party (free) PDF printer driver.