Adobe Acrobat settings

Adobe Acrobat Recommendations

BACKGROUND:

This is some background & basics on Acrobat 4.0, which we have adopted as the standard version for creating PDF files (until the next version comes along!). We cannot prescribe settings as these depend on a variety of things such as the application/s used to create the original document; the platform used; the sophistication/complexity of the document being created; etc… We can however, make some recommendations on a minimum settings standard for the ADT Project.

The standard we are recommending is based on what we believe are important issues to keep in mind at this stage:

the PDF documents we create must be backward compatible with earlier versions of Acrobat

all fonts to be embedded in order to retain authenticity with the original document

files sizes should be kept as small as possible. However small files are not always possible for various reasons - use of graphics etc, retro scanned theses. Although we do have the front.pdf file convention which provides more information about the thesis in a smallish chunk.

To achieve the above the Distiller default settings will need to be set to ScreenOptimized (maintains backward compatibility) & the Embed All Fonts option needs to be enabled. Use Distiller (with these settings) for theses created in all applications & early versions of MSWord. Use PDFMaker (which will use the default settings for Distiller) for theses created in Word7+ More details and information to follow below.

At this stage our experience is only with PCs & Windows.

We have done some research on information regarding optimal Acrobat 4.0 settings particularly for theses but have not come up with anything much. Any information we have found only describes settings for Acrobat 3.0 - this includes the Adobe site as well as Virginia Tech.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Malcolm Gordon for doing much of the work on this for us. Malcolm will continue to investigate variables with settings and any other useful tips on PDF conversion which we will post to the ADT Forum.

ACROBAT 4.0 BASICS:

When Acrobat 4.0 installs itself on a Win95/8 computer, it creates 2 new 'printers' - Acrobat Distiller and Acrobat PDFWriter.

If the computer has Microsoft Word97 and Powerpoint97 already installed, then Acrobat also installs Acrobat PDFMaker into these 2 applications.

If the original thesis has been created in Microsoft Word97, then using the PDFMaker is fairly straightforward.

Setting the 'Distiller settings:' pull down menu to ScreenOptimized maintains compatibility with Acrobat 3.0 and seems to produce an acceptable PDF file as far as printing quality and file size are concerned.

If the original thesis has been created in another application, then it is necessary to 'print' the file to either the Acrobat Distiller or Acrobat PDFWriter to produce the PDF file.

By default, Acrobat Distiller creates the name of the PDF file and saves it in c:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 4.0\PDF Output\filename.pdf

Acrobat PDFWriter opens a dialogue box to allow you to name the file and save it where you choose.

The file created by Acrobat Distiller (with default settings) is small and displays well on the screen.

The file created by Acrobat PDFWriter is large and doesn't display as well on the screen, unless magnified.

Depending on the quality of the printer, a copy printed from the PDF file created with PDFWriter (the large file) is better than a copy printed from the PDF file created with the Distiller (the small file). All this means that using Acrobat 4.0 as installed, an adequate PDF file (as far as compatibility with Acrobat 3.0; file size; screen quality; and print quality) is produced using PDFMaker from Word97 with ScreenOptimized setting; also using Acrobat Distiller.

A PDF file created with Acrobat PDFWriter is a large file, a little more difficult to use on screen, but slightly better print quality on a high quality printer.

ADT MINIMUM DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR STANDARD DOCUMENTS:

Acrobat Distiller with default ADT settings (ScreenOptimized & Embedded Fonts) for theses created with other applications.

Abobe PDFMaker (using Distiller with default ADT settings) for theses created in Word97.

If a particular thesis has special characteristics (contains many graphics or other special features), then using Acrobat PDFWriter as installed may be necessary or using Acrobat Distiller with custom settings may be required. In this situation it would be desirable in thefirst instance for the author/creator to consult with the appropriate ADT contact at the particular partner institution to decide if something other than the minimum recommendation should be used to create the PDF files.

HOW TO SET ADT MINUMUM DEFAULT SETTINGS:

Run Acrobat Distiller
Choose ScreenOptimized from the Job Options menu

Click on the Settings menu & choose Job Options; leave General Settings as they are; choose Fonts tab and enable (click) Embed All Fonts box

Choose Save As and save this customized Job Option setting as ADT.joboptions then click OK. This should then go back to the Distiller screen with ADT as the new Job Options default. Close Distiller

If you plan to use PDFMaker (from Word7, ie choose File, then Create Adobe PDF… this will load up PDFMaker)

PDFMaker defaults to PDFWriter; change this to Use Acrobat Distiller (click on the radio button) and make surethe Distiller Settings is set to the new ADT default. Then click on the Apply button (bottom right). PDFMaker is now set toalso use the ADT default settings.

MAGNIFICATION:

It is recommended that the document magnification be set to 100%. The default setting is much larger and can be frustrating. The recommended setting provides a better view of the page immediately rather than having to resize. This convention will also will also ensure that most ADT theses will open with a standardised magnification.

setting the standard ADT magnification is best done when setting the document security. This is easiest done by using
the File--Batch Process commands; click on Open Info and
change Magnification from Default to 100%.