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APu (Mac): Export of PDF file broken/no PDF export


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As I search the forum, this very severe difficulty/bug makes my migration to APu miserable.

I just have startet to built up a layout for a municipal periodical. I'm in typesetting since over 25 years, using Mac, .indd and my standard fonts (like "Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk"), system admin.

The test-layout consists of 5 pages with text starting at page 2-3 with text frames chained up by hand and one text frame for a picture captation.
There are a lot of tests with other fonts (to get optimized space requirement for the lot of text, later in the final issue) and intense work with styles ...

As I export that test file to PDF/X-3 or -4 the 5th or 6th time, I get the note: The file <path and name.pdf> could not be written" (or created?. I use a German version). What a horror, if that occurs 2 days befor printing!?

- this is the second time, I run into that "no go".
- may be, this occurs if one has a text overflow (in a not-linked text frame)? Even, if you repair that by linking that text frame with a next one on the next page?
- is APu addicted to postscript printer drivers? I have a Xerox printer with original Adobe Postscript (oh, dear ...) and the last days I updated it. Failure despite or because that update?
- may be, there is an inconvenience with fonts, which have an "embedding flag"? In all my decades of (Mac) praxis, I *never* had been confronted with that nonsense. But now with APu?

>> There can be any bug in a new publishing software, but PDF export has to run under any circumstances and whatever barbwire a user has filled into his layout. An PDF export has to go (may be, not a good PDF, but anyway one).

This reminds me of my times with QuarkXpress: After *weeks* of layout on a catalogue for an art auction house, all the sudden in the morning Quark tells: The file couldn't be opened ...! (ahgrrr)

"Any help is appreciated"

Thanks,
Johannes

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Oh,  thank to You! I'm happy, that a skilled person reads along...

As for the moment, I can't provide you with exact that erroneous file :-(  Today, I spend a lot of hours in restoring (and setting up) the whole startup volume of my mac. After updating the Xerox printerdriver and those APu PDF export errors, I decided to return to the previous version of that driver and did a whole restore. And in the course of that action the test file, which resides on the desktop of the HD, is gone ...

I'll try to replicate that problem (for it's the second time for me) and will return to that topic here. (Although I am really not keen on to getting again in that situation...)

Excuse my question: Has APu already such a function "collect for output..." so that I can provide the fonts used? Until now, I didn't need and therefore didn't seek for such a menue item.

Thanks  a lot!
Johannes

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Hello DWright,
today I have restored via Mac Time Machine the faulty test layout, which refuses to be exportet as PDF/X-3 oder /X-4 out of APu.

I have send it to the Dropbox link, you gave me.
I would be *very* happy, if that issue could be generally solved. I do not dare to think, that I work on a complex layout hours and hours, and finally APu refuses to generate a PDF for Offset printing ...
If you need further informations - I'm willing to help in any way.

Many thanks!!
Johannes

Additional information: In the meanwhile I replaced a certain part of the text set in the font "Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk Regular", which I would use since decades, by an other font.
The PDF-export is now successfull, with the observation, that APu renders all remaining texts, which are set in other styles of Akzidenz Grotesk, to outlines (this was not selected in the PDF-export setup), exept the text in the substituted font, which is embedded.
This may the difficulties boil down to difficulties of APu dealing with (old? Mac-)fonts. It seems that APu considers those text container with Berthold AG as "non supported effects" and renders them to outlines, except the conatiner with the substute font.

 

Edited by jweitzel
additional technical informations added
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Hello DWright,
I'M happy in sending the files with great care. I re-extracted the original .zip file, which I sent to dropbox, - and the screenshot shows, that these fonts do go on the journey with all bits and bytes.

The phaenomenon of empty font files come, when those old Type 1-fonts change the file storing plattform/protocoll during transfer (afp/smb, ftp). At the start of desktop publishing, Apple used the postcript font files of "Type 1", splittet in the so called "screen bitmap font" (here in the screenshot: Font Suitcase) and the Postscript font itself (here: Postscript Type 1 Outlinefont). The screen bitmap itself consists of the so called "data fork" (which is empty at screen bitmaps) and the "resouce fork".
Mac OS can handle these complicated file structure till today very confidently. But in companies, where files have to hop between NTFS, HFS and afp, smb, ftp, old fonts get dameged very quickly.
If dropbox exctracts .zip files of its own (I don't use it) and stores it on the "false" volume, you will ever get empty Bitmap Font files.

I hope, the files now arrive safe and sound 🙂
Many thanks for your work and patience!

Johannes

 

Screen-Shot_JWe.jpg

Edited by jweitzel
trimmed the screenshot
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Hello DWright,
may be, are there any new news about that case? I would be very interested in a response from your side as expert!

Years ago – as I said, to the time of Mac fonts consisting of screen bitmap file and outline PS file – I invested in "my" publishing company about 10.000 Euros in the basic equipment of fonts for typesetting books (Garamond, TimesTen, Helvetica, Palatino, Optima, Futura, Univers and so on). And these fonts are still in use until today (apart from the fact, that only for those old fonts you are today allowed, to generate (book-) PDF files with embedded fonts and *sell* them for money. Today you would have to purchase very costly additional font licences).
Therefor we have +/- all those fonts still in use and e.g. Extensis "FontDoctor" still finds them all as ok.

As I said above, APu should try to generate (more or less) even in those cases (a somehow "impaired" font?) a PDF. May be, not a valid one, may be with error log. But only to say "a pdf could not be generated" and letting the user alone, is quite irksome.

Your help and expertise are welcome!
Johannes

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Hi There! 

I also have unfortunately the problem to export files into PDF. (german windows version)
The export stops in the middle or the programm is crashing. 

I tried to solve the problem and figured out, if there could be an problem with the export setting, but non of them worked. 
I also tried to install the older 1.7.3 version, but once you opend the file in the new version, the older one won't open it. 

I see i am also not the only one with that problem, hopefully the team is figuring it out soon.
Thanks. 
 

Edited by ABaerm
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Hello ABaerm (Bärm?),
in my case it boiled down "in the first instance" to an issue with a certain font face, altough that font works fluently in all other environments.

Therefore it would be an idea for you to "deconstruct" (a copy! of) your document element by element and each time to try the export.
May be, the whole file is damaged - may be (as in my case) there is a single frame or element, which causes that issue.

But nevertheless APu is a gorgeous piece of software and the Affinity team has done a real great, admirable job! Really.

Johannes

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Hello Johannes, 

at first i will thank you to your idea of solivng my problem. 
I tried different thing. Made a new document and insert a variation of my slides into the new document. At first nothing happend... But the export was working in a new simple document. 
So the export got stuck at specific slides. The problem was coming from complex vector graphics i inserted from Designer. The graphics were not rasterized, so the export failed. 
I rasterized all complex sketches/vector graphics and the export also worked with the old file. 

I am not sure if this is really good, cause the new very nice feature of AP is to manage different types of graphics at the same time in all 3 programms. And if there are problems with the vectors and you have to rasterize them, the connection get lost. But this could also be a problem with the hardware. i don't know. it worked in the older version. 

And to your last point. I am defenetly with you. The Affinity Team did and does a great Job, that's also why i put so much trust in to them and bought all programms. 

Greetings 
Alex 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to both of you for your informations and the efforts to collect them!

At the moment I'm helpless too busy to work further on that important case, and "Mr. DWright" is not answering any more... It would be a catastrophy, if APu would not process T1 fonts within PDF/X-3. And as you said: Do we hope, that T1 are not "deprecated". May it be conncted with the (not existing) embedding flag (bit) in the fonts?

I'm working with Mojave and APu 1.8.1, but days before the update in 1.7.3 there was the same error. I asked myself, what role the Font managing software (me: RightFont) may play in that setup?

Best wishes to you

Johannes

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Hi Lagarto,

that's great, what You have pinpointed! If this turns out to be exactly the cause of these severe problems, there may now "only" the problem to communicate this shortcoming to the developer team at Serif!
In the meantime I got the thought (already mentioned), what role the different font managing softwares may play in that situation: I do not have any clue, how these software hook into the system in order to register fonts (I think a very complex procedure). But apparently with different success (I do know Adobe TypeReunion ;-) , Fontexplorer, Suitcase, now RightFont [latter because it proviedes plugins for old CS 6!]). May be, that there is an other "trap" for Type 1 fonts are "not clean" or not quite registered at the system (and those quirks have to compensated by APu/PDF lib etc.).

Again, thanks to you!
Johannes

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hello Lagarto,
sorry, that I'm so busy (in home office 😞  ) to go further with my APu project and these font problems... Now, there is APu 1.8.3 out - and these special problems still exist? or solved?

Stay well
Johannes

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