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Vanishing PDF version export preset in Pub 1.8.1.584 for Windows


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I'm using Affinity Publisher 1.8.584 in Windows 10. (My copy hasn't updated to v. 1.8.585 yet.) When I try to export a file into a particular version of PDF, such as PDF/X-3:2003 (as required by my book publisher/printer), I first select that correct PDF version in the Preset field of the Export Settings box. I then tick the box below that for Include bleed (as my current project is a children's picture book and every page is full-page art set to bleed; by the way, I'm also exporting as pages, not as spreads, though I doubt that affects this issue). I would then expect that the preset for PDF/X-3:2003 (or whichever version of PDF I selected) would remain in the Preset field to control which version of PDF I was creating.

But instead, ticking Include bleed makes the Preset field go BLANK! The PDF preset information vanishes -- leading me to conclude that my preset has inexplicably been deselected in favor of some sort of generic version-less PDF, which my publisher won't accept. The same thing happens in the More box linked to Export Settings. Ticking Include bleed there, as in the main Export Settings box, nearly always makes the PDF preset at the top immediately vanish, with the sole exception (in my testing) of selecting PDF (press ready) -- which preset however does not produce a PDF/X-3 compliant file, according to Acrobat Pro Preflight. Strangely, however, creating a PDF by first selecting the PDF/X-3:2003 preset, ticking the Include bleed box, allowing the PDF/X-3 preset to vanish, leaving the PDF preset field blank, suppressing my panic 😃, and then exporting the PDF anyway, produces a PDF which Acrobat Pro Preflight then verifies as PDF/X-3 compliant.

I think this must be a real bug, and not just me, as I have tested this with a number of PDFs and it seems to be consistent. The vanishing behavior of the PDF preset setting leads one to assume the preset itself has also vanished (and inspires one thereupon to panic), when that is apparently not the case. And because the preset has disappeared, it's difficult to have any confidence that Publisher is creating the specified version of PDF until the export is finished (many minutes later, for a large file), and then verified in Acrobat Pro, which I would prefer not to have to use. (I arrived at Affinity partly to escape from the Adobe Empire, not to have to use it as a workaround.) I'm sure this bug must be killable, and I await the good news. Thanks!

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You do not have to worry, the PDF version will be kept. I experienced something similar. In the end a preset is a preset is a preset. If something changes in this preset it is not the original preset anymore. The good news is, that you can define your own preset with Include Bleed. Maybe Serif could include something like in Indesign, that if you modify a preset the original preset name stays and (modified) is added to the preset name?

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Windows 10 | i5-8500 CPU | Intel UHD 630 Graphics | 32 GB RAM | Latest Retail and Beta versions of complete Affinity range installed

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Thanks for the reply. It is slightly reassuring that Publisher apparently does save my PDF preset, even though it seems to promptly delete it, which is very disturbing. The mysterious vanishing PDF preset led me to absolutely conclude, based on lots of experience with other software (though I'm new to Affinity), that the version preset had obviously been utterly wiped away as well. The idea that Affinity would simply let the Preset field go blank when you add bleed -- and yet stealthily preserve the version setting invisibly, like some sort of Secret Preset Which Cannot Be Revealed -- I find completely baffling. Letting the Preset field turn into something like PDF/X-3:2003 (modified) would at least help reassure the user that you're still in the right ballpark.

However: My publisher/printer for this project (IngramSpark) in their "File Creation Guide" state that they only accept PDFs in X-1a or X-3 format and they hasten to add, "Please do not modify any of the default settings." Is bleed a default setting? I don't think of "to bleed or not to bleed" as a "PDF default setting," as PDFs can be built with or without bleed; the PDF version doesn't care, does it? If you're creating pages to bleed, you simply have to specify Include bleed or your PDF pages won't have any bleed areas, making it impossible to print them correctly, no matter what version PDF they are. (Or else create the bleed areas as part of the layout instead of specifying the dimension in the Document Setup box; a rogue approach everyone on this Forum warned me away from.) And when I run the PDFs I make with bleed included and the PDF/X-3 preset (which then strangely though by now predictably goes blank), Acrobat Pro verifies them as fully PDF/X-3 compliant with "no problems". The included bleed doesn't seem to conflict with the X-3 spec, nor should it, as I understand it, so why should just including bleed require the Export Setting box to add (modified)? Or worse, to make the preset simply disappear? And cause you to conclude, "Oh no, I've screwed up my PDF setting, which MUST include bleed and yet Must Not Be Modified!" This still strikes me as a bug, or a glitch, or an oversight, or miscommunication, or something equally undesirable yet preventable/fixable. What do you think?

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3 minutes ago, Robert Williams said:

What do you think?

Yes, removing the PDF version could lead to some sort of irritation. But ... we are talking here about presets and not PDF standards. Even in Indesign CS6 adding Include Bleed transforms PDF/X-3 into being Modified, which also could lead to irritation. The PDF standard itself is not touched. So let's conclude that the disappearing entry in the pulldown belongs belongs to an area which can be easily? improved. In the meantime make your own presets - so did I. ;)

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Windows 10 | i5-8500 CPU | Intel UHD 630 Graphics | 32 GB RAM | Latest Retail and Beta versions of complete Affinity range installed

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Thanks for getting back to me, I think our discussion is very useful. I think what irritates me most is that when you modify the Affinity preset, Affinity behaves as if you have actually modified the PDF standard, by seeming to delete the version you just set. Something seems to have obviously gone wrong, even if things are still in order behind the scenes. And things have gone wrong: The user has been misled or misinformed. After the preset disappears, there's nothing at all to indicate or verify which version Publisher will actually be exporting. You need to wait till it's done and then use Acrobat Pro or some other Preflight checker to tell you that. Also, by "making your own preset," do you mean the method we've been talking about --- setting the PDF version, sat X-3, and then modifying it and ignoring the fact that the PDF information has disappeared? Or is there another method? In my version of APub, I don't see any option for creating a "custom preset" or anything like that.

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16 minutes ago, Robert Williams said:

I don't see any option for creating a "custom preset" or anything like that.

When you are in the eport dialogue and assuming you selected PDF/X-3 and Include Bleed, hit the More button. Right after doing so, you see another dialogue like in the attached image. As you see, the compatibility is still PDF/X-3. Adapt everything to your needs like crop marks etc. Now click Manage Presets at the bottom of the dialogue, pick Create Preset, give it a name like PDF/X-3 with bleed and save it. Done. Now your custom preset will appear in the dropdown. Unless you modify some setting. ;)

preset.jpg

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Windows 10 | i5-8500 CPU | Intel UHD 630 Graphics | 32 GB RAM | Latest Retail and Beta versions of complete Affinity range installed

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Aha! Got it. Thanks for the Manage Presets tip, Joachim, I appreciate your help and patience. I will create my own preset for future use. As for the Mysterious Vanishing Preset, I still think this should be an easily fixable bug, and curing it will save untold users endless hours of frustration and confusion. Thanks again for the great discussion.

 

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