PDF Import Problem

[lettergothic]

When I import a PDF with embedded fonts—the same PDF that I would/do send as a print job document to a commercial, offset printer—into Affinity, the document fonts are stripped out of the PDF and other fonts are substituted. This problem is eliminated, of course, when the font/s in question are resident in the Affinity app but this defeats the whole purpose that the PDF—Portable Document Format—exists: to maintain document integrity when viewed/used by a reader (or commercial printer) who does not have the authoring app or typefaces contained in the document. When I d'load a PDF doc. from the web, it doesn't make any difference if I don't have the typefaces or images used in that document—the document integrity is maintained. My commercial, offset printers that I use have no trouble opening and printing  complex documents that I send to them as PDFs. The Preview app, on the Mac, seems to be able to interpret PDFs correctly.

So, how about adding PDF fidelity to imported PDF's with embedded/subset fonts?

I have a lot of PDFs, originally authored in InDesign and Quark, that I want to move from my Intel Macbook Pro to my M2 Macbook Pro AND, at the same time, open and export them into (my new) Affinity ecosystem.  🙂

PS: Can I open PPT presentations—with total fidelity—in Affinity and resave them as PDFs from Affinity?

Thanks,

lettergothic

[walt.farrell]

4 minutes ago, lettergothic said:

PS: Can I open PPT presentations—

No.

[Dan C]

Thanks for your feedback!

In this scenario, I'd recommend using File > Place with your PDF files and ensuring they are set to Passthrough on the Context Toolbar - as this will ensure the fonts aren't required on your system in order to display the PDF as intended in your Publisher file.

As I understand it, this is how other applications, such as InDesign & Quark handle introducing PDF files into a document also.

I hope this helps

[lettergothic]

Thanks, Dan.

Unfortunately, I can only get it to work with single-page PDFs. I have multi-page contract PDFs and 30 page PDF slide shows to bring into Affinity.

I set up a four page document in Publisher, thinking that it would then have 4 "containers" to fill and "placed" a 4 pg. PDF contract. It only placed page one!

How do I get this to work?!

Thanks,

lettergothic

[walt.farrell]

12 hours ago, lettergothic said:

How do I get this to work?!

Which version of Publisher do you have, and what OS do you use? Placing multi-page PDFs is a function that is new in V2, so if you're still using V1 you'll have to do it page-by-page.

If you have V2, this Serif tutorial should help: 

 

[lettergothic]

Walt,

Thanks for responding.

"Which version of Publisher do you have, and what OS do you use?"

AfPub. 2.1.      MacBook Pro M2 ; MacOs 13.3 Ventura

 

Again, thanks for sending the video. I watched it several times and wrote down the steps that he followed. It still didn't work. It only imported page 1 of my 2-page test PDF document. I have many 30–40 pg PDFs that I need to get transferred.

1. I prepared a 2 pg doc. in APub. with the layout set to vertical and with an image frame over each pg.
2. Using the Place Image tool, I located the test file. He says "select auto-flow and click open". I didn't see any "auto-flow" option in the finder file window so, I clicked "open".
3. Two pgs. frames appeared in the "place images" panel BUT only pg. 1 of my 2-pg. test doc was shown in the pg.2 position in the "place images" panel.
4. I selected both pages in the "place images" panel and single-clicked in "receiver frame" 1, as the vid. said to do.
5. As stated above, this operation placed only pg.1 in the pg.2 frame of the receiver document. So, following the video's as closely as I could, it didn't work. 
 

Please tell me how to get this to work . . .

Thanks,

lettergothic

[Dan C]

I've followed the steps shown in the above tutorial and this is working as expected for me - my recording shows a 4 page PDF with the page number on each page, placed into 4 pages of a new Affinity document.

From your description, it's unclear if you are 'expanding' the Placed PDF file in the Place Studio, selecting the pages themselves to auto-flow within the document.

If you're still having trouble, can you please provide a screen recording showing these steps for me?

If you're unsure how to take a screen recording, please check out our FAQ linked below - 

Many thanks 

[lettergothic]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for responding. Thanks for the vid. This is incredibly frustrating for me. I've used Quark, Freehand, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, profesionally, for 30 years but Affinity continually confounds me.

I watched your vid. multiple times. As you point out, it follows the the same steps as the "autoflow" vid. that Walt referenced. I carefully followed the steps in your vid., as I did w/the "autoflow" vid. I've worked on this all afternoon, trying various permutations, one after another, to get it to work and it will only place pg.1 of my 2 pg., PDF test doc.  Setting up the doc. as facing pgs. or vertical pages doesn't make any diff. I've ticked Master Pages on and off & it makes no difference.  Is there some other setting in "pg. setup" that could be causing this to not work? All the settings seem normal and correct to me.  Again, I'm using Apub. 2.1 on an M2 Macbook Pro with Ventura 13.3.

1. I create a 2 pg. doc. in Pub. and draw a picture frame over each pg.
2. I click the "Place" tool, navigate to my test file (a 2 pg. LOA PDF for a past client) and click "open". (I've tried other PDFs as well and the result is the same—1 pg. only.)
3. Pg.1 & pg.2, with little pictures of each page, appear in the pages panel.
4. In the panel, I shift-select both pages
5. I move the loaded, "place image" cursor over pg.1 of the empty, 2 pg. APub. document and click once.  Pg. 1 of the PDF is placed onto/into pg. 2 of the Pub. doc.(!?) Page 2 of the PDF does not appear on the remaining, blank pg. (pg.1 of the Pub. doc.) and has disappeared from the pages panel as well. I can't get it to place more than 1 page of any 2 pg. PDF doc. I can't find any other videos on this and trying to follow the directions in the APub help file doesn't help.

Thanks for helping. I appreciate it.

lettergothic

[walt.farrell]

For me, it works as shown in the tutorial I referenced, and in the video that @Dan C showed.

Perhaps you could show us a video of what happens when you try it?

(By the way, at your step 3 you mentioned that the pages appear in the Pages panel. That should be the Place Images panel, instead. Other than that, I've just done what you described and it worked.)

[lettergothic]

Walt,

"you mentioned that the pages appear in the Pages panel. That should be the Place Images panel, instead"

Yes, I misspoke. I meant the Place Images panel. I hope that slight error didn't affect your conclusions.

I guess I could try a screen recording but using those steps derived from your vid. and Dan's, it would just record it not working.

Still, in any case, it's not working for me for some reason . . .

Thanks for responding.

lettergothic

[walt.farrell]

39 minutes ago, lettergothic said:

but using those steps derived from your vid. and Dan's, it would just record it not working.

Still, in any case, it's not working for me for some reason . . .

A video might reveal something you're doing that you haven't described quite correctly, or (as occasionally happens) some other circumstance that triggers the problem that we haven't realized. There have been logged problems that depended on a variety of factors no one would have suspected of being relevant, that a video recorded by the user has revealed.

[Dan C]

Sorry to hear you're still having trouble here!

As Walt has mentioned, the best thing would be a screen recording showing the exact steps you're taking and the results you're seeing.

If you're unsure how to take a screen recording, please check out our FAQ linked below - 

Many thanks once again

[lettergothic]

Okay. I've tried every way from Sunday to get this to work . . . and I can't.

So, as requested here's a screen recording of the process. It's my first time screen recording so please excuse the jerkiness/hesitation.

The test file is a 2 page PDF of a client LOA.

Thanks,

lettergothic

[Seneca]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:06 PM, lettergothic said:

The test file is a 2 page PDF of a client LOA.

You can clearly see that this is working. What you need to do to place multiple pages is the following:

1. Select the file

2. Hold down the Shift key before clicking File > Place.

3. A Place Panel will open.

4. Click on the name of the file where you see an arrow like this > to reveal the rest of the pages (in the Place Panel).

5. Select all the pages and click on the main page to start the automatic placement of all pages.

I hope this helps

[Dan C]

Thanks for providing that for me!

As mentioned above, please ensure you are holding the Shift Key when using Place, otherwise the document will be automatically placed on the first page in your active selection (Page 1) and the Place Panel won't be shown. I can see in your recording the document is immediately placed within the frame on Page 1, indicating you don't have this key held down.

Equally, you shouldn't need to select both pages in the Pages Panel before using the Place Tool either, though provided you are holding the Shift key as required this shouldn't technically change the behaviour experienced.

[lettergothic]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for responding. Unfortunately, selecting the "Place Image" tool, holding "Shift", selecting the file and clicking "Open" results in exactly the same outcome as shown in my screen recording: the "Place Panel" shows two pages (selected) with page 1 in the page 2 position and no page 2 content —ditto the APub doc. I'd do another screen recording but it would be identical to the one that I posted. To reiterate, I'm using a Macbook Pro M2 running Ventura 13.3.

[Return]

It will only place it once and this will only show one page of a multi page pdf or even afpub file.
You need to duplicate the first page and choose the second page from the dropdown on the child of the pictureframe.
 

 

 

[walt.farrell]

26 minutes ago, lettergothic said:

as shown in my screen recording: the "Place Panel" shows two pages

In your most recent screen recording, you selected two pages in the Pages panel. That makes no sense for this operation You need to select the 2 pages in the Place panel when you get it.

Part of your problem may be that you have a Picture Frame selected when you do the Place operation. Make sure you do not have anything selected (click in the pasteboard, outside a page, with the Move Tool selected).

Then click Place, and choose your PDF. You should get the Place panel (not the Pages panel). Expand the top bar (above the first displayed page), select all the revealed pages (or as many as you want). Then click in the Picture Frame.

[lettergothic]

Return,

Thanks for responding.

I'm afraid that I don't understand your advice. :-/

Are you saying that: after creating a 2-pg. doc. in APub, I should go to the Layers Panel, duplicate pg.1 and select the duplicated page and then use use the Place Image tool to shift-select the target file and click "open"??

lettergothic

[Return]

18 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

You need to select the 2 pages

I'm sorry walt but this never worked for me or there must be another way to select a multipage pdf(not multi pdf files, cause this will work)
 

 

 

[Return]

6 minutes ago, lettergothic said:

Are you saying that: after creating a 2-pg. doc. in APub, I should go to the Layers Panel, duplicate pg.1 and select the duplicated page and then use use the Place

Like in my video;
place the pdf once on a page>duplicate the page>select which page to show from the dropdown in contexttoolbar>repeat for every page.

[walt.farrell]

6 minutes ago, Return said:

but this never worked for me

You did not expand the top bar, above the page that is displayed, in the Place panel.

[lettergothic]

Walt,

Thanks for responding.

Well. Since I always had page selected, I had never seen the "Place Panel"!  I made sure everything was deselected. Using the "place" tool, I shift-selected the file, clicked "open" and got the "place" panel!  In the panel, the dropdown showed Page 1 and clicking the arrow shows pg. 2. I can't shift-select both son I chose p.1, hovered the "place cursor" over pg.1 on the 2 pg. doc. and clicked. Pg.1 of the file appeared in pg. 1 of the doc. and pg. 2 was blank—no flowing of pg.2 into my doc.

lettergothic

[Return]

3 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

You did not expand the top bar, above the page that is displayed, in the Place panel.

Ah thanks never saw that but then again I drag/drop and rarely use the place tool.

[lettergothic]

"You did not expand the top bar, above the page that is displayed, in the Place panel."

This is the first I've heard of this! Others have just said to click the dropdown triangle. How do I "expand" the top bar?!

Thanks,

l'gothic