PDF Factory

pdfFactory is a printer driver. This means you must print to it from your application, just as you would with any other printer. Most applications have a Print dialog box command available in the File menu.

To use pdfFactory:
Go the File menu of your application and select Print
Select FinePrint pdfFactory as your printer
Click OK
Wait for the pdfFactory dialog to appear.
Once the dialog box appears, you can preview your document, save it, email it, or view it.

Jobs Tab
This tab allows you to rename, rearrange and delete entire jobs. All jobs in the current pdfFactory Pro session are listed here.
The job list shows the current set of jobs along with the number of pages in each. The following functions apply to the currently selected job in the job list and are available by right-clicking on the job:
Delete - deletes the job and removes it from the list. If the "Show deleted jobs" option is checked, the deleted state is indicated by changing the page count to "0 of x" where x is the number of pages contained in the job.
Undelete - undeletes the job, if it has been previously deleted. Note that this option is available only when the "Show deleted jobs" option is checked.
Rename - renames the job. Jobs can also be renamed by clicking on the job in the list and waiting for the edit cursor to appear.
Show job info - shows information about the selected job including:

number of pages
temp file name
size of file
version number of file
fonts used
paper trays used, if applicable
Show deleted jobs - checking this box displays jobs that have been deleted. This is useful when jobs need to be undeleted.

Note: If this box is checked, deleted jobs are saved in FP files when using the Save button and when .FP files are auto saved.

Rearranging jobs - jobs can be rearranged by dragging and dropping a selected job into the new position. It is also possible to rearrange pages with a job or among jobs.
Stamp set - applies the selected Stamp set to the current contents.
Letterhead - applies the selected letterhead to the current contents.

Stamps tab
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Headers (text at the top of the page/sheet), footers (text at the bottom of the page/sheet) and watermarks (text in the center of the page/sheet, printed underneath content) can be added to documents.
A saved collection of header, footer and watermark stamps is referred to as a stamp set. Stamp sets can be saved and applied to any print job. There are a few pre-defined stamp sets but you can also create custom sets.

Adding and editing stamp set names
New - Select this button when you want to create a new blank stamp set. The new stamp set will appear in the list highlighted, ready to be renamed..
Delete - Select the stamp set to be deleted and press the DEL key.
Rename - Right-click on the stamp set to be renamed and select Rename.
Editing the header, footer and watermark
Header - displays the header (text to appear at the top of the document) and allows it to be edited.
Watermark - displays the watermark (text to appear at the center) and allows it to be edited. The watermark angle and opacity can be adjusted when the Watermark radio button is selected.
Footer - displays the header (text to appear at the bottom of the document) and allows it to be edited.
Adding system variables to stamp can be done by pressing the Insert Variable button and selecting from the following menu choices:
Job Name - Inserts the name of the print job into the text. The job name is dependent on the application but typically it is the name of the application followed by the file name. An example of a job name is: Microsoft Word - MyFile.doc.
Date - Inserts the current date into the text. The date will be updated whenever the document is printed.
Time - Inserts the current time into the text. The time will be updated whenever the document is printed.
Page x of y - Inserts the page number and the total number of printed sheets. This can be used for documents that do not have the page number as part of the document content.
User - Inserts the computer user name
Printer - Inserts the name of the currently selected printer
Computer - Inserts the network name of the workstation currently running
Justification options:

Left - characters after this marker will be left justified
Center - characters after this marker will be centered
Right - characters after this marker will be right justified
Newline - inserts a new line in the text
The Font button allows you to change the font and color of the currently selected stamp header, footer or watermark. The font displayed in the preview window is not the same size as it will appear on the paper when printed.

Apply to combo box allows printing of stamp set to one of:

first page only
each page
starting on page - specifies the first page to which the stamp set is applied
Page numbering options
Start page numbers at - indicates the number of the first page. For example, the first page number could be 5 and increase from there.
Bates field width - applies leading zeros to the page numbers.
Reset page numbers for each job - by default, the numbering applies to all the pages of the combined set of documents. This option resets the page numbering for each job.

Letterhead tab
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pdfFactory can save a job as a letterhead, on top of which other print jobs are placed. This feature allows you to send PDFs on letterhead just as you would with printed documents.

Steps to create a letterhead:

1. Create a letterhead in any application and select the Print command from the File menu. Select the pdfFactory Pro driver when the Print dialog box appears.
2. Click the Letterhead minitab tab in the Preview tab.
3. Click the "Create using current job". The new letterhead will appear as "new letterhead" highlighted in the letterhead list. Type in a new name for the letterhead.
4. Set the printing option in the Letterhead tab. The letterhead pages will be repeated in sequence with any document pages unless either of the two options are selected:
Print on first page only - this option applies to single page letterheads only and signifies that the letterhead will be printed on the first page of the document and not on subsequent pages.
Do not repeat first letterhead page - this option applies to 2 page letterheads only. It indicates the first letterhead page is to be printed only on the first document page and the second letterhead page should be printed on all subsequent document pages.
Always apply entire letterhead - this option is used when the letterhead may be longer than the document. For example, an invoice letterhead could be created that has terms and conditions on the second page. Even if the invoice is a single page, the terms and conditions page would be included.
Simulate multi-part form - this option will repeat a document page for each page of the letterhead.
Right clicking the letterhead in the Letterhead tab allows renaming and deleting.

Using Letterhead

Now that the letterhead is created, you can print other jobs on top of it. This is done as follows:

1. Print the job using the normal pdfFactory procedure.
2. When the pdfFactory dialog box appears, select the letterhead from the Letterhead combo box. The preview window will display your current print job on top of the selected letterhead.

Doc Info tab
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Description - This area allows setting attributes that will be written into the PDF file for easy searching from within Acrobat or in other PDF seach tools. The attributes are:

title
author
subject
keywords
Acrobat viewer options - all the available viewer options for Acrobat can be set here as well.

Bookmarks tab
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The Bookmarks tab is used for creating bookmarks in the PDF file. Bookmarks are links to different parts of the PDF and are accessed in a separate window pane in the Acrobat reader to make navigation of documents easier. When a bookmark is clicked, Acrobat jumps to the page referred to by the bookmark.

Here are the ways to create bookmarks:

Manual - scroll to the page you want to bookmark in the pdfFactory Preview tab. Right click on the page and select "bookmark this page" from the context menu. You can also use Ctrl-B on the keyboard to accomplish this. When this is done, the bookmark pane will appear if it is not already visible and you can edit the name of the bookmark. The new bookmark will appear in the bookmark list relative to its position in the document set currently in pdfFactory.
Bookmark for each print job - this option will automatically create a bookmark for each print job added to pdfFactory.
Detect headings - this option will create a bookmark table of contents based the text style. When a string of characters of the defined text style is encountered in the print job, a bookmark entry will be created. This works well for structured documents that have consistent styles for different levels of headings.
Up to 9 different text styles can be set, one for each level of the table of contents. The font name, point size, and embellishment such as bold, italic or underline can be specified or if the "Only show fonts used in current document" is checked, the possible font choices are limited to those fonts that are contained in the current document set. The default settings for text styles are the heading levels used in Microsoft Word.
Note: It is possible to set the text styles by copying an example of the text to the clipboard from an application that can put RTF on the clipboard. When the appropriate text is placed on the clipboard, a "Paste clipboard" button will appear in the Bookmarks tab with a description of the text style. For example, the button might read: "Paste clipboard (Times New Roman 12)". Clicking the button will set the currently selected level to the style of text on the clipboard.

Editing the bookmark list

Renaming - click on the bookmark, wait a second or two and then enter your changes. This can also be accomplished by right-clicking the bookmark in the bookmark pane and selecting "rename".
Deleting - click on the bookmark and either press the DEL key or right-click and select "delete" from the context menu.
Rearranging - simply drag the bookmark and drop it where you want it.
Saving your text styles
If you have a number of different document styles for which you need to generate bookmarks, it is useful to save the heading text settings as group. This is can be done using the Save formats button. Formats are saved in a .fmt file and can be restored using the Load formats button.

Troubleshooting

If you have problems creating bookmarks when detect headings mode is used, try the following:
Use the "Only show fonts used in current document" setting and check to make sure that the fonts in the font list match those in the original document. If they are different, it may be that the pdfFactory paper size does not match that of the original document. Correct the pdfFactory paper size and try printing again.
Microsoft Word markup characters need to be turned off. In Word's Print dialog, in the "Print what" combo box, make sure you select "Document" and not "Document showing markup".


Fonts tab
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The Fonts tab shows the fonts used in the documents in your current pdfFactory session and allows you to embed them in the PDF file. Here are some things to consider in deciding whether or not to embed fonts:
Do you care about the specific fonts used in the document? If yes, embed the font.
Does the recipient of the document have the font on their system? If the user is a Windows user and you are using fonts generally found on Windows computers, there is no need to embed.
Will the PDF viewer make a reasonable substitution for fonts that do not exist on the recipient system? The PDF viewer will substitute fonts. If this is acceptable, there is no need to embed.
Embedding fonts increases the size of the PDF file meaning it will take longer to download from an email message or from the web.
pdfFactory will remember the list of fonts you decide to embed and will embed them by default in subsequent documents. You can list all of your installed fonts and select those to be embedded. When a document contains the font selected, it will automatically be embedded.

Security tab
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The Security tab allows setting options for securing PDFs. Options include password protection for opening the document and restrictions on what can be done with the PDF once open.
Selecting the Use Security checkbox will turn on the security options and apply them to the PDF.

Encryption Strength

low: use the 40 bit option only if the recipient is using Acrobat 4 or older.
high: (recommended) use this if you need the strongest possible encryption and that the user of the PDF has or has access to Acrobat 5.0 or greater.
Restrictions can be set such that users of the PDF cannot:
view the document without password: this option will force the user of the PDF to enter a password before Acrobat will allow it to be viewed.

Note: There are programs available to crack the password. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Please consider this when selecting a password.

copy text and graphics from the document: this option is useful if viewing is allowed but content copying should be restricted.
print the document: select this option if printing the PDF is not allowed.
change the document: select this option if deleting pages, inserting pages or otherwise altering the PDF is not allowed.
add or change comments and form fields in the document: select this option changing annotations or forms is not allowed
Note: Acrobat requires a password to change security settings on a PDF. Without this password, users can remove the restrictions placed on documents thereby defeating the purpose of adding security. pdfFactory will automatically generate a master password for you by default to enforce the security provisions. If you want to specify your own master password, go to the Settings tab and select the "Allow Master password" option. You will then see an option to set the master password on the Security tab.

Settings tab
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AutoSave saves entire contents of pdfFactory sessions automatically. This is useful in case you need to get back to something you printed previously or if you suffer a system crash while printing. You can set the number of complete sessions to save using the spin control provided. The PDF files are saved in My Documents\pdfFactory files\AutoSave files by default. Default file locations for manual and auto-saved files can be set using the Folder locations button. The AutoSave files can be deleted using the Delete auto-saved files button.

PDF level - sets the PDF level. Automatic will select the PDF level with the maximum compatibility with Acrobat.
Allow Master password entry on Security tab - controls the display of the Master password field in the Security tab.
Create new pdfFactory Pro printer - this button creates a new pdfFactory Pro printer that has a copy of the settings in the current pdfFactory Pro session. Creating multiple pdfFactory Pro printers provides easy access to a pre-defined set of printing attributes. Examples of multiple pdfFactory Pro printers are:

pdfFactory printer to create secure documents
pdfFactory printer to embed fonts
pdfFactory printer with specific Doc Info settings
The new pdfFactory printer will be available in the list of printers available in the Print dialog boxes of all applications.

Appearance dialog box defines the appearance of the pdfFactory preview. By using the checkboxes, the user interface can be limited to show only those features that are needed. It also can be used to limit the ability to change predefined settings. For example, it is possible to set default preferences for security in PDF documents and then remove the means by change the settings by removing the Security tab. The Test button shows an example of how the user interface will appear as checkboxes are turned on or off.
Email settings dialog box allows setting the default email client to which PDFs should be attached when the Send button is pressed. Standard email message settings are also provided.


Main functions
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The pdfFactory dialog box has buttons on the bottom for its main functions:
View PDF - opens your default PDF viewer with the actual PDF file created.
Save - saves the contents of pdfFactory in one of two formats:
PDF - this is the default. Your PDF will also be auto-saved.
FP - FP files contain the individual jobs that comprise a document. Saving an FP file allows adding content to the document over time. Select the .FP file type in the Save dialog box to save in FP format. To open, double click the FP file in a Windows folder.
Send - opens your default email client and attaches your PDF. If you do not save your PDF manually, a default file name is used.
Combine documents - once the pdfFactory window opens, it will collect all print jobs from all your applications. Just go back to your applications and print again and the print jobs will appear in order in PDF factory. Reordering the jobs and pages can be done using the Jobs tab in pdfFactory Pro.

Combining print jobs
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pdfFactory can can combine multiple print jobs as a single PDF file.
In order to combine multiple jobs together, just print to pdfFactory, return to your application and print again. As long as the pdfFactory window is available, all jobs will continue to be collected in the preview automatically.
Note: If pdfFactory disappears behind other windows, just click on the pdfFactory icon in the caption bar.

Fonts tab
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The Fonts tab shows the fonts used in the documents in your current pdfFactory session and allows you to embed them in the PDF file. Here are some things to consider in deciding whether or not to embed fonts:
Do you care about the specific fonts used in the document? If yes, embed the font.
Does the recipient of the document have the font on their system? If the user is a Windows user and you are using fonts generally found on Windows computers, there is no need to embed.
Will the PDF viewer make a reasonable substitution for fonts that do not exist on the recipient system? The PDF viewer will substitute fonts. If this is acceptable, there is no need to embed.
Embedding fonts increases the size of the PDF file meaning it will take longer to download from an email message or from the web.
pdfFactory will remember the list of fonts you decide to embed and will embed them by default in subsequent documents. You can list all of your installed fonts and select those to be embedded. When a document contains the font selected, it will automatically be embedded.

Entering the registration code
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When you purchase pdfFactory, you will receive a registration code. The registration code is used to remove pdfFactory advertising banner that appears in the trial version.
Enter your name and registration code in the fields on the About tab. Make sure you copy and paste the registration code from your confirmation email. Click the Register button and pdfFactory will be fully enabled.

Server Edition
Enter the license code from your confirmation email in the Licensing tab which is located in the pdfFactory Preferences in the Windows Printers/Faxes folder. Right click the pdfFactory icon to access the Preferences.


Inserting pages
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Blank pages can be inserted before or after any page in the document. Right-click on a page in the preview, select "Insert blank page", then select either "before this page" or "after this page".

Rearranging pages
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Pages can be moved from one location to another, even between different jobs, by using cut and paste. Select the pages to be deleted by right-clicking the pages and selecting Cut. Paste the pages by clicking on the destination page. Ctrl-V will add the pages after the selected page. Right-clicking displays options for adding the pages before or after the selected page.

Deleting pages
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Deleting and un-deleting pages
You can delete a single page or an entire job from the set of pages to be printed. This is useful for deleting empty web pages from a web browser print job or deleting pages that were accidentally printed. Simply right-click the page you want to delete and select one of:·
Delete this page - deletes the current page
Delete this job - deletes the current page and all other pages in the job that contains the page.
Undelete all - undeletes all previously deleted pages and jobs.
To select a range of pages to delete, click on the start page, move the cursor or scroll to the end page, hold the Shift key and click on the end page. All pages in the range will be deleted. Other options are available by right-clicking are:
undelete this page - undeletes the page
undelete this job - undeletes the job containing the page
Note: if "show deleted pages" option is selected (pdfFactory Pro only), deleted pages are drawn on the screen but they are not printed.

Zooming the preview
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It is possible to zoom in on the pages so get more detail or to check the printing accuracy.
Double-clicking on a page in the Preview tab will open zoom the contents. Double-clicking again will restore the document to normal size, showing the entire page in the Preview tab.
The following zoom options are available by right-clicking on the page:
normal - shows entire page
100 percent mode - full size of page as it would be printed in full screen mode
200 percent mode - double scaling in full screen mode
400 percent mode - quadruple scaling in full screen mode


Setting printer driver options
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Setup tab
Paper size, orientation and pdfFactory dialog box display modes are set using the printer driver properties.

To access the printer properties, select the Start menu, Settings, Printers. Right-click the pdfFactory icon and select:
Windows 9x/ME: Properties
Windows NT: Document defaults
Windows 2000/XP: Printing preferences
Paper size
This option sets the default paper size. pdfFactory supports a large number of paper sizes as well as custom paper sizes. Custom paper sizes can be created by using the Custom button which is next to the list of available stock sizes.

Orientation
Set this option to either portrait or landscape.

pdfFactory dialog
Do not show dialog - turns the pdfFactory dialog box off. Current PDF cration settings will be used with a default name for the PDF file.
Automatically dismiss dialog - closes the pdfFactory session after the specified number of minutes has elapsed.
If the dialog box is turned off, the following options are available:
do nothing - saves to default location
view the file - displays in Acrobat
send the file - attaches it to the default email client
execute a command - executes the specified command or program
Metrics tab
Emulate Printer - this mode ensures that the PDF has the same line breaks and page breaks as printing to the selected printer. This mode will use the resolution and margins of the selected printer. If you want to set your own margins and resolution, uncheck this option and use the Margins and Resolution controls.

Graphics tab
Downsample images to 96 dpi - this checkbox applies advanced compression to images which will reduce file sizes for documents that contain them. This box should be checked unless the images in the PDF are of poor quality.
JPEG compression - controls compression options for fine tuning bitmap graphic quality vs. file size. It is also possible to leave images uncompressed.


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