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Explanation of Generating a PDF File from FrameMaker - Succeed in Using FrameMaker. Also refer to Adobe Acrobat, PostScript, PS, FM, create, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Generating a PDF File from FrameMaker
by Ron Kurtus (7 June 2008)
The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file is a standard for formatting documents so they can be viewed and printed on multiple platforms. Considering the PDF format and FrameMaker are both Adobe products, it is surprising that converting a FrameMaker file to a PDF file is not straightforward and cannot be done directly from FrameMaker.
Assuming you have Adobe Acrobat installed in your computer, there are three steps required to generate a PDF file from FrameMaker. You need to set up Adobe PDF as your printer, generate a PostScript (PS) file and then generate the PDF file.
Questions you may have include:
- How do you set up your document printer?
- How do you generate a PostScript file?
- How do you convert the PS file into a PDF?
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.
Set up PDF printer
With your FrameMaker file or book open, the first thing to do is to set up the PDF printer, so that you can generate a PostScript file.
Select File > Print Setup... to open the Print Setup box.
On the Printer Name drop-down menu, select Adobe PDF. Make other adjustments, as needed.
Click OK to close the box.
When you print the document to file, it will now print it as a PostScript (PS) file.
Generate PostScript file
Next, you print your FrameMaker file to generate a PS file.
Select File > Print to open the Print Document box.
Print to File should be checked and should show your PS file name.
If you want to generate a complex PDF file, you can check Generate Acrobat Data and click PDF Setup... to make appropriate adjustments.
Click the Print button to generate your PS file.
Generate PDF from PS file
Finally, you use the PS file and Adobe Acrobat to generate the PDF file
Find your PS file in Windows Explorer, right-click on the file and select Convert to Adobe PDF.
Or, you can open Adobe Acrobat Professional and select Convert PostScript (PS) file to PDF.
Summary
Assuming you have Adobe Acrobat installed in your computer, you can generate a PDF file from FrameMaker by first setting up Adobe PDF as your printer, generating a PostScript (PS) file from the FrameMaker file, and then generating the PDF file from the PS file.
Always do your best
Resources
Items of interest on this topic:
Websites
Books
Mini-quiz to check your understanding
If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in using FrameMaker. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.
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Generating a PDF File from FrameMaker