The history of electronic and other alternative document formats is littered with the corpses of good ideas poorly marketed. From a 1986 software/device combination that converted files into complex barcodes for laser (or Imagewriter) output to different interchange document formats that did a greater or lesser job of printing to PICT, many failed for the same reason: Half of the two-part system should have been given away free to encourage use. Among the stiffs was Acrobat 1.0, which required a reader that Adobe expected everyone to buy. Hardly anyone did.
Other systems installed the file-reading modules as part of the document, which made for overly large files caused by the redundancy of reader software in every one of them.
Adobe was smart enough to change their collective mind. Acrobat 2.0 includes a disk that installs the file-reader software onto Macs (and another disk for Windows) and encourages free, wide distribution of the reader disks. Now the electronic publisher, whether a producer of electronic 'zines or corporate documentation, can hand out a copy of the reader along with the document, and only one copy need reside on each user's system.
Producing the documents can be as simple as selecting the Chooser device "PDFwriter" and printing the file (Figs page, Fig.1). However, certain decisions must be made regarding your fonts: manually choose to embed fonts specific to the document, or click a checkbox to embed all the fonts you have (Fig. 4). Obviously the latter will create a much larger document. Missing is the ability for PDFwriter to determine which fonts are used in your specific document and automatically embed just those in your output file.
Of course if you are creating documents that use one of the standard fonts common to every system (Times, Helvetica, Courier) you need not embed any fonts at all. If it is for reading on Macs only, you can safely use the extended set that includes Avant Garde, Bookman, Palatino, etc., and Geneva. But if you are casting your documents onto the Net, then you will definitely want to embed the font. If a reading system lacks the font you used, and it is not embedded, it will create a substitute font based on spacing information in the PDF file and the Reader fonts installed, which coincidentally look a lot like Helvetica and Times.
That's the easy part. The program is sold in two versions: Acrobat Exchange and Acrobat Distiller. Distiller is the expensive part; you pay around $400 for it, but it lets you include PostScript images in your PDF file, and they will display and print correctly on the receiving end. Plain old Acrobat Exchange treats .eps files like PICTs, so you lose the high-quality output and more tightly-compressed final documents you get from Distiller. If, however, you do not use PS images in your documents, or create complex .pdf files from PageMaker or Quark XPress, you do not need Distiller; your documents will look fine. And, you will save a few hundred dollars in the process.
Ah, the cost. Acrobat Exchange will set you back about $130, a bit high for truly wide distribution and common use but not unreasonable for business purposes. Distiller (which includes Acrobat), however, tips at $400 or so. It is sold under the name "Acrobat Pro 2.0," which (cynical mode on) assumes a cheaper version to be sold as "Acrobat Amateur 2.0" (cynical mode off).
All right, enough dithering. Does it work? Sure does, and the files look great. Depending on what you are converting to PDF, your documents will be somewhat larger or smaller than the original, based mostly on the number of embedded fonts and if you have any scanned TIFFs inside. TIFFs can expand your document to the point of uselessness, however, unless you change your pictures to low-resolution 72-dpi versions. Otherwise the high-resolution images that you print with will be included and you will get 5-meg documents in a hurry. Distiller preferences can be set to make these image reductions automatically (Fig. 3).
If you are generating PDF files for printing you will have no other choice but to use the high-resolution images. In this case, bite the bullet and get Distiller because it produces smaller files than Acrobat Exchange does. But documents meant for screen viewing (and proof-quality output) need not use high-resolution images. There are a number of other tips in the documentation to help you reduce the size of your final files.
The documentation is sparse and to the point. It answered any questions I had regarding these font and compression issues. The best part, however, is that I could create useful PDFs without even reading the docs. Just install, go to the Chooser for the PDF writer driver, and then print the file.
The details, however, including all the information you need to know about how to search, edit, view and otherwise manipulate your Exchange documents are in the Exchange Help/Info file, a 164-screen PDF file (Fig. 5) that is installed with the program. The search engine is quite powerful and quick, making this a useful method to publish complex databases in a screen-by-screen format that allows browsing, yet lets you locate any specific piece of data quickly. The document is a bit crowded on a standard 640-480 screen; yet another reason for that monitor upgrade you have been dreaming about.
There is some confusion about just how this is being sold. One mail-order house said that Distiller was canceled from their system and they only sold Exchange. Another thought that the product was being sold only in the higher-cost package, with the lower-cost item being an upgrade for users from 1.0. Neither is actually true, so you may need to first call Adobe sales and determine just what is available and how much each item is. Then you will need to shop around for the best price because Adobe direct sales doesn't like to undercut independent dealers.
The bottom line is that finally there is a useful product here. Hopefully there will be a consumer version marketed some day soon for under $50. I would also love to see a version (fantasy mode on) that would convert your word-processing or page-layout documents, with embedded pictures, into correctly formatted HTML files (fantasy mode off).
You can get the Acrobat Reader installer disk from most online services and ftp sites.
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