Large Chart print to PDF

[janice 0]

I am reopening an old topic. I have reread Wholly Genes Forum and TMG-L message and still can not print a one page PDF. The best I can get is one with 3 pages. I have spent ages trying.

 

My Problem: I cannot print a large chart as a PDF. No problem with A4.

The File/ Page Setup/ Printer button is missing.

 

My System: Win 7 Home Premium

TMG 7.04

PDF Printer: PDF reDirect

 

I have tried: Cute PDF, PDF995 (nag screen on this drove me crazy) and now have PDF reDirect. I uninstalled the others.

 

These are the steps I have tried.

1. Made PDFreDirect my default printer.

2. Created chart in VCF.

3. Viewed measurements.

4. File/Page/Setup/Size

5 Chose Paper size Postcript custom paper size

6. File/Print/Properties/Advanced/Postscript Custom Paper Size - entered measurements.

7. Created PDF

I have tried other steps and the lowest number of pages I get is three.

 

With Virginia'and others help I have masterd "little charts."

 

 

Any help appreciated.

Janice Cornwell

Melbourne

[RobinL 0]

I have not yet got TMG v7 working on new Win7 box. However, my reading of the Microsoft pages on the web say that they redesigned the Printer Page Properties Dialog. It can only change the properties of the Windows default printer (that is, they removed the "select Printer" ability). VCF relies on this setting to get the page size to re-paginate the chart.

 

There are programmable fixes for this Microsoft provoked problem described on the web, but VCF has not been updated to make its features compatible with Win 7. I do hope that Wholly Genes recognises that this is another area where TMG is not W7 compliant/capable.

 

The work around.

Make your PDF writer your windows default printer.

That is, if you need to adjust the page size,

- save the generated chart as .VC2 file and then close VCF.

- use Printer and Faxes, select your PDF writer "Make default printer".

- Reopen VCF, open your svaed VC2 file,

- File >Page Setup in VCF should allow you see the pages sizes available in that printing device.

- NOTE: you will need to revert back to your previous default printer once you have done the output.

[janice 0]

Robin,

I can't see where what I have done is any different from what you are suggesting. Thanks for the reply though.

 

Janice

[Terry Reigel 0]

Robin,

 

I don't understand the issue here. I recently created a 36" x 40" chart as a PDF file on my Windows 7 system with none of these contortions. I simply used File > Print, selected my PDF995 "printer," opened Properties, chose the custom size, and specified the measurements. Are you dealing with some other issue I don't understand?

[Virginia Blakelock 0]

Terry -

 

This sounds like the problem we ran into a couple of years ago:

 

http://www.whollygenes.com/forums201/index...=10239&st=0

 

Virginia

[Terry Reigel 0]

Sounds to me like the problem is people are worried about the lack of a Page Setup menu item, when none is really needed. Instead, use File > Print, and then use the Properties button on the Print dialog. Does that not work? It does when I try it.

[janice 0]

Sounds to me like the problem is people are worried about the lack of a Page Setup menu item, when none is really needed. Instead, use File > Print, and then use the Properties button on the Print dialog. Does that not work? It does when I try it.

 

That is exactly what I meant.

Doing it your way I still get to print to 16 pages.

Yes Virginia that is the problem. I have put off doing custim charts but you have given me the incentive to try custom. The only problem is this one!

Janice

[RobinL 0]

Terry and Janice,

 

Something is different between these cases. Which version of Win 7 are you both running? Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate - Both of you have tried PDF995 (for example) with differing results.

 

I too, have previously experienced problems, because VCF has carved up the chart according to the page size of the default printer. But on File > Print when a larger page size is selected, VCF still puts out the smaller page content in the top left of many large pages.

 

I have seen this problem before when printing to a physical printer. It has considerable consequences if you try the Tool > Diagram > Repaginate as you can't select larger pages in which VCF will split the chart.

 

It may be problem with particular printer drivers but I don't think so as users with the same PDF writer experience different outcomes. It is definitely Vista and Windows 7 related (where the printer driver data model changed from XP). May be it is a subtle difference in the versions of the same PDF writer?

 

The values from File > Page Setup are used by File > Print Preview so it is difficult to judge about your paper use until you try to print a large chart only to find a problem and waste expensive paper.

 

BTW If you google the problem you will see that many graphics (CAD, etc) packages have also run into this problem. Microsoft developers rarely use larger page sizes, so that don't understand applications that do. It really peeves me that Microsoft has such an American bias that made the maximum canvas size in MS Office 22" * 22" thus precluding the printing of the metric equivalent of the ANSI B page. Instead of 22" * 22" they just needed to increase it to 594mm * 594mm (23.4" * 23.4").

[janice 0]

Robin it is Win 7 Home Premium. I am alsp using PDFreDirect. It did work with either CutePDF or PDF995. As I stated originally the nag message was really intrusive in PDF995. (The free version). Once it did not work I removed it and tried PDFreDirect.

 

I was beginning to wonder if we had a different version here in Australia from the States except I think when it was discussed originally that peerson was not from Australia.

 

Janice

[janice 0]

Robin it is Win 7 Home Premium. I am alsp using PDFreDirect. It did work with either CutePDF or PDF995. As I stated originally the nag message was really intrusive in PDF995. (The free version). Once it did not work I removed it and tried PDFreDirect.

 

I was beginning to wonder if we had a different version here in Australia from the States except I think when it was discussed originally that peerson was not from Australia.

 

Janice

Sorry it should be it did NOT work with PDF995 or cute PDF

 

Janice

[Terry Reigel 0]

... use File > Print, and then use the Properties button on the Print dialog. Does that not work? It does when I try it.

That is exactly what I meant.

Doing it your way I still get to print to 16 pages.

Did you set the paper size to match the size of the chart? If not, of course you get lots of pages.

As I stated originally the nag message was really intrusive in PDF995. (The free version).

The solution to that is simple - pay the tiny price that they ask. Software costs money to develop, and the developers have to recover that somehow. Either watch the ads, or fork over a few bucks and make them go away.

Sorry it should be it did NOT work with PDF995 or cute PDF

What exactly did you do that didn't work in PDF995? Did you open the properties box and set the page size? If not it's doing to use the default page size, which doesn't work. Here's how you do it:

 

1. Use File > Print in VCF to start the "print" process.

 

2. In the Print dialog, click on Properties to open PDF995 Document Properties dialog.

 

3. In that dialog, click the Advanced button to open the PDF995 Printer Driver Advanced Options dialog.

 

4. Under Paper/Output > Paper Size, open the drop-down. There are lots of large "standard" sizes to choose from, up to 36" x 108." If none of those works for you, choose "PostScript custom page size, which opens the PostScript Custom Page Size Dimensions dialog.

 

5. Under Custom Pages Size Dimensions you can enter the exact size you want, from 1" to 200" in either dimension.

 

I have no clue whether other PDF "printers" have the same options, but it would be worth looking to see. Or use PDF995 - it's worked very well for me.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Something is different between these cases. Which version of Win 7 are you both running? Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate...

Professional, but I doubt that it has anything to do with that.

 

...Both of you have tried PDF995 (for example) with differing results.

It's not clear that Janice set the page size when she tried PDF995. Hopefully she will respond with that information.

 

I too, have previously experienced problems, because VCF has carved up the chart according to the page size of the default printer. But on File > Print when a larger page size is selected, VCF still puts out the smaller page content in the top left of many large pages.

That's not the result I got. As I described, setting the page size in a non-default printer work perfectly for me.

 

I have seen this problem before when printing to a physical printer. It has considerable consequences if you try the Tool > Diagram > Repaginate as you can't select larger pages in which VCF will split the chart.

Yes, I would think it would respond to the printer you have set for the chart, and I don't see a way to change that from the Windows default within VCF. But my experience says that's separate from the sizing on output.

[janice 0]

If you see number 5 and 6 in my original message you will see I put the measurements in the box.

 

There was no point in me paying for the programme PDF995 if it does not work. I might have bought it if it worked.

 

So to recap.

This time in VCF

File/Print/SelectPrinter/Properties/Advanced/PostsciptCustom/Page?enter measurements.

OK out and print.

 

Still several pages.

 

Janice

[Terry Reigel 0]

Janice,

 

This last was with PDF995, or with PDF reDirect? If it's with PDF995 I don't understand why we get different results - it worked fine for me when I did what you describe.

[janice 0]

Janice,

 

This last was with PDF995, or with PDF reDirect? If it's with PDF995 I don't understand why we get different results - it worked fine for me when I did what you describe.

 

The last was with PDFreDirect.

I originally had Cute PDF and when that did not work uninstalled it and tried PDF995. I did try it and when that did not work I uninstalled that and then tried PDFreDirect.

In a coupe of days I will uninstall PDFreDirect and retry PDF995.

 

Janice

[Virginia Blakelock 0]

Janice -

 

Re the printer paper size in File/Page Setup/Paper/Size, have you tried selecting a specific (larger than chart) standard-paper size - or is that what you are doing? I wasn't sure when you said 'measurements' in your list of steps whether you were referring to the measurements of a standard paper size or of your chart size.

 

Is your goal to have the chart printed by a local print shop or to share the PDF?

 

Virginia

[janice 0]

Janice -

 

Re the printer paper size in File/Page Setup/Paper/Size, have you tried selecting a specific (larger than chart) standard-paper size - or is that what you are doing? I wasn't sure when you said 'measurements' in your list of steps whether you were referring to the measurements of a standard paper size or of your chart size.

 

Is your goal to have the chart printed by a local print shop or to share the PDF?

 

Virginia

 

Virginia,

I composed a reply and somehow it vanished. I apologise if it appears twice.

 

I want to make a large chart to take to a local printer and also to send a PDF to my son so he can have it printed. The chart is not made yet. I wanted to make sure I can print a large chart to PDF as I had read earlier that some people were having trouble with Win7. I found out that I was one. I followed carefully all the solutions given previously in the forum and also tried 3 PDF programmes.

 

I used the Tools/Diagram/Measurements to set the size. I think I have been entering the chart measurements and the paper size. I have tried all the combinations as far as I can tell.

 

I have tried again just now and I still cannot get it.

 

Janice

[Virginia Blakelock 0]

Janice -

 

I was seeing the same problem of multiple pages until I specified the specific paper (not chart) size in File/Page Setup/Paper/Size (I selected 36"x96" for a 5-page chart, orientation Landscape - and it came out as one page in CutePDF). But that is with WinXP, your Win7 may not work the same way.

 

If you are taking it to a local printing service, you may be able to find out from him what printer he uses - so you can download and use that same printer driver. Kathryn Bassett explained how to work with the Kinko's chain of printers in the US, but her tips may apply to your chart-printing as well:

 

http://bassett.net/genealogy/tmg5chartsatkinkos.shtml

 

Good luck with getting it printed - and if you'd like to share here, you can use Export in VCF to save the chart as a jpg file for attaching to a message.

 

Virginia

[janice 0]

I have finally solved why I couldn't get a large chart to print. It iwas probably the drivers? Never mind, it works now.

Last Wednesday the TMG Users group was at my house and Ed verified what I was doing on my system, was what you were meant to do. Ed suggested downloading "Bullzip"PDF printer. We did and now it works.

I have not made my big chart yet although I have been fiddling. I have been making "little"charts at the moment. Now I am sure I can print them out I will try and make the large print. I will have a few minor problems which I will place in different message.

My thanks to Viginia, Mike, Robin and Lee for all your contributions.

 

Janice Cornwell

Melbourne