Chart printing (vcf to pdf)

[Dunscombe 0]

I'm having trouble converting a 10.5 X 92.5 chart to pdf, using a Mac and Parallels with TMG 9 Gold.  I've followed the various tips posted, downloaded PDF Creator, and expanded the height and width to the above dimensions.  When I print to pdf I always wind up with a multi-page pdf, instead of one large pdf.  I've trying to generate a file I can get printed locally and take to relatives in Italy (this weekend!).  The pdf seems to be the correct width, but the chart appears as multiple pages.

 

Thanks,

Ed Dunscombe

[dorisw 0]

If you have it in vcf, you can get it printed at specialty firms. Try engineering types that print large blueprints, or look for large poster printers. I found them by Googling.

[Dunscombe 0]

Thanks Doris!

[Terry Reigel 0]

Ed,

As you've found, you can't get the chart you want by sending a PDF to a printing service  until you convince VCF to print it on a single over-size page. The key to doing that in my limited experience is to tell Windows, not VCF, that your PDF "printer" is the default printer. It seems that VCF continues to size the chart sections based on the Windows default printer even when you tell VCF to use a different printer. 

 

[Dunscombe 0]

Good tip Terry, I’ll give it a try again.  I’m even having trouble designating the pdf printer as the default printer, which may be a function of my Mac-Parallels setup.  

Thanks,

Ed

[Dunscombe 0]

Terry,

A tip for anyone using Parallels.  If you go to "Configure" there are a couple of checkboxes: "Share Mac printer with Windows 10" and "Synchronize default printer."  I had to uncheck both of these in order to get Visual Chartform to stop selecting my default Mac printer, even after I had made PDF Creator my default Windows printer (I am running Win10 on my Mac with the Parallels virtual machine software). Until unchecking both those boxes VC continued to try to print to my Mac printer.

This, however, has not solved my problem.  My chart is 10.5" high by 92.5" wide.  I've tried orienting it as both portrait and landscape, and have changed the printer settings on the PDF Creator to "Postscript Custom Page Size" with the above dimensions entered as height and width and then again as width and height respectively.  In all instances the resulting pdf is 17 pages, not the single page I need.  Frustrating!

 

Ed

[Dunscombe 0]

Aha!  I think I have a solution.  I came upon this earlier post from Robin that seems to have worked.  He was addressing a user who wanted to group several pages into one large chart.That wasn't my problem, but the basic idea worked for me (getting my wide chart produced as a single-page pdf that can be printed at a local print shop).  I've copied Robin's post below.  The key for me was Step 5.  Essentially using this to create a blank chart template large enough to accommodate my chart's dimensions.  Then just copying and pasting my chart into the new chart template (I was able to ignore the instructions relating to grouping the individual charts since I only had one chart).  

Ed

Posted June 3, 2018

Hi Paul,

(1) Make your default printer a PDF pseudo printer.

(2) Reboot your computer

(3) Open Visual Chart Form with default blank chart

(4) File > Printer and check that the selected printer is the PDF one

(5) Tools > Diagram > Diagram Measurements and increase the size of the canvas to match or exceed the final combined chart size

(6) Save this chart under a new filename (say PDF-CHART)

(7) In VCF File > Open your first small chart and use CTRL+A then Tools > Structure > Group to make the whole chart one object

(8) In VCF , click the grouped chart, thenCTRL+C to copy the chart to the clipboard

(9) In VCF File > Open PDF-CHART, at the top left of where you want the first chart to be roughly located click the mouse

(10) that chart should be now visible

(11) repeat for other charts making sure that you place each appropriately (it is wise to save save temporary copies of the PDF-CHART)

(12) when you are happy that the individual charts are the right place, you an Ungroup them and edit them

(13) finally in File > Print look at the PDF Custom Page size and adjust it to a suitable size then close this File >  Print

(14) reopen File  . Print check that your settings have taken and then click PRINT

I hope that is sufficient to solve your problem

RobinL