Create 'press-worthy’ PDFs in Panther

[Thomas Holm]

In MacOSX 10.3 Panther, it's possible to create 'press-worthy’ PDFs without third-party tools like Adobe Distiller, according to the link below.

I've not been able to verify the quality of this tip, or if it would allow Archicad 8.1/MacOSX to create PDFs with layers like it can on the PC, but if the author is correct, the tools are there, it's just that Graphisoft hasn't implemented them yet.

The process is best explained by this link:
http://www.pdfzone.com/news/705-PDFzone_news.html

I

In the new Creative Suite (CS) version of Illustrator and InDesign, Adobe has added some new "processing" or "filtering" features to the "Save as PDF" command. These options are similar to those found in Acrobat Distiller, such as image down-sampling and recompression AS WELL AS some nice additions, such as color management/correction and even the direct creation of PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-3 files.

Guess what? Apple did the same thing in Panther! Unfortunately, however, they hid it away where no one is bound to find it. If you open up the ColorSync Utility application (Applications/Utilities), you will see a "Preferences" window with a tab/icon called "Filters." Filters is the technology for doing either manual or automated processing on PDF documents. It provides similar functionality -- from image down-sampling and recompression, to color management/correction and EVEN the direct creation of PDF/X-3 files.

And the best part -- in the Filters panel, there is a tab called "Domains." If you check the "PDF Workflow" checkbox, then your custom filters will automatically appear in your "Save as PDF" button in the Print dialog box in EVERY Mac OS X application. So now, you have the ability to create press-worthy, PDF/X-compliant PDF documents from ANY application (even MSWord!), regardless of what you start with.

In conclusion, let me again state quite clearly that Mac OS X can produce "press-worthy" PDFs FROM ANY APPLICATION with almost the exact same features as those found in Adobe's own authoring applications. (By Leonard Rosenthol)

/Thomas

[Geoff Briggs]

I saw this article too. My big questions are:

Can 3rd party filters be added?

If so, can they examine the parent file in such a way as to provide the same kinds of features as the Amyuni driver like prebuilt bookmarks and hyperlinks?

[Djordje]

Thomas wrote:
In MacOSX 10.3 Panther, it's possible to create 'press-worthy’ PDFs without third-party tools like Adobe Distiller, according to the link below.

Please do, as this deserves a spot in Tips&Tricks.

Until the verification,

[Anonymous]

Graphisoft doesn't need to implement the feature. It is available system-wide once enabled in ColorSync; but it only allows color and compression adjustments (unless I am missing something).