User Manual

1.3 Release – 1.8

Updated on

Release Date: 04/15/2024

Find out in this article which

  • new features are available,
  • improvements for users have been implemented and which
  • bug fixes have been implemented in version 1.8 of the PDF Editor.

1. Overview

With version 1.8 users can take advantage of a number of innovations in the area of text editing and text embedding as well as the editing of PDF files. In addition, improvements have been made to the user interface.

1.1. New Features

The following new features were implemented:

  • Text formatting: Select different PDF-compatible fonts that are installed on the system and thus change the text in terms of font family and style. [PPDPDF-970]
  • Font size: Change the size of text elements in pt. [PPDPDF-970]
  • Text editing: Edit text objects by double-clicking on them. Accept the changes by pressing the Enter key. [PPDPDF-943]
  • Embedding: Embed fonts that are not embedded in the PDF as a subgroup.
  • Offset paths: Offset vector paths while maintaining the appearance or while changing it regarding corners. [PPDPDF-964]

1.2. Improved User Guidance

The following improvements have been implemented to simplify operation:

  • Native image export dialog on macOS: The native OS export dialog for images was provided. [PPDPDF-961]
  • Open AI files with drag and drop: Simply drag and drop Adobe Illustrator data into the PDF Editor to open it. [PPDPDF-891]
  • User Interface: The timestamp in the window header has been removed and input elements have been given a focus status.
  • Process display when checking in and out: A progress bar is now displayed for checking out and checking in large files from the Workflow. [PPDPDF-956]
  • Render PDF comments: PDF comments are now displayed on the page as usual. [PPDPDF-889]
  • Selection of objects: In previous versions only the bounding box was used for the selection for non-rectangular shapes; this has now been extended to the actual shape of the object. [PPDPDF-860]
  • Move windows to the foreground: From now on, when a file is opened with the PDF Editor, the window is always brought to the foreground. [PPDPDF-941]
  • Remove local files automatically: Local versions of the print file that are created by the Workflow's check-out process are automatically deleted from the local system after check-in and after closing the file in the PDF Editor. [PPDPDF-931]
  • Convert in Spot Color: Improved user guidance when converting Spot Colors.

1.3. Bug Fixes

The following bugs were fixed:

  • DeviceN Colors on process plates: ICC-based CMYK was displayed as Color Space although it is device-dependent CMYK. This error has been fixed. [PPDPDF-1002]
  • Invert when replacing images: Images that were edited externally and replaced in the PDF were inverted in color. This error has been fixed. [PPDPDF-897]
  • Bug fixes for various PDF files: Incorrect behavior when handling different PDF files has been fixed.

Below you will find a detailed description of all changes in the menu items New Features and Improvements.

2. New Features

Version 1.8 offers a number of new features compared to version 1.7.

2.1. Text Editing

With version 1.8, text in the PDF can be fully edited. To do this, select either a text object and then press Enter or double-click on a text object. In both cases, the text is converted into editable text. Then edit the individual glyphs (depending on the availability of the font).  

Three states can be encountered with regard to the availability of fonts:

  • Full embedding – use any character in the font. Changing the text is possible without obstacles.
  • Font subgroup – when editing text, you can only use characters that are already used in the PDF. The respective characters are displayed in the status bar. Therefore, text editing is not possible to the full extent. If the font is available on the local system, there are no obstacles to editing the text completely.
  • Not embedded – it’s not possible to edit the text in the original font. However, you can edit any character. It is necessary though to check which font is used.

Font embedding
Find out whether fonts are fully, partially or not at all available in the "Document information" dialog in the "Fonts" tab. Please note that fonts are always used automatically if they are available on the local system and are embedded as a font subset when the document is saved.

Texts are always changeable

When changing the font of a text object prior in the PDF Editor, it is always possible to access all characters of the selected font. Thus, you are enabled to change the text but not the original font.

Paragraphs and spacings in a PDF file

PDF files do not have paragraphs as they are known from layout programs. In a PDF file, lines of text are saved as individual lines. The lines consist of an arrangement of so-called glyphs with defined spacing.

When the horizontal spacing between the glyphs has been changed, this is called tracking. Tracking information is lost when the glyphs are edited, which means that the horizontal spacing of an edited line is always reset to zero.

2.2. Text Formatting

In the Edit tab, the new Font settings area has been created so that the following font parameters can be selected:

  • Font Family [1] - allows to use fonts that are provided by the system in the PDF.
  • Font Size [2] - allows to change the font size of text elements in pt.

Figure 1: Font settings area

2.3. Offset Path

It is already possible to add Spot Color separations and Dielines in the PDF Editor. With version 1.8, a tool was provided with which it is possible to change the size of existing Spot Color separations, Dielines and vector objects. Set the following parameters in the dialog:

  • Offset [3] – Enter the size of the object shift.
  • Reduce to Outer Border [4] – Control whether the path is moved inwards and outwards by the entered offset or whether the path should only be limited to the outer part of the path.
  • Corner Type [5] – Select between the following corner types:
    • Round – Corners are created rounded
    • Miter  – Corners are created with a miter
    • Square – Corners persist
  • Miter Limit [6] – This parameter is only available if the flattened corner type is selected. When the Miter Limit is set to 0, corners are always flattened. When you set the value to 10, an existing corner will be persist.

Figure 2: Offset Path dialog

3. Improvements

In addition to the new features, further improvements have also been implemented in version 1.8:

3.1. Image export on macOS

To ensure typical macOS handling when exporting images, the entire dialog has been implemented natively with the current range of functions.

Figure 3: The dialog Save As on macOS

3.2. Open AI Files

Adobe Illustrator files can now be opened in the PDF Editor by dragging them onto the workspace. Dragging the AI file onto the program icon is not supported.

3.3. Displaying a Process Bar

When opening large files from Workflow, a progress bar is now displayed to give the user a better sense of how long the process will take.

Figure 4: Dialog with process bar

3.4. Converting into a Spot Color

When converting into a Spot Color, the number of dialogs has been reduced and a clear procedure for better user guidance has been implemented. There are two options available here:

3.4.1. Switching from Process Color to Spot Color

When you have selected an object that has been created with a Process Color [7], convert the Process Color to a Spot Color by clicking on Spot Color [8] in the Color settings area of the Edit tab.

Figure 5: The settings area Color of the Edit tab

This action opens the Select Spot Color dialog. Access all document, standard and system Spot Colors and thus color the objects with this Spot Color.

Figure 6: The dialog Select Spot Color

3.4.2. Converting Process Color into Spot Color

However, when you want to convert a Process Color into a Spot Color while retaining the same color value, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the object with the Process Color.
  2. In the selection menu [10] of the Color settings area select the Convert to Spot Color [9] menu item.

Figure 7: The Color settings area of the Edit tab with open selection menu

  1. The Edit Spot Color dialog opens, in which you can enter the name [11], the alternative Color Space [12] and the color values [13] of the Spot Color.
  2. Click OK to create the Spot Color in the PDF.

Figure 8: The Edit Spot Color dialog

Create Spot Color in the alternative color space "Lab"

Please note that if possible you should always create a Spot Color with the alternative color space Lab to ensure media-neutral output of the same colors on all printing systems.

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