[Framers] Fwd: Weird spacing in PDF output

Sat Sep 12 12:13:29 PDT 2020

Well, now that you've discovered the exact pathway to that creates the
error, of course you're going to report it, so it gets on the list of fixes
needed. You can see my long memory as evidenced by recalling the automatic
replacement of InterLeaf.

This reminds me of something a little longer back: (BTW, this is not just
an old guy showing off he's still cooking upstairs, by dredging up random
old stuff, it's pertinent here!) I worked at a database software company
that rocketed to fame and riches around the same time Frame Technology and
Adobe did. However, it's long-gone. A couple of years after I got laid-off
with a few thousand others, when the company had gone into several
tailspins because management had overruled QA and released supremely-buggy
products which lost customers' faith, I met someone who told me he'd been
the last project manager on the product. He'd been called in "to fix the
problems in quality, for good, this time, and get the company back on
track." He told me that the first place he started was with meeting the
developers and digging into the most-commonly known bugs and irritants.
First on the list was the odd differences with how the built-in text editor
that was used to enter command-line commands, enter data into database
fields, design the database files, and write and edit code, depending on
how the user invoked it. "So, I asked, 'who's responsible for this editor,'
and 35 hands went up." The problem was that it was so easy to write an
editor, that there was no single spec for it. Every developer who needed
one in his or her modules just wrote one on the spot, and, of course,
didn't document it, "because everybody know how to do it, so why bother?
So, that's when I left."

It looks like when the TOC source material is processed differently into
PDF by Print > PDF vs. Save As > PDF. Same kind of problem.

Glad you've identified and solved the issue so you can move ahead, and also
good that you've shared it with the community.

On Sat, Sep 12, 2020 at 1:23 PM Lin Sims <ljsims.ml at gmail.com> wrote:

> Spellcheck did indeed used to replace Interleaf with FrameMaker, but I
> don't think it does anymore.
>
> When it converts from Frame to PDF, that will make the link unclickable.
> Also, I really don't want to have to apply a character tag to text created
> in a generated document every time I regenerate the TOC. Acrobat PDF is
> supposed to make an output that looks exactly like the input.
>
> I should add (shouldn't I?) that the conversion from FM to PDF of the
> actual chapters do NOT show that weird spacing for the word "Software".
> Only in the TOC. Only those two lines.
>
> I've reinstalled Acrobat DC. I've MIF-washed. I've used both the Save as
> PDF (my usual route) and the Publish pod. They are all producing the same
> result.
>
> Ah! But printing the book using Adobe PDF *WORKED*! (That'd be File > Print
> Book). I believe that uses Distiller directly or something? I forget. But
> it worked!
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 12, 2020 at 1:32 PM Peter Gold <peter at petergold.photography>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi, Lin:
> >
> > AHA! It's a secret plot of some kind. I remember there was a time long
> ago,
> > when FM's auto-correct would replace "InterLeaf" or some other
> proprietary
> > competitor, with "FrameMaker."
> >
> > The word-spacing computation might have a rounding error when it
> encounters
> > specific glyph combinations in this particular font. Perhaps substitute a
> > similar font for the problematic word(s) or adjust the kerning or
> > letter-spacing, perhaps by applying a character format that sets one or
> the
> > other or both properties.
> >
> > HTH
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Sep 12, 2020 at 11:58 AM Lin Sims <ljsims.ml at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Peter
> > > >
> > > > Seriously, I'm sure you have tried changing the source, say, with a
> > > > different word, or if it's a text variable try plain text, or is a
> > > > character tag applied, or if it's a corporate-name font, swap it,
> etc.
> > Is
> > > > the font customized to apply special kerning or spacing to specific
> > glyph
> > > > pairs?
> > >
> > >
> > > The word "Pulse" is a text variable in the source, but once it gets to
> > the
> > > TOC it's plain text. I did try changing it in the source to text. The
> > > pictures you see are the "after" of that try.
> > >
> > > The font is Source Sans Pro. The TOC paragraph tag does have word
> spacing
> > > adjusted to ensure that I don't have text abutting the page number
> > > (standard workaround, minimum 190%, maximum 210%, optimum 100%), but
> > since
> > > all the other tags have the exact same settings, why would those two,
> and
> > > only those two, convert from FM to PDF so weirdly? I don't touch the
> > letter
> > > spacing or stretch settings on the font tab. There are no character
> tags
> > > applied in either the source file or the generated TOC.
> > >
> > > Doug
> > >
> > > > For instance, insert Pulse Software before the word "Pulse", and PDF
> it
> > > > again.  Observe the results.
> > >
> > >
> > > No joy on this. There appears to be something about the actual word
> > > "Software" that the PDF engine is having a conniption about. The
> original
> > > text has Software oddly space, and the inserted text right before it
> also
> > > has "Software oddly spaced. In fact, the "e" from "Software" is
> > overlapping
> > > the "P" of the original "Pulse".
> > >
> > > Maybe it's time to reinstall Acrobat. Again. I have constant problems
> > with
> > > this program. Multiple Fatal DDE Errors, an inability to open PDFs by
> > > double-clicking on them from File Explorer or the download bar at the
> > > bottom of a browser, and on and on. An Adobe tech completely wiped
> every
> > > Adobe program and reinstalled them, and I've even had my machine
> > completely
> > > reimaged and the problems continue.
> > >
> > > On Sat, Sep 12, 2020 at 8:47 AM Doug <dbailey4117 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Experiment by making changes to the source.
> > > >
> > > > For instance, insert Pulse Software before the word "Pulse", and PDF
> it
> > > > again.  Observe the results.  If the new words display fine, delete
> > > > everything after them and PDF it again.  Observe the results.
> > > >
> > > > You might be able to fix it, even if you might never discover why.
> > > >
> > > > On Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 5:50 PM Peter Gold
> <peter at petergold.photography
> > >
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > It's a no-brainer, Lin! It's "social distancing. :)
> > > > >
> > > > > Seriously, I'm sure you have tried changing the source, say, with a
> > > > > different word, or if it's a text variable try plain text, or is a
> > > > > character tag applied, or if it's a corporate-name font, swap it,
> > etc.
> > > Is
> > > > > the font customized to apply special kerning or spacing to specific
> > > glyph
> > > > > pairs?
> > > > >
> > > > > On Fri, Sep 11, 2020, 3:46 PM Lin Sims <ljsims.ml at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > This is only happening with 2 entries in the entire TOC. In the
> > TOC,
> > > > they
> > > > > > look identical to all the other entries in the TOC. I've checked
> > the
> > > > > > paragraph tags in both the original files and the TOC files and
> > they
> > > > are
> > > > > > the same. But in the PDF created from that TOC, the text for
> those
> > > two
> > > > > > headings is weirdly spaced for the word Software.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I've posted this to the Adobe FrameMaker forum, with pictures. If
> > > > anyone
> > > > > > has an idea, I'd appreciate it. It's a little thing, but it looks
> > > bad.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://community.adobe.com/t5/framemaker/weird-spacing-in-toc-after-conversion-to-pdf/td-p/11427776?page=1
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > Lin Sims
> > > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > >
> > > > > > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> > > > > > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > > > > > Archives located at
> > > > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > > > > > Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> > > > > > http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > > > > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> > > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > >
> > > > > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> > > > >
> > > > > Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> > > > > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > > > > Archives located at
> > > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > > > > Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> > > > > http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > > > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> > > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > >
> > > > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> > > >
> > > > Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> > > > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > > > Archives located at
> > > > http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > > > Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> > > > http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Lin Sims
> > > _______________________________________________
> > >
> > > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> > >
> > > Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> > > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > > Archives located at
> > > http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > > Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> > > http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> >
> > Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > Archives located at
> > http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> > http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> >
>
>
> --
> Lin Sims
> _______________________________________________
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> Archives located at
> http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
>