Create PDF
The Create PDF Action task allows users running either PlanetPress Office or PlanetPress Production to create native PDF outputs without an active PlanetPress Imaging license. It very similar to the Digital Action task (see Digital Action) but is more limited. It does not contain the advanced PDF options that are offered by the PlanetPress Imaging solution, but is useful for creating simple PDF files using the default quality.
This feature is part of the PDF Tools, which is only available in PlanetPress Office and PlanetPress Production. It is not available with a PlanetPress Watch license.
PDFs created with the new Create PDF Action task will effectively replace the current data file in any given process using such a task.
Input
Any data file supported by PlanetPress Suite.
Processing
In the case of regular data files, these files will need to be merged with a PlanetPress Design document.
In the case of a PDF data file, two things can happen. The PDF can be used as a data file for a Design document, or it can be part of a straight PDF workflow. When this is the case, this task will rather apply the active metadata to the PDF data file (see PDF Workflow for more information on this).
Output
The output of this task is always, exclusively, a PDF file, optionally optimized and optionally with fresh metadata.
General tab
- Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be generated with that document. The None option is available to create or update a PDF without using a PlanetPress Design document, in a Metadata-based workflow.
- Run mode group
- Printer centric: Select to send the document along with the trigger and data to the PDF RIP.
- Optimized PostScript Stream: Select to merge the selected document with the data received by this task before sending it to the PDF RIP. Note that some features, such as the Time and Date PlanetPress Talk functions, require that this option be selected.
- Add job information to the document: Select to add the available job info variables in the “header” of the generated output file.
- Optimize resulting PDF: Select to specify whether the resulting PDF should be optimized. Optimization can lead to a significant reduction in the size of the PDF, but it may also add a certain amount of time to the process. This option should only be unchecked if the timing of the process is critical and needs to be done quickly, but keep in mind that the resulting PDF may be much larger than it should be and may even be too large for PReS™ Workflow to handle.
- Reset Metadata according to new PDF: The metadata is updated to included only the selected nodes from the current metadata, and sequential indexes are re-created.
On Error Tab
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
- Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process.
- Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task.
- Action Group: This group is disabled in the initial input tasks and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available:
- Ignore: The task is ignored as if it did not exist, and the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
- Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output.
- Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
- Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file.
- Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message.
- Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
- ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file.
- Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID.
- Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
If storing the message or ID, if they are store in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded. In all cases, if your process continues after the error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available for the rest of your process, or whenever they are overwritten.
Common Errors
Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Comments Tab
The Comments tab, added in PlanetPress Suite 7.5, is common to all tasks. It contains a single text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in The Task Comments Pane.
Other Notes
Here's a list of the hard-coded PDF values for files generated with this new plugin. Basically, these settings correspond to Digital Action and PReS™ Image settings for Standard Quality:
- PDF version
: 1.4
- Job option : Standard quality
- General:
- Compress text and line art
- Auto-rotate pages
- Optimize for fast web view
- Author: PlanetPress
- Keywords: PlanetPress; Create PDF Plug-in
- Monochrome images :
- Compression: CCITT
- Pixels per inch: 1200
- Grayscale images :
- Compression: Auto
- Downsampling: Bicubic
- Pixels per inch: 300
- Color images :
- Compression: Auto
- Downsampling: Bicubic
- Pixels per inch: 150
- Security :
- Allow printing
- Allow changing the document
- Allow content copying
- Allow form filling
- Font :
- Embed all fonts
- Subset embedded fonts
- Open options :
- Zoom factor: Fit in window
- Default view: Page only