Mechamancy PDF Problem

[mythusmage]

Erm... does that answer the question?

Could I swap Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth (which I can't download uncorrupted for some reason) for Fantastic Science?

 

[Marius Delphus]

Could I swap Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth (which I can't download uncorrupted for some reason) for Fantastic Science?

First of all, that's not a question I can answer; I'm just a freelancer. I suggest you contact RangerWickett.

Second, I'm feeling a bit taken to task over all this. Please don't confuse "corrupted" (which is a problem the vendor might be able to help you with) with "has added features that are incompatible with Acrobat 5" (which isn't; and which, as I understand it, is really the root of the problem).

I recommend you privately contact an EN Publishing staffer like RangerWickett with any problems you may have with EN Publishing products. They're great guys, and I expect they'd actually be happy to help.

 

[mythusmage]

Second, I'm feeling a bit taken to task over all this. Please don't confuse "corrupted" (which is a problem the vendor might be able to help you with) with "has added features that are incompatible with Acrobat 5" (which isn't; and which, as I understand it, is really the root of the problem).

All I can report is what Reader 5 for Mac OS 9 says, and that is the file is corrupted. Keep in mind that OS9 is a fussbudget.

(Was once told that 90% of porting Windows software to the Mac involves cleaning up the code. )

 

[Marius Delphus]

All I can report is what Reader 5 for Mac OS 9 says, and that is the file is corrupted. Keep in mind that OS9 is a fussbudget.

(Was once told that 90% of porting Windows software to the Mac involves cleaning up the code. )

OK. I don't have an Acrobat 5 testbed to tell you what the analogous message says in Windows. FWIW, I feel pretty confident that the file itself is in perfect working order, and it's the 5 vs. 6 thing that's creating the error message. I'm sorry it's so annoying. I'm also fairly confident a solution is at hand.

 

[Cathix]

"Reduce File Size" won't make a PDF readable in Acrobat 5 if you don't choose Acrobat 5 when using the feature... it just so happens that PDF layers are incompatible with Acrobat 5, and, again, it's the layers that are causing the problem with Acrobat 5.

Right, the 'choose Acrobat 5' was just a given of using 'Reduce File Size'.

As for layers, it's only my opinion, but I would rather produce something that's not much more than a well-crafted book, if it's useful to a wider audience, than something that's a well-crafted 'toy'. Layers and a variety of Acr. 6 features are exciting and a lot of fun to use, but I prefer to keep things simple. Keeping it simple now has an added benefit, after reading about MythusMage's problems, and I'm glad Dog Soul has chosen the route we have with our pdfs.

It's a shame Apple users can't find the latest software available to them. And the launch of OSX burned a lot of bridges. I was a Mac user for years - I love that operating system a hundred times better than Windows - but I got frustrated with always getting the bastard stepchild version of certain software. Even yahoo messenger, for pete's sake: you can't file share, can't conference, can't chat. Like walking to school in the snow, barefoot, up hill. Both ways.

So I finally succumbed to the pressures of my job and bought an HP laptop. It's lovely, but I miss my old iMac...

 

[Kelleris]

And as if that weren't enough, a technical glitch forced Fantastic Science into Acrobat 5, so now we have this experiment floating around out there and we'll see what people say once the reviews start rolling in.

Oh, I hadn't heard about that. What happened?

Could I swap Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth (which I can't download uncorrupted for some reason) for Fantastic Science?

Even though you might only be asking for that one because Marius mentioned it was an Acrobat 5 file, my tiny, fragile writer's ego means that I'm going to be taking that as a compliment, if you don't mind.

On a more serious note, I can send Ryan an e-mail for you about the book if you like. I dunno if you can trade those two out, though, as Fantastic Science is 2 dollars more expensive (for an additional 100 pages of content, but still).

 

[mythusmage]

Oh, I hadn't heard about that. What happened?



Even though you might only be asking for that one because Marius mentioned it was an Acrobat 5 file, my tiny, fragile writer's ego means that I'm going to be taking that as a compliment, if you don't mind.

On a more serious note, I can send Ryan an e-mail for you about the book if you like. I dunno if you can trade those two out, though, as Fantastic Science is 2 dollars more expensive (for an additional 100 pages of content, but still).

I won the first book in a contest, only to learn I can't use it. So I bought another copy via RPGNow so I could get it printed. The PDF from RPGNow is also corrupted BTW. That aside, $2.00 for an 'upgrade' is no problem. If a trade is not doable, then I'll just have to wait until January when I'll have money again.

(I must ask, does EN Publishing use Adobe Acrobat, or a third party distiller?)

 

[Marius Delphus]

Layers and a variety of Acr. 6 features are exciting and a lot of fun to use, but I prefer to keep things simple.

There's a distinct possibility I personally will be going the simpler route in any future projects I lay out.

Oh, I hadn't heard about that. What happened?

Some freakish combination of deadline, graphic file type, and just plain Windows weirdness is the best I can come up with. Nothing whatsoever is wrong with the Acrobat 5 files, of course; InDesign just gave up and crashed trying to produce an Acrobat 6 file. I *think* it was a memory leak, and I *think* I know how to avoid it next time... if I even bother with Acrobat 6 next time. Even if I don't, I *think* the setting I identified will help me when I produce Acrobat 5 PDFs anyway.

(I must ask, does EN Publishing use Adobe Acrobat, or a third party distiller?)

I can't speak for anyone else who does layout for ENP, but I use Adobe InDesign CS (I may have the opportunity to upgrade to CS2 in time for my next project, whatever that is), export directly to PDF, and make final tweaks in Acrobat 6 (and now I have Acrobat 7). I'm quite confident this process doesn't cause problems with Acrobat 5 if I choose Acrobat 5 compatibility; at the risk of sounding petulant about it, the layers have been causing the problem with Acrobat 5.