Multiple methods of creating PDF files | Frequently-asked questions | Font management essentials | Advanced font management | Creating PDF files with Ghostscript and BullZip PDF Printer | Creating PDF files with Ghostscript, GSview, and PrintFile | Creating PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Distiller and PrintFile | Creating PDF files with Acrobat Distiller and Watched Folders | Creating PDF files with Jaws PDF Creator | A DOS-only method | A DOS version (and older Windows versions) of Acrobat reader | Home page
Acrobat-compatible PDF files can be created from WordPerfect for DOS by any of a variety of methods. None of the methods is ideal, but all can produce high-quality PDF output with a minimum of effort. You may want to try more than one method to see which one is best for the way you work and the kind of output you need.
This site offers details of multiple methods for producing PDF files from WPDOS. With each method, WPDOS sends a PostScript print file to disk, rather than to a PostScript printer. The print file is then automatically sent to "distiller" software that converts the PostScript print file into a viewable PDF file.
Two methods combine the freely-available Postscript clone GPL Ghostscript, with other software: one method uses the BullZip PDF Printer (free; Windows 2000, XP, or Vista only) combined with WPDOS macros; the other method uses the Ghostscript-related file viewer GSview (AUS$40 to remove nag screen) and the superb freeware program PrintFile, by Peter Lerup.
A further method combines a third-party PDF generator, Jaws PDF Creator (a downloadable commercial product) combined with PrintFile.
Two further methods use the Distiller software supplied with the full Adobe Acrobat package (the boxed commercial package, not the free downloadable Reader), one in combination with PrintFile, the other based on Acrobat's built-in Watched Folders feature. (Note: These Acrobat-based methods are mostly obsolete or unworkable; I do not recommend trying either of them.)
A DOS-only method is also described for anyone who might require a method that works on a non-Windows computer.
Note: For soft fonts and drivers required for creating searchable Hebrew PDF files, see another page on this site.
The main advantages and disadvantages of each method are as follows (excluding the DOS-only method):
Ghostscript and BullZip PDF Printer (Windows 2000, XP, and Vista only)
Advantages:
- Free
- Allows automatic viewing and renaming of output files
- Supports all 35 fonts found in PostScript printers
Disadvantages:
- Relatively large download (total of about 10 MB)
- Requires WP macros for simple operation
Ghostscript, GSview, and PrintFile
Advantages:
- Free, but a AUS$40 registration fee for GSview may be needed to turn off a nag screen
- Allows automatic viewing and renaming of output files
- Supports all 35 fonts found in PostScript printers
Disadvantages:
- Relatively large download (total of about 7MB)
- May produce larger output files than other methods
Jaws PDF Creator with PrintFile
Advantages:
- Allows automatic viewing and renaming of output files
- Supports all 35 fonts found in PostScript printers
- Very fast processing
Disadvantages:
- Some manual setup required
- Large download (6 MB)
- Costs US$80
Adobe Acrobat Distiller with PrintFile (obsolete)
Advantages:
- Allows automatic viewing and renaming of output files
Disadvantages:
- Works only with Acrobat Distiller 4.0.5, not with later versions
- Costly (Acrobat 4, although officially discontinued, costs as much as US$205)
- Requires additional fonts if you want to use the same 35 fonts found in PostScript printers (because Acrobat does not include Avant Garde, Bookman, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino, or Zapf Chancery)
Adobe Acrobat Distiller with Watched Folders
Advantages:
- Very easy to set up
Disadvantages:
- Requires manual viewing and renaming of output files
- Expensive if you don't already own Acrobat Pro
- Requires additional fonts if you want to use the same 35 fonts found in PostScript printers (because Acrobat does not include Avant Garde, Bookman, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino, or Zapf Chancery)
Q. I followed only some of your instructions, and I also
combined some steps from one part of your instructions with some steps from
other parts. The PDF output is not as good as I think it should be. Can you help
me fix it?
A. Yes. Start over, and follow my instructions exactly.
Q. I'm really outraged. I followed your instructions exactly,
and some of the fonts that I can use when I print to my HP LaserJet (for
example, Albertus and Marigold) are replaced with different fonts in the PDF
files. Please fix this immediately.
A. When you create PDF output, you are using a "printer"
(a non-physical printer, but still a printer) that is different from your HP LaserJet, and
different printers include different fonts. If you want Marigold or Albertus to
appear in your PDF output, you need to install soft fonts in WordPerfect.
Instructions may be found on another page on this
site.
The most usable PDF files are those in which the text can be searched using the Find menu and selected and copied to other applications using the text selection tool. These tasks can only be performed if the text in the PDF file consists of text data rather than a bitmap "picture" of the text. Text data appears in a PDF file as sharp-edged and easy-to-read; bitmap "pictures" of text appear as smudgy and often unreadable approximations of text.
Read this warning: In order to create searchable, selectable PDF files from WordPerfect, you must use only the "internal fonts" in the PostScript driver (Times, Helvetica, Courier, and others) or Type 1 soft fonts. WPDOS 6.x can cause much confusion by allowing you to install Type 1 soft fonts either as "graphics fonts" or as "printer fonts"; if you install a Type 1 soft font as a graphics font, any text that uses that font will appear in a PDF file as a bitmap "picture" of the text, and cannot be searched or selected. You must install Type 1 soft fonts into WPDOS as "soft fonts" in order to create searchable, selectable text in a PDF file. (The option to install a Type 1 font as a "soft font" only appears when the current printer driver is a PostScript driver.) Do not use TrueType or Speedo fonts for any document that you want to use for a PDF file!
To install Type 1 soft fonts into WordPerfect for DOS 5.1 or 6.x, see this site's page on installing Type 1 soft fonts for PostScript printers.
When you "print" from WordPerfect to PDF-writing software, WordPerfect automatically includes in the output file any soft fonts that may be required by the software. WordPerfect does this in exactly the same way that it downloads soft fonts to a standard PostScript printer. You can save time when printing (without sacrificing quality) by installing your soft fonts in the PDF-writing software itself, so that WordPerfect does not need to download the fonts every time it prints a file that uses them. Each PDF-writing package uses a different method of installing soft fonts in itself; see the notes on font management at the end of each section about the different PDF-writing packages below.
After installing your fonts in the PDF-writing package, you will need to tell WPDOS not to download them; details of the procedure are provided along with the font-management instructions for each specific package.
Very important note: Before you begin this method, adjust the spool settings for your Windows printer as described in steps (1a) or (1b) on this site's list of Windows printing troubleshooting methods. Unless you do this, you may need to exit WPDOS before your PDF documents will be created.
Note: These instructions and the associated files were revised on 17 November 2007 to match recent versions of BullZIP PDF Printer.
(1) Download and install GPL Ghostscript (version 8.6 or later); choose GPL Ghostscript from the page, then Download, then the file with a name that looks like gs###w32.exe (with a version number instead of ###). After downloading the installer, run it to install Ghostscript. You do not have to run Ghostscript after installing it, but you must install it. (If you want to run it in order to see what it looks like, keep in mind that you should type "quit" on the command-line in the Ghostscript window to close it.)
(2) Download and install the BullZip PDF Printer (click this link to download; if the downloaded file is a ZIP archive, you will need to extract the installer from it and then run the installer program). Visit the BullZip PDF Printer web site for further information on this elegantly-designed program, and make a donation via this link to encourage future development.
Note: If the BullZip PDF Printer installation stalls when a message appears saying that the installer is trying to stop the spooler service, then cancel the installation, open a command prompt, and enter the command net stop spooler before running the installer again.
(3) Test the BullZip PDF Printer by creating a PDF file from a Windows application. For example, use your browser's print menu to "print" to the BullZip PDF Printer, and make sure that a PDF file is created correctly. If no PDF file is created, then carefully repeat the preceding steps until you are certain that everything works.
(4) Study the method described elsewhere on this site (headed "Method A") for printing from WPDOS to a USB printer; following the procedures described there, turn on Sharing for your BullZip PDF Printer, and assign the sharename "BullZipP" (without quotation marks!); this will probably be the sharename that Windows suggests. Then continue to use the procedures described in "Method A" to enter a command that takes the general form:
net use lpt3 \\yourcomputername\BullZipP /persistent:yes
and then continue to follow the procedures described in the same section of the file to create a batch file that will run this command whenever your computer starts up. You must create the batch file and add it (or a link to it) to your Startup group in the Start Menu, or this method will not work after you reboot. If Windows gives you an error message when you enter the command, refer back to the description of "Method A".
(5) Run WordPerfect for DOS, press Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer (in 5.1, Additional Printers), and select a PostScript printer. You may use one of the special Ghostscript drivers available from this site (see the notes on drivers below), or you may use almost any standard PostScript driver that shipped with WPDOS (a safe choice is the Apple LaserWriter IINTX); for best results, do not use an HP or Lexmark PostScript driver. If you do not see any of the original WordPerfect PostScript drivers on the list of additional printers in your copy of WPDOS, you can install the drivers from the original WordPerfect installation disks, or download drivers from Corel's printer driver page. While configuring the printer driver, the following three steps are absolutely essential:
(6a) If you use WPDOS 5.1, download this Pdfwrt5.zip file; extract the PDFWRITE.WPM macro (written by Niek Campagne; revised November 2007) and add it to your WordPerfect 5.1 macro directory. Use the PDFWRITE macro to create a PDF file; the macro will ask whether you want to view the resulting PDF file (you can edit the macro file so that it defaults instead to viewing without asking); a PDF file can only be created from a named WP document. The resulting PDF file will have the same name as the WP document, but with a .PDF extension. (Note that the macro assumes that Windows and BullZip are in their default locations; if they are not, you will need to edit the macro to match their actual locations.)
(6b) If you use WPDOS 6.x, download this Pdfwrt6.zip file (revised November 2007); extract the PDFWRITE.WPM macro and add it to your WordPerfect 6.x macro directory. Use the PDFWRITE macro to create a PDF file from the current document. If the document already has a name, the resulting PDF file will have the same name as the WP document, but with a .PDF extension; if the document has no name, the resulting PDF file will be named Unnamed.pdf and will be created in the Documents directory specified in the Shift-F1 setup menu; if no directory is specified there, the Unnamed.pdf file will be saved in your WP directory (actually the directory that contains your .SET file, which is typically the WP directory).
Important note on the WPDOS 6.x macro: If you want BullZip PDF Printer to prompt you for a name and location for the output PDF file, then open the PDFWRITE.WPM macro for editing (Ctrl-F10, enter PDFWRITE, and choose Edit), find the line near the top that reads NamePrompt=0 and change 0 to 1.
Very important note: Before you begin this method, adjust the spool settings for your Windows printer as described in steps (1a) or (1b) on this site's list of Windows printing troubleshooting methods. Unless you do this, you may need to exit WPDOS before your PDF documents will be created.
(1) Download and install GPL Ghostscript (version 8.6 or later); choose GPL Ghostscript from the page, then Download, then the file with a name that looks like gs###w32.exe (with a version number instead of ###). After downloading the installer, run it to install Ghostscript. You do not have to run Ghostscript after installing it, but you must install it. (If you want to run it in order to see what it looks like, keep in mind that you should type "quit" on the command-line in the Ghostscript window to close it.)
(2) Download and install GSview 4.3 or later. You need not run the program after installing it.
Note: The method described on this page requires GSview 4.3 or later and Ghostscript 7.00 or later; it will not work with earlier versions of either program.
(3) This step is optional. You may want to run the GSview program from its item on the Start menu in order to experiment with different output resolutions; the resolution you choose may affect the size of the output files. After launching GSview, use File/Open and use the Look in: field to navigate to your Ghostscript directory (typically C:\GS\GS8.##, with "8.##" replaced by the actual version number), then to the Examples folder in the Ghostscript directory. Open any of the *.ps files in the directory (Chess.ps is one that opens quickly). From the File menu, choose Convert; in the Device field select pdfwrite and in the resolution field, select a resolution (72 is suitable for the screen, 300 for most purposes, 600 for high-quality printing), and click OK. In the Output Filename, enter any filename with a .PDF extension, and click Save. Exit GSview. Use Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to view the file you created. You may now delete the file.
(4) Download and install PrintFile. You should probably create a start menu item and a desktop shortcut, but you do not need to associate any file types with the program.
(5) Run PrintFile and press the Settings button. In the PrintFile Settings dialog, under General, add a checkmark next to "Enable spooler function," and remove the checkmark (if any) next to "Show printer selection dialog." I recommend that you add a checkmark next to "Show icon on the taskbar."
(6) Still in the PrintFile Settings window, click the Conversion button. In the Conversions Settings dialog, use the down arrow to display PostScript files, and add a checkmark next to "Enable conversion of". In the Program field, enter (or browse to) the full path of the GSview32.exe program, which should look something like c:\Program Files\ghostgum\gsview\gsview32.exe. In the Parameters field, enter the following (note the ampersand at the end, and note the hyphen-f that immediately precedes, without a space, pdfwrite; be certain to use lower-case letters, not capitals):
-fpdfwrite -r300x300 &i
Still in the Conversions Settings dialog, you must add checkmarks next to "Show conversion program window" and "Conversion program handles printer". Click OK to close the Conversions Settings window.
Note: If you want your PDF files to be used primarily for
display on screen, replace
(7) Back in the PrintFile Settings window, in the Current Settings field, type "PDF GSview Settings" (without the quotation marks). Click the Shortcut... button. In the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog, choose the Desktop type; the Storage directory defaults to a subdirectory named Shortcuts under the PrintFile directory, and need not be changed. Click OK to close the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog; if the PrintFile Settings dialog is still open (it probably will not), click the Save button, then press Esc to close the dialog; Exit the main PrintFile dialog. Find the "PrintFile - PDF GSview Settings" shortcut that has now been created on your desktop; you will return to it later.
(8) Create a new folder to use as a spool directory for your WPDOS print files. I suggest creating a folder named C:\PDFSPOOL. The name of the folder must not be longer than eight characters. You should not use this directory for anything other than print spooling, because any files you place in the directory may be deleted by PrintFile's spooler function. This directory must not be the PrintFile Storage directory that you used in step (7).
(9) Right-click on the "PrintFile - PDF GSview Settings" desktop shortcut that you created in step (7), and select Properties. Make sure the command line in the target field ends with "...GSview Settings.exe". Click at the end of the existing line in the Target field. Type a space after the quotation mark at the end of the existing line, not inside the existing quotation marks, and then add the following string:
/s:C:\PDFSPOOL\rename.ps
Remember to add a space before (to the left of) this string, and be extremely careful when typing the string itself: do not add any quotation marks, and please note that the string begins with a forward slash, followed immediately (no space) by the letter s and a colon, followed immediately (no space) by the directory name and filename (using backward slashes). The drive and directory name in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should match the folder you created in step (8). Close the Properties dialog but do not launch the shortcut.
Note for experts only: You can use *.ps or *.* (or any other file specification) instead of rename.ps. You may want to write macros that use more than one filename for the output file that is specified in step (11).
(10) Run WordPerfect for DOS, press Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer (in 5.1, Additional Printers), and select a PostScript printer. You may use one of the special Ghostscript drivers available from this site (see the notes on drivers below), or you may use almost any standard PostScript driver that shipped with WPDOS (a safe choice is the Apple LaserWriter IINTX); for best results, do not use an HP or Lexmark PostScript driver. If you do not see any of the original WordPerfect PostScript drivers on the list of additional printers in your copy of WPDOS, you can install the drivers from the original WordPerfect installation disks, or download drivers from Corel's printer driver page.
Note: I strongly recommend that you rename the printer driver you use for creating PDF output so that it is named "PDF driver" or some similar name. In WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select/Edit/Description, and enter the new name. In WPDOS 5.1, use Shift-F7/Select/Edit/Name, and enter the new name.
(11) After selecting and installing the PostScript driver, you must direct the printer output to a file. The procedure is slightly different in different WPDOS versions. In WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Select Edit, and in the Edit Printer Setup screen, select Port, then Filename, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\RENAME.PS. In WPDOS 5.1, use Shift-F7/Select Printer, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Select Edit, and in the Select Printer: Edit screen, select Port, choose Other, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\RENAME.PS. With either version, the directory in the pathname shown in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should be the folder you created in step (8).
(12) Now "print" a document from WPDOS and make sure that a file named RENAME.PS is present in the C:\PDFSPOOL folder. You may want to experiment by converting the file to PDF by following the basic procedure described in step (3), but this is not necessary. You may also delete the file.
(13) Launch the "PrintFile - PDF GSview Settings" shortcut you modified in step (9). The PrintFile icon should appear in your system tray. Leave the PrintFile program running; do not close it.
(14) Return to WPDOS and "print" a document as you did in step (12). After a few seconds, GSview's Output Filename dialog will appear; you may use Look In to select a directory, and you must select a filename for the PDF file that you want to create; you must type in the extension .PDF when typing the filename.
If the file-save dialog does not pop up, or if you see any error messages, return to steps (5) through (9) and make absolutely certain that you have followed the instructions exactly. If you see repeated errors, it may be necessary to close PrintFile and remove any files in your C:\PDFSPOOL directory before trying again.
Jaws PDF Creator is a full-featured, highly customizable PostScript interpreter that generates compact, high-quality PDF files. The software is available from its author, Jaws Systems Ltd., for US$84 (downloadable).
Very important note: Before you begin this method, adjust the spool settings for your Windows printer as described in steps (1a) or (1b) on this site's list of Windows printing troubleshooting methods. Unless you do this, you may need to exit WPDOS before your documents will print.
(1) Go to http://www.jawspdf.com, proceed to the Products page, and purchase the Windows version of Jaws PDF Creator; you may prefer to try the evaluation version first.
(2) Install Jaws PDF Creator. Choose a "Typical" setup , not "Demonstration version" or "Custom." (If you chose a "Custom" installation, the only checkbox that you should probably check is the one that creates a desktop shortcut.)
(3) Click on the Jaws ToPDF desktop shortcut, and choose Settings/Configure. Until you have experimented for a while, you should probably select "Always prompt for a destination." Click on Edit Configurations. In the Current Configuration dropdown, choose either Press Ready, Print Quality, or Web, depending on the final destination of your PDF files. In the Configuration Manager box in the bottom half of the dialog box, click Duplicate..., and enter the name WPDOS. Under the General tab, do not add a checkmark next to "Always output files to"; if you add the checkmark and specify a directory here, you will not be prompted for a destination filename when creating PDF files. (You may want to choose this option later, after experimenting.). I recommend adding a checkbox next to "View the PDF file after creation." Specify any other options you like, but be very cautious before choosing "Overwrite an existing PDF file" (experiment with this option before you decide to use it permanently!). Under the Font Embedding tab, make sure there is a checkbox next to "Embed all fonts (except base 14 fonts)." Click OK, OK, and Done to close the Jaws window.
(4) Download and install PrintFile. When installing, you should probably choose the options to create a Start Menu item and to create a desktop shortcut, but you do not need to associate any file types with the program.
(5) Run PrintFile, and press the Settings button. In the PrintFile Settings dialog, in the Current settings field, type "Jaws Settings." Still in the PrintFile Settings dialog, under General, add a checkmark next to "Enable spooler function," and remove the checkmark (if any) next to "Show printer selection dialog." I recommend adding a checkmark next to "Show icon on the taskbar." Under Printer, select "Jaws PDF Creator."
(6) Still in the PrintFile Settings dialog, click the Shortcut... button. In the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog, choose the Desktop type; the Storage directory defaults to a subdirectory named Shortcuts under the PrintFile directory, and need not be changed. Click OK to close the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog; if the PrintFile Settings dialog is open, press Esc to close it; Exit the main PrintFile dialog. Find the new "PrintFile - Jaws Settings" shortcut that has now been created on your desktop; you will return to it later.
(7) Create a new folder to use as a spool directory for the WPDOS print files that you will print to disk and convert to PDF files. I suggest creating a folder named C:\PDFSPOOL. You should not use this directory for anything other than print spooling for creating PDF files, because any files you place in the directory may be deleted by PrintFile's spooler function. This directory must not be the PrintFile Storage directory that you used in step (6).
Note: If you also use this site's methods for printing from WPDOS to any printer, or printing to a USB printer, or for faxing from WPDOS to Windows fax software, do not use the same spool directory that you use for any of those methods.
(8) Right-click on the new desktop shortcut that you created in step (6), and select Properties. Make sure the command line in the target field ends with "... Jaws Settings.exe". Add the following string to the end of the command line in the Target field (after adding a space):
/s:C:\PDFSPOOL\*.ps
Remember to add a space before (to the left of) this string, and be extremely careful when typing the string itself: do not add any quotation marks, and please note that the string begins with a forward slash, followed immediately (no space) by the letter s and a colon, followed immediately (no space) by the directory name and wildcard file specification (using backward slashes). The pathname in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should match the folder you created in step (7). Close the Properties dialog but do not launch the shortcut.
(9) Run WordPerfect for DOS, press Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer (in 5.1, Additional Printers), and select a PostScript printer. You may use one of the special Ghostscript drivers available from this site, or you may use almost any standard PostScript driver that shipped with WPDOS (see the notes on drivers below), or you may use almost any standard PostScript driver that shipped with WPDOS. A safe choice for monochrome printing is the Apple LaserWriter IINTX; another is the Xerox DocuTech 135 driver, which gives access to many different sheet sizes. For color printing, try the Tektronix Phaser ColorQuick driver. If you do not see any of the original WordPerfect PostScript drivers on the list of additional printers in your copy of WPDOS, you can install the drivers from the original WordPerfect installation disks, or download drivers from Corel's printer driver page; search for the printer drivers by name.
(10) After selecting and installing the PostScript driver, you must direct the printer output to a file. The procedure is slightly different in different WPDOS versions. In WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Select Edit, and in the Edit Printer Setup screen, select Port, then Filename, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\PDFOUT.PS, and, to reduce the possibility of overwriting existing PDF files, add a checkmark to Prompt for Filename. In WPDOS 5.1, use Shift-F7/Select Printer, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Select Edit, and in the Select Printer: Edit screen, select Port, choose Other, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\PDFOUT.PS. With either version, the directory in the pathname shown in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should be the folder you created in step (7).
(11) Now "print" a document from WPDOS and make sure that a file named PDFOUT.PS is present in the C:\PDFSPOOL folder. Delete the file.
(12) Launch the "PrintFile - Jaws Settings" shortcut you modified in step (8). The PrintFile icon should appear in your system tray. Leave the PrintFile program running; do not close it.
(13) Return to WPDOS and "print" a document as you did in step (11). After a few seconds, Jaws will pop up a dialog box in which you can specify the directory and filename of the output file. The suggested name will be "PrintFile - PDFOUT.pdf," which you will almost certainly want to change; you will probably also want to specify a different directory than the one suggested by the dialog box. Press Save to save your PDF file.
If nothing happens, return to steps (3) through (10) and make absolutely certain that you have followed the instructions exactly.
(14) If all goes well, make a copy of the "PrintFile - Jaws Settings" shortcut that you modified in step (8) and add the copy to your Startup group so that it will run whenever you boot into Windows. (Help! How do I make a program run when Windows starts up?)
Note: Under WPDOS 6.x, when printing files that contain bitmap graphics, you may or may not get better results if you set the graphics' Dither Method to "device" instead of "application." This setting is located under Alt-F9/Graphics Boxes/Create or Edit/Contents/Image or Image on Disk/Image Editor; then, in the Image Editor, under Edit/Print Parameters/Dither Method, where you should choose Device. This setting forces the printer (Jaws PDF Creator) to render bitmap images instead WordPerfect. Unfortunately, even if you make Device the default setting by modifying the printer driver with the WPDOS 6.x Printer Definition Program, PTR.EXE, you may need to uncheck the Default box in in the Print Parameters/Dither Method dialog for each file, no matter how unintuitive this seems. The problem may result from a bug in WPDOS. (If you want to experiment, use PTR.EXE to open the .ALL file for your printer; select your printer, then Edit/Graphics/Miscellaneous/Rendering, and set the Default Dither Source to Printer. Exit and save the .ALL file. Open WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select/Update to make the new setting available to WordPerfect. )
Advanced font management with Jaws PDF Creator. As noted in the advanced font management section of this page, your PDF print jobs will take less time if you install the same Type 1 soft fonts in both WPDOS and in Jaws PDF Creator, and tell WPDOS not to download the fonts, because the fonts are already present in the printer (the "printer," in this case, being Jaws PDF Creator).
After you have installed your soft fonts in WPDOS, using the procedures on this site's Type 1 soft font installation page, open the Jaws ToPDF icon, go to Settings/Configure/Edit Configurations/Font Management, and click on the Select Folder button. Browse to the directory in which you store the Type 1 fonts you have installed in WPDOS. Use the mouse and Shift or Ctrl keys to highlight all the fonts you have installed into WPDOS (or simply select all the fonts in the directory), and click Add. Click OK, OK, OK, and Done until you exit the window.
If you use WPDOS 5.1, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit, Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight the group that contains your fonts (probably "PTWP: <name of printer>", and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Jaws PDF Creator, so that WPDOS knows that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
If you use WPDOS 6.x, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit/Font Setup/ Select Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight WPFI Type 1 (Soft Fonts), and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Jaws PDF Creator, in order to tell WPDOS that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
This page includes two methods for creating PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Distiller, one using PrintFile to redirect WPDOS output to Distiller, the other using Distiller's built-in Watched Folders feature. The advantage of the PrintFile method is that it allows you to specify the name of the output PDF file for each print job before the file is saved to disk, and also allows you to display the output file automatically in Acrobat as soon as the file is created.
The instructions in this section are for the PrintFile method, and they apply only to the obsolete Acrobat 4.0.5 (also with the even older Acrobat 3.0.1). This method will not work with any Acrobat version later than 4.0.5. If you need the automated features of this method, use the Jaws PDF Creator method elsewhere on this page.
Very important note: Before you begin this method, adjust the spool settings for your Windows printer as described in steps (1a) or (1b) on this site's list of Windows printing troubleshooting methods. Unless you do this, you may need to exit WPDOS before your documents will print.
(1) Create a new folder on your disk to use as a spool directory for the WPDOS print files that you will print to disk and convert to PDF files. I suggest creating a folder named C:\PDFSPOOL. You should not use this directory for anything other than print spooling.
Note: If you also use this site's methods for printing from WPDOS to any printer, or printing to a USB printer, or for faxing from WPDOS to Windows fax software, do not use the same spool directory that you use for any of those methods.
(2) Install and set up the full Adobe Acrobat 4.0.5 package. (In order to be certain that you install the Acrobat Distiller component, you may want to choose the Custom installation option, but this should not be necessary.)
(3) Start Acrobat Distiller from its shortcut. Go to File/Preferences, and choose the options you prefer. If you want to be certain to save each print job under a different name, select "Ask for PDF file destination." If you want to view the output PDF in Acrobat as soon as the file is created, select "View PDF when using Distiller Printer". Click OK to return to the main Distiller window. You may want to return to this step after completing the procedure so that you can experiment with different option settings.
(4) Still in the main Distiller window, in the Job Options field, select Print (or PrintOptimized or some similar phrase). Go to Settings/Job Options, then to the Fonts tab, where you should make sure that there is a check mark next to "Embed All Fonts" unless you have a very good reason to do otherwise. If you make any changes in the Job Options menu, click on the Save As button at the right-hand side of the Job Options window; enter a name like WPDOS; click Save; then click OK to return to the main Distiller Window, and exit the Distiller program.
(5) Run WordPerfect for DOS, press Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer (in 5.1, Additional Printers), and select a PostScript printer. Almost all WPDOS printer drivers support all 35 fonts in almost all PostScript printers, but recent versions of Distiller include built-in support for only thirteen basic fonts (four weights each of Times, Helvetica, Courier, plus Symbol) and ITC Zapf Dingbats, so I recommend that you use this site's "PostScript for Acrobat Distiller" printer drivers, which include the correct font support. These drivers are described in the following notes:
To install this site's WPDOS 5.1 PostScript for Acrobat Distiller driver, download wp51dist.exe to a temporary directory and run the program to extract the contents. Copy WP51DIST.ALL to the directory that contains your printer files. (To locate this directory in WordPerfect, use Shift-F1/Location of Files/Printer Files) In WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select Printer/Additional Printers, and select PostScript for Acrobat Distiller.
To install this site's WPDOS 6.x PostScript for Acrobat Distiller driver, download wp60dist.exe to a temporary directory and run the program to extract the contents. Copy WP60DIST.ALL to the directory that contains your printer files. (To locate this directory in WordPerfect, use Shift-F1/Location of Files/Printer Files...) In WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer... and select PostScript for Acrobat Distiller.
If, however, you have purchased and installed the Adobe Type Basics font package (the original, no-longer-available boxed version with Type 1 fonts, not the downloadable version with OpenType fonts), you may use any standard WPDOS PostScript driver. You will get good results from the special Ghostscript drivers available from this site, or you may try an original WPDOS driver. A safe choice for monochrome printing is the Apple LaserWriter IINTX; another is the Xerox DocuTech 135 driver, which gives access to many different page sizes. For color printing, try the Tektronix Phaser ColorQuick driver. If you do not see any of the original WordPerfect PostScript drivers on the list of additional printers in your copy of WPDOS, you can install the drivers from the original WordPerfect installation disks, or download drivers from Corel's printer driver page; search for the printers by name.
(6) After selecting and installing the PostScript driver, you must direct the printer output to a file. The procedure is slightly different in different WPDOS versions. In WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Then select Edit, and in the Edit Printer Setup screen, select Port, then Filename, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\PDFOUT.PS, and, to reduce the possibility of overwriting existing PDF files, add a checkmark to Prompt for Filename. In WPDOS 5.1, use Shift-F7/Select Printer, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Then select Edit, and in the Select Printer: Edit screen, select Port, choose Other, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\PDFOUT.PS. With either version, the directory in the pathname shown in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should be the folder you created in step (1). Now, using this new printer driver, "print" a document from WPDOS and make sure that a file named PDFOUT.PS is present in the C:\PDFSPOOL folder. Delete the file.
(7) Download and install PrintFile. When installing, you should probably choose the options to create a Start Menu item and to create a desktop shortcut, but you do not need to associate any file types with the program.
(8) Run PrintFile, and press the Settings button. In the PrintFile Settings dialog, in the Current settings field, type "Distiller PDF Settings." Still in the PrintFile Settings dialog, under General, add a checkmark next to "Enable spooler function," and remove the checkmark (if any) next to "Show printer selection dialog." I recommend adding a checkmark next to "Show icon on the taskbar." Under Printer, select "Acrobat Distiller."
(9) Still in the PrintFile Settings dialog, click the Shortcut... button. In the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog, choose the Desktop type; the Storage directory defaults to a subdirectory named Shortcuts under the PrintFile directory, and need not be changed. Click OK to close the Create PrintFile Shortcut dialog; if the PrintFile Settings dialog is open, press Esc to close it; Exit the main PrintFile dialog. Find the new "PrintFile - Distiller PDF Settings" shortcut that has now been created on your desktop; you will return to it later.
(10) Right-click on the new desktop shortcut that you created in step (8), and select Properties. Make sure the command line in the target field ends with "... Distiller PDF Settings.exe". Add the following string to the end of the command line in the Target field (after adding a space):
/s:C:\PDFSPOOL\*.PS
Remember to add a space before (to the left of) this string, and be extremely careful when typing the string itself: do not add any quotation marks, and please note that the string begins with a forward slash, followed immediately (no space) by the letter s and a colon, followed immediately (no space) by the directory name and wildcard file specification (using backward slashes). The pathname in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should match the folder you created in step (1). Close the Properties dialog but do not launch the shortcut.
(11) Launch the "PrintFile - Distiller PDF Settings" shortcut that you modified in step (10). The PrintFile icon should appear in your system tray. Leave the PrintFile program running; do not close it.
(12) Return to WPDOS and "print" a document as you did at the end of step (5). Depending on the Distiller options you chose in step (3), you may be prompted by Distiller to enter a filename for the output PDF, or an icon for the output PDF may appear on your desktop, or the output file may appear in Acrobat. The default output filename will be "PrintFile - PDFOUT.pdf" and you will almost certainly want to change it.
If nothing happens, return to steps (3) through (10) and make absolutely certain that you have followed the instructions exactly.
(13) If all goes well, make a copy of the "PrintFile - Distiller PDF Settings" shortcut that you modified in step (10) and add the copy to your Startup group so that it will run whenever you boot into Windows. (Help! How do I make a program run when Windows starts up?)
Advanced font management with Acrobat Distiller. As noted in the advanced font management section of this page, your PDF print jobs will take less time if you install the same Type 1 soft fonts in both WPDOS and in Acrobat Distiller, and tell WPDOS not to download the fonts, because the fonts are already present in the printer (the "printer," in this case, being the Acrobat Distiller program).
After you have installed your soft fonts in WPDOS, using the procedures on this site's Type 1 soft font installation page, start Acrobat Distiller. Use Settings/Font Locations, and click Add... Browse to the directory in which you store the Type 1 fonts you have installed in WPDOS and click OK. Click OK again, and exit the Distiller window. Before exiting the window, you may want to look at Settings/Job Options/Fonts to make sure that you have checked "Embed all fonts" as specified in step (4) above.
If you use WPDOS 5.1, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit, Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight the group that contains your fonts (probably "PTWP: <name of printer>", and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Acrobat Distiller, so that WPDOS knows that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
If you use WPDOS 6.x, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit/Font Setup/ Select Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight WPFI Type 1 (Soft Fonts), and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Acrobat Distiller, in order to tell WPDOS that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
This page includes two methods for creating PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Distiller, an obsolete one using PrintFile to redirect WPDOS output to Distiller, and another that uses Distiller's built-in Watched Folders feature. The Watched Folder methods has many disadvantages: you cannot specify the name of the output PDF file when you print, and you must manually open, rename, and move each output file to avoid overwriting it with the next PDF file that you create with this method.
The instuctions in this section use Distiller's Watched Folders feature. They are based on a procedure devised by Tony Duff, author of the leading Tibetan word processor and director of the Tibetan Computer Company. The instructions refer to Acrobat 4.0.x, but are more or less adaptable to other versions.
Very important note: Before you begin this method, adjust the spool settings for your Windows printer as described in steps (1a) or (1b) on this site's list of Windows printing troubleshooting methods. Unless you do this, you may need to exit WPDOS before your documents will print.
(1) Create a new folder on your disk to use as a spool directory for the WPDOS print files that you will print to disk and convert to PDF files. I suggest creating a folder named C:\PDFSPOOL. You should not use this directory for anything other than print spooling.
(2) Install and set up the full Adobe Acrobat package. (In order to be certain that you install the Acrobat Distiller component, you may want to choose the Custom installation option, but this is probably not necessary.)
(3) Start Acrobat Distiller from its shortcut. Go to File/Preferences, and choose the options you prefer. You should probably select "Ask for PDF file destination" so that you can be certain to save each print job under a different name. Go to Settings/Watched Folders, click Add, and browse to the directory you created in step (1). You may want to change the frequency with which the folder will be checked for new files, and you may prefer to choose the option to delete the PostScript file rather than move it to the "Out" folder. You will almost certainly want to choose the option to delete the log file for successful jobs. Click OK to return to the main Distiller window.
(4) Still in the main Distiller window, in the Job Options field, select Print (or PrintOptimized similar phrase). Go to Settings/Job Options, then to the Fonts tab, where you should make sure that there is a check mark next to "Embed All Fonts" unless you have a very good reason to do otherwise. If you make any changes in the Job Options menu, click on the Save As button at the right-hand side of the Job Options window; enter a name like WPDOS; click Save; then click OK to return to the main Distiller Window. Do not exit Distiller.
(5) Run WordPerfect for DOS, press Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer (in 5.1, Additional Printers), and select a PostScript printer. Almost all WPDOS printer drivers support all 35 fonts in almost all PostScript printers, but recent versions of Distiller include built-in support for only thirteen basic fonts (four weights each of Times, Helvetica, Courier, plus Symbol) and ITC Zapf Dingbats, so I recommend that you use this site's PostScript for Acrobat Distiller printer drivers, which include the correct font support. These drivers are described in the following notes:
To install this site's WPDOS 5.1 PostScript for Acrobat Distiller driver, download wp51dist.exe to a temporary directory and run the program to extract the contents. Copy WP51DIST.ALL to the directory that contains your printer files. (To locate this directory in WordPerfect, use Shift-F1/Location of Files/Printer Files) In WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select Printer/Additional Printers, and select PostScript for Acrobat Distiller.
To install this site's WPDOS 6.x PostScript for Acrobat Distiller driver, download wp60dist.exe to a temporary directory and run the program to extract the contents. Copy WP60DIST.ALL to the directory that contains your printer files. (To locate this directory in WordPerfect, use Shift-F1/Location of Files/Printer Files...) In WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer... and select PostScript for Acrobat Distiller.
If, however, you have purchased and installed the Adobe Type Basics font package, you may use any standard WPDOS PostScript driver. You will get good results from the special Ghostscript drivers available from this site, or you may try one of the drivers that were originally supplied with WPDOS. A safe choice for monochrome printing is the Apple LaserWriter IINTX; another is the Xerox DocuTech 135 driver, which gives access to many different page sizes. For color printing, try the Tektronix Phaser ColorQuick driver. If you do not see any of the original WordPerfect PostScript drivers on the list of additional printers in your copy of WPDOS, you can install the drivers from the original WordPerfect installation disks, or download drivers from Corel's printer driver page; search for the printers by name.
(6) After selecting and installing the PostScript driver, you must direct the printer output to a file. The procedure is slightly different in different WPDOS versions. In WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Then select Edit, and in the Edit Printer Setup screen, select Port, then Filename, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\IN\PDFOUT.PS, and, to reduce the possibility of overwriting existing PDF files, add a checkmark next to Prompt for Filename. In WPDOS 5.1, use Shift-F7/Select Printer, and make sure the highlight is on your PostScript printer driver. Then select Edit, and in the Select Printer: Edit screen, select Port, choose Other, and enter the pathname C:\PDFSPOOL\IN\PDFOUT.PS. With either version, the directory in the pathname shown in green (C:\PDFSPOOL) should be the folder you created in step (1), followed by the folder name \IN\.
(7) Jump to Windows (you can use the Alt-Tab key combination), start Acrobat Distiller if it is not already running, and return to WPDOS. Print the WP document to a file, using the printer driver that you set up in step (6). A few seconds after the output file has been printed to disk, it will be detected by Distiller and the PDF file will processed automatically. You do not need to start Distiller before printing from WPDOS, but you can start it whenever you are ready to create your PDF file; if an output file is already on disk, ready for conversion, Distiller will see it in the watched folder and process it immediately.
Note: Under WPDOS 6.x, when printing files that contain bitmap graphics, you may or may not get better results if you set the graphics' Dither Method to "device" instead of "application." This setting is located under Alt-F9/Graphics Boxes/Create or Edit/Contents/Image or Image on Disk/Image Editor; then, in the Image Editor, under Edit/Print Parameters/Dither Method, where you should choose Device. This setting forces the printer (Acrobat Distiller) to render bitmap images instead WordPerfect. Unfortunately, even if you make Device the default setting by modifying the printer driver with the WPDOS 6.x Printer Definition Program, PTR.EXE, you may need to uncheck the Default box in in the Print Parameters/Dither Method dialog for each file, no matter how unintuitive this seems. The problem may result from a bug in WPDOS. (If you want to experiment, use PTR.EXE to open the .ALL file for your printer; select your printer, then Edit/Graphics/Miscellaneous/Rendering, and set the Default Dither Source to Printer. Exit and save the .ALL file. Open WPDOS 6.x, use Shift-F7/Select/Update to make the new setting available to WordPerfect. )
Advanced font management with Acrobat Distiller. As noted in the advanced font management section of this page, your PDF print jobs will take less time if you install the same Type 1 soft fonts in both WPDOS and in Acrobat Distiller, and tell WPDOS not to download the fonts, because the fonts are already present in the printer (the "printer," in this case, being Acrobat Distiller).
After you have installed your soft fonts in WPDOS, using the procedures on this site's Type 1 soft font installation page, start Acrobat Distiller. Use Settings/Font Locations, and click Add. Browse to the directory in which you store the Type 1 fonts you have installed in WPDOS and click OK. Click OK again, and exit the Distiller window. Before exiting the window, you may want to look at Settings/Job Options/Fonts to make sure that you have checked "Embed all fonts" as specified in step (4) above.
If you use WPDOS 5.1, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit, Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight the group that contains your fonts (probably "PTWP: <name of printer>", and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Acrobat Distiller, so that WPDOS knows that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
If you use WPDOS 6.x, start WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select, and highlight your PostScript printer driver; use Edit/Font Setup/ Select Cartridges-Fonts-Print Wheels, highlight Soft Fonts, press Enter, highlight WPFI Type 1 (Soft Fonts), and press Enter. In the list of soft fonts, place a star (*) next to each of the soft fonts you installed into Acrobat Distiller, in order to tell WPDOS that these fonts are present at the start of the print job and need not be downloaded.
This site provides Ghostscript printer drivers for WPDOS that are also ideal for printing to PDF files; the drivers are slightly modified from standard WordPerfect PostScript drivers, and you can use a standard WordPerfect PostScript driver if you prefer. (I suggest that you do not use HP LaserJet PostScript drivers with Acrobat Distiller or Jaws PDF Creator, as some special HP printer codes may interfere with smooth operations.)
Notes on WordPerfect for DOS 6.x only: Ghostscript drivers for WPDOS 6.x (WP60GSCR.EXE) are available in a self-extracting archive. The name of each driver includes "Color" or "Mono" and a resolution in Dots Per Inch. Choose the driver that most closely matches the color and resolution that you prefer to use with Acrobat Distiller or Jaws PDF Creator. The resolution of the "built-in" standard PostScript fonts in Acrobat Distiller and Jaws PDF Creator, and of any Type 1 soft fonts you have installed into WPDOS as printer fonts, will not be affected by the resolution of the driver. The driver resolution is designed to optimize the output of bitmapped graphics. Because WPDOS 6.x uses bitmapped graphics to output its "graphic fonts" (TrueType, Speedo, and any Type 1 fonts that are not installed as printer fonts) to PostScript printers, you will get better results if you choose the correct resolution. But any of these drivers should give acceptable results with any printer.
To use these drivers, download WP60GSCR.EXE to a temporary directory and run the program to extract the contents. Copy WP60GSCR.ALL to the directory that contains your printer files. (To locate this directory in WordPerfect, use Shift-F1/Location of Files/Printer Files...) In WordPerfect, use Shift-F7/Select/Add Printer... and select the most suitable driver. Edit the printer definition as described in various instructions above (for example, step (1o) of the Jaws PDF Creator method).
Notes on WordPerfect for DOS 5.x only: Ghostscript drivers for WPDOS 5.1 (WP51GSCR.EXE) are available in a self extracting archive. Choose either the Ghostscript Color or the Ghostscript Mono driver, depending on the kind of PDF files you expect to create.
If you work in a pure-DOS environment (without Windows), you can create PDF files from WPDOS by using an obsolete DOS-only version of Ghostscript. This requires a 386-or-later computer and will not work on an ancient 16-bit IBM XT or similar machine; it will, of course, work correctly in a DOS window on any modern Windows-based system.
Download Ghostscript 5.10 in a ZIP archive from this Ghostscript for DOS download page. Create a directory named C:\GS on your hard disk and extract into it all the files in the ZIP archive. In WPDOS, use a PostScript or Ghostscript printer driver and "print" your document to a file with a .PS extension in your C:\GS directory (for example, C:\GS\output.ps). In the C:\GS folder you will find a batch file named PS2PDF.BAT; at a DOS prompt, navigate to the C:\GS directory, and enter the command ps2pdf output.ps output.pdf to create a PDF file named Output.pdf. You can view the file by using the DOS-based Acrobat Reader described below.
For anyone who needs to work entirely in DOS, and wants to be able to read PDF files, Adobe's DOS version of Acrobat Reader is still available from Simtel.net. Some PDF files created with recent versions of Acrobat may not display correctly, but files created from WPDOS should display with no difficulty.
Early versions of Acrobat Reader for Windows may be found through diligent web searching. Files containing Reader version 3.x have names like Ar16e301.exe (Acrobat Reader, 16-bit version for Windows 3.x, English language, version 3.01) or Rs32i301.exe (Acrobat Reader with Search through indexed files, 32-bit version for Windows 95 or later, Italian language, version 3.01). Files containing Reader version 4.x (32-bit only) have names like Ar405eng.exe (Acrobat Reader, version 4.05, English language) or Rs405deu.exe (Acrobat Reader with Search through indexed files, version 4.05, German language).