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Dale_Rosema
Dale_Rosema23-Emerald IV
23-Emerald IV
August 10, 2022
Solved

"Printing PDF"s vs "Save As" pdf - which is better

Late to the game of printing/saving pdf's. Is one of these better than the other? Or do they do the same thing?

BenLoosliAnswer
23-Emerald III
August 10, 2022

They are different. You need to do a test of each option and compare the printed results.

The Save-As uses internal code to create the PDF. The Print option uses the system PDF printer code.

 

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18 replies

BenLoosli23-Emerald IIIAnswer
23-Emerald III
August 10, 2022

They are different. You need to do a test of each option and compare the printed results.

The Save-As uses internal code to create the PDF. The Print option uses the system PDF printer code.

 

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Dale_Rosema
Dale_Rosema23-Emerald IVAuthor
23-Emerald IV
August 10, 2022

Thanks for the heads up on differences. One thing so far, how do keep a number centered inside a balloon when "Saving As"

 

Saving As

Dale_Rosema_0-1660148550658.png

Printing

 

Dale_Rosema_1-1660148634910.png

 

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StephenW
StephenW23-Emerald III
23-Emerald III
August 10, 2022

I use "stroke all fonts". It usually gives a better looking PDF. 

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    StephenW
    StephenW23-Emerald III
    23-Emerald III
    August 10, 2022

    I prefer to print to PDF. Others in my company uses the save as/export option.

    Years ago, when we first started generating PDF files, the save as option would crash on my large assemblies. So I'm biased by my experience. I've tried it since and it doesn't crash anymore but I can't get over my preference! I do have my setup well defined for print to PDF so its just easier for me to continue using my method.

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    Dale_Rosema
    Dale_Rosema23-Emerald IVAuthor
    23-Emerald IV
    August 15, 2022

    Same but new question:

     

    What's the difference between SaveAs and Export?

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    TomU23-Emerald IV
    23-Emerald IV
    August 15, 2022

    SaveAs let's you choose the file type (PDF), set the file name, then change any of the PDF settings.

    Export puts you into a preview mode and requires you to manually open the PDF settings if you want to save them before setting the file name and exporting.

    As far as I can tell, there is no difference in the file created, it's just a different workflow and whether or not you want to see a preview before saving.

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    Dale_Rosema
    Dale_Rosema23-Emerald IVAuthor
    23-Emerald IV
    August 16, 2022

    I would like to thank everyone who help me learn the difference between the various  .pdf outputs the last few days:

    @BenLoosli 

    @TomU 

    @StephenW 

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      Patriot_1776
      Patriot_177622-Sapphire II
      22-Sapphire II
      August 16, 2022

      'Sup Dale!  I usually create a PDF with truetype fonts (Arial), and print that from Adobe.  It seems to work out well.  Best of luck!

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