Adobe Acrobat

Changed Hotkey for Annotations
in Output Preview

Already in 2012 in Acrobat XI a new feature was introduced which allows to store information from Output Preview (color value of separations or result of object inspector) as an annotation in the PDF page. To get this the user had to perform a Shift+Click on the page while the Output Preview window was open.

The use of the Shift key as hotkey was unfortunate since the shift key is also used for performing multiple selections with the Acrobat tool Edit Object or the PitStop Inspector. This was no longer possible while the Output Preview was open. Instead of selecting multiple objects Acrobat created unwanted annotations.

Weiterlesen / ContinueChanged Hotkey for Annotations
in Output Preview

February update for Acrobat DC

The February Update for Acrobat DC 2018 to version 18.011.20035 (only for subscription version) features the following enhancements:  

In the new version there is also a Print production enhancement.  In a separate article I am giving some background information about the Changed Hotkey for Annotations in Output Preview.

In addition on February 23rd an optional Update to version 18.011.20038 with a few additional bug fixes was released.

(The update can also be installed using the Acrobat menu Help > Check for Updates….)

Most users have received automatic updates since the corresponding option in the preferences was recently activated by default.

Acrobat 2018 Update
with bug fixes for print production

Adobe has released an unplaned update for Acrobat 2018 to version 18.009.200.50.

Beside other bug fixes it also features fixes for two bugs in print production: 

  • Acrobat crashes while viewing PDF’s with Output Preview\Overprint Print enabled.
  • Acrobat crashes\hangs on converting the spot colors to CMYK.

Personally I am using both features on a regular basis but I did not had any problems with them recently. Conversion of spot colors to CMYK is even a topic in my PDF Color Management seminar. I also did not receive any complaints from my seminar attendees nor the readers of PDF-AKTUELL.

This update also fixes a problem with Enfocus PitStop Pro.

(BTW: the users with a perpetual license didn’t got an update…)

Acrobat DC 2018 with PDF 2.0

After the version jump from 2015 to 2015 in April, Acrobat now was updated to version 2018 after only half a year. But only for the subscription variant (Continuous track). The subscription variant (Classic track) stays with version 2017:

(The update can also be installed using the Acrobat menu Help > Check for Updates….)

Many users have got an automatic update since the corresponding option in the preferences was recently activated by default.

Despite the divergent version numbers all of the new features of this update are available in both variants!

The new Acrobat versions support PDF 2.0. Documents using PDF 2.0 are now opened without a warning. They can also be saved as PDF 2.0. However PDF 2.0 is not supported in Acrobat Preflight (yet). Since Callas has already integrated PDF 2.0 checks and fixups in pdfToolbox 9.4 this feature will certainly soon be available  in an upcoming Acrobat update.

Unfortunately Adobe is quiet about which of the new features of PDF 2.0 are supported in the new Acrobat versions!!!

Weiterlesen / ContinueAcrobat DC 2018 with PDF 2.0

Quality loss after color conversion
in Acrobat

In preparation of my new seminar PDF Color Management I have tested the image compression before and after color conversion in the most popular PDF tools.

In highend PDFs destinated for quality printing the images are usually compressed using JPEG maximum quality. Before color conversion the images must be decompressed and afterwards compressed again. Acrobat always uses JPEG medium quality for this recompression. The consequence is that there is an (unexpected) loss of quality of the color converted images (see table).

Weiterlesen / ContinueQuality loss after color conversion
in Acrobat

End of support for Acrobat/Reader XI

On October 15, 2017 Adobe discontinued the support of Adobe Acrobat XI und Adobe Reader XI. Adobe only supports during five years. That means that Adobe no longer provides technical support, including product and/or security updates, for this version of the application.

However the software can still be used!

According to my survey last year Acrobat XI is the most used Acrobat version by my readers. This is also confirmed by the feedback of the attendees of my seminars.

Acrobat August 2017 Update released

Adobe has releaded planned Updates for Acrobat DC and Acrobat 2017. As usual there are two different updaters:

The update can also be installed using the Acrobat menu Help > Check for Updates….

Some of the new features are only available in the subscription version. IMHO there are not interesting new features for users in print production in this update.

Weiterlesen / ContinueAcrobat August 2017 Update released

Problem with Enfocus PitStop Inspector
in Adobe Acrobat DC 2017

There is a problem with PitStop Inspector in Acrobat DC 2017. After starting Acrobat it is impossible to select an object with the PitStop Inspector tool.

This is also true for older versions of Enfocus PitStop. The reason for the problem seam to be a change in Acrobat DC 2017. Enfocus is working with Adobe to find a solution.

The recommended workaround is to open the window Adobe Acrobat DC > About Third-Party Plug-Ins > About Enfocus PitStop Pro… and close it. Afterwards objects can be selected as usual … until the next start of Acrobat DC 2017. Then you have to open the About Enfocus window again!

UPDATE: the problem has been fixed by Adobe in the November 2017 Update of Acrobat.

PDFX-ready Preflight profiles
V1.5 / V2.5 released

PDFX-ready has update their preflight profiles for Acrobat Pro. The latest versions feature the following changes:

  • V2.5 (for PDF/X-4):
    • Removed check for single-color hairlines (< 0.125 pt) since these lines are no longer problematic in modern CTP and Digital workflows.
    • Check of multi-color objects (text < 8 pt; lines < 0.25 pt) also for Digital Printing.
    • More details in explanation for spot color check.
    • Compatibility with PDF/X-4 created by QuarkXPress 2016/2017.
  • V1.5 (for PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-3):
    • New checks for recognition of black texts and vektors which most probably were re-separated (was alredy in V2.4).
    • More details in explanation for spot color check.
    • Removal of check “Annotation of this type not allowed (GWG)” (alignment with V2.x).

Acrobat DC April 2017 Update
with confusing version jump

Adobe has released a new update for Acrobat DC. As usual there are two different updaters:

The update can also be installed using the Acrobat menu Help > Check for Updates….

It’s strange that the subscription variant now has a 17.x version number while the perpetual variant still has a 15.x version number. For sure this will increase the confusion about the different variants of Acrobat even more!

Weiterlesen / ContinueAcrobat DC April 2017 Update
with confusing version jump