The Quick Answer Download Edition
Downloading, Viewing and Printing TipsNew issues are posted by the 5th of each month.
The following can occur when attempting to download your issue of The Quick Answer:
Problem: You inadvertently type in an invalid Subscriber ID to download your issue. Then you go back and correct the ID and resubmit it. But still you get the message that the Subscriber ID isn't valid. What has happened is that your browser has cached the page with the invalid ID and is reloading it from the cache, causing a continued invalid ID.
Solution: Delete the files your browser has cached. To do this in Internet Explorer, click View / Internet Options, then click Delete Files and Clear History. (Netscape has a similar way to delete temporary or cached files.) Now try entering your Subscriber ID again. This should solve the problem.
Viewing The Quick Answer Download Edition
To view and optionally print the newsletter, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. You will get the best display results and display and printing problems (such as graphics not displaying or printing properly) will usually vanish with the latest version of Acrobat Reader. There are versions of Acrobat Reader for all versions of Windows. Be sure to get the correct version for your PC. Acrobat Reader can be download free at www.adobe.com. If you upgrade your version of Acrobat Reader, be sure to uninstall any earlier versions before installing the updated version.To download the current issue of The Quick Answer:
1. At www.quickanswer.com, click This Month's Issue at the top of the Home Page.
2. On the current issue page, click Download this Issue.3. Enter your Subscriber ID (uppercase or lowercase) and click Submit.
4. When your Subscriber ID has been confirmed, click OK to Download...5. Tell your browser where to save the file on your PC. (It's best if you have a special directory for your Quick Answer download files.)
6. When the download is complete--
• If the file is a self-extracting .exe file, simply run it to extract the files. (Click Start / Run, browse to the location of the download file and select it, click Open then click OK. In Windows Explorer, you can simply double-click the file.
• If the file is a .zip file, use PKUNZIP or a compatible utility to extract the files.
• The file with the .pdf filename extension is the current issue of The Quick Answer in Acrobat Reader portable document format (pdf).
7. Start Acrobat Reader and open the .pdf file. See below if you have printing trouble.
Tip: Rarely, a file can become damaged during download over the Internet. If Acrobat Reader won't open The Quick Answer .pdf file or displays an error message, the file could be damaged. In this case, download the file again. If Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later opens other .pdf files but has trouble with The Quick Answer file, please send an email message to us at office@quickanswer.com.
Online Edition of The Quick Answer Not Printing Properly
Tip: If the .pdf file DISPLAYS properly in Acrobat Reader but does not
PRINT properly, then the problem is NOT with the .pdf file but with your
PRINTER or PRINTER SETUP/PROPERTIES.For LaserJets, DeskJets and compatibles
The following reported problems and solutions might help you get better printing of the newsletter in Acrobat Reader.
Question: I subscribe to the Online Edition of The Quick Answer and I just downloaded the March issue from your Web site. The newsletter looks great in Acrobat Reader, but only the upper right table of contents prints on page 1, even though all the other pages print just fine. Any ideas about printing page 1? I've experienced no problem printing any other Acrobat Reader documents -- just page 1 of the March issue. I'm using Windows 95, a Pentium II 300Mhz with 64M ram, Acrobat Reader 3.0, and an HP DeskJet 870Cse printer.
Answer: We have the same printer and had the same problem -- incomplete printing of just page 1 of the newsletter. We downloaded and installed the latest DeskJet 870Cse printer driver from HP's Web site (www.hp.com) and the problem disappeared. (This reader subsequently reported that the updated DeskJet printer driver did the trick for him as well.)
Tip: Obtaining and installing the latest Windows printer driver for any printer (particularly inkjets) may improve printing or solve printing problems. Updated printer drivers can usually be downloaded free of charge from the printer manufacturer's Web site.
Problem/Solution: I was delighted at how easy it was to download the Online Edition of The Quick Answer in Acrobat Reader format. I was even more pleased that it printed correctly on my HP LaserJet 6P printer even though it was set for A4 (European size) paper. The print quality is excellent, but on closer inspection, some of the text appears scrunched up or overlaps adjoining text. After some experimentation, I found that the problem is immediately resolved by setting the printer to HP 6P Enhanced mode rather than Standard mode. I had never used Enhanced mode, thinking it was just for gimmicks like watermarks. I now have my LaserJet default to Enhanced mode. The moral is, if the Online Edition of The Quick Answer is not printing ideally in Acrobat Reader, experiment with your printer settings. --Alec Mulvey, Keyword Software, Ascot, England
Problem/Solution: I have been having a problem printing my downloaded Quick Answer issues. In Acrobat Reader 3.0, my HP LaserJet 4 printer was not printing some text, i.e., the date of the issue along with the volume and issue numbers. Also, among other parts, it would not print the text in the large rectangular black space on the last page or the mailing address section below. I thought I needed an updated printer driver, but could not find one. I went into Control Panel / Printers / Properties for my printer, and changed the Graphics Mode on the Graphics tab from Use vector graphics to Use raster graphics. This solved all of my problems. --Bob Brandt
Problem/Solution: I've resolved my Online Edition Quick Answer printing problem (white text on black background not printing).On my HP LaserJet 4 Plus (this also worked on a straight "4"), I opened the document in Acrobat Reader 3.0, then chose File / Print Setup / Properties / Graphics and changed the Use vector graphics to Use raster graphics. Voila--everything printed beautifully. --June CaronThe following section on printing Acrobat Reader (PDF) files
is from the README document that comes with Acrobat 3.0PCL and Non-PostScript Printing
===========================Performance Improvements - Acrobat 3.0 contains significant performance improvements for printing to PCL and other non-PostScript printers as compared to Acrobat 2.1. On Windows 95 and NT systems, both text and graphics printing performance is improved; on Windows 3.x systems, performance enhancements are limited to text.
TrueType Fonts - For best results with LaserJet printers, it is recommended that you use the printer driver's TrueType font option to download TrueType fonts as bitmaps. Details for the driver's Properties dialog is presented below:
LaserJet III - Fonts tab, TrueType fonts section: Select the "Download TrueType fonts asbitmap soft fonts" option.
LaserJet 4 - Fonts tab, TrueType fonts section: Select the "Download TrueType fonts asbitmap soft fonts" option.
LaserJet 5 - Print Quality tab, Text Mode section: Select the "TrueType as Bitmaps" option.
If you still have problems, we recommend trying the "Print TrueType as Graphics" option (if your driver has one). [174299]
Raster vs. Vector Mode - You may get more consistent results if your printer driver is set to use Raster mode for graphics. Not all printer drivers have this mode. [162671,160392]
Dithering - Set your printer driver's Graphics / Dithering option to "Fine" or "Coarse" for best results printing halftone images. A setting of "None" will produce poor results. [176134]
Windows 3.1 Printer Drivers - The printer drivers shipped with Microsoft Windows 3.1 for the HP LaserJet III, IIID, IIIP, and IIISi printers may not work well with Acrobat Exchange (and other applications for that matter). Adobe recommends you use a PCL printer driver based on the Universal Printer Driver V.3.1.2. Here are four ways to get this driver:
World Wide Web - Download the file "HPPCL5.EXE" from http://www.microsoft.com/kb/softlib/mslfiles/hppcl5.exe
Microsoft's Bulletin Board - Microsoft's bulletin-board download service can be reached at 206-739-4009. It supports up to 9600 baud and you should set up your modem to use 8-bit, 1 stop bit, and no parity. Once connected, there is a menu-driven bulletin board. Download the file "HPPCL5.EXE".
Microsoft - If you're in the US and you don't have a modem, you may call Microsoft directly at 800-426-9400 and obtain the LaserJet III printer drivers on a diskette.
Hewlett-Packard - Again, if you don't have a modem, you may call Hewlett-Packard directly at 303-739-4009 and obtain the LaserJet III printer drivers on a diskette. You may also use this number to obtain the latest printer drivers for the HP LaserJet 4, DeskJet, and PaintJet families of printers.
600 dpi - If you experience problems printing to HP LaserJet printers in the 600-dpi mode try switching back to 300-dpi mode or if it is equipped with a PostScript option, use the PostScript mode for 600-dpi printing. This 600-dpi PCL5 printing problem does not seem specific to Acrobat. Documents with various graphic images may not print correctly to the LaserJet 4 in PCL mode at 600 dpi unless the Graphics option in the Windows printer driver setup is set to Raster mode.
Drag-and-drop Printing - You can only drag one PDF file at a time onto printer icons for non-PostScript printers. For PostScript printers, you can drag-and-drop mutliple PDF files for printing. [176051]
Landscape - To increase printer performance of documents formatted entirely in landscape orientation to non-PostScript printers the printer driver must be set in landscape orientation in the Windows printer setup.
PostScript Printing
=================AdobePS 4.1 for Windows 95 - For best results when printing to PostScript printers, Adobe recommends you use the Adobe PostScript Printer Driver 4.1 for use with the Windows 95 operating system, especially with PostScript Level 1 printers. AdobePS 4.1 provides several features not found in the standard Windows 95 PostScript driver, such as Watermark printing and greater support for many popular applications. The driver and installation instructions are included on the Acrobat 3.0 CD in the DRIVERS / WIN95 folder.
AdobePS 3.01 for Windows 3.1 - For best results when printing to PostScript printers, Adobe recommends you use the AdobePS 3.01 (or later) driver. The driver and installation instructions are included on the Acrobat 3.0 CD in the DRIVERS / WIN31 folder. Please note, the watermark and n-up feature of this printer driver do not work with Acrobat Exchange/Reader 3.0. [181119]
Memory Issues - If you encounter problems, such as a "VMerror," printing to PostScript Level 1 or 2 printers it may be because the printer has little available memory (for example, a non-upgraded LaserWriter, LaserWriter Plus, LaserWriter II NT or NTX). There are two potential solutions to this problem: 1/In the General Preferences dialog (select from the File > Preferences menu) you may choose to use Serif only or Sans only for font substituion. This frees up additional memory in the printer and chances are your document will print successfully. 2/The other option is to purchase more memory for your printer.
N-up Printing - N-up printing is only supported with the AdobePS driver for Windows 95, not the Microsoft "pscript" driver. [177536]
Pure Binary - Do not use the "Pure Binary" option of your PostScript printer driver when printing from Acrobat Exchange/Reader; use the "ASCII data" option instead, which is the default setting. In the printer driver's Properties dialog, choose the PostScript tab. Click the "Advanced..." button to display the Advanced PostScript Options dialog. Choose the "ASCII data" option in the Data Format section. [161459]
Scale/Enlarge to Fit - There is no "Scale/Enlarge to Fit" option in the print dialog, but a trick that works only to PostScript printers for "scale my page to fit my paper no matter how big or small" is the following: 1/ In the print setup dialog, set Scaling (on Windows) or Reduce/Enlarge (Macintosh) to something like 400%. 2/ In Acrobat's print dialog select "Shrink to Fit". 3/Then print. This will shrink or expand the page as necessary to fit the paper. What you have really done is make the page overly large, and then "Shrink to Fit" it onto the paper.
Apple Personal LaserWriter NT - If you are using an Apple Personal LaserWriter NT printer that has not been upgraded to a Personal LaserWriter NTR, Acrobat Exchange won't be able to print substitute fonts. Contact your Apple dealer for information on upgrading your printer.