cannot save to a pdf from print window

A

artistscottuf

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I have OSX 10.5.8 and Adobe Acrobat 9 pro
When I have a PDF open and go to file, print, I click the pdf button at the bottom left corner of the print window. I choose "Save as PDF" and I get the following error message: "Saving a PDF file when printing is not supported. Instead, choose File > Save."

I get the message when I'm in Firefox, Safari, and even when I'm in Adobe Acrobat 9 pro.

I installed the Acrobat 9.1 update and it didn't solve the problem. I reset Safari to default and this did not solve the problem.

Please help.
 
You started a thread with an identical post last week. Apparently, you ignored the responses to your question.
 
If you have a pdf file open, why do you need to save it as a pdf?
It's already a pdf. That save function when printing is used for saving other kinds of files as a pdf, and saving a pdf while printing to a pdf is redundant, when the file is _already_ a pdf.
Rather than printing - simply use the fFle menu, choosing Save As...
That's what your browser (probably the print manager, I think) is telling you to do

Does that help you understand what's happening?
It's not an error, but simply a normal result when trying to save an actual pdf through a print window.
It's telling you that operation on a pdf file is not supported - and is in fact redundant.
 
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The reason I need to save as a pdf from a pdf is that I need to save sections of a congressional record pdf.

First, I look up the desired pages I need from the congressional record on Lexis Nexis. Then I open the pdf that contain the pages. This pdf is usually 50 pages or so. I need to save these individual pages to a folder so I can take them to a commercial printer later. "Printing" the needed pages to a PDF would save hours and would enable me to work from my house rather than from a library.

If I simply save the entire 50 page pdf, then I'm required to do the same work again later: isolating the individual pages I need printed from the files I saved. If I printed all 50 pages from each pdf that I needed, it would cost hundreds of dollars, not to mention lost hours spent finding the physical pages that I need among the hundreds of pages I don't need.

P.S. I didn't ignore anyone's comments, I'm not sure why it posted twice. I'm new to the forum, give me a break.
 
Ok, I think I understand. Using the print manager to save portions of your pdf is the wrong tactic, I think. You need to open the complete pdf in an application that will allow you to edit the pdf, or to save individual pages, or maybe sections of that .pdf file.
Does Acrobat allow you to save individual pages or sections?
 
artistscottuf said:
The reason I need to save as a pdf from a pdf is that I need to save sections of a congressional record pdf.

First, I look up the desired pages I need from the congressional record on Lexis Nexis. Then I open the pdf that contain the pages. This pdf is usually 50 pages or so. I need to save these individual pages to a folder so I can take them to a commercial printer later. "Printing" the needed pages to a PDF would save hours and would enable me to work from my house rather than from a library.

If I simply save the entire 50 page pdf, then ....
Click to expand...
You are making this way too hard. You most certainly don't need to print anything to PDF. If you have the PDF opened is Safari, then you may simply File/Save As... source. If you have Adobe's PDF plug-in enabled, then a simple click on the diskette icon will save the PDF for you as will File/Save As....
 
I think artistscottuf wants to only save certain pages in the .pdfs that he is searching - such as Print, select page 2 through 6, and click the PDF button, so you save that selection as a pdf. Seems simple enough, but you can't do it with a pdf file.
I think you simply save the complete pdfs, and take the saved files where you can pick and choose the pages that you need to print. There's no reason to print all the pages in any .pdf, is there? Just print the ones you need to print. (from 6 to 10, eh?) That's where you are making this too hard... Just save the whole pdf, and print later at your leisure.
Or, don't you have access to a personal printer?
 
I believe this is possible in the Preview application that comes with 10.6. You can select the pages you want by clicking the thumbnails while holding down the command key. Alternatively, you can press Command-A to select all and then hold down the Command key and click pages you don't want (if you want most of the document).

Once you have the pages you want selected, let go of the Command key, click (and hold the button) one of the selected thumbnails and drag it to the desktop. You'll need to have at least a little bit of the desktop showing to drag to. You can, of course, drag it to any folder, but the Desktop is convenient.

I hope this is clear enough. If not, please let me know and I'll clarify.

Good luck!

Bot
 
Looks like that does work with Preview in 10.6
Command-click to select desired pages, then you can choose Print Selected Pages... and you can save the selected pages as a separate .pdf. Seems to work just fine....
I _cannot_ get that to work the same way in 10.5 Preview. The print manager just doesn't allow that in 10.5
 
My adobe program either won't let me save individual pages or I don't know how. I saved a couple of the huge files and then tried to save individual pages in Acrobat and couldn't figure out how to do it. I would rather avoid doing it this way if possible. It takes more time.

I'm interested in the "10.6" approach, but I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about. Adobe 10.6 or Mac OS 10.6? Is preview different? I'm not computer saavy enough to understand that message, but I am interested in any way to save time.

Thanks
 
What's Adobe 10.6?

Yes, the Preview app is considerably changed in Mac OS X 10.6
Seems like one of the differences allows you to do what you want - save individual pages, or various pages that you select while holding the command key. They don't need to be sequential when you do that, either.
And - it means that to do what you want, you would upgrade to Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6 or higher). The 0.6 installer is available anywhere that sells Apple software, and is just US$30.
 
Yeah, you can use the Preview program that comes with OS X to view your PDFs. I use it as my main viewer for PDFs. Much faster than Adobe Reader. I don't use Acrobat, though.

Right-click (or hold down the Command key and click) on the PDF and select Open With then "Preview". 10.6 let's you drag one or more of the page thumbnails to a folder or the Desktop. That's a simple way to make a PDF of just the pages you want. See my rev. Instructions for the details.

Come to think of it, previous versions of Preview will let you Print to PDF jest the pages you want. Type Command-p to print, type the pages or page range you want and click the PDF button in the Print dialog window.

But if you're running an Intel Macintosh, you should probably upgrade to 10.6 if you haven't already. It's only $25 or $30.
 
Thanks, ex2bot!
Not sure how I missed that with 10.5 Preview, but I did...
Of course, you can select multiple individual pages in the sidebar, when it is set to show thumbnails. I think that's where I missed, because I prefer display of table of contents - and that doesn't allow multiple selections.
 
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