The File - Print dialog is a standard Windows dialog that appears for layouts. We can use it to print to PDF (using a PDF printer driver) or to hard copy printers.
Manifold Viewer is read only, viewing software. The File - Print menu command is not available in Viewer.
To print a layout,, with the focus on an opened layout we choose File - Print in the main menu. We can print directly to a printer or to a PDF file. In the examples below we will print to a PDF file.
In current Windows editions, to print to a PDF file we choose Microsoft Print to PDF (or whatever other print o PDF "printer" we prefer) in the File - Print dialog and then we press the Print button. In the resulting dialog we provide a name for the file and press Save. Windows "prints" the layout into a PDF file.
Opening the PDF in Adobe Reader we see it is, indeed, a PDF of our layout.
Caution: Some printers and print to PDF packages will ignore Windows Control Pane settings for that printer's paper size, and also will ignore paper size as specified in Page Setup. Instead, they will insist on using some default paper size, such as Letter, even if the printer is loaded with A4 paper and we want to print A4 or vice versa.
In the File - Print dialog when working with a new printer or PDF printer it is usually a good idea to click on Preferences, and then if necessary to reach paper size settings to click on Advanced and then to ensure the desired paper size has been set.
When changing paper sizes using File - Print, and then Preferences and then Advanced, with most printer drivers (including print to PDF drivers) we change the paper size only for that one print job. After that print job the printer may jump back to the previous setting. To change the printer's mind about what it should be doing by default we may have to dig into the Windows Control Pane settings for that printer to change the preferences for that printer.
Frames Incorrectly Positioned - When printing directly to a printer or printing to a PDF, if some frames in the resulting printout are incorrectly positioned, such as overlapping or appearing slightly pushed together or pulled apart, the problem is often caused by a mismatch between the paper size specified in File - Page Setup for the layout and the paper size that is used by the printer or print to PDF software. Most frequently this is the result between the tug of war between use of A4 sized paper and use of Letter sized paper.
For example, if we have specified A4 paper size with 10 cm margins for the layout and have arranged the frames in our layout for that paper size and those margins, but we print the layout on a PDF printer that uses a default paper size of Letter, the resulting PDF will have the frames moved closer together vertically since Letter size paper is not as tall as A4 paper. Manifold will automatically move the frames to try to adjust to different paper sizes.
Not all printers allow changing paper size in print options during a
print job. Most do, but not all. Some printers will
require opening the Windows Control Pane and then setting preferences
for the printer to match the paper size that will be used by layouts.
Caution: Some printers and print to PDF packages will ignore Windows Control Pane settings for that printer's paper size, and also will ignore paper size as specified in Page Setup. Instead, they will insist on using some default paper size, such as Letter, even if we want to print A4 or vice versa.
In the File - Print dialog when working with a new printer or PDF printer it is usually a good idea to click on Preferences, and then if necessary to reach paper size settings to click on Advanced and then to ensure the desired paper size has been set.
When changing paper sizes using File - Print, and then Preferences and then Advanced, with most printer drivers (including print to PDF drivers) we change the paper size only for that one print job. After that print job the printer may jump back to the previous setting. To change the printer's mind about what it should be doing by default we may have to dig into the Windows Control Pane settings for that printer to change the preferences for that printer.
Problems Printing Hard Copy - Manifold prints directly to printers using standard Windows printing subsystems. Windows subsystems for printing are highly dependent upon the quality and quirks of individual printer drivers. That is unfortunate because printer drivers are often extremely low quality, poorly-debugged and poorly-maintained software. Even in the case of high quality printer drivers it is easy for printer drivers and Windows editions to get out of sync over time. Any problems with printer drivers can cause unexpected results when printing a layout directly to a hard copy printer.
Using a recent Windows edition, such as Windows 10, can reduce printing problems. Another way to deal with problems with printer drivers is to use the Microsoft Print to PDF capability within Windows 10 to print to a PDF file, and to then view that PDF file and to print it using Edge, Chrome or Adobe Reader. That strategy brings to bear the combined resources of Microsoft, Google and Adobe in dealing with printer driver quirks.
Using Microsoft Print to PDF or some other PDF printer system is also a good way of debugging hard copy printing problems by excluding possible problems within Manifold as the cause. If Manifold correctly "prints" a layout to PDF via Microsoft Print to PDF or via some other PDF printer system, then any problems printing hard copy to a specific printer probably are problems not within Manifold but are problems within the printer driver or within the interface between Windows printing subsystems and the printer driver.
In contrast, if Manifold prints similar errors to either the hard copy printer or to a PDF printer then a possible problem in Manifold should be reported to tech support.
Print to PDF Software - Current Windows systems such as Windows 10 provide Microsoft Print to PDF capability as a built-in "printer." Manifold therefore uses Microsoft Print to PDF as a useful reference point for PDF printing.
Other print to PDF software is also available from sources other than Microsoft and could be used as an alternative. For example, Adobe provides software that creates an Adobe PDF "printer" such that whenever a document is "printed" to that printer a PDF is created.
Free software such as FreePDF
can also be installed to create PDF "printers." FreePDF
is honest software that does not install any adware, spyware, malware
or other idiocy. It seems to be a reasonable, free alternative
to Adobe PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF. FreePDF uses Ghostscript
as a PDF engine, which makes for well-understood results.
There are many other print to PDF packages, some free, some paid,
and some, like CutePDF
and Bullzip PDF Printer,
coming in both free and paid versions. Mention of any PDF software
by Manifold is not an endorsement or recommendation, as packages come
and go, vary widely in their capabilities, and change over time.
Caution: Some PDF packages deliver advertising or spam upon installation. Be wary of packages that may install adware, pop open spam/upsell dialogs or which might hijack browser settings or install unwanted extras. Always pay careful attention during installation sequences to avoid installing unwanted adware.
PDF printing software varies widely in quality and capabilities. Depending on the print to PDF software used, the resulting PDFs created can vary greatly in size and rendering quality, and may result in errors or strange displays depending on which PDF viewer is used. The Advanced rendering engine within Manifold usually provides the best results with most PDF printers.
Casual testing indicates Adobe PDF, Microsoft Print to PDF and FreePDF provide a good balance of quality and capabilities. For examples of others, visit the Manifold forum at www.georeference.org and search for discussion of other print to PDF packages.
Problems Viewing PDFs - PDFs from any source may be displayed different in different PDF viewers. For example, it is routine for Adobe Reader to display PDFs slightly differently than the PDF display capability build into Microsoft's Edge browser, and both Adobe and Microsoft may display PDFs slightly differently than the Opera browser or Google Chrome.
How a PDF appears in a different viewer may also depend on which PDF printing software was used to create that PDF. Microsoft Print to PDF usually works well when results are viewed in Edge but not always in Adobe Reader or Chrome. Adobe PDF and FreePDF seem to work well with Adobe Reader, Edge and Chrome.
If an obvious visual problem occurs in the results when printing a layout to a PDF there are several things to try by way of debugging:
Use a different viewer - If the created PDF is displayed with errors when viewed in Adobe Reader, trying viewing it in Microsoft Edge and in Google Chrome. If the errors do not appear in other viewers the cause is probably not an error in Manifold but is a result of errors in the PDF printer or in how a given viewer interprets a PDF that was written by the PDF printer.
Print directly to a hard copy printer - If printing the layout directly to a hard copy printer instead of a PDF creates a printed sheet without the errors seen in a PDF viewer, that strongly indicates an error in the PDF printer or PDF viewing software and not in Manifold. In contrast, if the printed page has the same errors the error could be in Manifold.
Change rendering engine - If changing the rendering engine in Tools - Options from Advanced to Basic or from Basic to Advanced causes display errors in the PDF viewer to appear or to disappear that indicates an error in the PDF printer or in the PDF viewer, but less likely an error in Manifold.
Change PDF printer or settings - If more than one print to PDF option is available, try using a different PDF printer or try changing the settings on the PDF printing software in use. To debug errors it is worth installing FreePDF or some other print to PDF software in Microsoft systems to provide an alternative to Microsoft Print to PDF. If display errors go away when a different PDF printer is used, that indicates the error is not in Manifold but either in the PDF printer or in the PDF viewer.
If the above debugging indicates a possible problem within Manifold, that should be reported to tech support.