EXP Systems Forum: Blank text boxes in Word pdf.

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Davilo
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 28 Mar 15
Posts: 3

Topic: Blank text boxes in Word pdf.
Posted: 29 Mar 15 at 7:33PM

After converting a Word document to pdf the text in the text boxes is missing (blank) in the pdf. I can highlight the blank area and do ctrl-c and then paste the text into a text editor, but the text is invisible in the pdf. The text also shows up blank when I print the pdf.

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Michel_K17
Moderator Group

Forum Administrator

Joined: 25 Jan 03
Posts: 1673

Posted: 29 Mar 15 at 11:17PM

Hi,

I think I have seen an issue in the past, similar to what you are describing.

Which version of Word you are using?
Are there any pictures in your document, on the same page as where the text boxes are becoming invisible?

From my notes on this subject, I have the following:

-----

I was finally able to "induce" the problem by increasing the default resolution of the PDF reDirect printer from 600 dpi to 1,200 dpi or higher.

Can you go into your Start menu >> Settings >> Printers >> PDF reDirect Pro printer >> Right-Click >> Properties >> General Tab >> Advanced >> Resolution? If your setting is anything higher than 600 dpi, then please reduce it to 600 dpi, and try printing again. I am hopeful that this will do the trick.

a few notes about this setting:

When increasing the resolution, the conversion takes a lot longer as the memory needed is squared (600 dpi x 600 dpi = 360,000 dpi squared while 1,200 x 1,200 = 1,440,000 dpi2 >> 4x more memory).
At the higher setting, Word will convert all of the pictures to a higher resolution equivalent. No details are gained, so there is no benefit unless your original resolution of your picture is also at the same higher resolution.
It looks like either Word or the printer driver runs out of memory, and corrupts the construction of the file
There is no advantage to a higher resolution unless you are going to a offset print facility with your PDF. Generally speaking, the human eye will have difficulty seeing anything higher than 300 dpi without a magnifying glass.
The problem with PDF files is that it is so easy to "zoom in" and see the imperfection that you would not see on paper otherwise.

I was able to induce the problem only with Word 2007 and Word 2010. I tested Win XP, Vista and Windows 7. Word 2003 and Word 2013 (Win 8.1) do not have this problem, even if I set the resolution to 4,000 dpi. Therefore, I believe that the problem rests with Microsoft.

I hope this helps.

Michel

Michel Korwin-Szymanowski
EXP Systems LLC

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Davilo
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 28 Mar 15
Posts: 3

Posted: 31 Mar 15 at 12:06AM

I checked the resolution setting and it's set to 600.

I'm using Word 2000 on Windows XP. All of the text boxes with the missing text are descriptions of images in the document, both on the same page. The strange thing is I have used PDF Redirect to convert the Word file that im having the problem with many times prior and never had a problem.

One other thing I just remembered is that I'm using version 2 of PDF Redirect. I tried updating to the latest version twice and it always goes through the installation process as though everything went well but then when I open PDF Redirect it's still version 2 and not 2.5. I don't know if this has anything to do with the problem I'm having.

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Davilo
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 28 Mar 15
Posts: 3

Posted: 01 Apr 15 at 2:57PM

I found that by first removing the last ten pages of the seventeen Word page document that I'm having the problem with it is then possible to convert the first seven pages to a pdf file without losing the image descriptions.

Saving the last ten pages as a separate Word doc and converting that to a pdf, followed by merging the two pdf docs is one way of getting around the problem of missing text, but this throws the page numbering off in relation to the contents page.

It appears that the problem I'm having could be caused by the size of the document. This is unlikely however because many of the Word files (most of which contain multiple text box image descriptions) that I've converted successfully to pdf using PDF Redirect are much larger than this relatively small file that I'm having the problem with.

Another possibility is a corrupted Word file.

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Michel_K17
Moderator Group

Forum Administrator

Joined: 25 Jan 03
Posts: 1673

Posted: 02 Apr 15 at 11:23PM

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know. Definitely very odd that you have to split the file like that.

Since the latest v2.5 does not seem to install (very odd), can I suggest you try my latest Beta version? This version has a new PDF management system which may have addressed the problem you are describing. You can download this new version from here:
br>
Although this version is a “beta”, we have not had any reports of issues by our testers.

Cheers!

Michel Korwin-Szymanowski
EXP Systems LLC

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Using PDF reDirect
EXP Systems Forum : PDF reDirect : Using PDF reDirect

Author	Message
Davilo Newbie Joined: 28 Mar 15 Posts: 3	Topic: Blank text boxes in Word pdf. Posted: 29 Mar 15 at 7:33PM
	After converting a Word document to pdf the text in the text boxes is missing (blank) in the pdf. I can highlight the blank area and do ctrl-c and then paste the text into a text editor, but the text is invisible in the pdf. The text also shows up blank when I print the pdf.
	IP Logged

Michel_K17 Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: 25 Jan 03 Posts: 1673	Posted: 29 Mar 15 at 11:17PM
	Hi, I think I have seen an issue in the past, similar to what you are describing. Which version of Word you are using? Are there any pictures in your document, on the same page as where the text boxes are becoming invisible? From my notes on this subject, I have the following: ----- I was finally able to "induce" the problem by increasing the default resolution of the PDF reDirect printer from 600 dpi to 1,200 dpi or higher. Can you go into your Start menu >> Settings >> Printers >> PDF reDirect Pro printer >> Right-Click >> Properties >> General Tab >> Advanced >> Resolution? If your setting is anything higher than 600 dpi, then please reduce it to 600 dpi, and try printing again. I am hopeful that this will do the trick. a few notes about this setting: When increasing the resolution, the conversion takes a lot longer as the memory needed is squared (600 dpi x 600 dpi = 360,000 dpi squared while 1,200 x 1,200 = 1,440,000 dpi2 >> 4x more memory). At the higher setting, Word will convert all of the pictures to a higher resolution equivalent. No details are gained, so there is no benefit unless your original resolution of your picture is also at the same higher resolution. It looks like either Word or the printer driver runs out of memory, and corrupts the construction of the file There is no advantage to a higher resolution unless you are going to a offset print facility with your PDF. Generally speaking, the human eye will have difficulty seeing anything higher than 300 dpi without a magnifying glass. The problem with PDF files is that it is so easy to "zoom in" and see the imperfection that you would not see on paper otherwise. I was able to induce the problem only with Word 2007 and Word 2010. I tested Win XP, Vista and Windows 7. Word 2003 and Word 2013 (Win 8.1) do not have this problem, even if I set the resolution to 4,000 dpi. Therefore, I believe that the problem rests with Microsoft. I hope this helps. Michel
	Michel Korwin-Szymanowski EXP Systems LLC
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Davilo Newbie Joined: 28 Mar 15 Posts: 3	Posted: 31 Mar 15 at 12:06AM
	I checked the resolution setting and it's set to 600. I'm using Word 2000 on Windows XP. All of the text boxes with the missing text are descriptions of images in the document, both on the same page. The strange thing is I have used PDF Redirect to convert the Word file that im having the problem with many times prior and never had a problem. One other thing I just remembered is that I'm using version 2 of PDF Redirect. I tried updating to the latest version twice and it always goes through the installation process as though everything went well but then when I open PDF Redirect it's still version 2 and not 2.5. I don't know if this has anything to do with the problem I'm having.
	IP Logged

Davilo Newbie Joined: 28 Mar 15 Posts: 3	Posted: 01 Apr 15 at 2:57PM
	I found that by first removing the last ten pages of the seventeen Word page document that I'm having the problem with it is then possible to convert the first seven pages to a pdf file without losing the image descriptions. Saving the last ten pages as a separate Word doc and converting that to a pdf, followed by merging the two pdf docs is one way of getting around the problem of missing text, but this throws the page numbering off in relation to the contents page. It appears that the problem I'm having could be caused by the size of the document. This is unlikely however because many of the Word files (most of which contain multiple text box image descriptions) that I've converted successfully to pdf using PDF Redirect are much larger than this relatively small file that I'm having the problem with. Another possibility is a corrupted Word file.
	IP Logged

Michel_K17 Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: 25 Jan 03 Posts: 1673	Posted: 02 Apr 15 at 11:23PM
	Hi, Thanks for letting me know. Definitely very odd that you have to split the file like that. Since the latest v2.5 does not seem to install (very odd), can I suggest you try my latest Beta version? This version has a new PDF management system which may have addressed the problem you are describing. You can download this new version from here: br> Although this version is a “beta”, we have not had any reports of issues by our testers. Cheers!
	Michel Korwin-Szymanowski EXP Systems LLC
	IP Logged