Save AI files with Create PDF Compatible file turned on

I have a bulk of AI files that were saved without PDF compatibility turned on and they don't preview properly in my DAM system. I've tried creating a Save As action but it doesn't work. Does anyone know of a script that will do a Save As with PDF compatibility checked on and overwrite the existing file?

jscottCMD wrote: script that will do a Save As with PDF compatibility checked on and overwrite the existing file?
What you want is "pdfCompatible":
Javascript Scripting Reference PDF (around pages 80 to 85 depending on the version #)
IllustratorSaveOptions
IllustratorSaveOptions properties
pdfCompatible boolean If true, the file is saved as a PDF compatible file. Default: true
You can find various scripts to do what you want around the forum, here are a few examples:
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1224874?tstart=0
https://forums.adobe.com/message/3138057
I trust something will help your efforts.

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Save as does not Create PDF Compatible File even when the creare pdf compatible files is on, Illustrator CC 2014

save as does not Create PDF Compatible File even when the creare pdf compatible files is on, Illustrator CC 2014

When I open is adobe acrobat I get this message.
"This is an Adobe® Illustrator® File that was
saved without PDF Content.
To Place or open this le in other
applications, it should be re-saved from
Adobe Illustrator with the "Create PDF
Compatible File" option turned on. This
option is in the Illustrator Native Format
Options dialog box, which appears when
saving an Adobe Illustrator le using the
Save As command."

Uncheck "Create PDF Compatible File" and "Use Compression" as my default save preference?

We have discovered that unchecking the "Create PDF compatible file" generates much smaller .ai files when saved. Since we do not need them to be PDF compatible we want to save them this way every time. But right now every time we go to save a file the box comes up pre-checked! We have to uncheck it every time! Surely there is a preference setting somewhere that we can change so that the default is for these boxes to come up unchecked?
I have looked under preferences and do not see it.
Thanks
The Print Craftsman.

Which version of Illustrator are you using?
Usually those settings could be changed by modifying the AIPrefs file.

"create pdf compatible file" gets tuned off when running batch

I created an action that resizes an image and the saves it in the same format (AI) and then close the file. Next I open the AI formatted file I just created in PhotoShop it opens and looks great. So I go back to Illustrator and run the same action in a batch where I open a folder containing AI files run the action and save the files in a different folder. Now I try to open the files in PhotoShop and find out that the batch function some how turned off create pdf compatible file option when it got to save as in the action so now Im unable to open the file in PhotoShop. Im new to illustrator Im using cs4. Thank you for reading do you have any ideas?

Thanks to all, I really appreciate all the pains which all of you have taken in resolving my problem.
It wasn't Java problem, rather batch file problem. I was only changing the directory, and was not providing for the exe file to run.
@echo off
cd "C:\JBoss\jboss-4.0.5.GA\bin\Fastran"
"C:\JBoss\jboss-4.0.5.GA\bin\Fastran\FASTRAN.EXE"
ren FTN04 FTN04i
EXIT
:finishNow it is working fine.
I did check the access permissions, no problem with that I guess. The problem was with the path. The batch file couldnt go pass bin directory, and I noticed that only today ;(. At any rate, I changed that and now it is all smooth and dandy.
Once again, thanks a lot.

Create PDF Compatible File Revisited AGAIN for PC

Hi all,
I know my way around a Mac, but I would like to help a PC buddy of mine out, too to achieve the same thing—that is, changing the code in the Illustrator preferences file so that every time you save you don't automatically save a PDF compatible file.
Can anyone help me find my way through the directories for the Preferences file on a PC?
Thanks
Re: Create PDF Compatible File Revisited
Sorry, I was thinking of the New Document Profiles. Try Users>(yourname)>Library>Preferences>Adobe Illustrator CS4 Settings.

see this thread http://forums.adobe.com/thread/655678?tstart=0 (number 6)

Turn off "Create PDF Compatible File"?

Is there a way to turn off the "Create PDF Compatible File" option by default in Illustrator CS4?
Thanks.

Though you can mess with the preferences this way and it may work for you there is always a possibility of offering a corruption or the invitation to a corruption that has not been tested for this way.So you should keep a clean copy of the AI preferences in case you have a problem doing something with ai that was not the normal behavior and so you can swop it out with the new preferences. You can that way discover if the new settings causes this situation and then figure out if you need it that badly. Especially if it happens repeatably.
But this is s good feature request to be able to set the defaults of all tools all panels all menu items etc. One that will not be trashed when resetting the the defaults as they can be reloaded and rewritten fresh as if they where the factory load.
I think it is time for the uer to have more say about ho they use any of the Adobe applications.

Why does Bridge Need Illustrator to Save as PDF compatible file?

1. Why does Bridge need Illustrator files to be saved as PDF files? "PDF Compatible File" ticked in the save menu.
2. Why does saving with this info take so long, even on decent fast modern systems?
3. Why does Bridge not consistently render the Illustrator files in FULL RESOLUTIONS, seemingly shooting for half resolution much of the time, and simply stopping at that?
4. Why does "clicking" on the preview inside Bridge bring up the full resolution?
5. How do I shortcut this process so that every file is previewed in Full RESOLUTION, instantly?
What is the point of Bridge? What's its reason for existence?
First time user of Bridge.

Since someone is bound to say that this should be asked in the Bridge section... it already is. And has been referenced back over here.
You can find it here:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/5655632#5655632
Answer wherever you see fit, if you're up to the task of dealing with someone attempting to have a broader view, perhaps also suffering from somewhat objective analysis that sometimes contains direct criticism of the way Adobe does things.

I'm so confused!! I just want to create interactive pdf files (with video and flash files), but this free trial version is confusing!! help!?!

i'm so confused!! I just want to create interactive pdf files (with video and flash files), but this free trial version is confusing!! help!?!

Thanks for your suggestions. I checked to see if the options you suggested were set incorrectly but they were set to sync all. This led me to think the problem was actually in the iphone. I re-initialized the iphone and did not allow the system to restore any of the previous settings. In essence, I forced the phone to reset to factory settings. Then my video podcasts started syncing. All is well now. I did notice that I had seven podcasts selected that were "HD" presentations, and as such, are not compatible with the iphone. I don't know if this had anything to do with my earlier situation, but now I'm getting the video podcasts automatically. I'm happy. It wasn't much fun forcing the iphone to forget all of my preferences and I'm still customizing the phone now several days later. I think I have everything working and back to normal except I haven't identified any of my email accounts as of yet. Thanks for your help.

Captivate 8 : the PDF export created a file with a PDF extension.. but it's actually a video. Shouldn't it export the slides as a proper PDF document ?

In Adobe Captivate, there is a "PDF export" checkbox available when you publish your project.
It checked the box, and the project pulication created a file with a PDF extension.. but it's actually a video. Shouldn't it export the slides as a proper PDF document ?

Thanks for the quick answer. I did not know about interactive PDFs..
I just found how to export as a Word document. I would have expected to find that option in "Publish" or "Export", not "Print".. Anyway, I now have what I needed

How can we create each page in different file while creating PDF with FOP

Hi All,
I am using FOP for creating PDF.
By using XML file and XSL file am creating PDF.
I want to create different PDF files when the resultant PDF has more than one page.
is there any solution for that
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RickRockUSC wrote:
As title. Thank you guys for answering!
Maybe Acrobat Reader is what you need:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Cannot use Word2008 doc/docx file to Create PDF (single or multiple)

Attempting to Create PDF from File >> Single file or Multiple File>> selection of MS-Word2008 .docx or 97-compatible .doc file will error out.
Adobe has replicated the problem of receiving the same exact error message with Word2008(mac) doc/docx file as input for Acrobat Pro
fessional 9 to Create PDF. Possible cause is the absence of PDFMaker for Ver9.
No solution exists.
Due to resident PDF functionalities of OSX Snow Leopard built into Preview and Print, Acrobat Professional 9 is
a redundant product for all MacOSX Snow Leopard computers. Only useful functionaity of Acrobat is Create Portfolio and possibly Reduce File Size.
The non-Universal Automator allows for the creation of PDF through PDF drop down menu available from Word>>Print Dialog which allows for Acrobat PDF option to choose Press/High-Quality/Smallest-File/Standard that can be modified through Distiller.
Conclusion: Acrobat Professional 9 for MacOSX Snow Leopard as a stand-alone product is Obsolete - Dead on Arrival (DOA). Still useful when used in conjunction with bundled CS4 Suites.

There is much Acrobat can do once the PDF create created.
Go to Print Menu and save as Postscript file then drop on Acrobat.

Batch updating .ai files to be PDF compatible.

Hello,
We have a huge library of technical drawings in Illustrator that we have been progressively building for many years. Many of these files are from very old versions of Illustrator (7) up to and including files from CS4. Some are saved as .ai, others as .eps.
What we would like to do in the interests of facilitating accessibility to this data, is to resave all these files as CS3 .ai files with PDF compatibility. I have found an AppleScript here: http://www.justskins.com/forums/how-do-i-remove-pdf-compatability-on-multiple-files-32987. html that I have been able to modify to add PDF compatibility rather than remove it, but this script will only work on one folder at a time (our files are organised in a hierarchy 5 or more levels deep) and seems to be quite fault intolerant (falls over on files with no extension).
We would like to maintain the carefully organised hierarchy of our library, so ideally I need to make a script that will drill down into the folders of our library, opening files as it finds them and then overwriting them with PDF compatible files.
Is this something that is even possible with a script?
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this issue…

here you go:
if (!Array.prototype.forEach)
Array.prototype.forEach = function(fun /*, thisp*/)
    var len = this.length >>> 0;
    if (typeof fun != "function")
      throw new TypeError();
    var thisp = arguments[1];
    for (var i = 0; i < len; i++)
      if (i in this)
        fun.call(thisp, this[i], i, this);
//should we overwrite our files? i strongly recommend that you DON'T or if you do, have a backup
var OVERWRITE = false;
function main() {
    var initDir = Folder.selectDialog();
    if(initDir == null) return;
    var dlg = prompt("Would you like to overwrite existing?(Strongly suggested that you don't)", "NO", "Overwrite?");
    if(dlg == null) return;
    else if(dlg.toLowerCase() == "yes") {
        var cdlg = confirm("Are you really sure that you want to overwrite all files?");
        if(cdlg) OVERWRITE = true;
    recurseDirs(initDir);
function recurseDirs(dir){
    var files = dir.getFiles(isFile);
    var dirs = dir.getFiles(isDir);
    if(files.length>0) recurseFiles(files);
    if(dirs.length>0) dirs.forEach(recurseDirs);
function recurseFiles(files){
    for(j = files.length - 1; j>=0; j--) {
                if(files[j].hidden || files[j].name.substring(0,1) == '.') continue;
                var _doc = app.open(files[j]);
                var name = '', ext = '';
                if(files[j].name.indexOf(".ai") > -1) {
                    name = files[j].name.substring(0, files[j].name.indexOf(".ai"));
                    ext = ".ai";
                } else if(files[j].name.indexOf(".eps") > -1) {
                    name = files[j].name.substring(0, files[j].name.indexOf(".eps"));
                    ext = ".eps";
                } else {
                    name = files[j].name;
                    ext = '';
                var path = '';
                if(!OVERWRITE) {
                    path = files[j].path + "/" + name + "_CS3" + ext;
                } else {
                    path = files[j];
                exportFileToAI(path);
                _doc.close(SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);
                //app.redraw();
function isDir(fileObj) {
    if(fileObj instanceof File) return false;
    else if(fileObj instanceof Folder) return true;
    return false;
function isFile(fileObj) {
    if(fileObj instanceof File) return true;
    else if(fileObj instanceof Folder) return false;
    return false;
function exportFileToAI (dest) {
    if ( app.documents.length > 0 ) {
        var saveOptions = new IllustratorSaveOptions();
        var ai13Doc = (dest instanceof File) ? dest : new File(dest);
        saveOptions.pdfCompatible = true;
        saveOptions.compatibility = Compatibility.ILLUSTRATOR13;
        saveOptions.flattenOutput = OutputFlattening.PRESERVEAPPEARANCE;
        app.activeDocument.saveAs( ai13Doc, saveOptions );
main();
hope it helps;
cheers;
*later edit* i think you can also use this for taking the script to other platforms as well. add the function to the script:
function isValidFile(file) {
    var os = (file.creator == "????") 'win' : 'unix';
    if(os == 'win') {
        if(file.name.indexOf(".ai") > -1 || file.name.indexOf(".eps") > -1) return true;
    } else if( os == 'unix') {
        if(file.creator.substring(0,3) == 'ART') return true;
    return false;
... and replace this line:
if(files[j].hidden || files[j].name.substring(0,1) == '.') continue;
with
if(!isValidFile(files[j])) continue;
whatever suits your needs.

Can't Create PDF "from file" using any MS Office files

Acrobat 8.1.1 Pro. (OS = XP), as part of the CS3 premium edition.
I can no longer get Acrobat to recognize any of the MS Office applications extensions (.doc, .ppt, etc...) for use with either Create PDF "From File" or when using the Combine Files feature to Merge or Package. The extensions are no longer even listed as an option in the dialog box, or in the Preference settings under "Convert to PDF".
FYI- I can still use the PDF Maker functionality from within the MS Office application to create a PDF.
Any Idea what could have happened, or more importantly how to fix?
***Update***
I have re-installed the Acrobat 8 application, and the problem still exists.
I'm truly puzzled.

I get this with my PC and I ran detect-repair and reinstalled. Some PDF's I can open and other's I cannot. I can send the email to a cohort and they can open fine.
"Can't create file: Right-click the folder you want to create the file in and then click Properties on the shortcut menu to check your permissions for the folder"
Any ideas would be great.
Thanks!

Creating PDF from File, missing Settings

Acrobat Professional. 6.0.
I never used Acrobats "Create PDF from file", as in my MS Office 2000 there was "Acrobat - Convert to Adobe PDF" menu item with the possibility to change joboptions settings.
My current MS Office 2007 now has its own PDF convertor only, so I tried the Acrobats feature "Create PDF from file". It works, but the Settings button is grayed out with all Office file types. I didnt find a way how to access Acrobats settings, so I tried by first opening Distiller and changing the options there. Nothing happened, the output from Acrobat has always the same file size and quality. Of course I could make PDF out from Office by printing to Adobe PDF printer, but how with other file types which are not Office types.
Thanks for suggestions, i.e. for showing me what I eventually didnt consider.

As I and Bernd tried to say. AA6 does not support OFFICE 2007. The fact that you have PDF Maker from AA6 working in WORD 2007 is surprising. Since it is not a normal or supported operation, we have no idea what to tell you. It should not even be working. You are the first one I have ever heard say that they have the AA6 PDF Maker (create PDF is the way it shows up) working in OFFICE 2007!
Thus, I may misunderstand. But I am trying to tell you that none of us have experience with the configuration. Adobe will also tell you to simply upgrade. Unfortunately, that leaves you on your own to experiment. If you have questions along the way based on your observations, we would be glad to try to help, but don't expect too much.

My links don't work when I combine another file with the pdf

My internal bookmarked links don't work when I combine another file with the pdf.
The external links continue to work fine, though.
This doesn't make any sense to me at all ... but I'm hoping one of you kind folk can help?

I opened my file and instead of merging files I used insert pages and inserted all of the pages from the file I wanted. Then I saved the file with
the same name. Attached is a rough draft of some helpful hints I put together. This has been a very painful process for us to discover how to handle
this and there really is not much help from Adobe.
Instead of merging files you inset pages. In Acrobat select Document - Insert pages -From file. You can select all pages or some and where you want them inserted. After you do that save the file not save as and all of your links should work. If you combine files or merge files all of the links will break.
                                                                                GillHarley <[email protected]>
05/07/2009 09:54 AM                                                                                To
                                                                    "Christine Salmon" <[email protected]>
cc
                            Please respond to
[email protected]                                                                                 Subject
                                dobe.com                            Acrobat Windows My links don't work when I combine another file with the pdf
                                                                    29k833-1Kp0-8ahk
I think it's something to do with naming, but I can't figure out what. This is because it asks to be saved and gives me a Binder no as the name. If I
press Cancel at that point, I keep the file and the links. But as soon as I need to close it, it asks me again 'Do you want to save this file' and if
I say 'Yes', I lose all the links, and if yet if I say 'No', I lose the whole file. So at some point it has to be saved but whether I keep the Binder
no name when I save it, or use the original name, it makes no difference ... it is in the saving of it that it looks the functionality, and yet, if I
don't save it, I lose the file.
This makes no sense to me....I hope it does to one of you.
For instance, Christine, how did you keep your file if you couldn't save it?
Or have I misunderstood?

Save AI files with Create PDF Compatible file turned on

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