Unable to print Gantt app generated pdf file through Adobe software

[GertJan_Kuiper]

I am encountering a problem with the pdf generated via the Gantt app. On the Mac it is no problem printing the pdf through the standard Preview app. But the generated Gantt chart is quite large, so I wanted to print it on several sheets, using Adobe software. In that way you compose one large image from different prints.

Except… that Adobe does not want to print the PDF. Whatever I try, it generates an error message. Airtable support indicates that no issues are known with printing PDF’s, and suggests contacting Adobe. I’m trying to do so, but that is another kind of challenge :winking_face:

Meanwhile: is there anybody who recognises this problem?

This is everything we tried to make even a simple print using Adobe:

• Printing from Acrobat Pro DC results in an error ‘Unable to print document’ followed by an error ‘No pages selected for printing’

• Putting de PDF in InDesign (16.0) for printing results in an error ‘Printing Error: Adobe print engine has failed to output your data due to an unknown problem’

• Converting the PDF to a .ai in Illustrator (25.0) to try to print that in InDesign doesn’t help, InDesign encounters a printing error.

• Printing from Illustrator doesn’t work, but doesn’t produce feedback either. No errors, but no print.

• Converting to pixels (.psd) finally gets us a print.

Anybody to share this frustration with?

[Bill_French]

GertJan_Kuiper:

Meanwhile: is there anybody who recognises this problem? Anybody to share this frustration with?

Yes, I recognized it years ago and did something about it.

I build GANTT charts (and indeed, all reports where pixel precision is important) external to Airtable and for many reasons, not just the roadblocks you have encountered. Automated reporting and targeted (conditional) dissemination is critical and Airtable struggles with this as well.

It’s my opinion that the only way to create useful reporting solutions is to do it in a climate that is agile and agnostic to all other database environments.

[GertJan_Kuiper]

I was under the maybe naieve impression that a pdf is pdf (that was the whole purpose of the format?), so an pdf export should be readable in all pdf viewers and apps. In the end this has nothing to do with the ganttt chart itself…

[Bill_French]

GertJan_Kuiper:

I was under the maybe naive impression that a pdf is pdf (that was the whole purpose of the format?)

Yes, the purpose is to create a device-agnostic format and for the most part, this tends to be the case, but – a single page of a PDF file can contain different layers with different attributes. Have you ever encountered a PDF document with embedded links that don’t work? This is a sure sign that the tool that was used to generate the PDF has applied some layering elements that munge the intent of the original content.

Product developers tend to support PDF formats with attention to many of these details, but some conversion processes are not as precise about the interpretation of the format.

[GertJan_Kuiper]

Indeed, brings back bad memories to another stupid situation - in which Word is not able to create an pdf with embedded links and some specific font elements (where opening in Pages did the trick).

Maybe it is as simple as exporting the pdf to another PDF. The Airtable PDF is generated by Skia/PDF m80, and exporting it creates a 1,5 times larger file (?) with another creator (macOS Versie 10.15.7 (build 19H2) Quartz PDFContext).

I’m right now not in the situation to check it, but I will try tomorrow.

[GertJan_Kuiper]

Unfortunately, it would have been a nice hack, but Adobe still doesn’t want this PDF :frowning:

[Bill_French]

GertJan_Kuiper:

it would have been a nice hack,

Yep, and why the provenance of the document is so crucial.

[GertJan_Kuiper]

In the meanwhile I got what I needed through an rather old but nicely working website that offers poster printing with nice configuration: https://rasterbator.net