PDF for the web using Photo-paint

Words by Cameron Doyle

PDF (Portable Document Format) files are rapidly becoming the standard for electronic distribution of documents. PDF files can be distributed in print, attached to email, burned to CD, or posted on Web sites. This file format is designed to preserve fonts, images, graphics, and formatting of an original application file. Anyone with Adobe Reader installed on their computer can view, share, or print PDF files, regardless of platform.

The creation of PDF files from a source document has typically required additional software, but alternatives are now available. Bundled into the CorelDraw 10 Graphics Suite, Corel Photo-Paint 10 offers great value and a multitude of features, including a utility for creating PDF files. Because photo-editing applications such as Corel Photo-Paint are so complex, native file sizes tend to be large and difficult to share. To be able to read theses files, recipients of these files must have the application used to create the files already installed on their computer. PDF files are substantially smaller than their source files. In addition, the Adobe Reader plug-in is a standard feature in most Web browsers.

You can save a Corel Photo-Paint file as a PDF file, choosing from a preset style, or you can create your own preset style. You control numerous settings, which can be optimized for different output scenarios. The settings you will be using are those contained in the Publish to PDF dialog box: the General, Objects, Document, Prepress, and Advanced tabs. The settings in each of these tabs vary depending on the predetermined output. There is also an Issues tab, which lists potential problems (such as broken image links) you should be aware of regarding your document before printing, publishing, or sending it to someone else. The preset PDF styles contain guidelines for general publishing, prepress publishing, and publishing to the Web.

The PDF for the Web preset style enables JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) bitmapped image compression, font embedding, and text compression - all useful features when publishing to the Web because they reduce file size. PDF files download a page at a time for quick display on the Web, freeing up network resources, and lessening the chance of losing the viewer's interest. Reduced file size is also important if space on the site's host server is limited.

The Document tab of the PDF for the Web dialog box also contains options to include hyperlinks, and to generate bookmarks and thumbnails in a PDF document. When viewed in Adobe Reader, including hyperlinks lets the user access other Web pages. The options to generate bookmarks and thumbnails further enhance the control you have over how the PDF file is viewed. Bookmarks are links represented by text, while thumbnails provide a low-resolution miniature of a page or image. You can also specify how your documents will display when opened. If you're a photographer wanting to display your work on the Web, these options let you maximize the richness and interactivity of your presentation.

To publish an image to PDF
1.	Click File < Publish to PDF.
2.	Choose PDF for the Web from the PDF style list box.
3.	Click Settings.
4.	Click the Document tab.
5.	Enable any of the following check boxes
		Include hyperlinks
		Generate bookmarks
		Generate thumbnails
6.	Click OK.
7.	Choose the drive and folder where you want to save the file.
8.	Type a filename in the Filename box.
9.	Click Save.

You will now have a PDF of your original document that is ready to be placed on a Web site.