Knowledgebase

Symptoms

I have installed a PDF-XChange printer but I cannot see how it can be used to convert Microsoft Office documents to PDF.

Cause

The PDF-XChange printers do not install as a program that can be launched from the Windows start menu. This means that new users sometimes experience difficulty in locating their settings and functionality. 

Resolution

PDF-XChange Standard and PDF-XChange Lite install as virtual printers. This means that they operate in the same manner as standard printers, with the exception that they convert documents to PDF instead of printing paper versions when they are called to perform print jobs. Therefore, in order to convert MS Office documents to PDF, simply select the Print option as normal and then select the installed PDF-XChange virtual printer from the list of available printers.

For example, in MS Word:

1. Click File in the Menu Toolbar:

2. Select the Print tab and then select the PDF-XChange printer from the list of available printers:

 3. Click Print. The file will then be converted to PDF.

Please note that this process has some limitations, because only the content of documents that would be printed to paper will appear in converted documents. This means that content such as bookmarks, links, metadata and comments will not be converted. We have added the PDF-XChange Office Add-in to PDF-XChange Standard in order to resolve this issue. This add-in overrides the print pre-processing settings in MS Office applications and enables the inclusion and editing of these elements. The PDF-XChange Office Add-in is available as a toolbar in the MS Office products. For example, in Microsoft Excel it appears as below:

• Click Convert to PDF to convert documents, including bookmarks, links, metadata and comments etc, to PDF.
• Click Create PDF and Email to convert documents to PDF and email them via the PDF-XChange Editor email function.
• Click Edit Settings to edit the settings of the PDF-XChange virtual printer associated with the PDF-XChange Office Add-in. Please note that the available settings vary depending on the MS Office application used to access them. For example, if Excel is used then following settings are available:

• The settings in the Settings tab are the general settings of PDF-XChange Standard and they are available to all printed documents. Those settings are detailed here.
• The settings in the Links and Advanced tabs are available only to documents that the PDF-XChange Office Add-in is used to print. They determine the settings for how links appear in converted documents and further options regarding the conversion process. Those settings are detailed here and here respectively.
• The settings in the Excel tab apply only to documents converted from MS Excel. If documents are converted from PowerPoint or Word then this tab will show and enable settings for those applications. All available settings are detailed here.

Please note that the PDF-XChange Office Add-in is not featured in the PDF-XChange Lite virtual printer. The first printing method detailed above should be used for that product.