Powerpoint export to PDF, transparent items flattened.

Hi Ray,

Not to make matters worse, but Apple uses the printer drive to save as PDF, so there's yet another variable to throw into the mix. You could get different results simply by choosing a different default printer.

Hmm. Adobe USED to have its print to PDF as one of the select-able printers in the print dialog. But now it doesn't show up there; it shows up as a 'save as' option under the PDF button.

Can I assume that Adobe's print to PDF system is STILL packaged and installed as a printer driver? If so, there must be some reason that Apple addresses it differently than a driver for a hardware device. A gatekeeper permission or sand boxing issue with the installation..?

This could be zero-ing in on where the problem lies, but not how or why its happening.

• Ray

So, here's what I've found out. For no good reason, Apple disallowed printer drivers that support printing to PDF that bypass their system because that's the way Apple tends to do things.

read about it here on a different issue.

The way to bypass this restriction is to either:

1. create a virtual web print server so that MacOS thinks that its a WIFI network connected printer.
2. create a 'printer plug-in' within Automator.

The problem with (1) above is that it results in B/W output. There's a 3rd party app on the app store called 'PDF printer' that uses this method.

The problem with (2) is that 'printer plug-ins' only work on PDFs to begin with. This is the method that Adobe NOW uses to 'Print to Adobe PDF'. So, when you choose this option under the 'PDF' button in the print dialog box, it actually converts the document into an Apple PDF (with the transparency problems) and THEN sends that to the Adobe PDF Automator 'printer plug-in'. So transparency problems are there no matter what Adobe PDF output options you choose.

It seems to me that Apple deliberately (for again, no known good reason) slammed a door shut on Adobe's print to PDF printer driver implementation which worked GREAT for professionals (and any other 3rd party solution) and so ANY output to PDF depends on passing through Apple's PDF engine first.

I really doubt that they will reverse that decision and I doubt Adobe is going to do much to improve their current Automator workaround to the situation.

So the solution is going to HAVE to be found either:

1. by Apple fixing their PDF generator to work properly with MS Office's handling of object transparency. As discussed earlier, this ISN'T going to happen unless MS works with and pressures Apple to do so, because other apps have no issue with transparency.
2. by MS fixing the way MS Office apps create transparencies vs the way other, working apps create transparencies. That sounds like a LOT of low-level software development.

I'm not especially confident that EITHER solution will happen.

Having the same problem too, PDFs from PowerPoint on a Mac are an evergreen

source of agony. A decades-old technology, yet to be mastered. 

One possible workaround is to upload your PPT to the online version of PowerPoint and 'Download as PDF' which seems to handle transparency perfectly. Unfortunately it severely compresses any placed images, haha.

You are right if you’re looking for full Pdffeatures but I would be happy just to have a flat Pdf. I woukd never view Ppt as a rich document generator.

Hi Ray,

Not to make matters worse, but Apple uses the printer drive to save as PDF, so there's yet another variable to throw into the mix. You could get different results simply by choosing a different default printer.

Hmm. Adobe USED to have its print to PDF as one of the select-able printers in the print dialog. But now it doesn't show up there; it shows up as a 'save as' option under the PDF button.

Can I assume that Adobe's print to PDF system is STILL packaged and installed as a printer driver? If so, there must be some reason that Apple addresses it differently than a driver for a hardware device. A gatekeeper permission or sand boxing issue with the installation..?

This could be zero-ing in on where the problem lies, but not how or why its happening.

• Ray