Powerpoint export to PDF, transparent items flattened.

Hello, to mirror what Nicolle is saying in the previous post, a few key things to note: This is not a MOJAVE issue, I actually upgraded to Mojave from HIGH SIERRA in the hopes of fixing this issue, it did not work. My team is still using High Sierra and having the same issues.

Actually, it IS and it ISN'T. I did some pretty involved testing on my part trying to figure out this issue. I have 2 identical Macs - one with HS and one with Mojave; and a PC. All with PPT and the Adobe Acrobat software installed with Adobe CC.

On Windows, the issue just doesn't happen regardless of method used.

In High Sierra, the issue happens when you use PPT's save function and select PDF, OR the Mac's built-in 'print to pdf' feature. However, In the same print dialog box I can select the 'Print to Adobe PDF' and it does not have the issue.

The issue STARTED with one of the last updates to HS; it did not used to happen in HS. So Apple made some change in the way that apps can hook into their PDF generating mechanism.

In Mojave, the issue happens no matter what output method you use. In fact, you can see the issue in the print dialog box preview image, before the print/export is even initiated.

To me, this suggests that the issue is with Apple's built-in PDF generating feature. in HS, the Adobe export to PDF mechanism installed worked fine. However, in Mojave the built-in PDF mechanism overrides the Adobe mechanism?

It seems weird and unlikely, but I set the Adobe PDF generator to many different size and quality settings; NONE of them rectify the issue.

I'm no software engineer; but it IS clear to me that with regards to PPT and PDFs, the issue IS with Mojave, since Mojave even managed to mess up the Adobe PDF generator that works in HS.

However, there are lots of other applications that do not have the issue and can save/print to PDF just fine so the issue does have something to do with Microsoft's method of creating object transparency and how it is handled when creating a PDF.

Taking that all in, Apple made some change late in HS - probably in how apps hook into its PDF - and made even more changes in Mojave. That being the case, the chance that they will reverse that trend on their own in subsequent updates is slim, in my opinion. Especially since other apps don't necessarily have the same issue.

So to summarize, the issue IS being caused by changes that Apple made in MacOS. First in HS, and then in Mojave. But since there is something about how Microsoft creates transparency that other vendor's apps don't have, there IS the possibility that Microsoft can create a fix.

In any case, as I said its unlikely that Apple will fix the issue on their own, so it might be up to Microsoft to get the ball rolling with Apple. Microsoft is one of the biggest software vendors for the Mac, so if they want to WORK WITH Apple on a fix, they can probably make it happen.

Who do you blame? Its complicated. But who has the responsibility to fix it? In my book, whoever can; SHOULD.

• Ray

Hi Everyone,

We have received feedback from our related team and confirm that all issue regarding picture quality export to PDF is caused by the OS.

We have reached out to Apple and opened a bug, but we do not have an ETA on when this will be fixed.

Please sit tight and update your OS and Office version to the latest version, so that if a fix comes out, you will be the first one to receive it!

Regards,

Sheen

Thanks for providing the information!

As discussed previously, you are partially correct. Changes to Apple's PDF generator in late versions of HS and Mojave definitely broke the working export to PDF within MS office products.

However, there are lots of other applications that do not have the transparency issue when exporting to PDF, so the issue DOES relate to the particular way that office handles transparency within its apps.

Since I assume that would be a much more involved fix to change the way an app handles transparency within its file format, the best hope of getting a fix would indeed be Apple addressing what they changed in the OS.

But I'm also assuming that the change from Apple in the PDF generator was in response to a security vulnerability or the removal of deprecated code or APIs.

Since, again, other apps don't have this issue, Apple would have to implement a workaround specifically for MS products. That is beyond the scope of, I believe; a bug fix.

That would presumably require some pressure from MS for Apple to fix, or at least address it quickly.

Here's to hoping that that is, in fact, occurring at a higher level between the 2 companies!

Again, thanks for the new information!

Hi,

1. PowerPoint version is 16.18.
2. OS version is macOS 10.14 (18A391)
3. Will send example file asap.

Thanks,

JMM

Hi JMMJMM_1983,

I need to confirm some information with you so that I can test from my side, please help check it at your convenience:

1. What is the Office version? You can check it by clicking top PowerPoint menu> Version number.
2. What is your Mac OS version? Apple icon> About This Mac> Full version number.
3. Please also share the sample file with me in Private Message.

Best Regards,

Gloria