Adobe CS5.5 (v.7.5) Mac Upgrade NO 65103933 User Manual

Exporting PDF files

Adobe PDF has long been the backbone

 of the professional 

publishing workflow, allowing designers an easy method for sharing 

documents with printers, colleagues, and readers. The Adobe PDF 

format is strong yet flexible, suitable for both print and onscreen 

purposes. From its creation, Adobe InDesign was designed to 

import and export PDF files better than any other application. 

You can export a publication as a  

single PDF file directly from InDesign, 

without the need for Adobe Acrobat® 

Distiller®. This makes for easier and 

more consistent PDF creation, includ-

ing industry standards such as PDF/X.

To export an InDesign document as 

a PDF file, choose File > Export. If 

your document is destined primarily 

for print output, then choose Adobe 

PDF (Print) from the Format menu.

If your document contains interac-

tive elements, such as buttons, and 

imported SWF animations, choose 

Adobe PDF (Interactive) from the 

Format menu. 

To export a book or selected chapters 

in a book, choose Export Book To 

PDF from the book panel menu.

After you choose Adobe PDF (Print) 

from the Format menu and click 

OK, the Export Adobe PDF dialog 

box appears. The wide range of PDF 

export options may seem over-

whelming at first, but the built-in 

presets offer an easy way to create 

high-quality PDF files quickly. 
Choosing PDF/X-1a from the Adobe 

PDF Preset pop-up menu converts 

all colors to CMYK plus spot colors. 

Choosing PDF/X-3 maintains RGB 

colors in the file and includes color 

profiles. Both options result in all 

transparency being flattened. Use 

PDF/X-4 to maintain transparency for 

Adobe PDF Print Engine output.
If objects bleed off the side of your 

page, be sure that is accounted for 

in the Marks And Bleeds pane of the 

Export Adobe PDF dialog box. That 

pane also lets you place print marks 

(such as crop marks and page infor-

mation) around your page.
You can save the settings you make 

in this dialog box by clicking Save 

 Preset. The presets you create can 

also be used in other Creative Suite 

applications. To create a PDF file 

based on a preset without seeing the 

dialog box, hold down the Shift key 

while choosing the preset from the 

File > Adobe PDF Presets menu.
Note that InDesign saves your PDF 

file in the background, so you can 

keep working. For large documents, 

you can view the export progress by 

choosing Window > Utilities > Back-

ground Tasks.

48  Adobe InDesign CS5  |  Conversion Guide