Dorothea1905
Level 1 (8 points)
Applications

Q: Print to PDF function was great now terrible with upgrade in OS and AW

Earlier this year, my lamp iMac died and I was able to obtain a refurbished iMac 21" iSeries.

Specs:

iMac G4 lamp model (owned and used 2013-2016)

1 GHz Power PC; 256 MB, DDR SDRAM

OS X 10.3.9

 

iMac 21" Series (refurbished, new to me 2016 Feb)

3.06 Dual-Core i3

4 GB RAM, 500 GB HD

OS X 10.6.8

 

On the lamp G4, I was running AppleWorks  6.2 something (I think it was 6.2.7)  (I didn't document this and now no easy way to verify  though I do have a bunch of files I created with it).

I had classic OS 9 installed, but ended up not using it because my AW document (400p book manuscript begun in 2004) migrated perfectly to AW in OS X (and also because Classic didn't really work). The print to PDF capability was a huge bonus.

 

On the iMac 21", I've been using AppleWorks  6.2.9. All my G4 AW files migrated just fine.

 

In October 2014, on the G4, I had PDFs of most of my manuscript printed at a local print shop-- only 5 copies for 3-ring binders on archival 100% cotton paper. I  visited several local print shops to check image quality. It was uniformly excellent. Because of file size, pages with scanned images (JPEGs) inserted into the text were saved/printed as separate PDFs. There are also a number of line drawings I created for the project using AW Draw, and then pasted directly into the main document.

 

I spent the next 18 months indexing the proof and needed to make a number of corrections. In Feb 2016 I migrated to the iMac 21" computer and began using AppleWorks 6.2.9. Everything was good. Then, in early July I made new proof PDFs ... body text without images and separate PDFs with images exactly as before. The result was a disaster image-wise. Resolution of the PDFs for all the images, including my line drawings, was unacceptable. HELP! I need to get this 12-1/2 year-old monkey of a project off my back.

 

FYI. I still have the lamp, "just in case"-- even though it is defunct, the Computer Loft in Boston was able to rescue all my files.  They sold me and set me up with the iSeries iMac 21".

 

FYI. There was also an issue with some of the line drawings and one chart that needed revision. I ended up editing them in Pages on a MacBook I have (10.4.11) and then inserting the result into my manuscript. I had done this previously as the drawing capabilities in Pages were different than in AW. No problem with PDFs of these in 2014. (FYI. I've been told the hard drive on this machine is unstable, but it's been fine for the 1-2 time a month I use it. I do not have AW on the MacBook.)

 

I have done a bunch of looking online and don't see any other discussions about problems making PDFs from AppleWorks, though from what I did read, I learned that the PDF capability is linked to the operating system and not to the software application.

 

Since no printshops have AppleWorks, I need to be able to make good PDFs at home. What should I do? I am planning to call the Computer Loft tomorrow morning, but thought I should at least make an effort on my own beforehand.

 

I haven't tried a test making a PDF with an image in MS Word on the iMac 21" computer. Should I do that?

 

FYI. The manuscript is now about 500p in two major files -- body text with appendices and a separate index. The document consists of about 30 sections with odd-even running headers, and start-of-chapter/appendix drop folio footers. As I said pages with scanned images are in separate files (about 20 or so). The manuscript has nearly 1000 footnotes, and about 45 figures and 46 maps. Most of the images are photographic, to be hand-mounted, so those just have text box captions in the body text. I tried migrating this project to Pages several years ago (ca. 2007) without success -mainly because of the line drawings I'd made in AW Draw. At this point, I just need to make final revisions, print my PDFs and return to my local print shop.

 

-Dorothea

iMac, OS X

Posted on Aug 14, 2016 9:54 AM

by Dorothea1905,Solvedanswer
Dorothea1905 Dorothea1905
Level 1 (8 points)
Applications
A:

I thought I'd report on how this was resolved at the shop yesterday. We tried installing a new printer driver so I could make PDFs by selecting that printer. NO. We tried LibreOffice, but it did not properly read the the AW drawings in my document. We were considering installing an old version of Adobe Reader when I mentioned that I will be using Pages (iWork'09) to produce a book. We installed a trial version. Lo and behold, Pages can read AW 6.2.9 files (footnotes, sections, and AW drawings). The only obvious hitch is that some layering within my drawings is off, but that should be fixable without too much  effort. My iWork '09 disk ordered earlier this week arrives tomorrow. Another hurdle crossed.

Posted on Aug 18, 2016 5:42 AM

Close
Dorothea1905

Q: Print to PDF function was great now terrible with upgrade in OS and AW

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Barry,

    Barry Barry Aug 14, 2016 12:30 PM in response to Dorothea1905
    Level 7 (32,271 points)
    Aug 14, 2016 12:30 PM in response to Dorothea1905

    Hi Dorothea,

     

    At this point, I would suggest putting AppleWorks 6.2.9 onto your Macbook, completing the revisions and printing the PDFs there.

     

    Copy the AppleWorks folder (including all of the files it contains) to the Applications folder on the MacBook. AppleWorks will create any other files it needs as it is run.

     

    Work with a COPY of your current project. Back up frequently to an external disk.

     

    Regards,

    Barry

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Aug 14, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Dorothea1905
    Level 6 (14,194 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 14, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Dorothea1905

    The MacBook should see a new hard disk drive, of larger storage capacity

    than original to sustain it going forward, but not too big since largest ones

    that may work OK could be slow in use. My old MacBook (13-inch 2006)

    was upgraded from stock 80GB 5400-RPM to 160GB 7200-RPM; plus

    more RAM. (Works quickly with early Intel CoreDuo 1.83GHz that can't use

    newer OS X than Snow Leopard 10.6.8.)

     

    The hard drive said to be unstable is best upgraded/replaced with new one.

    Then it should do OK for awhile. The time & parts shouldn't be too much.

     

    Your old Lampy iMac G4 model could be repaired; usually for more than its

    value, and at some difficulty in locating good parts. A full-restoration; or if

    you are casually looking to find a working example, a few still exist. Be aware

    their hard drives fail after a time, graphic issues from logic board on out, too.

     

    I have a few of these, bought one direct from Apple online; nobody here could

    fix its issues; and Apple would not accept it back, or take by mail for repair.

     

    All three iMac G4 17-inch 1.25GHz USB2.0 versions I have require work; but

    each one with good parts the others lack or need, are not worth taking apart

    to see if the good ones would survive the effort. New parts or quality refurbish

    parts (logic board with graphics, power supplies, and all other) should be used.

     

    If the battery on the logic board has failed, the computer itself may not run.

    • Resetting the iMac (Flat Panel) Power Management Unit (PMU) - Apple Support

     

    These use a 3.6v 1/2AA Lithium battery, such as the one shown here:

    https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/BAA36VPRAM/

     

    A take-apart of considerable effort is required to remedy that, as well as a

    good cleaning of dust from all the internal places. Dust is a problem. See:

     

    • Mr Totes iMac G4 Take Apart: http://www.mrtotes.co.uk/page1/page1.html

    • iMac G4 Take-apart for Drive, RAM, Battery, + Optical drive upgrade/repair:

    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/imac_g4/imacg4_takeapart.html

     

    To view PDF of a helpful service guide, see:

    http://tinyurl.com/service-manual-iMacG4

     

    The gulf between the Intel-based Macs presently available and early Intel-macs

    that were between PowerPC and that transition, are the sweet-spot for any

    software that is hoped to be used (up to Snow Leopard with rosetta utility) that

    still can see PPC Coded applications and translate them to intel hardware.

     

    The AppleWorks last version application was written for early OS X and late OS9.2.

    So both of those codes exist in a full installation; for PowerPC hardware. To find a

    more recent application that could help translate their created files, is now difficult.

    Others have sought a file update path, and had varied success over time; as those

    suggested software items are harder to come by now, the path may be lost.

     

    If you find a good condition Mac Mini G4 (last model 1.5GHz PPC) be aware these

    only use 1GB RAM in a single memory chip & work hard writing/reading swap VM

    to/from hard drive. I have one of these that could use much more resources; yet a

    failing in design kept the upgrade path, especially RAM, to a minimal. An SSD may

    be the custom upgrade to make better headway in that situation; for a price.

     

    Some expert Apple Macintosh repair shops still work on PowerPC G4 products;

    occasionally I see restored 'tower models' that look fairly good. Parts to include

    replacement or upgrade graphics, and other items (specific software packets)

    can be hard to come by. If you go there, check out their specs; get spare parts.

     

    Always try to keep a viable bootable backup; since PowerPC hardware only can

    boot from FireWire externally enclosed hard drives with Oxford-type chipset, be

    aware of this and try to find & use those for creating full system clones. Free use

    older version SuperDuper (shirtpocket software) & CarbonCopyCloner (bombich)

    direct from their maker's sites, are recommended. And make several backups.

    These clones will only work with the computer build series the software ran in.

     

    SuperDuper http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

    old versions: Tiger (10.4), Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6) users can download v2.7.1.

     

    To convert file type can be most difficult; some longer time helpful people in these

    discussions may be able to point out a workable path. If you can locate software.

    The MacBook appears to be a good option, with older OS X, if the unit is repaired.

     

    In any event...

    Good luck & happy computing!

  • by Dorothea1905,

    Dorothea1905 Dorothea1905 Aug 16, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Barry
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Applications
    Aug 16, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Barry

    Dear Barry,

     

    Thank you for your prompt reply and intriguing advice. I added that bit about my owning a MacBook shortly before submitting my question -- as an afterthought-- well in response to the guidelines for a good question that suggest telling what workarounds you've used.

    I going to my Mac shop tomorrow with the 21" and will bring my MacBook as well.

     

    Since the only thing I need that I don't currently have is the PDF capability, I think I'll continue with my 21" iMac until I'm absolutely ready to go to press with this project. As KShaffer notes below, I will need more memory on the MacBook to be able to deal with the main file which is about 9 MB -- a new hard drive as well as more RAM.

     

    Here are the specs for the MacBook

    Processor 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

    Memory 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

    OS X 10.4.11

     

    I  apologize for not responding sooner. Previous answers to questions I posed by replying to an existing thread, came to my inbox in two different mail systems (my own forwarding system), but your reply and KShaffer's came only to an Inbox I check less frequently.

     

    Sincerely,

    Dorothea

  • by Dorothea1905,

    Dorothea1905 Dorothea1905 Aug 16, 2016 6:13 AM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Applications
    Aug 16, 2016 6:13 AM in response to K Shaffer

    K-

     

    Wow! Thanks for all this information about my G4 lampy. (The woman who sold it to me called it a sunflower, but I've since been discouraged from using that term.)

     

    The G4 hard drive failed and -- so intent I was on my project -- I failed to notice repeated warning signs until it was too late. My local Mac store, the Computer Loft -- thank goodness for living in a city that supports one -- rescued all my files and set me up on the 21" -- a refurbished computer they had that happily runs AppleWorks. I did inquire about replacing the G4 hard drive and they discouraged that, for the same reasons you enumerated (cost and reliability). They told me to hang onto it until my project is complete, just in case, but I do plan to get rid of it. They will do that for me, but If anyone would like it, I'm happy to give it away to someone in the Boston area. Check back with me in about 3 months.

     

    Glad you agree that the MacBook is a good option. Thank you for your support.

    -Dorothea

  • by Dorothea1905,Solvedanswer

    Dorothea1905 Dorothea1905 Aug 18, 2016 5:42 AM in response to Dorothea1905
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Applications
    Aug 18, 2016 5:42 AM in response to Dorothea1905

    I thought I'd report on how this was resolved at the shop yesterday. We tried installing a new printer driver so I could make PDFs by selecting that printer. NO. We tried LibreOffice, but it did not properly read the the AW drawings in my document. We were considering installing an old version of Adobe Reader when I mentioned that I will be using Pages (iWork'09) to produce a book. We installed a trial version. Lo and behold, Pages can read AW 6.2.9 files (footnotes, sections, and AW drawings). The only obvious hitch is that some layering within my drawings is off, but that should be fixable without too much  effort. My iWork '09 disk ordered earlier this week arrives tomorrow. Another hurdle crossed.