Mac Mail export message as PDF - cuts off right side

Question

Level 2

231 points

Mac Mail export message as PDF - cuts off right side

Hi, I am wishing to save certain email messages as PDF files, e.g. for tax receipt records. I have no need to physically print these off.

I select a Mail message and then File > Export as PDF... , then I choose a place to save it.

Mail exports the PDF, but it is cutting off the right side of some emails that have images included. In particular, emails from Apple are doing this.

See screenshots. Any suggestions please of how to remedy this? Thanks.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), macOS Sierra (10.12.4), SSD, Optical Drive swapped for HD

Posted on Apr 26, 2017 7:27 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 14, 2017 12:24 AM in response to Christopher Doryan

The Apple Senior Advisor never found a workaround for this bug or mediocre OS problem, not only does paper size option "Tabloid Oversize" not exist, even when choosing an overkill size format file, the right side keeps getting cut off.

Wow, Apple's latest operating system, and yet it can't handle a simple ".pdf" export. Brilliant!

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Answer 2

tygb

Level 9

64,998 points

Apr 27, 2017 7:21 AM in response to JDfunky

When you select mail > export as pdf , click on show details > default paper size is A4 , clicked on drop down arrows find out US letter but not US borderless .Opened download folder and I could see no borders from right side were cut .

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Answer 3

tygb

Level 9

64,998 points

Apr 27, 2017 9:14 AM in response to JDfunky

Mine Mac is different , but no option of US Borderless .When i use A4 selection and clicked on saved and gone to download folder and selected the mail , clicked once on space bar to open it I could see that no borders were cut .

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Answer 4

Jul 14, 2017 12:14 AM in response to JDfunky

JDfunky- From that workaround you mention given my the senior advisor, what would "Tabloid Oversize" paper size option be? Would it happen to be "Tabloid (Borderless)"? See my mac mini, late 2012 model, doesn't have that "Tabloid Oversize" paper size option.

I hate these haphazard Apple Support senior advisor solutions that make no sense at all, and that ultimately fail to solve the issue at stake. In other words, it was just fancy way to cover up for the obvious bug or OS failure.

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Answer 5

Eric Root

Level 10

685,191 points

Apr 27, 2017 7:11 AM in response to JDfunky

For Mail, after choosing File/Export as PDF, in the next screen, go to the bottom, and click Show Details. Click US Letter and choose US Letter Borderless. I don't see that option in Safari. For Safari, if you select Print (command - P), then go to Paper size, you can click US Letter, and select US Letter Borderless. Then go to PDF at the bottom left and select Save as PDF.

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Answer 6

JDfunky Author

Level 2

231 points

Apr 27, 2017 8:33 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric Root wrote:

For Mail, after choosing File/Export as PDF, in the next screen, go to the bottom, and click Show Details. Click US Letter and choose US Letter Borderless. I don't see that option in Safari. For Safari, if you select Print (command - P), then go to Paper size, you can click US Letter, and select US Letter Borderless. Then go to PDF at the bottom left and select Save as PDF.

OK thanks... I just tried this (in Mail), however, there is no option of US Letter Borderless. The only option is US Letter. This is improved, giving me a little more, but still cuts of some of it.

As you say, no options to change in Safari with the Export as PDF command. With Print > Paper Size, similarly there is only US Letter, not the borderless option.

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Answer 7

JDfunky Author

Level 2

231 points

Apr 27, 2017 8:46 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric Root wrote:

In both places, click and hold on US Letter to get the borderless option.

I don't have that same option you do. There is no triangular arrow to the right as shows on your screenshot.

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Answer 8

JDfunky Author

Level 2

231 points

Apr 27, 2017 6:28 PM in response to tygb

tygb wrote:

.When i use A4 selection ... no borders were cut .

A4 is my default, the one that I first used when I made this post. That cuts off the right side for me.

I wonder why some people have the US Letter options and others don't? I wonder if it's geographical? (Bizarre if so!) I am in Australia, tygb where are you?

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Answer 9

JDfunky Author

Level 2

231 points

May 2, 2017 8:43 PM in response to JDfunky

So I have just finished speaking with Apple Support. The first advisor tried for a long time to troubleshoot, including deleting my printer from preferences, all to no avail. A senior advisor was able to replicate the same problem on his Mac; he found a similar "Thank You For Your Order" mail message from the Apple Store that was sent to him, and tried to export it as PDF.. he was surprised to see it cut off in the same way. He has reported it as a bug, and suggested I report via apple.com/feedback.

He did find a workaround however: choose from the paper types the option "Tabloid Oversize".

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Answer 10

Jul 13, 2017 2:20 PM in response to Eric Root

It still cuts off the exported ".pdf", choosing those options doesn't fix the problem.

I'm so tired of how Mac OS always creates such haphazard results. It's such an unreliable operating system. Everyday I struggle with these kind of details with my Mac.

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Answer 11

Jul 13, 2017 2:27 PM in response to Christopher Doryan

And by the way, I'm running Mac OS Sierra 10.12.5, and my e-mail message is complete, so it's the exporting on the Mac which is not working properly.

Like always, thanks Apple for always making things harder then they should.

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Answer 12

Jul 13, 2017 11:25 PM in response to JDfunky

JDfunky- I'm using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 as of Friday, July 14, 2017, and they still haven't been able to fix this problem.

I've never had this problem on my Windows PCs, sure I've had other problems, but not as basic as this, it figures.

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Answer 13

Jul 13, 2017 11:26 PM in response to JDfunky

JDfunky- I'm using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 as of Friday, July 14, 2017, and they still haven't been able to fix this problem.

I've never had this problem on my Windows PCs, sure I've had other problems, but not as basic as this, it figures.

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Answer 14

Jul 13, 2017 11:39 PM in response to JDfunky

JDfunky- The typical Apple Support workaround, "delete and reinstall everything". These senior advisors most the time are clueless, at least their macOS knowledge. I'm starting to believe that being the "mac noob" I am, I'm up to par with them after have been using my mac for just a couple of months. I guess that by learning Windows, macOS becomes a walk in the park.

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Answer 15

JDfunky Author

Level 2

231 points

Apr 27, 2017 6:03 AM in response to JDfunky

Update: the same cutting off thing happens when Exporting as PDF from a web page in Safari. So it must be something about how Mac OS is doing this, no matter from what application.

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