QuickFix: Desperate for that image? Crop a PDF or take a screenshot in Adobe Acrobat

Category:Techwriter

 

One of the more annoying situations while working on a design project is losing an Illustrator, .bmp, .png, .tiff, or .eps file amidst the huge maze of folders between networked computers.  There's also the matter of corrupted JPEGs and irrecoverable EPS files.   Adobe Bridge can only help so much in a disorganized mess of images and not even Photoshop can fix an image it can't even open.

 

As primitive as it may sound, a technical writer may have to pull an image from a previous final product - say, a high-resolution PDF file.   InDesign allows users to Place a whole PDF unto a layout.  Skillful use of Frame options can result in a clean image on a document.  However, for those equipped with Adobe Acrobat, users can also use the Crop Tool to cut out that essential image.  The quality of the image is not only maintained but the resulting PDF can then be converted to a different image format if necessary (Acrobat can save PDFs to TIFF, EPS, and JPEG).

 

1. Click Tools then Advanced Editing.  Select Crop Tool.  Alternately, click Crop pages on the Document menu.

 

 

 

2. Click and drag to create a border around the image.

3. Double-click to change margin settings if needed.

 

 

 

4. The Crop Tool crops the PDF page but the PDF remains within the PDF file.  To use the cropped PDF as an image, click Document then Extract Pages. 

5. Tick Extract Pages as separate files.

 

 

 

InDesign users can just place the PDF and scale the image.  In some instances, cropped PDF from a PDF exported from InDesign or Illustrator still retains its vector properties allowing users to even modify the extracted image.

 

 

 

Secured PDF files prevent the use of Crop or Snapshot in Acrobat.  There are many ways (e.g. freeware, Linux applications) to extract images or text even from a secured PDF.  However, a simpler approach is to use a high-quality screenshot application.  Zoom in using Adobe Acrobat's controls to get a large digital view and capture the image at the highest quality.

 

Windows 7's Snipping Tool is neither the best nor the most practical since quality is dubious and the image can only be saved as GIF, JPEG, or PNG.  CorelDraw includes a professional screen-capturing tool as do most Adobe programs such as Captivate.  There are, however, free applications such as Lightscreen that can capture screenshots adequately enough.  Moreover, there are plenty of freeware and FOSS out there that can easily extract images from a PDF.

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Linux-powered Androids or Android-powered Linux?

Although it may seem presumptuous, news regarding Android and Linux indicate Linux may finally get some major credit for the popular mobile device platform.  Fork or not, Android is undoubtedly a success despite many reports of usage issues and unsatisfied customers who thought it was iOS.  On the flipside, adding Android code into the Linux kernel has a lot of potential and could provide a new approach to innovating any system running Linux.

 

Nokia abandoning Symbian was a bit disheartening, but it's good to see Linux's role in mobile devices is becoming more and more apparent to consumers.  A closer relationship between Linux and Android will open up a new world between Android devices and Linux distributions - the potential for a Linux ecosystem and better interaction between the two can be greater than any feature Windows 8, OSX, or iOS may offer in the future.  Imagine the wonders of Android-powered phones seamlessly taking advantage of remote applications from a Linux host and vice-versa.  Hopefully, a strong relationship between Android and Linux will also encourage more users living in the Apple and Microsoft world to join the legions of Linux users.

 

 

On another note, I wonder if integration between Android and Linux code had an influence in Canonical's user-interface changes and overall direction of Ubuntu.  Love the desktop environment Unity or hate it, Canonical should be praised for taking a stab at revolutionizing Linux's role for a mainstream audience - which is what Android succeeded in doing though many are unaware of its Linux roots.

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Secrets of a Manual: Writing Content for Translators

When writing or creating layouts for manuals, provide ample space at the bottom of your InDesign, QuarkXPress, or PageMaker document, especially if the manual is going to be translated to different languages.  Ask your editor or department just how much space the translators are going to need.  They will typically provide exact measurements in points or a less-accurate answer of "approximately 3 or 4 lines."

 

For manuals to be published in print, it is essential that there is enough space for the translated text.  Translations are either done in-house or via a third-party vendor.  In most cases, both parties can easily edit the text frame and image positioning to allow extra text to fit. Cyrillic, Arabic, and Chinese are some of the languages that may or may not need the extra space.  Indirectly, this is also one of the reasons why technical writing should make use of simple words with a focus on frugal writing (and not flowery, overly-pedantic language).  English is not often directly translated in another language but interpreted instead (unless you're dealing with a finicky translator with no technical background whatsoever).

 

 

 

Another aspect to keep in mind when writing content meant to be translated is inserting inline images, "floating" the image, or anchoring an image with the text.  In a fictional world where everyone reads English, anchoring an image or inserting them as inline objects would be the neatest way to maintain consistency and text flow.  Unfortunately, they can be a challenge in a reality where translators have to read and rewrite blocks of descriptions and instructions.  A competent translator isn't necessarily an expert in InDesign CS4 or Framemaker.  Even grouping an image with text could prove to be a headache to a translator (much more tables!).  An in-house translator would follow the company style guide but a third-party service may play havok with the output without some assistance.  

 

Space, on the other hand, is less of a concern when manuals are only meant for the web or packaged to a bundled DVD. Lengthy XHTML is obviously not a problem even when translated to a dozen languages. Microsoft CHM, Robohelp-based, FrameMaker, and Adobe Air-based manuals have an advantage over paper when it comes to formatting, templates, and positioning though it takes a bit more effort than creating print layouts. Naturally, hand-coding is an excellent option over using expensive applications like Dreamweaver.   There's also plenty of open source software that deal with XML, LaTeX, or Docbook that the enterprising writer can use.   

 

More and more companies prefer to cut costs by limiting the use of printed manuals, save for their most deluxe products.  With tablets and smartphones taking over print, digital manuals should be the standard.  But if you're dealing with print meant to be translated, leave some document space for the hard-working Thai translator down the corridor or across the street.

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The Great Fire Wall and Tech Surfing in China - A Sampler

It is true that web surfing in Chuugoku can be a difficulty.  In particular, there are certain services that cannot be accessed without a proxy or a VPN.  Examples that I find particularly intrusive include Blogger, Wordpress, and YouTube.  LinkedIn isn't blocked and is freely open to users.

 

Most of the Linux sites I visit are still accessible though resources hosted on blog servers are blocked.  Most helpful Linux forums suffer restrictions as well.  I don't use Facebook or Twitter but I'm pretty sure that many will find it difficult to access them (if not impossible).  Some local Shanghainese friends tell me they've attempted to access Facebook and even Google+ though neither services are very popular and functionality is intermittent. 

 

I was told that BBC was blocked due to disparaging articles regarding the government in recent years but this is clearly not true as BBC remains accessible.   Although Blogger still remains blocked, Gmail worked - a pleasant surprise for me since my experience during my tenure in Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam was the opposite.  Hotmail users will be happy to know that the recent speed bump in the venerable e-mail service actually works within the Fragrant Kingdom.

 

 

 

During lunch with a few expatriates, there was talk about online pornography.  Wikipedia actually notes that a majority of the biggest porn sites were blocked.  I was sure that restrictions in China would block pornography first after reading so many articles about censorship, but they laughingly told me porn sites were the first sites they confirmed as functional.  One even joked that the country needs them the most thus the consideration for the "genre."

 

Linux fans like myself will be happy to know none of the Linux distribution web sites (fedoraproject.org, opensuse.org, etc.) are blocked  (though I didn't exactly go through all the links in Distrowatch.com).

 

That said, here's a sampler of technical web sites not blocked in the Middle Kingdom:

• Pcworld.com
• Cnet.com
• Pcmag.com
• Arstechnica.com
• Wired.com
• Microsoft.com
• Apple.com
• Lifehacker.com
• Engadget.com
• Cnetasia.com
• Gizmodo.com
• Makeuseof.com
• Www3 schools
• Downloads.com
• howtoforge.com

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Surprise! Bing actually works a little better in China than Google

Current relationship between China and Google notwithstanding, I've had interesting and inconsistent experiences with Google in Huaxia.  As a Linux user, Google is my primary search engine though I've used Bing frequently when I'm on a Windows 7 machine.  At the risk of being burned at the stake by Linux and Google users everywhere, I have no issues with Bing.  It's a useful search engine in its own right.  




Although Google.com is accessible, typing Google into your URL will always default to Google Hong Kong due to certain disagreements between the company and Chinese government.  Using Google Maps in China has its difficulties, particularly a banner indicating a warning blocking most of the map.   However, it works fine in most scenarios albeit slow like most overseas sites due to the Great Fire Wall of Huaxia.  To my consternation, Google Search (.com and .com.hk) is unwieldy and occasionally counter-productive due to speed issues and limited access (search results will occasionally trigger a timed out connection message).  It's as if the army behind the said Wall focuses on Google searches in particular.  Surprisingly, Bing works without such harness.  I felt somewhat put off when I had to pull up Bing, but to my surprise, Microsoft's little search engine worked without any issues.  Moreover, Bing has the option to choose either Domestic (ie. Chinese search results) or Overseas (ie. U.S. or Europe search results) editions. 


 

There are occasions when Google is its usual dependable and awesome self.  There are days, however, when no results will (or can't) pull up despite searching harmless text strings like "Fedora review" or "Mandarin schools."  Google does not have an option to switch to domestic or overseas results though there is an option to check pages from Hong Kong or switch to the default Google.com.  English-speaking users will be happy to know Google results are displayed in English unlike cn.Bing.com which prioritizes Chinese language sites first unless you change the edition.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica falls within 4 years after Microsoft Encarta

The Germanic deity Thor died a few steps after slaying the lizard Jormungad due to the monster's poisonous breath.  Britannica's fate is somewhat similar in that regard with Encarta.

 

I wrote about the death of Encarta when it was discontinued by Microsoft.  Admittedly, I still run Encarta's last release on my laptop (Encarta Premium DVD 2009) and will remain part of my Windows OS image for a long time to come.  Its excellent atlas and well-researched, albeit very American, articles make it one of my more dependable research tools.  I use the excellent Encyclopaedia Britannica for different reasons.

 

 

 

Although Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite was not nearly as bright and as fun as Encarta, Britannica's writing was(and still is) more serious and detached.  Encarta didn't make use of tabs when pulling up articles, but rather made use of a hierarchical text page.  Britannica, on the other hand, allowed users to open several articles at one go.  Although Britannica, along with the brilliant Merriam-Webster dictionary and thesaurus, lacked the colorful interface of Encarta, it had a fascinating video and library archive, easily accessed using the Explore button.  Early releases of Encarta had issues with Adobe Flash, while Britannica had issues with its Quicktime implementation.  Both encyclopedias largely ironed out the glitches on their final releases.

 

 

 

It is not without sadness when I read about Encyclopaedia Britannica making a decision to maintain only an online version and discontinue its CD and printed releases.  I understand the sheer power and magnitude of the Internet.  Where else can you get information about old TV shows and minor events such as cats playing or Tila Tequila going to rehab?  The Internet's ability to adapt and grow exponentially (without greasing its wheels) makes it the most powerful source of information on earth dwarfing any company-maintained information source.

 

Still, I have a love for "official" sources such as Encyclopedia Britannica.  I keenly remember the great wizard Merlin referring to a volume while tutoring the young Wart in "The Sword in the Stone".  I have great respect for the original writers of the venerable resource and I will remember them every time I run the Encyclopaedia Britannica Reference Suite.

 

*Read more about Britannica's past and future at Wired.com and PCWorld.com

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Technical writer toolbox: Using Linux when writing about hardware

Hardware technical writers are regularly shipped or handed down barebone systems and naked prototype motherboards.  With nothing more than various types of fans, a 700W power supply, DRAMs and/or a video card, writers explore BIOS screens and check hardware configurations. 

 

With no HDDs, chassis, or accessories to work with, a small Linux OS on a flash drive is a technical writer's best friend.  Some prototypes won't even boot up without any storage device connected so the USB doubles as storage and as an operating system. Knoppix is an excellent choice of Linux for these day-to-day tasks - a fitting one considering its long storied history supporting hardware.

 

 

Even with the latest chipsets from Taiwan and Chinese manufacturers, Knoppix has no problems running and detecting components.  Its low-resource requirements make it perfect for the new APUs and conservative processors integrated in boards today.

 

On a small note, it's also not a good idea to switch off hardware setup directly from the power supply.  As a rule, shutting down from within an operating system is healthier for a motherboard, prototype or not.

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Internet Access in Shanghai Hotels: Using Hotel IP Address Settings

Big and classy hotels in Shanghai provide the best Internet and Wireless Access the Great Morokoshi Firewall can allow.  However, budget business hotels may only provide a fairly inadequate wireless service and a desktop PC connected to their hotel LAN. 

In Minhang District along Humin Highway for example, is Jiu Gong Hotel, which does just that.  The desktop PC in the hotel room is equipped with a modified Express Gate, an obsolete Internet Explorer, and an earlier version of Firefox.  With no wireless service, a visitor may be forced to use the desktop PC's mostly Chinese-language interface in order to send out e-mails and execute basic tasks.   

Hotel computer connected to the Lenovo Ideapad Z360

However, travellers with a portable/laptop/netbook can easily circumvent limitations by copying the network settings from the Chinese desktop to Windows 7/Linux/Mac OSX's network settings.  Although the interface of the Windows in Jiu Gong hotel is in Chinese, accessing network settings is just a matter of familiarity and context clues.  Copying the IP address and DNS settings will allow access to the hotel LAN.

Hotel computer IP address settings (in English)

Take note, however, that access to blocked foreign sites still require a VPN or proxy server.

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Updating openSUSE in China

openSUSE has become such a stable product in recent times that very little updating is needed in order to maintain a functional operating system.  openSUSE 12.1 Asparagus is especially impressive in its ability to just chug along without any need for launching an Online Update regularly.



Updates in Linux are, however, still a necessity and installing patches should always be a part of a regular routine for any serious Linux user (though not as often as in Windows).  Having moved to China recently, it was a good choice to have a clean install of said release on my netbook.  Shanghai's broadband speed is surprisingly robust despite hobbled by the Great Wall that is well known within and outside the Middle Kingdom.  Aware of the existence of a strong Chinese Linux community, I expected openSUSE to have no problem accessing remote servers for the Yast update without any modification to server location.  openSUSE's Yast update process has never been the fastest but I did not expect such a poor outcome on launching Yast2.  openSUSE OSS, Packman, Google, and other repositories took more than hour to refresh and the whole update process went undone by a barrage of messages indicating inaccessible servers. 



Reestablishing a more stable server for openSUSE update via command line is essential in China.  I personally wonder if other popular distributions, such as Fedora and Ubuntu, would experience the same lengthy and unpleasant encounter when I finally run an update on those machines.  

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