* White Margins on PDF saved charts

[philmcleod]

Most of my saved pdf charts are less than A4 in height and I want to be able to print them with a larger margin on the left so as they can be bound into a A4 folder. Some are actually A4 size if printed landscape.
As standard the pdfs are always centred on the page and I have tried all sorts of adjustments to chart options; pdf printer preferences etc but they have only resulted in very strange things happening.
Basically I am trying to get a default small margin about 12 mm on 3 sides and increased to 25 mm on the side that is to be bound.
Is there a simple way of doing this
Thanks

[tatewise]

Well Phil, when I use the Diagram > Save Diagram As > PDF File (.pdf) the very first dialogue allows the four margins to be set independantly, and it works as it says on the tin.

[philmcleod]

Lorna.
Thanks.
I have tried your suggestion but I must not be doing it correct.
Firstly, when I have a small chart that fits automatically onto A4 as landscape when saved, it shows in FH as portrait making adjustment difficult.
Also, having moved the chart, or so I thought it made no difference.

Mike,
Thanks.
Although I had that option previously, it seemed to give strange results. However tried again at it works as it should, but is there a way of avoiding the background from continuing into the extra margin

[LornaCraig]

Phil,

Sorry, I deleted my post after Mike made his, as his method gives precise control over margin sizes.

However, to answer your questions: use Diagram Options > Print tab to switch between portrait and landscape display in FH. And having used the Movement Control box, Tree option to move the diagram off-centre in the page, when you save as PDF you will need to select the Use Current Page Layout option. (The other option will override the manual postioning, but does give you exact control over the margin sizes, as recommended by Mike).

[tatewise]

That Diagram > Options > Print tab has all the settings you need. Click Help for advice.

Ensure that the Orientation matches the way you want it printed on the paper.

Ensure the appropriate tick boxes are selected.

Set the four Print Margins and these will leave the specified amount of white paper.

Leave the tree centred on the page, rather than move it as Lorna suggests.

Then in Diagram > Save Diagram As > PDF File (.pdf) leave the default settings.

[philmcleod]

Mike,

Sorry to labour this but I tried these adjustments previously and also again after your last post. I do not understand why but whilst the margins are modified in Diagram > Options > Print to give the border I need on the binding edge, it starts to chop of the opposite side of the chart, or pushes the chart onto 2 sheets despite it being only small. I attach an example where I have tried to add a 30 mm margin on top of a landscape chart

[tatewise]

Ah, you seem to fallen into another FH trap that has confused others, and appears to be new to FH V6!

After setting Print tab options, but before using Diagram Save As > PDF File, ensure File > Print Setup names the Family Historian PDF driver and NOT your physical external printer, otherwise the Page Boundaries are to small and upset the One Page PDF output.

[philmcleod]

Tried that but it makes no difference

[tatewise]

Are you sure you are setting the File menu Print Setup option on the left?

Does it have its Paper Size set to A4 or A3 or larger?

Enable Show Page Boundaries to ensure they confirm large pages and not dozens of small pages.

Remember that having changed Print Setup it does NOT 'stick', and regularly reverts to your default physical printer.
The only way to make it 'stick' is to temporarily set the Family Historian PDF as your default printer.
Otherwise, it must be reset for every new Diagram or Chart.

Ensure the Diagram > Options > General > Scaling is 100% or less.

[philmcleod]

Attached is file "Capture" showing first view of diagram with page boundaries showing in portrait
Yes, the File menu Print Setup on the left is set - see file "Capture1"
Page boundaries then reset themselves- see "Capture1"
Diagram Options are set to give required border - see "Capture2"
Then when starting "Save As PDF" the page boundaries show as cutting through te chart - see "Capture3"
Then when onto next screen to "Print" it shows there will be 2 pages - see "Capture4"
Resultant pdf file is also attached "Descendants by 2 Generations.pdf"

I have tried this with all sorts of other combinations and with FH Printer set as default but nothing works. It certainly seems as if there is a bug or unwelcome feature that the charts get pushed off the pdf page size if the Diagram Options are changed. This is only a small chart so has no problem at 100% on A4 until the border is altered.

The only thing that does work, partially, is your very first suggestion of modifying the border only on the last dialog box before printing, but that gives a larger area of background as it seems to keep the pdf page boundary as default but pushes the chart down - see "Extra Background Descendants by 2 Generations.pdf"

I think it is time to refer this to FH support team so they can fix the bug.

I will send attachments in 3 hits as there are 7 in total

Phil

[philmcleod]

Mike,

Extra attachments

[philmcleod]

Attachments

[philmcleod]

attachments

[tatewise]

Yes, something very odd is happening, because Capture4 illustrates an unusually wide & short page size 1 & 2.

At the stage, what are the settings in the Print dialogue shown by the Properties button on the Page tab?

Are you running FH V6.2.6?

Simply try reinstalling that latest free download, and it might fix whatever is going wrong.

Check the Scale is 100% or less, as shown on bottom right margin, and in Diagram > Options > General > Scaling.
Do not confuse with Zoom that is irrelevant with regard to printed output.
If I set the Scale high enough I get a very similar 2 page effect to yours.

Once in that state, even reducing the Scale did NOT fix it.
I had to close the Diagram and start again from scratch with a smaller Scale.

[LornaCraig]

As a temporary workaround until this puzzle can be solved, you could try the alternative method again, manually positioning the diagram slightly off-centre in the page:

1. In Diagram > Options > Print tab select Portrait or Landscape orientation as required, and leave the Print Margins all set to ZERO.
2. Make sure File > Print Setup has the paper size set to A4
3. Display Page Boundaries in the Diagram and adjust the scaling so that the diagram fits comfortably within a single page.
4. Use Movement Control Box > Tree option to move the diagram slightly off-centre to provide a larger margin on one side. (You could also do this by left-clicking with the mouse on one of the page corners to move the page outline instead of the diagram).
5. Use Save Diagram as > PDF file and select the first option, Use Current Page Layout.

I have always found this method successful.

[tatewise]

Lorna, Phil can already achieve that style of PDF by setting the Print options as you say, and using the Save as PDF File dialogue to adjust the Margins.
However, the Background picture goes to the edge of the paper, and does NOT provide the white binding margin that he wants.
The Print options Margin provides that white binding margin, but something else is upsetting the Page sizing.

[LornaCraig]

Ah, I hadn't experimented with a background picture, as Phil's examples didn't have one. However I think the introduction of a background picture adds another level of complication: a lot depends on the shape of the picture, relative to (a) the shape of an A4 page and (b) the shape of the diagram.

Using the 'manual' method of positioning the diagram within an A4 shaped page, then saving as PDF using Current Page Layout preserves things as seen on the screen (with, admittedly, the picture going right to the edge.) But using the Single Page option with adjusted margins produces varying results depending on the shape of the diagram, because the single page PDF method doesn't stick to an A4 ratio of page lengths. So if the diagram is roughly square the PDF page will be roughly square and the edges of the picture are chopped off. This means that when it is then printed on A4 paper the picture still goes right to the edge in one dimesion but some of it is missing in the other dimension.

So although not perfect, I think the manual method is more reliable when using a background picture, because 'what you see is what you get'.

[tatewise]

I perhaps should NOT have used the word 'picture' and just said Background.
It looks like Phil wants Generation Stripes and the same issues apply to Row Stripes and One Colour.
But he does not want the grey stripes to run into the white binding margin.
I accept that actual Pictures may pose presentation issues, but Tile layout seems to work OK.
Also a regular pattern style of picture rather than a photo would usually be OK too.

[LornaCraig]

But doesn't the same issue apply with any background? The single page PDF option creates a page of a shape which fits the diagram (plus specified margins), which is not likely to be exactly the same ratio as A4. So when it is subsequently printed on A4 paper the background picture/stripes/colour will extend right to the edge in one dimension but be cropped in the other dimension, leaving an extra wide margin in the second dimension. Even if FH made the specified margins white, there would be extra wide margins in one dimension.

Maybe that doesn't matter, but Phil said he wants "a default small margin about 12 mm on 3 sides and increased to 25 mm on the side that is to be bound". To get exactly that result requires forcing the page shape to be exactly A4 ratio.

The simplest solution is just not to print the background (and save ink in the process!)

[tatewise]

True! Over to you Phil ...

[Jane]

Another option might be to go via the "book" process to include charts, that provides a few more options for margins etc and is more WYSIWYG.

[philmcleod]

I appreciate what Lorna said about the pdf being created to fit the chart. When I said a nominal small border on the other 3 sides it was not meant as a must but as a minimum as I appreciate it will change dependant on chart size.

I really cannot see why the single page pdf, with its background at the original size cannot be simply positioned on a page with a wider margin on one side. It will do it but for some reason it extends the background and increases the actual pdf size, so the pdf and background are still centred on the page

I will refer this to FH support and see what they say

[tatewise]

Well the solution to that is similar to Lorna's suggestion.

Adjust the Diagram boxes so they fit within the Page Boundaries of one page.
You may need to scale the Diagram to fit, or right-mouse-button drag the boundary corner.

Use the Print tab to set the white Margin sizes.

Finally use Diagram Save As > PDF File but select Use Current Page Layout as Lorna suggested.

Then you get a PDF page the size you want, with the margins you want, and otherwise filled with Background & Diagram

[philmcleod]

Mike,

For some reason some of my posts have disappeared, or at least I cannot see them.
You posed a question about what were the FH PDF Printer\Printer Properties\Page tab\Margins. I attach a further screen shot showing all the dialog box settings although the one I sent before has disappeared.
Yes I am using V 6.2.6 and the scaling is 100%

For such a simply thing of increasing a margin I really cannot see why the single page pdf, with its background at the original size cannot be simply positioned on a page with a wider margin on one side. Why does it have to increase the size of the pdf page and still leave it in the centre of the page.
The solutions offered are far too complicated as I simply want to change a margin on 200 or more A4 charts

[tatewise]

Phil, all your posts still seem to be present and correct to me.

Thank you for the screenshots, but they are from the Print Setup dialogue, which not what I requested.
What I was looking for is after using Diagram Save As > PDF File as per your Capture4 screenshot.
What are the settings in the Print dialogue shown by the Properties button on the Page tab?

The reason the Single Page PDF works the way it does is that its intended to cater for ANY size & shape of Diagram.
Some trees are extremely narrow & tall and need to be printed on a continuous paper roll, so the PDF will be narrow & tall.
i.e. It always adjusts to the aspect ratio of the Diagram tree.

Just to be sure, if you use Diagram > Layout & Scaling > Diagram Scale what value does it give?

Did you try my suggestion of re-installing FH V6.2.6 over your current setup?

What you are trying to achieve should be straightforward, but some gremlin seems to have got into the works on your PC.

Has FH Support come up with any suggestions?