1 May 2000
FastLane PDF Instructions
for Proposal Preparation and Project Reporting







See "Why is NSF Using PDF?" and "Why Have PDF Format Requirements?" for information on FastLane's choice of PDF and the importance of following the NSF requirements for creating PDF documents.
 
 
NSF PDF Requirements
1. Software to Use to Create PDF Files         Adobe Acrobat Distiller (3.X or 4.X)
                              or
            Ghostscript (6.0 or higher)
2. NSF Rules for PDF Files
  • Do not use Adobe Acrobat PDFWriter
  • Always embed all fonts
  • Always use embeddable Type 1 or TrueType fonts
  • Always check your results
  • If using TeX or LaTeX, subset your fonts at 100%

     

    Creating PDF Files:
      BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISTILLER AND GHOSTSCRIPT ON WINDOWS, MACs and UNIX SYSTEMS
    • Use Adobe Acrobat Distiller (3.01 or above)
    		 How to use Acrobat 4.x for PC, Mac, UNIX
    How to use Acrobat 3.x for PC, Mac, UNIX
      How to use Acrobat with MS Word
    or Aladdin Ghostscript (6.0 or above)
    		 Information for Ghostscript (ps2pdf) users
              Special comments for WordPerfect Users How to get PDF files from WordPerfect
         HOW TO FOLLOW NSF      REQUIREMENTS
    • Do not use Adobe Acrobat  PDFWriter
    		 Why?
    • If using Adobe Distiller 4.0 or higher, download the FastLane job optionsfile located at

      • http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/attachA.htm.
      When converting a file to PDF, open up Distiller, and choose the "FastLane" Job Options.
    		 How to download options for Windows.
    How to download options for Mac.
    • Always embed fonts into the PDF file.
    		 How?
    • Always subset fonts at a threshold of 100% 

      • if you are using TeX or LaTex. 
    		 How?
    • Use embeddable Type 1 (PostScript) or TrueType fonts.
    		 How?
    • Create the PDF file on the same machine

      • where the original document was created
    		 Why?
    • Check the results with local fonts turned off (if using the

      • full Acrobat 4.0 product) OR go to another 
      computer and view the PDF file (if using something else).
    		 How?
    • Using dvips for TeX and LaTeX Users
    		 How?
          FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
    		 Click here for FAQs
          WHERE TO GET MORE PDF INFORMATION
    		 www.pdfresearch.com/Pages/howtof.html

    www.pdfzone.com

    www.planetpdf.com

    www.adobe.com (in particular http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/topissuesac.htm and http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html )

    Why is NSF Using PDF?

    Portable Document Format (PDF) files allow users on different platforms (e.g. Windows, Mac and UNIX) to view files as originally intended by the author, if created properly.   Proposals often contain images, graphics, equations and various character sets (e.g. Greek letters).  At least one-quarter of NSF proposal writers work in each of the following platforms: Windows, Macs and UNIX.   PDF offers reproducible results and multi-platform support for viewing and printing by reviewers and NSF staff (again, if the original files contain the proper format).   No other mature document type permits easy viewing by reviewers and allows authors to retain margins, keep pagination and line breaks, generate files in various word processors on PCs, Macs and UNIX systems, include and display equations, and maintain control of the position and compression of images.

    For the file to be read, as the author originally intended, by reviewers and NSF staff, your PDF file must be complete (e.g. it must contain embedded in the file all non-standard font characters that you used).   Otherwise, PDF viewers will substitute other fonts that may or may not appropriately represent the original characters used by the author.

    Why have PDF formatting requirements?

    NSF requires PDF files for the Project Description of a proposal and allows PDF file for many other sections of a proposal.  To view an entire proposal, FastLane takes the files you submit, creates PDF files from the cover sheet, budget and sections where the user preferred to enter data directly through the web, and combines it all into one file for viewing and printing.  This single document is the one commonly used by NSF and reviewers to evaluate your proposal or project report.

    Combining together PDF files created in different manners and different platforms can have unintended results unless all the PDF files adhere to the FastLane requirements.  NSF has received over 300,000 PDF files through FastLane and most of these combine together without problems.  While occasional problems may still result from the merging process, users can check for this by viewing the combined PDF file through FastLane before submitting the proposal.  Since the resulting file may still be using fonts on your machine that will not be available to others, you should view the resulting file on another machine or, if using Adobe Acrobat Exchange 4.X, "turn off local fonts."


    Using Adobe Acrobat 4.0 or higher for Windows to convert files to PDF:

    First,  you need the full version of Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader cannot produce PDF files. Also, do not use PDFWriter. Instead, use the Adobe Distiller component of Adobe Acrobat.

    Second, download and use the FastLane job options file since it is the easy way to setup Distiller 4.X and to avoid problems when converting your files to PDF. 

    If using Adobe Distiller 4.0 or higher for Windows, to download the FastLane job options file:

    1. Go to http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/attachA.htm.
    2. Click on the "FastLane Acrobat 4 Profile" link using your right mouse button.
    3. From the menu select, Save Link as....
    4. Then find where Adobe Acrobat resides on your computer {most likely this is C:\Program Files \Adobe."}
    5. Once you are in the Adobe Directory open the "Distller" directory, then open the "Settings" directory and then save the "FastLane.joboptions" file to this directory.
    6. Once you have saved the profile, go to your desktop. From your desktop, go to Start|Programs|Adobe Acrobat 4|Acrobat Distiller 4.
    7. Once Distiller is open select the arrow in the Job Options box and then set the "FastLane" job option. You are now ready to create your PDF files.
    If you want to see the screen shots for downloading the job options file go to http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/Adobe4WinDwnld/Adobe4WinDwnld.htm. Once you have Adobe Distiller opened with the FastLane job options you can either use Adobe Distiller to convert PostScript files to PDF or you can use Distiller Assistant to convert files to PDF from within your authoring application.

    To use Adobe Acrobat Distiller 4.x for Windows to create a PDF file:

    1. Save a PostScript file from an application to disk.
    2. Start Adobe Distiller.
    3. Choose File > Open, and use the browser to select the PostScript file. Choose All Files from the "Files of Type" pop-up menu if the PostScript file has an extension other than PS (e.g. .prn instead of .ps)
    4. Do one of the following:
      5. To reduce the number of steps in this process, Acrobat 4.x includes Adobe Distiller Assistant, which you can use like any printer driver. You only have to print a document to it and then specify a location for the resulting PDF file. Adobe Distiller Assistant must run continuously for you to use it, so it is installed into the Startup folder. This enables it to start with Windows and run continuously in the background.

      Using Adobe Distiller Assistant 4.X for Windows:

      Once you have Adobe Distiller Assistant installed correctly, you can use it to create PDF files:

      1. Open Adobe Distiller and select "FastLane" as the Job Options that you want to use and then leave Adobe Distiller up and running.
      2. Open the document in your authoring application (e.g. , Microsoft Word).
      3. Choose File > Print.
      4. Select Distiller Assistant from the list of available printers.
      5. Follow the application's usual instructions to begin printing (e.g., click Print). Adobe Distiller Assistant creates a PostScript file in the background, then starts Adobe Distiller, which displays an Acrobat Distiller - Specify PDF File Name dialog box.
      6. Specify a file name and location for the PDF file, and then click Save.
      7. After Adobe Distiller creates the PDF file, Adobe Distiller Assistant closes Distiller and then opens the PDF file in an Acrobat viewer.

      Using Adobe Acrobat 4.x for Mac or higher to convert files to PDF:

      First, you need Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader cannot produce PDF files. Also, do not use PDFWriter. Instead, use the Adobe Distiller component of Adobe Acrobat.

      Second, get the FastLane job options file since it is the easy way to setup Distiller 4.X and to avoid problems when converting your files to PDF.

      If using Adobe Distiller 4.x for the Mac to download the FastLane job options file:

      1. First go to http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/attachA.htm.
      2. Hold down the control key and click on the "FastLane Acrobat 4 Profile" link.
      3. From the menu select, Save Link as....
      4. You should go to the Settings directory automatically. If not, navigate to Adobe Acrobat 4.0\Distiller\Settings. "FastLane.joboptions" should automatically show in the Save As box.
      5. Click on the Save button in the right-hand corner of the window.
      6. Once Distiller is open select the arrow in the Job Options box and then select the "FastLane" job option. You are now ready to create your PDF files.
      If you want to see the screen shots for this process go to https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/Adobe4MacDwnld/Adobe4MacDownload.htm

      Once you have Adobe Distiller opened with the FastLane job options you can either use Adobe Distiller to convert PostScript files to PDF or you can use Distiller Assistant to convert files to PDF from within your authoring application.

      To use Adobe Acrobat Distiller 4.x Mac to create a PDF file:

      1. Save a PostScript file from an application to disk.
      2. Open Adobe Distiller and select "FastLane" as the "Job Options" that you want to use and then leave Adobe Distiller up and running.
      3. Choose File > Open, and use the browser to select the PostScript file. Choose All Files from the Files of Type pop-up menu if the PostScript file has an extension other than PS {such as .prn}
      4. Do one of the following:
        • Click Open, enter a name and location for the PDF file, and click Save.


      OR

        • Hold down Option while clicking Open. The PDF file has the same name as the PostScript file, plus the extension .pdf, and is stored in the same folder as the PostScript file.
      To reduce the number of steps in this process, Acrobat 4.x includes Adobe Distiller Assistant, which you can use like any printer driver. You only have to print a document to it and then specify a location for the resulting PDF file. Adobe Distiller Assistant is installed in the Extensions folder within the System Folder on the Macintosh.

      Using Adobe Distiller Assistant 4.x for the Mac:

      Once you have Adobe Distiller Assistant installed correctly, you can use it to create PDF files:

      1. Open Adobe Distiller and select "FastLane" as the "Job Options" that you want to use and then leave Adobe Distiller up and running.
      2. Open your document in the authoring application (e.g., Microsoft Word).
      3. Choose File > Page Setup, choose Acrobat PDF as the Printer, enter other setup options you want and click on OK
      4. Choose File > Print.
      5. Select PDF in the Destination box, and click Distill.

      NOTE: If using UNIX, you cannot have Adobe Distiller 4.x since Adobe has not yet produced a new UNIX version. Use Adobe Distiller 3.01 or Aladdin Ghostscript 6.0 or above.


      Using Adobe Distiller 3.x for Windows to convert files to PDF:

      First, you need Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader cannot produce PDF files. Also, do not use PDFWriter. Instead, use the Adobe Distiller component of Adobe Acrobat.

      Second, Acrobat 3.x does not have many of the versioning and font problems of Acrobat 4.x, but it also does not use the job options files. Therefore, you must first have the proper settings for Adobe Distiller.

      To set the proper settings for Adobe Acrobat 3.x:

      • Open Distiller and click on "Distiller" in the menu.
      • Select "Job Options" and then the "Font Embedding" tab.
      • Check "Embed All Fonts"
      • Check "Subset Fonts" and specify a value of 100% (default is 35%). Then click on OK.
      Once you have Adobe Distiller opened with the correct job options you can either use Adobe Distiller to convert PostScript files to PDF or you can use Distiller Assistant to convert files to PDF from within your authoring application.

      To use Adobe Acrobat Distiller 3.x for Windows to create a PDF file:

      1. Save a PostScript file from an application to disk.
      2. Start Adobe Distiller.
      3. Locate and open the PostScript file.
      4. Specify a location for the PDF file. Adobe Distiller then converts the file to PDF.
      To reduce the number of steps in this process, Acrobat 3.0x includes Adobe Distiller Assistant, which you can use like any printer driver. You only have to print a document to it and then specify a location for the resulting PDF file. Adobe Distiller Assistant must run continuously for you to use it, so it is installed into the Startup folder. This enables it to start with Windows and run continuously in the background.

      Using Adobe Distiller Assistant 3.x for Windows:

      Once you have Adobe Distiller Assistant installed correctly, you can use it to create PDF files:

        Create a document in any application (e.g., Microsoft Word).
      1. Choose File > Print.
      2. Select Distiller Assistant from the list of available printers.
      3. Follow the application's usual instructions to begin printing (e.g., click Print). Adobe Distiller Assistant creates a PostScript file in the background, then starts Adobe Distiller, which displays an Acrobat Distiller - Specify PDF File Name dialog box.
      4. Specify a file name and location for the PDF file, and then click Save.
      5. After Adobe Distiller creates the PDF file, Adobe Distiller Assistant closes Distiller and then opens the PDF file in an Acrobat viewer.

      Using Adobe Distiller 3.x for Mac to convert files to PDF:

      First, you need Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader cannot produce PDF files. Also, do not use PDFWriter. Instead, use the Adobe Distiller component of Adobe Acrobat.

      Second, Acrobat 3.x does not have many of the versioning and font problems of Acrobat 4.0, but it also does not use the job options files. Therefore, you must first have the proper settings for Adobe Distiller.

      To set the proper settings:

      Once you have Adobe Distiller opened with the FastLane job options you can either use Adobe Distiller to convert PostScript files to PDF or you can use Distiller Assistant to convert files to PDF from within your authoring application.

      To use Adobe Acrobat Distiller 3.x for Mac to create a PDF file:

      1. Save a PostScript file from an application to disk.
      2. Start Adobe Distiller.
      3. Locate and open the PostScript file.
      4. Specify a location for the PDF file. Adobe Distiller then converts the file to PDF.
      5. Open an Acrobat viewer.
      6. Locate and open the PDF file.
      To reduce the number of steps in this process, Acrobat 3.x for Mac includes Adobe Distiller Assistant, which you can use like any printer driver. You only have to print a document to it and then specify a location for the resulting PDF file.

      Using Adobe Distiller Assistant 3.x for Mac:

      Once you have Adobe Distiller Assistant installed correctly, you can use it to create PDF files:

      1. Create a document in any application (e.g., Microsoft Word).
      2. Choose File > Print.
      3. Select Distiller Assistant from the list of available printers.
      4. Follow the application's usual instructions to begin printing (e.g., click Print). Adobe Distiller Assistant creates a PostScript file in the background, then starts Adobe Distiller, which displays an Acrobat Distiller - Specify PDF File Name dialog box.
      5. Specify a file name and location for the PDF file, and then click Save.
      6. After Acrobat Distiller creates the PDF file, Acrobat Distiller Assistant closes Distiller and then opens the PDF file in an Acrobat viewer.


      Using Adobe Distiller 3.x for UNIX to convert files to PDF:

      First, you need Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader cannot produce PDF files. Use the Adobe Distiller component of Adobe Acrobat.

      Once you have Adobe Distiller installed correctly, you can use it to convert PostScript files to PDF.

      1. To create a PostScript file in UNIX you must print your document to a PostScript file. In UNIX, a PostScript file is produced by the application rather than by a printer driver. Use your application’s method for creating a PostScript file. That method should be documented in your authoring application’s user guide.
      2. Start Adobe Distiller

      3. Embed all fonts and subset fonts. Use the following command on the PostScript file (to embed fonts and set the subsetting threshold) together with any other appropriate parameters:

        4.  

         
         
         
         
         

        % distill –embedallfonts on –maxsubsetpct <99>[-files]

        In the "-files" bracket, enter the name of the PS file that you want to convert to PDF.

      4. Distiller distills the PostScript file, replacing the .ps or .eps extension with .pdf or .PDF, and puts the PDF file into the specified directory.




      Using Adobe Distiller 4.0 to convert MS word documents to PDF:
      1. Download the FastLane job options file and follow the instructions for installing it. See Downloading Job Options for Windows or Downloading Job Options for Mac
      2. Open Adobe Distiller and select the "FastLane" Job Options and leave Distiller running.
      3. In Word, choose File > Print.
      4. Make sure that you've chosen Acrobat Distiller from the Printer Name pop-up menu. If another printer is set as the default printer, your document may be reformatted when it's converted to PDF.
      5. In the Print dialog box, select any printing options you want to use.
      6. Click OK. Acrobat Distiller will ask you for a filename and location for your PDF file.

      Special Instructions for WordPerfect Users

      Adobe Distiller 4.0 will not allow WordPerfect users to embed the WordPerfect math fonts due to licensing restrictions of the fonts.  Newer versions of these WordPerfect fonts are supposed to have the licensing issue corrected in the fonts.  If you have a version of the fonts that will not allow Adobe Distiller to embed them, you can tell the print driver for Adobe Distiller to send the fonts as outlines.  To do so, open your print driver properties.  In Windows, go to Start -> Settings -> Printers.  Right click on the "Adobe Distiller" driver and choose "Properties."   Choose the "Fonts" tab and press the button "Send Fonts As...."  Next, change in the pull-down menu for "Send TrueType fonts as" from the default (Type 42) to "Outlines."  Click "OK" twice.  Open Distiller and choose the FastLane joboptions file.  In WordPerfect, choose "Adobe Distiller" as your printer and print your file.  The output should be a PDF file with sufficient font information to reproduce the file.  Check your results by viewing the PDF file.

      WordPerfect 9, part of WordPerfect Office 2000, has a "Publish to PDF" function that will bypass the need for Adobe Acrobat Distiller or Ghostscript.  This function will embed WordPerfect fonts.  Some problems with the initial Publish to PDF version in WordPerfect 9 have been resolved by updating the software with available service packs.  However, problems with lines and complex graphics remain.  If you do have problems, you should instead try Adobe Distiller (see above and note that you may need to have TrueType fonts sent as outlines to embed font information) or Ghostscript.


      Using Ghostscript 6.0 or Higher

      You may obtain instructions and the current version of Ghostscript at this address: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
      A detailed Ghostscript instruction manual, last updated for Ghostscript 5.01, is available at ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost/gs5man_e.pdf  .  More User-friendly instructions for using Ghostscript, although last modified for Ghostscript 5.50, are available at http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~fdb94001/using-gs/make-pdf.html .  You should use Ghostscript 6.0 or above since you need to embed your fonts in the PDF file.

      Important issues to remember when using Ghostscript:
      1. Use Type 1 fonts
      2. Embed the fonts
      3. Set the output resolution at a sufficient level for your included images and graphics
      4. ps2pdf (see http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/aladdin/doc/Ps2pdf.htm) will convert your PostScript file to PDF within Ghostscript ("ps2pdf -dMaxSubsetPct=100 -dCompatibilityLevel=1.2 -dSubsetFonts=true -dEmbedAllFonts=true")


      PDF Creation Tips and Pointers:
      1. Do not use Adobe PDFWriter.

        2.  

         
         
         

        Why? If you have Adobe PDFWriter, you also have Adobe Distiller (available in the same package). Use Adobe Distiller instead.

        PDFWriter will not work properly with encapsulated PostScript figures and will, by default, significantly blur your images. Also, it will not subset fonts at the proper threshold (necessary for users of TeX and LaTeX).

        Another frequent, and critical, result is that when your PDFWriter document is combined together with the other PDF files to make a complete proposal, the fonts do not display properly in the combined file. The end result is that reviewers and NSF staff may find it difficult to read your proposal.

        FastLane will warn you if you try to upload a PDF file written in PDFWriter. If you transfer the file anyway, be certain to look at the complete proposal with the local fonts turned off to see the results in entire proposal. See viewing with local fonts turned off.

        See http://www.planetpdf.com/planetpdf/pdfs/issue02.pdf for more details.
         

      2. If using Acrobat Distiller 4.0 or higher, download the FastLane job options file.

        3.  

         
         
         

        See instructions for Downloading Job Options for Windows.

        See instructions for Downloading Job Options for Mac.

      3. Always embed fonts into the PDF file. Otherwise, PDF viewers/printers may replace your fonts with substitutes (producing unwanted results for reviewers).

        4. If you are using Adobe Acrobat 4.x and download the FastLane Job Options and then open Adobe Acrobat and select the "FastLane" job options, you will embed fonts when converting files to PDF.

        If you are using Adobe Acrobat 3.x, see instructions for embedding fonts for Windows, Mac, or UNIX. Embedding fonts essentially means to include in the PDF file the information necessary to faithfully re-create the characters used in your PDF file. If fonts are not embedded and do not reside on the computer where the PDF file is viewed, another font available to the PDF reader will be substituted. The substitute font may have different characteristics or characters (e.g. a bracket in a mathematical equation can be replaced by a column of letters). If you have the full Acrobat 4 product, you can determine how others will see your document by turning off local fonts.

      4. Always subset fonts at a threshold of 100% if you are using TeX or LaTeX.

        5.  

         
         
         

        If you are using Adobe Acrobat 4.0 and download the FastLane Job Options and then open Adobe Acrobat and select the "FastLane" job options when converting your files to PDF, you will subset fonts.

        Adobe Acrobat 3.x users should see instructions for subsetting fonts for Windows, Mac, or UNIX. Essentially, subsetting fonts will force the fonts you used to be properly called when individual PDF files are combined into one large PDF proposal file.

      5. It is also important to create the PDF file on the same machine where the original document was created (to be certain that the fonts exist on the machine where the PDF file is being written).

        6.  

         
         
         

        This will insure that the fonts necessary for viewing and printing the resulting PDF file are available during PDF creation.

      6. Check the results with local fonts turned off (if using the full Acrobat 4.0 product) or go to another computer and view the PDF file (if using something else).

        7.  

         
         
         

        Testing How Fonts Will Appear for Others

        In the full Acrobat 4.x product (but not Acrobat Reader 4.x), you can see how the fonts in your PDF file will look on a system that does not have the fonts installed. Choose View -> Use Local Fonts to specify whether Acrobat should ignore the fonts installed on your system. (The command has a check mark by it when Acrobat is using the fonts and no check mark when Acrobat is ignoring the fonts.)

        When "Use Local Fonts" is off (that is, it does not have a check mark by it), Acrobat displays the PDF file with substitute fonts for all fonts that are not embedded. If a font cannot be substituted, the text formatted with that font appears as bullets, and Acrobat displays an error message. If the text in your PDF file appears as bullets when Use Local Fonts is off, you need to embed the fonts used to format that text in your PDF file.

        Why? It is important to have the fonts you used embedded in the PDF file. If they are not and they do not reside on the computer or printer rendering the file, available fonts will be substituted. However, since the fonts that created the PDF file presumably reside on your computer, it is possible that you do not have them embedded but that the file will look fine on your computer but not on one without your fonts.
         

      7. If you have figures, know that conversion programs to PDF have settings which by default downsample your figures (reducing the resolution).

        8.  

         
         
         

        Understand the settings or you may get blurred images. The FastLane job options file for Acrobat Distiller 4.x sets figures to a higher resolution output than the standard defaults. If using Acrobat Distiller 3.0, check the settings to view the compression algorithm and the output resolution for your figures. By default, Acrobat Distiller and PDFWriter will lower the resolution of your images.


        TeX or LaTeX Users

        DVI to PostScript to PDF instructions

        It is imperative that the fonts in any PDF file submitted to FastLane
        have the fonts embedded and subseted.

        To achieve this, Distiller (or whatever PS to PDF converter you use)
        must be configured to embed the fonts (see the PS to PDF conversion
        instructions).  One of the things that needs to be done in order for
        all of this to happen correctly is that Distiller needs to know where
        to obtain the Type 1 font information.

        There are two methods of doing this: configure you PS to PDF converter
        to read the fonts from certain directories on your file system, or have
        the Type 1 fonts embedded (but not as a subset) in the PS file.  In the
        latter case, the PS to PDF converter will use the font information
        in the PS file.

        We describe the how to embed Type 1 font information in the PS file.

        We make the following assumptions:

        (1) The fonts that you used for your proposal exist in Type 1 form
        and are available on your system, and

        (2) You are using the teTeX distribution of TeX, version 1.0.6 or
        later.  [teTeX is an implementation of TeX for UNIX/Linux systems]

        Since you are using TeX, after successfully TeXing your file, you should
        have a DVI file ready for conversion (by dvips) to a PS file.  Below, we
        describe how to set up dvips so that the Type 1 font information will
        be embedded in the generated PS file.

        There are two issues that need to be dealt with: setting up dvips so that
        the Type 1 fonts are actually used [one might be surprised to learn that
        many of the problems stem from the fact that dvips is not configured
        properly, even though the Type 1 fonts are on the system], and configuring
        dvips so that the Type 1 fonts when embedded are embedded correctly.

        We recommened that you use the command line:

         % dvips -Ppdf -o <file>.ps <file>.dvi

        Where <file> is the name of the DVI file, sans `.dvi'.  The option -Ppdf sets
        up dvips to use the printer config file config.pdf.  We explain some of the
        options that config.pdf sets up for you.
         

        Setting up dvips to use Type 1 fonts:

         dvips consults a file called a fontmap to determine which fonts (in Type 1
         form) should be added to the PS file.  dvips can consult many mapfiles,
         but the default setup of dvips in the teTeX distribution is for dvips
         to consult a single mapfile: psfonts.map

         The file psfonts.map is located in the directory <texmf>/dvips/config, where
         <texmf> is the directory where the texmf directory tree is located.

         In this file are lines that look like the following:

         cmr10 CMR10 <cmr10.pfb

         This means whenever dvips encounters a font by the name of cmr10 in the
         DVI file, it will write out PostScript code that uses a font by the name of
         CMR10, and when the PS file is written out, the font information in the
         file cmr10.pfb will be embedded in it.  As another example, suppose you
         want to use the Type 1 versions of the Ralph Smith Formal Script font
         (the rsfs package and fonts available from CTAN).  The following lines,
         when added to psfonts.map will configure dvips to use the Type 1 versions
         of the fonts:

         rsfs5 RSFS5 <rsfs5.pfb
         rsfs7 RSFS7 <rsfs7.pfb
         rsfs10 RSFS10 <rsfs10.pfb

         Keep in mind that there are other (better) methods of configuring the
         psfonts.map file.  Consult the teTeX documetnation to learn more about
         these methods.

         Another issue is to make sure that dvips uses this fontmap file (dvips can
         use other map files) and that dvips can find the files rsfs5.pfb, rsfs7.pfb,
         and rsfs10.pfb.

         teTeX is a TDS (TeX directory structure) compliant TeX distribution.  This
         means that the locations of fonts in teTeX's texmf tree are in easy locatable
         areas.  For instance, the font file cmr10.pfb is located in the directory
         <texmf>/fonts/type1/bluesky/cm, and the file rsfs10.pfb is located in the
         directory <texmf>/fonts/type1/hoekwater/rsfs.

         In general, Type 1 fonts files are stored in directories which fit the
         pattern:

             <texmf>/fonts/type1/<vendor>/<font family name>

         where <vendor> and <font family name> are the obvious meaning.

         Next, dvips uses a directory search mechanism that must be configured
         properly for dvips to find the fonts at run time.  The file that governs
         how the search mechanism works is called texmf,cnf and is located here:

             <texmf>/web2c

         The lines:

             % PostScript Type 1 outline fonts.
                T1FONTS = .;$TEXMF/fonts/type1//

            tell dvips to search Type 1 fonts files in the current working directory,
            and in *all* subdirectories of $TEXMF/fonts/type1, where $TEXMF is a variable
            that is set previously in texmf.cnf.

            See the teTeX documentation for more information on where to place files and
            how to configure texmf.cnf so that font files are found when dvips is run.

         Finally, to make sure that dvips uses the fontmap psfonts.map, look at the file
         <texmf>/dvips/config/config.ps.  You should see some lines like:

          % Configuration of postscript type 1 fonts:
          p psfonts.map

          % This shows how to add your own map file.
          % Remove the comment and adjust the name:
          % p +myfonts.map

         If these lines are not there, add (as the minimum) the line:

          p psfonts.map

         Similar lines appear in config.pdf:

          % This is for using BlueSky/AMS/Y&Y Type 1 fonts. Change this for other
          % Type 1 fonts.

          p +bsr.map
          p +bsr-interpolated.map
          p +hoekwater.map

         The "p +<filename>" construct tells dvips to use additional mapfiles; in this
         case, we also use bsr.map, which gives fontmap information for the Computer
         Modern and AMS fonts.

         Consult the teTeX distribution documentation on how (and where) to
         add fontmap files and how to make dvips aware of the location
         of these files.

        Setting up dvips so that each Type 1 font is embedded correctly.

         There is an option for dvips that makes dvips subset the Type 1 fonts
         that it embeds.  This means that the font information written out to the
         PS file is for only those glyphs which are used from that font.  This
         can cause problems with Distiller, and so the practice of subsetting
         fonts at the PS generation phase is not recommended. [The author of this
         document has been involved in fixing some of the font subsetting bugs
         of dvips, so there are other reasons for no subsetting fonts: BUGS!]

         In order to turn off dvips's font subsetting (whn using the -Ppdf option),
         look at the file <texmf>/dvips/config/config.pdf.  There should be a few
         lines that look like:

          % Partial Type1 font downloading. This will happen by default. Uncomment
          % this is you want to download entire fonts. NOT RECOMMENDED.

          j

         This means subsetting is on.  You can turn this off as follows (contrary to
         what the comments state):

          % Partial Type1 font downloading. This will happen by default. Uncomment
          % this is you want to download entire fonts. NOT RECOMMENDED.

          % j

         Alternatively, specify `-j0' on the command line when running dvips.

            Finally, the version of dvips that is bundled with teTeX 1.0.6 (or later)
            has an option that allows the character codes used in the PS file to be
            remapped [whatever that means!].  The option that controls this is -G.
            It is recommneded that one not use this option unless one is an expert
            with font encoding issues.  To turn this remapping off, specify `-G0'
            on the command line, or look in the config.pdf file for these lines:

          % Character shifting. You want to do this using the BlueSky/AMS/Y&Y fonts.
          % It remaps certain ``control character'' positions to an another range
          % where these characters are repeated. This option is compatible (and will
          % have no effect on) standard Adobe or other Type 1 fonts that do not use
          % to problematic positions. It is INCOMPATIBLE with any fonts that use
          % these control character positions but that DO NOT repeat them in the
          % exact same way as the BlueSky/... fonts. I don't know of any, but I
          % haven't even tested this with BaKoMa fonts.

          G

         And change the lines to:

          % Character shifting. You want to do this using the BlueSky/AMS/Y&Y fonts.
          % It remaps certain ``control character'' positions to an another range
          % where these characters are repeated. This option is compatible (and will
          % have no effect on) standard Adobe or other Type 1 fonts that do not use
          % to problematic positions. It is INCOMPATIBLE with any fonts that use
          % these control character positions but that DO NOT repeat them in the
          % exact same way as the BlueSky/... fonts. I don't know of any, but I
          % haven't even tested this with BaKoMa fonts.
          %
          % G

        To convert from PostScript to PDF, we recommend Acrobat Distiller or Ghostscript.  For Distiller, you want to use the UNIX command

        distill -embedallfonts on -subsetfonts on -maxsubsetpct 100 <filename>

        Mac and PC users should follow earlier instructions for converting PS to PDF for Distiller 3 and 4.

        For Ghostscript, you want to use

        ps2pdf -dMaxSubsetPct=100 -dCompatibilityLevel=1.2 -dSubsetFonts=true -dEmbedAllFonts=true


        Creating PostScript files in Windows

        Before creating PostScript files in Windows, you need to have a PostScript print driver.

        To add the Acrobat Distiller PPD with the Adobe driver (Windows 95/98) for Acrobat 3 users:

        1 Launch the setup utility for Adobe PostScript Printer Driver from the Drivers folder on the Acrobat 3.0 CD-ROM.

        2 Follow the instructions on-screen to progress through the introduction, accept the license agreement, and copy the setup program to your local disk.

        3 Choose "Local Printer" as your printer type, and click Next.

        4 Locate the acrobat3/distillr/xtras folder, choose Acrobat Distiller from the list of available PPDs, and click Next.

        5 Select FILE: from the list of available ports, and click Next.

        6 Choose "not install this printer" as the default printer or print a test page, and click Next.

        7 Click OK to accept the Acrobat Distiller PPD properties.

        8 Click Exit to exit the setup utility.

        9 Select Settings > Printers from the Start menu, right-click the Acrobat Distiller printer, and select Properties.

        10 Click the Fonts tab, then the Send Fonts As button.

        11 Select Outlines from the Send TrueType Fonts As: menu.

        12 Enter 1 in the Threshold to switch between down-loading bitmap or outline fonts…box, and click OK.
        Note: Entering this value ensures that TrueType fonts will not be converted to Type 3 fonts in a Post-Script file. Type 3 fonts can be the cause of unnecessarily large, slow PDF files and poor output.

        13 Click OK to close the Acrobat Distiller Properties dialog box.

        Add the Acrobat Distiller PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file to your list of printers and then create the PostScript file from your application. You need to install the PPD file only once. PPD files provide device-specific information to printer drivers to ensure the most efficient PostScript file output.
         

        To create a PostScript file
        (Windows 95):

        1 Start your application, and open the document to be printed to a PostScript file.

        2 Choose File > Print.

        3 Select Acrobat Distiller from the printer list, and click OK.

        4 Enter a pathname and filename for the PostScript file, using .ps as a file extension, select All Files (*.*) from the Save As Type menu, and click OK.

        Note: Some applications insist on using a .prn extension instead of the .ps extension that you designate. If this happens, you should rename the file with a .ps extension to allow Distiller to recognize and process the file.

        Creating PostScript on the Macintosh for Acrobat 3 users:

        Use the Adobe PSPrinter 8.3.1 PostScript driver to create PostScript files for distilling. You can install this driver from the Adobe Acrobat 3.0 CD-ROM. See the Getting Started Guide for more information. After installing this driver and selecting the Acrobat Distiller PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file in the Chooser, you can create PostScript files from most Macintosh applications. PPD files provide device-specific information to printer drivers to ensure the most efficient PostScript file output.

        To set up PSPrinter 8.3.1 with the
        Acrobat Distiller PPD (Macintosh):

        1 With PSPrinter 8.3.1 already installed, select the Chooser.

        2 Click the PSPrinter icon. Select any printer. preferably a printer that you do not normally print to.

        3 Click Setup. Navigate to System Folder: Extensions: Printer Descriptions, if you are not already there. Select Acrobat Distiller (PPD), and click Select.

        4 Close the Chooser.

        To create a PostScript file (Macintosh):

        1 Start your application, and open the document to be printed to a PostScript file.

        2 Select the Chooser.

        3 Click the PSPrinter icon. Choose the printer you set up with the Acrobat Distiller PPD. Close the Chooser.

        4 Return to your application.

        5 Choose File > Print.

        6 Select File as the destination if it is not already chosen. If the document is a color document or contains grayscale images, select the Color/Grayscale print option. (If you are using PSPrinter, click Options to set the Color/Grayscale Print option.)

        7 Click OK; the Save As dialog box appears.

        8 Select a destination, and enter a name for the PostScript file. See Naming PostScript files for information.

        9 Select the Binary and Level 2 Only buttons. Selecting these buttons creates the smallest and most efficient PostScript file.

        10 Select All But Standard 13 from the Font Inclusion menu. Any TrueType and PostScript fonts used in the original document are included in the file.

        11 Click Save. The PostScript file is created, and you are returned to your application.

      Frequently Asked Questions:

      1. My PDF files look fine when I view/print them one at a time. But when I print the entire proposal (or when I send the proposal to my Sponsored Research Office or equivalent) characters are missing and equations corrupted. What is happening?

      The files that you uploaded did not have fonts embedded or for Tex and LaTex users did not have fonts embedded and subsetted. If you are using Adobe Acrobat 4.x and download the FastLane Job Options and then open Adobe Acrobat and select the "FastLane" job options, you will embed fonts when converting files to PDF. Acrobat 3.x users should see embedding and subsetting fonts for Windows, Mac, Unix.

      2. I heard that NSF accepts only PDF Version 1.2 (Acrobat 3 compatible) or earlier files. While I know that I can create Acrobat 3 compatible files in Acrobat 4, why not just accept PDF Version 1.3?

      There are two important reasons for this:

      First, reviewers using Acrobat Reader 3 may not be able to view PDF Version 1.3-specific commands properly in their readers.

      Second, FastLane accepts multiple PDF files per proposal and merges these files into a single PDF file for viewing and printing. Merging multiple PDF files can have unpredictable results if Acrobat 4 (PDF Version 1.3) files are combined with PDF files of an earlier version. UNIX systems (including FastLane) can only save files in Acrobat 3 or earlier versions and thus it would not be possible for UNIX users to output Acrobat 4 files.

      Therefore, at the present time, if you use Acrobat 4, you must save your file to be Acrobat 3 compatible (this is the default in Acrobat 4). If you download, install, and use the "FastLane" job options correctly, you can create Acrobat 3 compatible files. NSF is working on long-term solutions for these version problems.

      3. My project description was 15 pages in my word processor but when I pull it up in FastLane it is 16 pages. What is happening?

      FastLane did not alter your file. MSWord and similar word processing packages determine page breaks according to the settings and capabilities of the chosen output device. For instance, the break points when printing directly from MSWord to your printer could be different than the break points when printing from MSWord into the PDF file. The default page size is set in the job options section of Adobe Distiller. Correct the default page size and then convert the file to PDF.

      For more details see http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/f366.htm (from Adobe).

      4. How do I combine two PDF documents together into one?

      Adobe Acrobat 4.X

      A. File Format = PostScript File
      B. PostScript Option = Language Level 2 C. ASCII or binary D. Pages = ALL E. Font Inclusion = All Embedded F. Check TrueType to Type 1             Adobe Acrobat 3.x 5. I am having trouble viewing my PDF file through FastLane. It appears blank.

      If you are using Adobe Reader 3.X, download the latest version of Adobe Reader from

      http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

      If you still encounter "An Error Occurred While Trying to Use This document" message or a blank page and a "Document Done" message after selecting a form to print or clicking on a Display form button, it is because you have the Adobe plug-in installed. The Adobe plug-in does not work for secure web sites.

      To delete the Adobe plug-in within Windows, delete all instances of the nppdf32.dll file from your computer. Mac users can delete the Adobe plug-in by deleting the PDFViewer file located in the Navigator plug-ins folder.

      You will then need to configure your browser to launch Reader as a helper:

      Netscape 4.0 and above:

      Windows:

      Check the Edit/Preferences/Navigator/Applications for the following:

      MIME type: application/pdf
      Application: c:\acrobat3\ACRORD32.exe

      NOTE: the application acrord32.exe should be found by browsing it from the system. The Path "C:\acrobat3\" is common but not necessarily the correct one.

      Macintosh:

      The following should be set from Netscape's Options/General Preferences menu item:

      Description: Portable Document Format
      Mime Type: application/pdf
      Suffixes: pdf
      Handled by: Application: Acrobat Reader 3.0.

      Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or above:

      To configure Internet Explorer or AOL to use an Acrobat 4.x viewer as a helper application:

      1. Start your Acrobat 4.x viewer.
      2. Choose File > Preferences > General.
      3. Deselect Web Browser Integration in the Options section and then click OK.
      4. Exit from the Acrobat 4.x viewer.
      5. Restart Internet Explorer or AOL.

      Note: The next time you select a link to a PDF file in Internet Explorer, a dialog box will appear that asks what you would like to do with the file. If you select "Open this file from its current location," Internet Explorer will open the PDF file in your Acrobat viewer as a helper appliction. If you select "Save this file to disk," Internet Explorer will save the PDF file to your hard disk, from where you can open it later. For more information see http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/98fe.htm (from Adobe).

      6. I cannot embed my fonts. I get an error that the font "cannot be embedded due to licensing restriction." I never saw that before. What is going on?
       

    This is a problem specific to Adobe Acrobat 4.0.   Acrobat 4.05, the update to 4.0, is less restrictive.  Acrobat 4.0 will not allow font embedding unless the font explicitly allows fonts to be embedded.  Acrobat 4.05 only restricts font embedding for those fonts that explicitly restrict their fonts from being embedded.  Adobe ships Acrobat 4.05 free of charge to registered Acrobat 4.0 users. For more details see http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/196e2.htm (from Adobe).  Adobe Acrobat 3.x does not check for licensing restrictions.

    Another alternative is to format the text in the original file with a different font that doesn't have a licensing restriction, and then create the PDF file.

    Finally, it is possible to embed outlines of your font instead of the restricted fonts themselves.  Some details (hints) of the fonts may be lost in the outlines so you should check your results.  If you have fonts that will not allow Adobe Distiller to embed them (due to licensing restrictions purposely or inadvertently set within the fonts), you can instead have the print driver for Adobe Distiller send the fonts as outlines.  To do so, open your print driver properties.  In Windows, go to Start -> Settings -> Printers.  Right click on the "Adobe Distiller" driver and choose "Properties."   Choose the "Fonts" tab and press the button "Send Fonts As...."  Next, change in the pull-down menu for "Send TrueType fonts as" from the default (Type 42) to "Outlines."  Click "OK" twice.  Open Distiller and choose the FastLane joboptions file. In your word processor, choose "Adobe Distiller" as your printer and print your file.

    For more information about this problem, see http://www.pdfzone.com/rich/fonts1.html (from PDFZone).
     

                7. I use LaTeX or TeX. How do I create PDF files?

              See earlier instructions in this document.

     
     

    8. How do I know whether or not my PDF file contains embeddable Type 1 or TrueType fonts?

    View your PDF file in Adobe Reader and click on "File>" then "Document Info>" then "Fonts." This will show you the list of fonts and their type (Type 1, TrueType, Type 3, etc.). It will also identify if any of the original fonts are substituted with others by Adobe Reader (on your system).  Type 1, otherwise known as PostScript fonts, are the most likely to be platform and output device independent (go to http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/fonts/postscript-type-1-fonts.html to learn more about Type 1 fonts).

    In Windows, you can also check whether a TrueType font is embeddable by installing Microsoft's font properties extension and then checking the font's properties:
        1. Download the font properties extension from Microsoft's Web site
            at www.microsoft.com/typography/property/property.htm.
        2. Install the extension according to the instructions from Microsoft.
        3. Right-click a font file and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
        4. Click the Embedding tab.

    For more information about this extension, refer to "An introduction to embedding," available at www.microsoft.com/typography/embed/embed2.htm .

    Also, an article on font embedding restrictions in PDFs is available at http://www.pdfzone.com/rich/fonts1.html.  A listing of font resources is available at http://www.pdfzone.com/rich/fontresources.html.
     
      9. I am having problems getting my scanner to be recognized by Acrobat.

      See http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/bc86.htm (from Adobe).

      10. Where can I get additional PDF information?

        Some non-NSF web sites that specialize in PDF information and instructions include:

        www.pdfresearch.com/Pages/howtof.html

        www.pdfzone.com

        www.planetpdf.com

        www.adobe.com (in particular http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/topissuesac.htm and

        http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html )

    If any of the links in this document are outdated, please notify the FastLane Help Desk at fastlane@nsf.gov . Suggestions for additions or revisions to this document may be sent to flpdf@nsf.gov .