(Windows'9x)+(AdobePS 4.3)+(FrameMaker)=>(Entomology 101)

[Dov Isaacs <isaacs@xxxxxxxxx>]

FrameMaker & PDF Forum Readers:

If you do not print PostScript or generate PDF files using Windows'9x,
please excuse this intrusion. You may safely ignore this message.

Based on feedback (personal email and on-forum posts) as well as via
my own personal experiences, there appears to be a very serious 
problem with the AdobePS 4.3 driver in certain circumstances. As far 
as we know, the problem has only been reported with FrameMaker in 
conjunction with this driver release, but it is indeed possible that 
other applications may also exhibit this problem with that version of 
the driver.


SYMPTOMS:

When printing a "long" document, the system or the application
that is "printing" appears to "hang" irretrievably. Short of 
rebooting the computer, regular work cannot continue. The problem
seems to be avoided by printing the "long" document by parts.

The problem only seems to affect FrameMaker output.


WHAT WE KNOW:

The problem appears NOT to be associated simply with the number of pages 
in the document. The bug is AdobePS 4.2.4 through 4.2.6 that limited
the number of pages to 256 in GDI applications was fixed for AdobePS 4.3.
We have successfully printed some FrameMaker documents with many hundreds
of pages with AdobePS 4.3.

Output from applications that generate most, if not all, of their own
PostScript output stream (including Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, CorelDRAW, Corel Ventura 
Publisher, Macromedia Freehand, and Quark XPress) do not exhibit this
problem.

The problem seems to occur with documents in which there are a very large
number of EPS graphics that the application program must pass "through" 
the driver. By "a very large number of EPS" graphics, I mean that I can
reproduce the problem with a 373 page document that has approximately
4500 EPS graphics. The problem doesn't occur if I print the same document
with "only" 3000 EPS graphics or the first 200 pages of that document
with all 2400 EPS graphics.

The problem may be memory related. In the examples related above, I was
running on a system with 256 MB memory with a 384 MB paging file.

We believe that the reason we see the problem so far only with FrameMaker
is that no other application is so readily and generally used for such 
long documents. Conceivably, the same problem could occur with long
Microsoft Word documents that have oodles of imported EPS graphics files.

We know of no similar problem with the AdobePS 4.2.x drivers (where x>=4),
but then again, those versions have a 256 page limit.


WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW:

(1) Has anyone seen this problem with other applications in conjunction
with AdobePS 4.3? And if so, what is the profile of the documents or data?

(2) Has anyone seen this problem with FrameMaker where it has NOT involved
EPS graphics in the document, i.e., oodles of TIFF images, for example?


WORKAROUNDS:

(1) You can print "by parts." Print the first "n" pages of "m" followed by
the next "n" pages, etc. For creating PDF files, you can combine the PDF
files via the "insert" function of Acrobat.

(2) You can punt back as far as AdobePS 4.2.4, remembering the problems
with the pre-2015 PPD files and that TrueType will yield proper search
results for Acrobat.


ACTION ITEMS:

The bug has been reported to the Adobe PostScript Driver QA and Development
groups along with files that demonstrate the problem. We consider this a
bug of the highest severity and priority. We are awaiting their analysis of
the bug and response as to when a fix can be provided. 

I will report back to these forums when we have any news of substance to
report to you including availability of a fix, other workarounds, or request
for additional information.



On a personal note ... I know that some of you are peeved that there wasn't
an earlier response. I do my best to respond when there is actually something
to be said. I have also been out of the office for approximately three of the
last five weeks, two of those weeks dealing with family issues out-of-town.
(The good news is that "shaloshim" is now over, thank you!)

Late sunsets on Friday evenings are good for getting some of this stuff
done and posted. Shabbat Shalom!

        

- Dov