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Yes, this is exactly the problem. We would like customers to see the spaces
when they copy the code from the PDF.
So you have not found a reasonable solution either?
Someone suggested HTML, but we are already going from Author-it 4 to Word
2003 to PDF (through Acrobat 8), so tossing another format in between sounds
like a nightmare.
Thank you,
Barb
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+barbphilbrick=caslonsvcs -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+barbphilbrick=caslonsvcs -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Paul Goble
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 5:28 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Create PDF with spaces intact?
I think the problem in question--one which is also an annoyance for me--is
that the code snippet appears correctly in the PDF, but when the code is
copied from the PDF, leading spaces are not copied to the clipboard.
This happens because PDF encodes the visual appearance of a document.
A PDF text object is defined as a line of characters beginning at particular
X-Y coordinates. To keep the PDF file small, these are normally the
coordinates of the first *visible* character. There's a great summary on how
PDF works at
<http://www.pdf-tools.com/public/downloads/whitepapers/whitepaper-pdfprimer.
pdf>.
Another way to state the question is: "Is there a way to tell Acrobat to
encode leading spaces in a text object?" Or perhaps, "Is there another sort
of object I can embed into a PDF file which would allow the user to copy
literal text to the clipboard?"
The best solution may be to provide a companion text file or Web site for
the examples.
--
Paul Goble
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