1.  Download the PrimoPDF installer from www.PrimoPDF.com.
   NOTE There are two versions of the PrimoPDF installer available for download, one for 32-bit versions of Windows® and one for 64-bit versions. Be sure to download the file appropriate for your operating system.
2. When prompted for a destination, navigate to your desktop and click OK.
3. On the desktop, double-click the downloaded installer. Typically, the file is named FreewarePrimoXXSetup.exe, where XX is a two-digit number.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
   NOTE PrimoPDF requires the .NET 2.0 Framework. If the .NET Framework is not detected during installation, you will be prompted to install it. Click Install .NET to continue. The Windows Installer 3.1 will be installed, followed by the .NET framework. Upon completion, the installation of PrimoPDF will resume.

To uninstall PrimoPDF

1. Click Start, then point to Programs > activePDF > PrimoPDF, and click Uninstall PrimoPDF.
2. Follow the instructions on the screen to uninstall PrimoPDF.

PrimoPDF installs as a PDF printer.  This means you can use PrimoPDF to print your documents to PDF from any program on your computer. 

To create a PDF

1. From the document-authoring program, choose File>Print.
2. Select the PrimoPDF printer from the list of available printers and click OK.
3. The PrimoPDF window appears.  Enter a name and location for the PDF file. You can also set other PrimoPDF options at this time. See Setting PrimoPDF Custom Preferences for details.

   

4. If the selected location already contains a PDF with the same name, the File Exists window appears. Choose from the available options.

• Append. Adds the pages from your new PDF to the existing PDF. Pages will be inserted after the last page of the existing PDF. 
• Overwrite. Replaces the existing PDF with the new PDF. 
• Remember my choice. PrimoPDF will continue to apply the same option when encountering existing files.
  NOTE You can change this setting in the PrimoPDF Program Options.  See PrimoPDF Program Options for details.

5. Click Save. 
   NOTE By default, the PDF will automatically be opened in your default PDF viewer. You can change this behavior in the PrimoPDF Program Options.  See PrimoPDF Program Options for details.

PrimoPDF includes four predefined configurations, each of which has been designed to produce PDF files at an optimized file size and quality level, depending on how you intend to use the document.

• Screen.  Produces a PDF optimized for screen viewing. This configuration creates small PDF files and reduces image resolution to 72 dpi, which may reduce print quality.
• Print.  Produces a PDF optimized for printing to most home and office printers.
• eBook. Produces a PDF optimized for eBook usage.
• Prepress. Produces a PDF optimized for printing to commercial-quality printers. This configuration creates large PDF files and will automatically embed all fonts and high resolution images for best results when printed on a system other than the one on which the PDF was generated.

For most users, these four configurations should satisfy all of your PDF output needs. If you find it necessary, you may select Custom to access the PrimoPDF Custom Preferences window, enabling you to further customize your PDF output. Refer to Setting PrimoPDF Custom Preferences for further details. PrimoPDF Document Properties allows you to specify a title, subject, author, and keywords for your PDF document. This supplies users with basic information about the document, and provides a useful way to search for information.

To set Document Properties

1. From the PrimoPDF window, click Document Properties.

2. In the Document Properties window, enter the desired properties and click OK.

• Document Properties.  The Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords can be set to provide the user with additional information about the document. 
• Always Use These Settings. If set, PrimoPDF will apply the same Document Properties to subsequent PDFs.

PrimoPDF enables you to set security for your PDF document, so that you can control the types of actions users can perform on the file.

To set PDF Security

1. From the PrimoPDF window, click Security.

2. In the Document Security window, enter the desired settings and click OK.

• Password to Open.  If set, users must enter the password to view the PDF.
• Password to Change Security.  If set, users must provide the specified password in order to change security settings for the PDF. 
• Encryption Length.  Choose from either 40-bit (use for Acrobat Reader® 4.0 and below) or 128-bit encryption (use for Reader 5.0 and above).
• Security Settings. These settings will restrict a user's ability to change the PDF document.  If the password to change security is set, the user must enter the password in order to change these settings. 

The following security settings can be selected: 

• Allow users to print my PDF. If checked, the Print option will be available in the PDF viewing application. If unchecked, the Print option will be grayed out.
• Allow users to copy text and graphics from my PDF. If checked, users will be able to select and copy text and images from the PDF. If unchecked, users will be unable to copy text and images.
• Allow users to add comments. If checked, users will be able to add PDF comments if this option is supported by their PDF viewer. If unchecked, users will be unable to add comments.
• Allow users to change my PDF, including editing text and adding or removing pages. If checked, users will be able to edit the contents of the PDF if this option is supported by their PDF viewer. If unchecked, users will be unable to make changes to the PDF.
  NOTE:The Security Setting options will be grayed out until an Owner Password is specified.
• Always Use These Settings. If set, PrimoPDF will apply the selected Security settings (including password(s)) to subsequent PDFs.

PrimoPDF's Program Options enable you to control how the program operates.

To set PrimoPDF Program Options

1. From the PrimoPDF window, choose Options.

2. In the Program Options window, configure the options you wish to set and click OK.

Configuration to Use.  Allows you to select from your previously saved configurations or one of the following predefined configurations.

• Ebook. If selected, PrimoPDF will create a PDF using settings optimized for e-books.
• Prepress. If selected, PrimoPDF will create a PDF using settings optimized for printing on a commercial printer. This configuration will automatically embed all fonts.
• Default. If selected, PrimoPDF will create a PDF using its default settings, designed for output intended for a wide variety of uses.
  NOTE    Refer to Customizing your PDF output for details on creating custom configuration files.
• File Output.  Enables you to specify the action taken by PrimoPDF when encountering a PDF with the same name in the specified location.
  • Append. If selected, PrimoPDF will add the pages from your new PDF to the existing PDF. Pages will be inserted after the last page of the existing PDF.
    NOTE    This is the default setting in PrimoPDF.
  • Overwrite. If selected, the existing PDF will be overwritten by the new PDF. 
• Launch An Application After Conversion. If selected, PrimoPDF will launch the chosen application or file after the PDF is created.  Click Application to browse to the file to launch.
  NOTE  By default, PrimoPDF will launch your default PDF viewing application upon completing each conversion.
• Conversion Log.  If selected, PrimoPDF will generate a conversion log detailing problems encountered during the PDF conversion.
• Enable Messages.  If selected, PrimoPDF will display messages as they occur.

The activePDF Automatic Update Client allows you to choose how often PrimoPDF checks for software updates. PrimoPDF requires internet access to check for software updates.

To change activePDF Automatic Update Client settings:

1. Click the Start button in the taskbar, point to All Programs, then Accessories, and click Windows Explorer.
2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the directory C:\Program Files\activePDF\APUpdate.
3. Double-click APUpdateClient.exe to open the Update Settings window.

PrimoPDF enables you to customize your PDF files by configuring a number of PDF output options. You may also save your custom settings as a configuration file, for later reuse.

To configure PrimoPDF Custom Settings

1. From the PrimoPDF window, choose Custom.

 

2. In the PrimoPDF Custom Preferences window, select from the list of categories on the left to access the corresponding settings.

3. After making the desired changes, click OK. The Save Settings window will be displayed.
4. Choose Yes to save your settings as a configuration file. 
   Choose No to proceed without creating a configuration file.

5. If prompted, choose a name and location for your configuration file and click Save. 

6. In the PrimoPDF window, click OK to create your PDF.

The General pane allows you to set custom settings for your PDF output.

• PDF Version.  Sets the PDF version for compatibility with PDF viewing and editing applications.
  • PDF Version 1.3. Compatible with Adobe Reader version 4.0 or later.
  • PDF Version 1.4. Compatible with Adobe Reader version 5.0 or later.
• PDF Resolution.  The resolution that you can set the entire document to.
• Auto Rotate Pages.  If set, PDF page will be automatically rotated so that the majority of text is horizontal. This can be useful when creating PDFs from landscape documents, so that pages are easier to read onscreen.

Downsampling is used to help reduce the size of your outputted PDF file. It allows you to optimize the images in the PDF to achieve the best balance between visual quality and file size.

Color Images

• Convert CMYK to RGB for onscreen viewing.  Converts color images from the CMYK color model (used for printing) to the RGB color model (used for onscreen display).
• Downsampling.  Downsampling is a process by which PrimoPDF reduces an image’s resolution (to the resolution specified) by discarding pixels. Since there is less information that needs to be saved, the resultant PDF file sizes are considerably smaller.
  NOTE: If you are using a downsampling technique, you need to specify the desired resolution for the outputted image. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). PrimoPDF has four options for downsampling color images:
  • Don't downsample. With this option selected, PrimoPDF does not downsample the images in your PDF file. This option produces the highest quality of output, and should be used if you are creating PDF files for printing to a commercial quality printer.
  • Average. When average downsampling is selected, PrimoPDF averages neighboring pixels, replacing pixels of similar value with the average pixel color. Averaging generally produces good quality results and is suitable for printing to most desktop printers.
  • Subsample. Subsampling means that PrimoPDF takes a pixel from a sampled area and replaces the entire area with the selected pixel. Subsampling results in smaller file sizes and faster PDF creation, but you may notice a decrease in visual quality.
  • Bicubic. When bicubic downsampling is applied, PrimoPDF uses bicubic interpolation to generate new pixel values. In plain language, PrimoPDF applies a special averaging method to the image to create the highest quality possible. The bicubic option can create more pleasing results than other subsampling methods, although the PDF file is slower to generate.
• Downsampling Threshold.  Reduces image resolution to assist in reducing the PDF file size. You can establish a color image resolution threshold. Any images having a resolution above the value specified will be downsampled to the resolution specified.
  NOTE: Resolution is measured in pixels per inch.

Grayscale Images

• Downsampling.  Downsampling is a process by which PrimoPDF reduces an image’s resolution (to the resolution specified) by discarding pixels. Since there is less information that needs to be saved, the resultant PDF file sizes are considerably smaller.
  NOTE: If you are using a downsampling technique, you need to specify the desired resolution for the outputted image. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). PrimoPDF has four options for downsampling color images:
  • Don't downsample. With this option selected, PrimoPDF does not downsample the images in your PDF file. This option produces the highest quality of output, and should be used if you are creating PDF files for printing to a commercial quality printer.
  • Average. When average downsampling is selected, PrimoPDF averages neighboring pixels, replacing pixels of similar value with the average pixel color. Averaging generally produces good quality results and is suitable for printing to most desktop printers.
  • Subsample. Subsampling means that PrimoPDF takes a pixel from a sampled area and replaces the entire area with the selected pixel. Subsampling results in smaller file sizes and faster PDF creation, but you may notice a decrease in visual quality.
  • Bicubic. When bicubic downsampling is applied, PrimoPDF uses bicubic interpolation to generate new pixel values. In plain language, PrimoPDF applies a special averaging method to the image to create the highest quality possible. The bicubic option can create more pleasing results than other subsampling methods, although the PDF file is slower to generate.
• Downsampling Threshold.  Reduces image resolution to assist in reducing the PDF file size. You can establish a color image resolution threshold. Any images having a resolution above the value specified will be downsampled to the resolution specified.
  NOTE: Resolution is measured in pixels per inch.

Monochrome Images

• Compression.  Set the compression filter for monochrome images:
  • CCITT (International Coordinating Committee for Telephony and Telegraphy) Fax Encoding.This is a lossless compression method that uses standard fax compression and only applies to black and white bitmap images.
  • Run Length Encode.A form of compression that is particularly effective on files that contain many long runs of the same byte, value, or character. It is primarily used on binary files.
  • Flate Encode.Uses the ZIP compression method to reduce image size without affecting the image's quality.
• Downsampling.  Downsampling is a process by which PrimoPDF reduces an image’s resolution (to the resolution specified) by discarding pixels. Since there is less information that needs to be saved, the resultant PDF file sizes are considerably smaller.
  NOTE: If you are using a downsampling technique, you need to specify the desired resolution for the outputted image. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). PrimoPDF has four options for downsampling color images:
  • Don't downsample. With this option selected, PrimoPDF does not downsample the images in your PDF file. This option produces the highest quality of output, and should be used if you are creating PDF files for printing to a commercial quality printer.
  • Average. When average downsampling is selected, PrimoPDF averages neighboring pixels, replacing pixels of similar value with the average pixel color. Averaging generally produces good quality results and is suitable for printing to most desktop printers.
    NOTE: The Average method is not suitable for monochrome images.
  • Subsample. Subsampling means that PrimoPDF takes a pixel from a sampled area and replaces the entire area with the selected pixel. Subsampling results in smaller file sizes and faster PDF creation, but you may notice a decrease in visual quality.
  • Bicubic. When bicubic downsampling is applied, PrimoPDF uses bicubic interpolation to generate new pixel values. In plain language, PrimoPDF applies a special averaging method to the image to create the highest quality possible. The bicubic option can create more pleasing results than other subsampling methods, although the PDF file is slower to generate.
    NOTE: The Bicubic method is not suitable for monochrome images.
• Downsampling Threshold.  Reduces image resolution to assist in reducing the PDF file size. You can establish a color image resolution threshold. Any images having a resolution above the value specified will be downsampled to the resolution specified.
  NOTE: Resolution is measured in pixels per inch.