New default in Adobe Distiller 8.1 causes trouble
By Jacob Schäffer
- PDF workflow specialist and Lead Developer of Grafikhuset Publi PDF,
Grafikhuset (House of Graphics)
A security related issue makes upgrading Adobe Distiller® from 8.0 to 8.1 break several work flows that wraps Distiller functionality.
Such work flows are broken because a new default setting in Adobe Distiller® 8.1 reverse the meaning of the /F command parameter documented in the Acrobat Distiller API Reference. According to this API Reference the /F command parameter can be set when it's expedient to restrict the directories that PostScript® file operators can access.
However, beginning with Acrobat 8.1, Adobe Distiller® restricts the directories that PostScript® file operators can access by default. The new behavior simply limits directory access to the temp and font cache directories, and from now on the /F command parameter can be set when it's expedient to remove the restriction.
Version 8.0 and earlier versions of Adobe Distiller® allowed PostScript file operators to have unlimited directory access by default. When Grafikhuset Publi PDF queues are set-up to run with Adobe Distiller® as JobInterpreter Adobe Distiller® is required to have unlimited directory access.
Grafikhuset Publi PDF versions 1.50.0292 or later fully supports both earlier versions of Adobe Distiller® (back to version 5.05) and versions that implement the change beginning with Adobe Distiller® 8.1.
The adverse effect in a general sense
If your work flow cannot produce anything than .LOG files containing a message like the following:
%%[ Error: undefinedfilename; OffendingCommand:
file ]%%
Stack:
(r)
(some file name)
%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end of file) will be ignored ]%%
%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ]%%
your work flow is likely to be stricken by the new Adobe Distiller® default setting.
If you cannot wait for a work flow software update the only reasonable thing to do is:
- Remove Acrobat 8.1
- Re-install Acrobat 8.0
- Disable automatic updates for Acrobat 8.0 until your work flow software is supporting Adobe Distiller® 8.1.
Please feel free to send comments on this whitepaper to jsATgrafikhusetDOTdk.
Last revised: 01-10-2008.