Shadows in PDF DP7

[JaffDave]

Has anything changed in the export of a document to a PDF.

I have a problem exporting a document that contains a shadow on some text. In the final PDf it shows the shadow as a block. I'm sure i used to be able to convert the text to an editable shape / ungroup them and the problem would be resolved. But it still exports the text with a block behind it.

I found that if I convert the back image under the text to a bitmap it resolves the problem only this causes a color shift in the background, no good when I'm trying to keep constant colors throughout the document.

Maybe I' getting old but I'm sure something has changed here.

Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated.

[gwpriester]

Any soft shadows (Bevels, Extrusions) are rendered as a bitmap when you create a PDF. Unless it is a large shadow, you might be better off just creating a duplicate of the text with the same shadow color.

In the olden days, before the Shadow Tool, you could create a vector soft shadow using a blend. A vector shadow does not become a bitmap.

[JaffDave]

Thanks for the work around Gary. I hadn't thought of creating shadows that way.

[mwenz]

I am not understanding why using the shadow tool, or making a copy and feathering it--which both do make bitmaps--is an issue. It is also a long time technique. It should cause no issues going to print or even for web-work.

If the PDF is going south, there is something not being done correctly. Got a sample XDP file? I cannot make the PDF output poorly as you describe.

Take care, Mike

[fdog]

This is very timely as I am having a similar issue. I am trying to output a document in CMYK and the drop shadow problem is even worse. It seems drop shadows are always RGB even though I apply a CMYK value to the shadow.

Is there a fix for this?

[mwenz]

This is very timely as I am having a similar issue. I am trying to output a document in CMYK and the drop shadow problem is even worse. It seems drop shadows are always RGB even though I apply a CMYK value to the shadow.

Is there a fix for this?

How are you determining that the shadow (or any other part) is RGB?

I have attached two screen shots of your sample PDF. One, entitled no_rgb.png shows just that, there are no RGB values in the file. The other shows the cursor over the shadow (kind of tiny) showing the cmyk value.

take care, Mike

[fdog]

Fair enough. I did not test to see if it is rgb, but it looks like it is rgb since this is what an rgb transparency would look like on a cmyk object output to pdf. In any case I cannot figure out how to get past this. I have apply various values of K to the shadow and each time I output to pdf (providing I can get past the "out of memory" error) I get this result.

I am really very frustrated with using xara for any sort of cmyk publishing <--- venting

[mwenz]

Visually--that is, on-screen--I cannot imagine seeing the difference in a shadow. Really.

Do you have a sample file to upload? Or, perhaps simply tell me what K value and tint percent you would like and I would be happy to create a simple file and check the output so we can both be on the same page.

take care, Mike

[JaffDave]

Here is the 'Sample' Xara File and the output from the PDF.

In the PDF the Top heading has a square around it. Nothing complex in this Xara document yeet the problem still plagues me.

[Soquili]

Rather than use a Shadow for the white portion of the top heading, using a one step outer contour then Inset Path does not produce the rectangle around the heading.