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InDesign CS5 PDF export status

New Here ,
Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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It seems that now with CS5 we no longer receive a pdf export status bar. Export is running in background. When exporting large files, the only way I know it's still working or exporting is the error message when I try and close document... Saying task running in BKG.

In Cs3 and 4 there was a status bar that displayed progress. Is this a preference that can be turned on or off?

Annoying when exporting large files with many pages...

Any help?

Thanks

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Advocate ,
Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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From the Help file:

"Background tasks
When you save large documents or export them to PDF or IDML files, you can continue working on your document. You can also queue up multiple PDF exports in the background. Use the Background Tasks panel (Window > Utilities > Background Tasks) to view the progress of the export processes. See “Background Tasks panel” on page 487."

Where it says:

"Background Tasks panel
With the ability to export PDF files in the background, you can continue working on your document instead of waiting until InDesign is done exporting. You can also queue up multiple PDF exports in the background. Use the Background Tasks panel to view the progress of the export processes.
1
Export one or more documents to Adobe PDF.
2
To view the progress, choose Window > Utilities > Background Tasks."

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New Here ,
Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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Thanks! It's learn on the fly here...

Can I turn background tasks off?

>From the Help file:

>"Background tasks

>When you save large documents or export them to PDF or IDML files,

>you can continue working on your document. You can also queue up

>multiple PDF exports in the background. Use the Background Tasks

>panel (Window > Utilities > Background Tasks) to view the progress

>of the export processes. See "Background Tasks panel" on page 487."

>

>Where it says:

>"Background Tasks panel

>With the ability to export PDF files in the background, you can

>continue working on your document instead of waiting until InDesign

>is done exporting. You can also queue up multiple PDF exports in the

>background. Use the Background Tasks panel to view the progress of

>the export processes.

>1

>Export one or more documents to Adobe PDF.

>2

>To view the progress, choose Window > Utilities > Background Tasks."

>

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Guru ,
Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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No, you can't turn background tasks off, but if you go to here you can find a script that will do it in the foreground.  I often use it for large documents when I am exporting them on a machine I'm not using, obviously you can't keep on working like you can if you do it in the background.

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LEGEND ,
Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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We recently moved a lot of our work from CS3 to CS5, and one of the things we did was adjust the script we use to export documents (which does a bunch of things before you export, runs the export, and does some stuff after) to deal with the background export. Of relevence here, as soon as it starts the export, it forces the Background Tasks panel to be visible

  • , and when the background export is complete[**], it pops up a modal dialog box telling you so [in our case it asks a question, but that's not too important].
  • It seems like it would be trivial to adapt it for the general case, where it would be a startup script and would catch all export completions and pop up a dialog, and similar force the Bg.Tasks panel to be visible whenever anyone starts an export.

    Would that be useful? Of general interest? We wouldn't use it (because we have other requirements) but if anyone is interested it's really not work to do the above.

    [* -- this isn't as useful as I'd hoped, because the Background Tasks panel may not be wide enough to be really useful and with the progress bar visible in its default position. And it might already be up but in some obscure place on the screen that's tough to notice. Still, it's not like this is harmful,]

    [** -- Actually, it's a little more complicated than just catching the afterExport event. Because if you pop up a confirmation dialog from the afterExport handler, the Background Tasks panel doesn't have time to update, and you see the progress bar from the just-finished export still there, with a misleading percentage, sometimes as low as 0% for fast IDML exports. So instead, it catches the afterExport event and queues an idleEvent task, and then waits for the idleEvent to be called. I'm not 100% sure how long that can delay things, but it seems to be less than a second [perhaps substantially less], though I suppose it might depend on what you were doing.I guess I should modify our script to benchmark the time difference and report it...]

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    Community Beginner ,
    Jun 12, 2018 Jun 12, 2018

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    LATEST

    Thank you.  Most helpful.  I need to see the progress when outputting press printruns from 10-up to 88-up as a single ad (especially a complex ad with heavy vectors or layering) can really add up in time and file size.  Sometimes how long it takes to export the pdf file will determine if the printrun will later on fail the Prinergy Evo Tiff plate-producing servers!  (Not funny but true.)  Thank you for posting!

    Mark F.

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    Guest
    Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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    There is also a progress bar - on the very top row of the application window, just to the right of the tile/arrange workspace icon pulldown.

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    Community Expert ,
    Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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    That isn't really a progress bar, just an indicator that the task is running. If you've been among the unfortunate souls who've had a background export freeze you'll appreciate the difference -- that little animation will just keep right on running while the real progress bar is completely stopped.

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    LEGEND ,
    Mar 16, 2011 Mar 16, 2011

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    Wow, no interest? I would have thought otherwise.    

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    Community Beginner ,
    Mar 17, 2011 Mar 17, 2011

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    Seconded. I'm one of those affected by lock-ups when producing a pdf in the foreground (the fault is reproducible by Adobe and they have my files ...) and hopefully one day it will be solved. Looking forward to the day when the full functionality I had in CS4 is returned to me, I have already found that in trying to work in CS5 I kept forgetting to open the background processes panel to see what is happening, so if something can do that for me or remind me what is going on, seems useful to me.

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    LEGEND ,
    Mar 17, 2011 Mar 17, 2011

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    OK, well, here we go. I hope people find it useful -- if so, I'l make an announcement thread so people are more inclined to see it.

    You can also download it from here.  See How to Install InDesign Scripts for installation instructions. If you save it in the

    Startup Scripts folder, it will run automatically when InDesign is started. Running it a second time disables it.

    // exportPop.jsx -- pops up Background Tasks when you start an export
    //   and a modal dialog when an export finishes.
    // Beta version. Please post feedback at
    //   http://forums.adobe.com/thread/822192
    // John Hawkinson, 17 March 2011
    // Save in STARTUP SCRIPTS folder to start automatically.

    #targetengine session

    (function() {
        var
            old1 = app.eventListeners.itemByName("exportPop1"),
            old2 = app.eventListeners.itemByName("exportPop2");

        if (old1.isValid || old2.isValid) {
            if (old1.isValid) { old1.remove(); }
            if (old2.isValid) { old2.remove(); }
            alert("Export pop up window removed.\n"+
                "Indesign will behave as normal.");
            return;
        }

        app.addEventListener("beforeExport", function() {
            var
                tasksPanel = app.panels.itemByName("Background Tasks");
            if (tasksPanel) { tasksPanel.visible=true; }
        }).name = "exportPop1";

        app.addEventListener("afterExport", function(ev1) {
            var task, listener;
            task = app.idleTasks.add({ name: "exportPop", sleep: 1000});
            listener = task.addEventListener(IdleEvent.ON_IDLE,
                function(ev2) {
                    listener.remove();
                    task.remove();
                    alert(ev1.format+" export complete of "
                        +ev1.fullName+" at "+ev1.timeStamp);
                });
        }).name = "exportPop2";

        alert("Export pop up window installed\n"+
            "Background Tasks will appear the start of an export\n"+
            "and a dialog will appear after each export complete.");
    }());

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    Guru ,
    Mar 17, 2011 Mar 17, 2011

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    That's quite cool John, I like how it just waits until you do a normal export, you don't have to remember to do anything differently.  Personally I rely on the "View PDF after exporting" option to let me know when it's finished.

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    LEGEND ,
    Mar 28, 2011 Mar 28, 2011

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    Not much feedback, so I made an announcement thread in the Scripting forum.

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