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About PDF Output

Short for "Portable Document Format," PDF is an open file format created by Adobe. PDF files represent two-dimensional documents in a device-independent and resolution-independent fixed-layout document format.

You can generate PDF output from your project directly, or you can generate a PDF while simultaneously building FrameMaker or Word output.

The output appears as one long book, even if the project consists of hundreds of topics. After you generate the output directly (without going through another application, such as Word), you can view and print the output.

PDF is a good choice if:

You want to use a format with which most end users are familiar.
You want users to be able to view the book online, as well as print it.

PDF output consists of a collection of files that you can print or distribute to users. This includes:

A file with a .pdf extension. This is the file that contains the consolidated topic content from your project. This is the main file and the only one that is essential. This is the file that you would provide to a printer or distribute to end users.
A file with an .mcbook extension. This is the main file that allows you to view the document with additional navigation in MadCap's built-in Book Viewer. It is necessary only for viewing the document in the MadCap Book Viewer. Otherwise, you do not need this file.
A file with an .fltoc extension. This is the file that is generated if you have incorporated a table of contents into the book. It is necessary only for viewing the document in the MadCap Book Viewer. Otherwise, you do not need this file.
A Resources folder with various ancillary files, such as style sheets and images. They are necessary only for viewing the document in the MadCap Book Viewer. Otherwise, you do not need these files.

Output Type Comparison Table—Print-based Output Types

Following are the various print-based output types available, with the distinguishing features of each.

	PDF	XHTML	XPS	MS Word	FrameMaker
Primary benefits	Familiar to many users	View output online	Smaller file size than PDF Better print quality Easy file sharing Enhanced security	Work with output in Word	Work with output in FrameMaker
Main entry file extension	.pdf	.htm	.xps	.xml (default)	.fm or .book
Output files necessary to distribute	.pdf file only	All files generated	.xps file only	All files generated	All files generated
Program used to view output	MadCap Book Viewer, browser window, or Adobe PDF Reader	MadCap Book Viewer or browser window	MadCap Book Viewer or browser window	Microsoft Word	Adobe FrameMaker

Note: The MadCap Book Viewer is simply used for viewing the output after generating it from Flare. The Book Viewer is not redistributable. However, end users can still view PDF output using a browser window or the Adobe PDF Reader, and they can view XHTML or XPS outputs from browser windows.

Note: Some font families contain bold or italic variants (e.g., the font Georgia has a relative named "Georgia Bold" and another named "Georgia Italic"). If you are generating native Adobe PDF or Microsoft XPS output, bold or italic formatting that is applied to text will display properly in the output ONLY if the font you are using already has a bold or italic font relative. You can determine the availability of such fonts by opening the Fonts folder from the Control Panel in Windows. For example, let's say you open the Fonts folder and see that, in addition to many other fonts, you have the following: Andalus, Angsana New, Angsana New Bold, Angsana New Bold Italic, and Angsana New Italic. If you use Andalus and apply bold or italic to some of the text, that content WILL NOT display in bold or italic in PDF or XPS output. However, if you use Angsana New and apply bold or italic to some of the text, that content WILL display in bold or italic in PDF or XPS output. The reason for this is that Andalus does not have a bold or italic relative, whereas the Angsana New font does.