🚀 go-pugleaf

This is a screen display issue in Acrobat, which can be seen in PDFs authored in different tools. When you print the PDF, line thickness should be consistent.

For more details, see my article at <http://www.planetpdf.com/creative/article.asp?ContentID=6503>
(specifically under "Inconsistent Line Thickness" and "Line Thickness Comparison").

Acrobat's display was improved in recent versions, but the problem may still be encountered.

Possible measures to reduce the likelihood of the thickness inconsistency are using thinner lines (eg redefine "Very Thin", which is usually 0.25 pt; minimum thickness in FrameMaker is 0.015pt), and having default display magnifications that are multiples of 50%.

In Acrobat/Reader, Preferences, Page Display > Resolution: best display results are when "Use System Setting" is selected, rather than custom resolutions.

Shlomo Perets
MicroType, FrameMaker/Acrobat training & consulting

"24 easy ways to improve your PDFs with FrameMaker-to-Acrobat TimeSavers/Assistants",
 <http://www.microtype.com/ImprovePDF.html>

Hi, Ed:

You haven't given the settings for the interior row rulings, just heading/footing-row separators, and outside rulings. What are the settings for row rulings?

HTH

Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices

ShlomoPerets: That's not it. As I said, I can see the different line widths in FRAMEMAKER even before it is PDFed. I have to magnify quite a bit, but it's pretty obvious at 400%.

Peter, my mistake. Actually I did give interior row rulings but I didn't put a heading on them. Let's try again:

COLUMN RULING
1st: Very Thin | Others: Very Thin

BODY ROW RULING
Every 2nd: Very Thin | Others: Very Thin

HEADING AND FOOTING RULING
Separators: Very Thin | Rows: Very Thin

OUTSIDE RULING:
Top: Very Thin | Bottom: Very Thin
Left: None | Right: None

It's set to "every 2nd" because there is no setting for "every." When I experiment with different settings (i.e., using every 3rd, etc.) I can see the changes take place but it has no effect on my problem. I've tried with and without heading rows and it makes no difference.

In your first message, you said -- "...every third row having its bottom ruling slightly thicker than the rest. You can barely notice in FM unless you zoom in to 400%, but it really shows up on the PDFs." -- and this is what I responded to.

Also, if you use an LCD screen, check the FM display at the native resolution of the screen ("resizing to fit", such as using a 1024x768 resolution on a 1280x1024 screen, would intensify pixel rounding error).

Shlomo Perets
MicroType, FrameMaker/Acrobat training & consulting

"24 easy ways to improve your PDFs with FrameMaker-to-Acrobat TimeSavers/Assistants",
 <http://www.microtype.com/ImprovePDF.html>

Thanks Shlomo. It did not seem to be a rounding error because it is so methodical (and my screen is set to native resolution).

I just did a few tests to see at what magnification it shows up. It appears at 400%, but when I went to see at 800% (and 1600%) it was gone!

So I suppose it IS a rounding error!

OK, thanks for the help. I'm not going to worry about it.

e
d

Oh, BTW, on your suggestion I made "very thin" thinner, and that fixed the problem. Thanks!

e
d

You know, Ed... thin is in.