Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

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Puffolino
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Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Puffolino »

Watermarks a fine, but it would be great to have access to single watermark settings from all profiles.

One idea would be to see all watermarks in all profiles, so only the checkbox to activate/deactivate will be individual for each profile.

An more advanced possibility would be to be able to mark watermarks as 'global' or 'local' - so only important watermarks could be seen in all profiles. With such a functionality, a warning box should appear, if a 'global' watermark will be change to 'local', because it wouldn't be available in other profiles anymore.
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hi Puffolino,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will pass it to the drivers designers for consideration!

Regards,
Stefan
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Yes please! Watermarks created for one printing profile should be available in the Watermarks list for every profile afterwards.

Image

Additionally, there seems to be a bug in the above Settings dialog. Every time I edit a profile (or a watermark) after calling the "Settings" dialog from within a program (e.g. Word), the changes are not saved, even if I manually save the respective profile (or watermark) using the Save button next to the "Manage" button.

The changes are only saved when the Settings dialog was called from the Windows "Devices and Printers" Control Panel (which is tedious because usually, you want to edit your current printing profile, or create a new one, when actually printing a certain document).

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David.P
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Will - Tracker Supp
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi David,

That's not a bug, but is by design and is so that users can change their settings for that application session only, without having to change them back again. This is the way that most printers function, in Windows.

Cheers,
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Hello Will and thank you for your reply,
Will - Tracker Supp wrote:That's not a bug, but is by design and is so that users can change their settings for that application session only, without having to change them back again. This is the way that most printers function, in Windows.
I completely agree that it is typical and intended behavior when printer settings are not saved -- when only being changed from within an application and not from within the Windows "Devices and Printers" Control Panel.

However, it is my strong opinion that the same can not be valid for printer profiles, all the more since there is the dedicated "Profiles Manager" where you can add, edit, rename and delete your profiles:

Image
Image

Since a new or modified printing profile is usually created based on a specific source document (e.g. Word document) and it usually takes a few (or many) iterations until the profile is polished and finished, it does not make sense that also profiles are not saved when modifying them from within an application -- even if you explicitly click on "Save Profile" and are asked whether you want to overwrite the profile (which however does not happen and therefore is confusing to the user).

Summing up, while it is surely correct and normal Windows behavior that printer settings are not saved between application sessions, printer profiles absolutely should be saved, in order for the user to be able to easily create, maintain and refine one's settings portfolio.

Therefore, please consider changing the profiles saving behavior (only), while keeping the settings saving behavior of the PDF-XChange Printer dialog as is.

Thank you and
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi David,

I'll pass the suggestion along, but I can't guarantee it at the moment, nor can I guarantee that it would considered a priority for now, as the Dev. responsible to profile management is also responsible for XFA fixes and implementations, which are his current focus. I'm also not 100% that it would be possible, but I'll double check that.

Thanks,
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Thank you very much Will, for passing this along!
Best Regards
David.P
:)
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

:)
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Hi forum and Tracker Support team,
Will - Tracker Supp wrote: That's not a bug, but is by design and is so that users can change their settings for that application session only, without having to change them back again. This is the way that most printers function, in Windows.
I just was going to print several pages from a browser, using certain (temporary) print settings, particularly about saving/overwriting/opening the resulting PDF file.

Unfortunately I found that the PDF printer settings I made are not even saved within my application (browser) session.

Instead, I have to change the settings again for every page I print from that browser (Firefox) -- even if I only try and print the very same web page a second time.

Not even the print profile that I choose in the PDF-XChange print dialog is retained, such that I have to change the print profile for every subsequent page that I print.

Thanks for hints or comments,

Regards
David.P
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Willy Van Nuffel
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

I took a look at the way how you can set up an additional "profile" besides the default one, and how it behaves.

When you are in the "printer settings" dialogbox, you can see the active profile on top of that window.
From the moment that you change one of the printer settings, you will see a little pencil appearing in the box with the profile name. To "save" this new setting, you have to click the first icon at the right of the box with the profile name, and you will see that the little pencil will disappear (as a confirmation that the new setting has been saved).

I hope this helps ...
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi All,

This is the standard behaviour of all printers in Windows. In order to make permanent changes to the settings of a printer, you will need to do so via the Devices and Printers section of the Windows Control Panel. Changes made to printer settings are made for that application setting only.

Thanks,
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Best regards

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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Hi Will and @all,

somewhere there is a bug at least in our discussion, but possibly also in the printer settings :|

Here's a summary of our recent discussion:
David.P wrote:[...] there seems to be a bug in the [PDF-XChange printer] Settings dialog. Every time after calling the "Settings" dialog from within a program (e.g. Word), the changes are not saved.

The changes are only saved when the Settings dialog was called from the Windows "Devices and Printers" Control Panel.
Will - Tracker Supp wrote: That's not a bug, but is by design and is so that users can change their settings for that application session only, without having to change them back again. This is the way that most printers function, in Windows.
David.P wrote: I just was going to print several pages from a browser, using certain (temporary) print settings, particularly about saving/overwriting/opening the resulting PDF file.

Unfortunately I found that the PDF printer settings I made are not even saved within my application (browser) session.

Instead, I have to change the settings again for every page I print from that browser (Firefox) -- even if I only try and print the very same web page a second time.

Not even the print profile that I choose in the PDF-XChange print dialog is retained, such that I have to change the print profile for every subsequent page that I print
Will - Tracker Supp wrote:This is the standard behavior of all printers in Windows. In order to make permanent changes to the settings of a printer, you will need to do so via the Devices and Printers section of the Windows Control Panel. Changes made to printer settings are made for that application setting only.


The above in short:

David: Changes to the PDF-XChange printer settings are not saved between application sessions when made from within the application.

Will: This is the standard behavior of all printers in Windows.

David: Changes to the PDF-XChange printer settings are not saved even within an application session.

Will: This is the standard behavior of all printers in Windows. Changes made to printer settings are made for that application setting [session?] only.

:?: :| :?:

Summarizing, the changes made to the PDF-XChange printer settings are never saved, NOT EVEN during an application session :(

I don't think that this can be correct.

Cheers
David
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi David,

That's a little different than described here:
David: Changes to the PDF-XChange printer settings are not saved between application sessions when made from within the application.
My comment was in reference to that and stands true when we're talking about making changes from within an application.

So if I'm understanding correctly, changes are not saving when you're making them by accessing the printer's preferences from the Devices and Printers section of the Control Panel?
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Thank you.

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Willy Van Nuffel
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

Hi all,

I am seeing the following behavior (in Windows 10 - 32 bit) when going into the Control Panel > Devices and Printers > PDF-XChange Standard V6, right click and then click "Printing Preferences".

In the "Settings"-tab on the top of the window, you have the "Profile:" name.

If the Profile = "Default Settings", and you make changes/modifications to the settings, then you can NOT click the Save icon to save the changes, instead of that you must click OK.

If the Profile = "My Settings", and you make changes/modifications to the settings, then you CAN click the Save icon, and you can also click OK to save the changes.

I have the impression that these changes are correctly saved.

So far, the behavior is normal.

But, I would at least expect a similar behavior when modifying settings in the "My Settings" profile, when doing this via File > Print (to the PDF-XChange Standard V6 printer) > Printer Properties, in whatever application.

I have done a test in MS Word 2010, by modifying the Paper > Graphic > Resolution setting from 300 to 600 dpi, and saving "My Settings" profile.

When I quit and restart MS Word 2010, and I return to "Printer Properties", I still see the 'old' setting = 300. At that moment, there is a little pencil-icon in the profile name, that seems to indicate that something has changed. When I reselect the 'My Settings" profile and I confirm with "Yes", then the modification I made before becomes visible = 600. When I quit and restart Word once again, it is again the same wrong behavior, the Graphic Resolution is again 300 and the little pencil is there.

Thanks for reading.
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Will - Tracker Supp »

Hi Willy,

That's correct and, again, is by design. This is the standard behaviour of all printers, on Windows operating systems, and is done so that settings can be changed for only a single application session. This includes changes made when setting profiles and this behaviour will not be changed, so that we can continue to comply with industry standards.

Thanks,
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

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Will Travaglini
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David.P
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by David.P »

Gentlemen,

we're almost lost in confusion now. I will try and put together another summary asap, from where the different cases can be seen once more, among them the two cases where the PDF-XChange printer driver settings dialog acts erroneously, or at least has room for improvement. Hint: the one case has just been described by Willy (and previously by me).

Cheers
David
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

I wonder how many PDF-XChange users would like to "comply with industry standards" while that is holding them from such a practical and beautiful feature as using specific "profiles" for specific applications. Being able to adapt profiles from within an application by going into File > Print > Printer Properties, would even make it better.

Besides this, there is surely still something wrong when modifying profiles via the 'classic' way, via Control Panel > Devices and Printers. Once I have modified one of the parameter and have clicked "Save" and "OK", I have to go again into the printing preferences. I have to reselect my profile, and when the pop-up-dialogbox appears "Do you really want to apply selected profile" I click "Yes" and "OK". Only at that moment I am sure that my settings are stored correctly.

I hope that Tracker Software will clear this out.

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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi Willy,

if I understand you properly, the profile settings are being set through the printer preferences in the control panel and they are also being applied when you afterwards select the profile. The issue is that once correctly selected this way (through the control panel) you cannot choose a different profile from within an application's print function --> Preferences?

Do I understand that correctly?
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

@Paul

No, you did not understand it correctly.

There is no problem in selecting and using a profile from within an application, but there is one when you "modify the settings" in the PDF-XChange V6 Printer's profiles from within an application.

There even is a problem when "modifying the settings" in one of the profiles, directly via the Control Panel...
Please re-read my previous post.

Thanks, and kind regards to everyone.
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi Willy,

I think I see what you mean. I load a profile through an application's Print dialogue --> Preferences, apply a change, save the profile and complete the print. The settings are as I changed them to and I am told the profile saved OK. If I unload that profile and load it again those changes are not set.

If I do the same through the control panel the changes do stick.

I believe this is related to the way Windows handles printers and application sessions. I need to consult the devs about this. I'm not sure that we can change it but will find out.

Reagrds the settings when set from the Control Panel I believe you are referring to this?:
Besides this, there is surely still something wrong when modifying profiles via the 'classic' way, via Control Panel > Devices and Printers. Once I have modified one of the parameter and have clicked "Save" and "OK", I have to go again into the printing preferences. I have to reselect my profile, and when the pop-up-dialogbox appears "Do you really want to apply selected profile" I click "Yes" and "OK". Only at that moment I am sure that my settings are stored correctly.
As far as I can tell that is the expected behaviour. You need to load the profile before it is available. You are saying you feel that after saving the profile there should be no need to load it again?

regards
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi again guys,
after speaking to Ivan about this it seems that the issue may be dependant on the application from which you print. When a profile is loaded it has certain settings, when an application launches it's print job it copies the profile based settings to DEVMODE (see here https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowledgebase/499 for an explanation of DEVMODE and printing profiles).

Firefox for example, when printing will copy these, if the profile is switched through Firefox's print --> Preferences it takes the new settings and merges them with what is already in DEVMODE rather than loading DEVMODE with a clean copy of that profile's settings.

The editor for example should copy the new profile settings but not merge them with what was already in there.

This also effects having to load the profile again after making changes.

At the end of the day, we have to make some decisions about how this works, we may change this but it could cause other problems. Either way, we will not make any changes to this for the next build (318) but will be having some discussion internally around whether this model should be changed or not.

hth
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

Thanks for discussing this at Tracker Software development.

As I stated before, I have done my tests with Microsoft Word 2010.

I can confirm my wish, that just after making changes to the settings in one of "my profiles", these new settings should be loaded and used automatically, without having to reload them by myself to make them active. And if possible, this should be the case as well from within the Control Panel as from within an application.

And yes, about that 'merge' of default settings and custom settings, I can see this in Windows Registry ...
Only the settings that are different from the default settings, are stored under the printer profile's name in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. But, if that 'merge' of settings works correctly, there should be no problem with it.

Thanks again for reading.

(I know I am always doing a lot of writing, but I do not always know how to explain it with less words.)
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Re: Feature request - 'global' watermark profile

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Understood and appreciated Willy.

Although the discussion has begun already, we're going to have to let this wait until after 318 before progress is made on the issue.

Your patience is appreciated. :-)
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