Archive for category Problems
Decompiling an MDF File
Posted by Daryl in Design How-To, Problems on June 19th, 2009
I was asked this question again yesterday, and I can’t recall how many times I have been asked about this over the years.
Can you make an IFD from an MDF?
Alternately, “I’ve lost my form design files (IFD’s), can I get them back from the compiled forms?”
The answer to the question is no, you can’t. And I’ll explain why.
When you compile your IFD into an MDF file for use with Central, what Design does is actually generate the appropriate printer code right then and there. This is part of what makes it so fast – there’s no interpretation from the design to printer language (or PDF) when you produce your output.
What that means is that when Central is using your form all it needs to do is send that already-generated code to the output target. It also means that the original design is lost in the process.
So, please, treat your IFD’s as irreplaceable – and keep them backed up.
Central and the HP 1022n
I’ve gotten a few requests lately for information on using these (and other) printers with Central. People try to send forms to them, but they don’t print. Instead they see garbage or nothing at all.
JetForm/Accelio/Adobe Central is as fast to print as it is because it does not send a completed and rendered raster to the printer. All that the printer gets is, in the case of HP’s, PCL. It uses the smarts built into the printer itself to RIP the code to pixels for printing. As a result, the files sent down the line are much, much smaller than any spool you’ll ever see come from a Windows (for example) application.