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PDF Margins

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thwolfe

17 Aug, 2013 01:35 AM

I realize this is more an OS X problem than Composer, but I am hoping someone can help me. I find setting margins through the OS x print dialogue extremely frustrating. I have set up a custom paper format, 8.5 x 11 with 1 in margins in order to get the margins I want, and not the 1/4 in my computer wants to give me. It wouldn't stick until I changed it to the default paper in the system preferences and restarted the computer. I finally got it to stick in Safari, TextEdit, and the print text dialogue of MMD Composer. However, export to PDF and print preview still give me the small margins on the side and bottom and a top margin of 1".

My desire is to write in markdown and print with 1" margins. I realize I can export to another format, and change the margins, but to me that negates the benefits of markdown. I would like to be able to write it and print, or write and get a PDF in one step. I've tried wkhtmlto pdf, but I get lines that are cut in half top half on one page and bottom half on another.

I guess I can live with 1/4 in margins, but I find it strange that what should be so simple has cost me so many hours. I am not afraid to tinker with preference files, or use the command line if need be.

EDIT: Mou and Byword respect the 1" margins. Until I figure this out I can print from MOU.

EDIT: On export to PDF Mou and Byword set their own, large margins. MMD Composer sets much smaller margins. All ignore the printer settings. Is there a preference file that can be edited, or is this hard coded into the apps?

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Fletcher on 17 Aug, 2013 06:50 PM

   

   Thanks for writing in.

   I spent a few hours digging into this:

   1. The code I used for printing HTML (not the text editor pane), which is essentially the same as the PDF export code, does reset the margins to some default values. That was my fault.

   2. That said, removing my defaults and playing with margins leads to really strange results --- the text is adjusted to the upper right corner, but then goes off the page to the lower left when you use large margins.

   3. Strangely, the print preview/export does adjust to fit the paper size, but not the margin size.

   4. After digging around I finally figured out that the code Apple provides for page setup doesn't properly configure the margins in what Composer gets. Without getting too technical, I discovered that I have to recalculate margins based on the known paper size, the printable area, and the offset for the printable area. The margins that are given to me by default are incorrect.

   5. I rewrote the code for printing/pdf export so that it *should* properly recalculate the required information. In my tests, it seems to work, even with strange margin configurations, and with different paper sizes.

   This will be included in the next version release.

   Thanks for pointing this out, and prompting me to dig down the rabbit hole until figuring it out. ;)

   F-

   --
   Fletcher T. Penney
   Manager, Founder
   MultiMarkdown Software, LLC
   [email blocked]

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2. Fletcher closed this discussion on 17 Aug, 2013 07:11 PM.

3. thwolfe re-opened this discussion on 17 Aug, 2013 10:46 PM

4. 2 Posted by thwolfe on 17 Aug, 2013 10:48 PM

   

   Fletcher,

   I deleted my rambling confusing original post. I can't say thank you enough. After 15 years I almost have a perfect workflow for my needs.

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5. thwolfe closed this discussion on 17 Aug, 2013 10:48 PM.

6. Fletcher re-opened this discussion on 17 Aug, 2013 10:57 PM

7. Support Staff 3 Posted by Fletcher on 17 Aug, 2013 10:57 PM

   

   Your post was fine, and you pointed out a legitimate problem with printing/exporting. I appreciate it!

   Glad that the app is working well for you overall!

   Fletcher

   --
   Fletcher T. Penney
   Manager, Founder
   MultiMarkdown Software, LLC
   [email blocked]

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8. Fletcher closed this discussion on 18 Aug, 2013 12:49 AM.