A preflight report shows the page on the left with every problem outlined, and the results on the right: Findings, the problems found, and Checks, what every check of the profile concluded. The header names the artwork, the file, the profile and when it was checked, with Run again and PDF report.
The result#
Every report ends with one result, shown as a badge in the header, in the Approvals list and in the 1-up editor:
| Result | API status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Running | running | Queued or checking. The page and the badges update by themselves when it finishes. |
| Pass | pass | No errors and no warnings. The report may still carry notes. |
| Warnings | warn | At least one warning and no errors. |
| Fail | fail | At least one error. |
| Error | error | Preflight could not check the file. The report says why; no check ran. |
The result comes from the findings: one error makes the report Fail, a warning without errors makes it end with Warnings. Notes never change the result.
Findings#
A finding is one problem, such as "Text smaller than 6 pt (smallest 4.5 pt)." Each has:
- a severity: Error (red), Warning (amber) or Info (blue, counted as a note). It is the severity the profile gives its check, except where a check says otherwise, such as images below the Error below resolution (see severity);
- the page it is on, or none for a problem of the whole file (encryption, page count);
- a count: "× 40" when the same problem occurs 40 times on the page, such as 40 lines of small text;
- up to 25 locations. "no location" means the problem has no place on the page.
The Summary at the top counts the errors, warnings and notes, and lists the file's page count, PDF version, output intent, whether a die was found in the file or came from the job artwork, and the engine line (the version of the checks the report ran with). Findings are grouped by check, the checks with errors first; click a check's heading to fold it.
The page preview#
Each finding's locations are outlined on the page in its severity colour. Click a finding in the list, or its outline on the page, to zoom to it; the other outlines fade. Show the whole page zooms back out.
- Locations shows or hides the outlines.
- −, Fit and + zoom. Scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to pan.
- With several pages, the arrows move between pages. Selecting a finding opens its page.
Keyboard shortcuts on the report page:
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| + or = | Zoom in |
| - | Zoom out |
| 0 | Fit the page |
| [ and ] | Previous and next page |
| Esc | Clear the selected finding |
Previews cover the first 24 pages of a file. Findings on later pages are listed, but "This page has no preview".
The Checks tab#
The Checks tab lists every check by category with what it concluded, and under it the main setting it ran with, such as "At least 300 ppi" or "Expecting PMS 185 C".
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pass | The check ran and found nothing. |
| Warnings | Its worst finding is a warning. |
| Fail | Its worst finding is an error. |
| Notes | It found only notes. |
| Off | The profile doesn't run this check. |
| Could not run | The check stopped on a problem with this file. The report shows "This check could not run" as a warning; the other checks still ran. |
| Not run | The report hasn't run yet, or stopped before checking the file. |
Hover over a check to read what it looks for.
When a report can't run#
A report ends as Error when preflight could not check the file at all. The report says why:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| The file is missing from storage. | Upload the file again. |
| The file could not be opened as a PDF. | Export the PDF again from the application that made it. |
| The file is not a PDF. | Preflight checks PDF files only. Export a PDF. |
| The file needs a password to open. | Save the PDF without a password to open it, then upload it again. |
| The check took too long and was stopped. Run it again. | Run it again. A very large or complex file may need to be simplified. |
| The file needs more memory to check than preflight allows (for example a huge image). | Resample or crop the largest images where the file was made, then upload it again. |
| The check waited too long for the background worker. Run it again. | Run it again. If it keeps happening, contact support. |
| The background worker could not be reached. Run it again. | Run it again. If it keeps happening, contact support. |
| Preflight stopped on an unexpected problem with this file. Run it again. | Run it again. If it keeps happening, contact support. |
A report with an error has no findings and no page previews.
Share a report#
PDF report downloads the report as a PDF to send to a customer or designer: the artwork, file, profile, result and date, every check's result, every finding with its page, and previews of up to six pages that have findings (page 1 when there are none), with the findings outlined.
Findings are shown in the language you use the app in, whenever you open the report.