Large PDF file sizes

[HA_PDF_UK]

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great alternative to the Adobe products, but the file sizes produced by scanning documents are very large. Is there a way to reduce these to something manageable? I’ve tried running the files through the optimise option in PDF-Tools4, but it makes little difference. PDFs from MS Word are usually very compact, so it can be done. Thanks.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello HA_PDF_UK.

Please check your scanner settings and select a lower DPI - this should produce smaller files.
Adobe's products have a feature that OCRs the file and then removes the image from below - so that this further reduces the file size. We are not yet able to offer such a feature.

Best,
Stefan

[HA_PDF_UK]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried that but I'm losing detail on the (not much) smaller files. When I used Acrobat 3D with a mix of text and graphics I was getting file sizes of a few hundred kilobytes with good detail. Also, graphic intensive files saved as PDF from MSWord 2007 are much, much smaller. Is there more to this?

[John - Tracker Supp]

Hi,

I believe we have also answered you by email - but just in case that was not yourself - here is a copy of the emailed reply ...

Thanks for your email and whilst I am surprised at the size differential in terms of scale - I am not surprised that our files are bigger - at this time there is no option to modify the compression/optimization when scanning - however a new release due in December will add new options for this optimizing file sizes very efficiently ..

In the meantime - my best suggestion is that you scan as you do now and then use the PDF-XChange printer driver to create a new file from that scanned (by printing from the Viewer to the Virtual printer) - this does have improved optimization allowing you to create smaller files - albeit in 2 steps for now - rather than 1.

Hope that helps

[HA_PDF_UK]

Yes, thanks. I tried that and did get some reduction, but not as much as one would need to email several PDF files. My point is that is is possible to get very compact files (e.g. from MSWord) and this would be great to have in XChange Viewer. Browsing through the forum I saw mention that this might be included in Ver 3 which is scheduled for release Dec 2012. Is that correct? Thanks.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hi HA_PDF_UK,

What you need is a feature like the one Adobe are offering. We are working on improving our own OCR tool and such a feature is on our radar but I can't tell you if it would be available in the initial build of V3 of our Viewer or a bit later.

For now - you can try to OCR, then convert the PDF to Word document (Using e.g. our PDF Tools) - delete the images from the .doc file and leave only the text. Reformat it if needed and then convert the word document back to a few KB per page PDF.

Best,
Stefan

[HA_PDF_UK]

Have you made any progress with this? I'm still getting huge files (50MB+) scanning from PDF Viewer, but reasonable size files (300 kB) from Acrobat 8 (which is now a free download from Adobe).

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi HA_PDF_UK,

Thanks for following up with this! This is something that has been resolved in the Version 3 Candidate, information on which can be found here, as well as a download link:

https://www.pdf-xchange.com/company ... s/view/120

There was an issue with the compression that version 2.5 of the Viewer used - Version 3 allows for a much wider range of compression.

Hope that helps!

[HA_PDF_UK]

That sounds promising - thanks.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

[refract]

Hello HA_PDF_UK.

Please check your scanner settings and select a lower DPI - this should produce smaller files.
Adobe's products have a feature that OCRs the file and then removes the image from below - so that this further reduces the file size. We are not yet able to offer such a feature. Best, Stefan

Stefan, it may be time for Tracker to set up an online school to teach all aspects of file compression. I get so flustered and frustrated when I end up with giant file sizes. Redoing and redoing with various switches toggled is a pain. Looking in the knowledgebase is a waste. And I don't feel good whining here in the forum.

Yes, establish a class that teaches how to use Tracker products most efficiently and effectively.

Rex Harrill

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Hi Rex,

good idea. The Editor has settings for compression when scanning. I think we can throw a KB article together with some details for you. I'll post back here when it's done.

hth