I am in need of help with Acobat and am wondering if you would be willing to assist.
My company is launching an app that will feature the ability to access PDF's of back issues. We only have these back issues saved in individual, single page files of considerable size, each. (4-50+mg). Typically there are 40+ pages per issue... So you can see in their original state, an issue can be almost a full gig of individual PDFs...
I need to combine these into a single file, AND reduce their overall size significantly as to reduce downloading times.
In Acobat Pro 9, I am having a miserable time getting the software to 1) combine consistantly, 2) reduce file size or 3) both at the same time. There appears to be certain pages that have something about them that cause Acrobat to crash. It is not consistent or obvious to me as to what might be causing this.
I originally thought it was a computer/memory issue but I upgraded to a new iMac i5/4gig and it still experiences these crashes.
Combining/Reducing Large Files and a Lot of Them
2011-10-03 14:34:00
My Product Information:
Acrobat, Macintosh
Acrobat, Macintosh
2011-10-04 07:34:51
#2
I am using Pro 9. I do think it has something to do with the font because when I open the page(s) that appear to make the combing/reduction process crash, I can watch the system actually draw certain fonts on that page... Can you provide some guidance as to what font utility I should use and what do you mean by "closing open fonts before merging"? Thanks for the help..
just to clarify... I simply need basic, 72 dpi, 768x1024 image PDFs combined into a single file for users to download from within the iPad app.
just to clarify... I simply need basic, 72 dpi, 768x1024 image PDFs combined into a single file for users to download from within the iPad app.
2011-10-04 12:05:22
#3
1. Launch Font Book in your Applications folder.
2. Click on All Fonts at the top left.
3. Click on any font name in the "font" column in the middle.
4. Go to Edit > Select All.
5. Go to Edit > Disable Fonts.
You can try Combining the files again in Acrobat. It should run fine with no fonts open.
I highly recommend you do the File > Validate Fonts as well.
2. Click on All Fonts at the top left.
3. Click on any font name in the "font" column in the middle.
4. Go to Edit > Select All.
5. Go to Edit > Disable Fonts.
You can try Combining the files again in Acrobat. It should run fine with no fonts open.
I highly recommend you do the File > Validate Fonts as well.
2011-10-07 09:32:38
#4
for unknown reasons, when I "select all" and all are highlighted in blue, the option to "disable fonts" is grayed you and its not an available option. I did validate and remove any of the fonts with warnings/errors (all were just dups)
2011-10-07 09:35:40
#5
ah, it says that there are some in the library that are "protected"... there are 230 fonts in all, but I can't tell which ones are protected.
2011-10-07 10:27:16
#6
Also, is there a way in Acrobat to resize the pages of the file, and also reduce the dpi to 72? I've tried the "crop pages" function and within there it has a place to
put in a new size, but when I do that it tells me I "cannot change page size"
put in a new size, but when I do that it tells me I "cannot change page size"
2011-10-07 16:38:28
#7
Protected fonts have restrictions put in by the font vendor to prevent embedding. There is not much you can do about those.
The crop tool is a little tricky, don't use the Change Page Size dialog at the bottom of the screen (that is only for enlargements). Type in the amount you would like to subtract from each side in the 4 fields at the top, where it says:
Top:
Bottom:
Left:
Right:
Once the size is correct you can use Advanced > Print Production > PDF Optimizer to reduce the resolution. Click Images at the top left.
The crop tool is a little tricky, don't use the Change Page Size dialog at the bottom of the screen (that is only for enlargements). Type in the amount you would like to subtract from each side in the 4 fields at the top, where it says:
Top:
Bottom:
Left:
Right:
Once the size is correct you can use Advanced > Print Production > PDF Optimizer to reduce the resolution. Click Images at the top left.
2011-10-07 16:43:50
#8
As for the Select all, you need to make sure you first click on any font name the middle column.
At the top of the window is Collection (you should have All Fonts highlighted here), then Font (to the right). Make sure a font is highlighted in the Font column before doing the Select all. I clicked on Garamond, for example, before I did the Select All.
You can re-enable them after trying to combine the files in Acrobat.
At the top of the window is Collection (you should have All Fonts highlighted here), then Font (to the right). Make sure a font is highlighted in the Font column before doing the Select all. I clicked on Garamond, for example, before I did the Select All.
You can re-enable them after trying to combine the files in Acrobat.
2011-10-10 08:12:01
#9
so my best practice in order of process... disable fonts, combine files, reduce image size, optimize... right?
Also, the "crop" function is actually cropping the files to a smaller image size, ie: removing parts rather than making the image size smaller... I need to go from 11x15 to properly fit on an iPad... can you assist in doing that? thanks again for all the help... I'm getting closer!!
Also, the "crop" function is actually cropping the files to a smaller image size, ie: removing parts rather than making the image size smaller... I need to go from 11x15 to properly fit on an iPad... can you assist in doing that? thanks again for all the help... I'm getting closer!!
2011-10-10 08:23:00
#10
Yes, let me know how that goes.
As for the crop tool, did you follow the instructions below? Were they unclear?
To Reduce With the Crop tool
Go to Advanced > Print Production > Crop Pages
Don't use the Change Page Size area at the bottom of the dialog box (that is only for enlargements). Type in the amount you would like to subtract from each side in the 4 fields at the top, where it says:
Top:
Bottom:
Left:
Right:
For an 8.5 x 11 page that I would like to make 6.5 x 9, I would type in:
Top: 1"
Bottom: 1"
Left: 1"
Right: 1"
As for the crop tool, did you follow the instructions below? Were they unclear?
To Reduce With the Crop tool
Go to Advanced > Print Production > Crop Pages
Don't use the Change Page Size area at the bottom of the dialog box (that is only for enlargements). Type in the amount you would like to subtract from each side in the 4 fields at the top, where it says:
Top:
Bottom:
Left:
Right:
For an 8.5 x 11 page that I would like to make 6.5 x 9, I would type in:
Top: 1"
Bottom: 1"
Left: 1"
Right: 1"
2011-10-10 08:27:11
#11
As for the iPad portion, you don't need to scale to fit there. The Books app (or Stanza, or any PDF eReader) should scale to fit the screen. The resolution of an iPad screen is 1024 x 768. If you need help testing files, let me know. Tablet publishing is one of my areas of expertise.
2011-10-10 08:45:55
#12
outstanding. Your directions on the crop feature was clear, but my result after inputting an amount was that the image was cropped, not the image size reduced. But your comment about the PDF reader auto downsizing probably means I don't need to do this step. In the "Advanced > Print Production > PDF Optimizer" function i have set the images at 72dpi, but do I need to adjust the embedding of fonts or any of the other options shown in that area?do you have some best practices for PDF settings for tablet usage? Because this publication is "luxury & fashion" the quality of images is important, but I do worry greatly about download times.Ok, while typing this Acrobat just crashed again while Optimizing.. it combined them fine, but while "removing items" in the optimizing process, it crashed (and that is pretty typical)..
2011-10-10 09:51:42
#13
Oh, the crop tool doesn't Scale. The only way I know to accomplish that is when you create the file (PDF) or a very cumbersome process in Illustrator (one page at a time).
As for the Optimizer, no you don't need to change the fonts settings (just be sure you leave the fonts in there and don't un-embed). I'll have to search to see if Adobe has a document on PDF Best Practices for Tablet. I don't think one exists today.
So sorry to hear Acrobat crashed on you again. Were all your fonts closed? Also, I never asked if you are on Acrobat 9.4.6? You might need to re-install Acrobat to see if that helps stop the crashing, or create another "test" user account. I can walk you through that.
Have you used Disk Utility to repair your Permissions lately? If not, google it. I repair mine once a month... (routine maintenance, this may not fix your issues, but it is a good practice on the Mac)
As for the Optimizer, no you don't need to change the fonts settings (just be sure you leave the fonts in there and don't un-embed). I'll have to search to see if Adobe has a document on PDF Best Practices for Tablet. I don't think one exists today.
So sorry to hear Acrobat crashed on you again. Were all your fonts closed? Also, I never asked if you are on Acrobat 9.4.6? You might need to re-install Acrobat to see if that helps stop the crashing, or create another "test" user account. I can walk you through that.
Have you used Disk Utility to repair your Permissions lately? If not, google it. I repair mine once a month... (routine maintenance, this may not fix your issues, but it is a good practice on the Mac)
2011-10-12 07:27:36
#14
Whew, the repsonses in this thread have returned after not showning yesterday... anyway, I am still having crashing issues in both combining and optimizing. It seems like while it's trying to "remove items" or "flattening Images"... the whole program just crashes... very frustrating.. I was running 9, but now have updated to 9.4.6, I am hoping that solves the issue.
2011-11-04 12:37:32
#15
Peter,
I never heard back. Has your crashing stopped?
I never heard back. Has your crashing stopped?
Finally, can you scan your font library to see if you have corrupt or damaged fonts? You can do this with Font Book, in your Applications folder. Launch Font book, click on All Fonts and choose File > Validate Fonts. The yellow hazards for minor problems are not typically a big deal, but duplicates are typically best to avoid.
Kelly McCathran
Adobe Community Expert
Certified Technical Trainer+