#33: Optimizing a PDF Document
Take an Optimizing Shortcut
If you save a document and decide at the last minute that it should be optimized, don’t close the Save As dia-log. Instead, click the File name pull-down arrow, and choose Adobe PDF Files, Optimized. Click Settings at the right of the dialog, and the PDF Optimizer opens automatically. When you’ve made changes, click Save and carry on.
Reducing File Size One other optimizing option you can try is decreasing the size of a document.
Choose Document > Reduce File Size. Select an option from the Make menu in the Reduce File Size dia-log (Retain existing is the default). Name the file in the Save As dialog, and click Save. The newer the Acrobat version chosen, the more features available, and the smaller the final file size.
C h a p t e r f i v e Creating Output: Saving, Exporting, and Printing
compatible with” menu, the Settings name in the upper left of the dialog changes from Standard to Custom. The options available in the different panes of the dialog vary according to the selected program version.
Click a label in the left column of the dialog to display settings (Figure 33b).
Figure 33b You can customize dozens of settings in the PDF Optimizer to precisely balance the quality of the document against the file’s size.
As you look through the list, deselect items that you don’t want to optimize; look for optimizing in these areas:
•
Images. Define settings for color, grayscale, and monochrome images.Choose compression types, quality, and downsampling values. Select
“Optimize images only if there is a reduction in size” to prevent bloating the file size.
•
Fonts. The fonts in the document are listed in the dialog, and fully embedded fonts are subset by default. You can unembed those you don’t need, such as system fonts or common fonts. If a document is intended for departmental circulation, for example, and you know everyone viewing it uses the same set of fonts, you can delete those from the list.Easy Optimizing Do you need to apply the same optimization settings to a number of files? Once in a while or on a regular basis? Do you have a number of files that need optimiz-ing right now? Customize a collection of settings in the PDF Optimizer and click Save in the dialog to name and save the settings. The next time you need to opti-mize a file using the same settings, you’ll find that the custom settings are included in the Preset menu for you to select. You can remove your custom settings as well. Sim-ply select the setting’s name from the Preset menu and click Delete.
If you find you are optimiz-ing files on a regular basis, include output options in a batch sequence instead.
Read about batch sequences in #55, “Batching Tasks to Save Time.”
87
•
Transparency. Choose transparency flattening and settings such as resolutions for text, line art, and gradients.•
Discard Objects. Decide what objects to remove, such as form fields, alternate images, and search indexes. Some options in this panel are the same as those available in the Examine Document dialog, described in #32.•
Discard User Data. Decide what added items can be removed from the document, such as layers, form content, cross-references, attachments, and comments. Some of the options from the Examine Document dialog described in #32 are included in this panel.•
Clean Up. Choose other cleanup details, such as removal of invalid links or bookmarks, encoding options, and a method of compressing the document’s structure.Click Save to name and save the settings if you plan to reuse them at a later time. If optimizing is a onetime thing, click OK to close the dialog.
Click Save in the Save Optimized dialog to overwrite the original file. To be on the safe side, however, save the document with another name instead, and after you are satisfied with the results, delete the original.
Save It Again
One of the simplest ways to reduce file size is to save a file as itself. If you have been working with a document—
for example, adding and removing pages—an iteration of the file is saved each time you save it. These iterations can really add up to a huge file size. Choose File > Save As. In the Save As dialog, leave the name as is and click Save. A prompt asks if you want to overwrite the file; click Yes. The file is resaved, and content is consolidated. You may be surprised how much smaller the file becomes!
#33: Optimizing a PDF Document
C h a p t e r f i v e Creating Output: Saving, Exporting, and Printing
You can use a PDF document for a variety of purposes and pass it through various programs. For example, you can create a document in Microsoft Word, convert it to a PDF using PDFMaker, and then export it from Acrobat as an HTML Web page that includes PNG images, or as a PDF file compliant with a standard.
To save a PDF document in another file format (in this case, Word):
1. Choose File > Save As. Select a format in the “Save as type” pop-up menu (Figure 34a). Alternatively, choose File > Export, and select the format to open the Save As dialog. The file format extension is appended to the filename and the Settings button becomes active.
Figure 34a Choose from a variety of export options, ranging from optimized and standards-based PDF formats to image and Web formats.
2. Click Settings. The available options in the Settings dialog are specific to the file format you chose and appear as part of the dialog’s name.
Check out an overview of the Word export settings in the sidebar
“What’s the Good Word?”
3. Adjust the settings in the dialog, and click OK to return to the Save As dialog.
4. Click Save. Acrobat exports your file in your chosen format.