Convert table-intensive word doc to .pdf?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Sarah Vasil wonders: <<I have a large Word file (1066 KB) comprised 
almost entirely of tables. When I convert it to .pdf, the file gets 
even larger (1369 KB). It looks like Acrobat is treating the tables 
like graphics. Am I right?>>

That sounds like a fairly small file, actually: 1000K = 1 Meg. I've 
distilled much bigger files with no problems. Is the number correct? If 
it truly is a large file, this suggests that there are graphics you're 
forgetting, since Word is reasonably efficient in creating and managing 
tables.

A few tricks often work well to slim down bloated Word files:
- If you're using versioning (under the File menu), delete all the old 
versions, then save the file. Versions use up ridiculous amounts of 
space, and increase the fragility of a document.
- Do a "Save as" under a new name. Even when you're not using "fast 
saves" (a recipe for disaster), Word often accumulates garbage in a 
file, and resaving it under a new name can clean out the garbage.
- If that doesn't work, select the entire file except the terminal 
paragraph marker (a backwards P), and copy it into a new file. Then 
save the new file. When Word does accumulate amazing amounts of 
garbage, it's often stored in that final P.

Acrobat wouldn't treat the _tables_ as graphics, but might very well be 
treating the table _ornamentation_ as graphics. For example, you didn't 
mention what kinds of lines you used for borders on the tables, whether 
you used shading in any cells, and so on. I have vague memories of 
reading that Acrobat has problems with the way that Word defines such 
things and that this can increase file bloat.

<<I've tried to use the Reduce File Size option in Acrobat, but it does 
not help.>>

Have you also checked the font embedding options? If you've got 
multiple fonts in the table, and are embedding each one, that can 
certainly cause file bloat. (Not a likely option, but an easy 
possibility to check.) Another thing: check the "compatibility" options 
(which version of Acrobat is being used to define compatibility). 
Trying an older format, which supports fewer features (particularly 
those related to color) may help.

<<The .pdf is going on our website and it takes forever to open on 
older machines.>>

Have you tried zipping the file? That often doesn't work (PDF is 
reasonably efficient), but sometimes you get lucky. If all else fails, 
create a PDF of each individual section of the file, and provide a good 
table of contents that lets the user decide which file to download 
rather than downloading all the files. You can still provide a single 
master PDF file, but allowing the option of downloading only the parts 
that are needed is a kindness to the user.

--Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)


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