RE: Compressing PDF Size

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

Keith Hansen wrote:
 
> * Platform/OS: Windows NT
> 
> * Program/version of source doc: FrameMaker 7.2
> 
> * Software/version/process to create PDF: I create the PDF in 
> FrameMaker
> 7.2 using the following process:
> 1. File Menu ... 
> 2. Save As ... 
> 3. Save As Type (choose PDF)
> 4. I leave all the FramMaker default settings when making the PDF.
> 
> * Primary purpose of the PDF: Online viewing or low-quality 
> printing (no high-quality printing required at all)

You mentioned Acro 7 in another message. IIRC, its job options default
to Standard. That's a pretty good baseline to start from, but you can
experiment with it a bit to see what kind of trade-off of file size vs.
graphics quality you can live with. 

First, though, I'd check a couple of settings in FM. In the book window,
select all the files and then select Format > Document > PDF Setup. On
the dialog box's Structure tab, make sure Generate Logical PDF Structure
is not selected. On the Links tab, make sure Create Named Destinations
for All Paragraphs is not selected (unless you absolutely need it; read
the info on the tab). If you changed either of those, create a new PDF
as a baseline. 

To play with the Distiller job options, start Acrobat Distiller
(probably on the Start menu under All Programs > Adobe > Acrobat). It
starts minimized on the task bar, so you'll have to select it there to
restore the window. 

In the Distiller window, from the Settings menu, select Edit Adobe PDF
Settings. In the Settings dialog box, click Show All Settings, and if
Standard isn't already expanded, double-click it to show the "folders"
underneath it. The primary one of interest is Images, so select it to
display the image settings. 

>From here on, it's experimentation. I suggest not modifying the job
options files that come with Distiller. Use Save As to create one or
more new ones, and experiment with those. 

Try reducing the color and grayscale downsampling settings (maybe 100
ppi for images above 150). I don't think you gain much from reducing the
monochrome setting, but try cutting it in half. I don't like JPEG
compression, so I always use ZIP, but with JPEG you can experiment with
the Image Quality setting. 

In the Fonts category, if you know your users will have certain fonts
(like the Windows standards), you can choose not to embed them. I don't
know which, if any, Advanced settings affect file size; maybe someone
else does. I've never messed with the Color or Standards settings. 

When you've got settings you like, save them under a meaningful name
(you can edit the description in the General settings). To make your
choice the default for all PDFs: open Printers and Faxes, right-click
Adobe PDF and select Printing Preferences, set Default Settings to the
one you want, and click OK.

HTH!
Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------




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