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Understanding Acrobat's Optimizer | Talking PDF

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Understanding Acrobats Optimizer

Pos ted on A ugus t 19, 2009 by Duff Johns on in T alking PDF

User s of A dobe A cr oba t Pr ofession a l h a v e a v a r iet y of r ea son s t o becom e fa m ilia r w it h t h e PDF Opt im izer (A dv a n ced > PDF Opt im izer ). Fr om debu g g in g pr oblem PDF docu m en t s t o r edu cin g file size a n d en h a n cin g on lin e per for m a n ce, t h e Opt im izer is a sm a r t la st st ep befor e secu r in g a n d deploy in g y ou r PDF files. T h is a r t icle in t r odu ces t h e v a lu e, r a t ion a le a n d ben efit s of t h e Opt im izer for a bu sin ess-desk t op a u dien ce.

First, do no harm
Let s st a r t w it h a lit t le w a r n in g : T h e PDF Opt im izer is a collect ion of pow er fu l docu m en t -m odify in g ca pa bilit ies, a n d it w or k s v er y qu ick ly . A cr oba t s Ba t ch Pr ocessin g (A dv a n ced > Docu m en t Pr ocessin g > Ba t ch Pr ocessin g ) fea t u r e m a k es it possible t o r u n t h e Opt im izer on h u n dr eds or ev en t h ou sa n ds of files a t a t im e. For t h is r ea son , y ou n eed t o be V ERY CA REFUL w it h Opt im izer set t in g s; it s a ll t oo ea sy t o lose or deg r a de pr eciou s w or k .

A u t h or s Not e: In Ju ly , 2 0 0 9 , A dobe Sy st em s a sk ed m e t o u pda t e t h is a r t icle, or ig in a lly w r it t en for A cr oba t User s.com in 2 0 0 6 . A ll m en u r efer en ces n ow r efer t o A dobe A cr oba t Pr ofession a l 9 .x .

T h e sim ple, ba sic sa fet y r u le is t h is: Nev er opt im ize a liv e file. A lw a y s m a k e a copy of a n y t h in g y ou pla n t o opt im ize, a n d w or k on ly on t h e copies so t h a t y ou a r e fr ee t o t h r ow a w a y y ou r t est files a t a n y t im e. Follow t h a t r u le, a n d y ou ca n pick t h e m ost sw a sh bu ck lin g Opt im izer set t in g s y ou lik e!

Why would I need it?

T h e t y pica l u se of t h e Opt im izer is for polish in g PDF files pr ior t o dist r ibu t ion on a w ebsit e or by em a il. It s g r ea t for r em ov in g u n n ecessa r y in for m a t ion a n d r edu cin g file size. A s a lr ea dy n ot ed, t h e Opt im izer m a y be oper a t ed a s pa r t of a ba t ch pr ocess, a n d it s com m on t o u se t h is oppor t u n it y t o set file-open opt ion s, m et a da t a a n d ot h er pa r a m et er s, a ll in a sin g le oper a t ion . T h e PDF Opt im izer h a s m a n y fu n ct ion s, bu t m u ch of t h e t er m in olog y is pr et t y cr y pt ic a n d/or a m big u ou s. Ma k e su r e y ou u n der st a n d t h e set t in g s in y ou r ow n t er m s befor e y ou opt im ize ev er y PDF file on y ou r w ebsit e. For ex a m ple, t h e Disca r d Object s set t in g s in clu de a ch eck box for Fla t t en for m fields. Ca r elessly in clu de t h is opt ion , a n d y ou w ill dest r oy a n y PDF for m y ou opt im ize.

Heres how the PDF Optimizer can help

A u dit in g PDF files for t h e r ela t iv e pr opor t ion s of v a r iou s t y pes of con t en t w it h in t h e file. T h is is especia lly u sefu l w h en a t t em pt in g t o u n der st a n d t h e (h u g e) con t r ibu t ion of im a g es a n d fon t s t o a g iv en PDF docu m en t s file-size, w h ich ca n a lso su g g est st r a t eg ies for dea lin g w it h t h e pr oblem .
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Redu ce file size t h r ou g h im a g e dow n sa m plin g a n d r ecom pr ession u sin g JBIG2 a n d JPEG2 0 0 0 . Redu ce file size by u n em beddin g a n d su bset t in g fon t s. Ma n a g e t r a n spa r en cy set t in g s, g en er a lly of lit t le in t er est t o bu sin ess u ser s, bu t som et im es t h er es a file-size sa v in g s. Redu ce file size t h r ou g h t h e r em ov a l of a v a r iet y of object s a n d u ser -r ela t ed da t a , m ost of w h ich isn t u ser -r ela t ed. Sou n ds da n g er ou s, a n d it is. En su r e com pa t ibilit y w it h older v er sion s of Rea der , a v it a l con sider a t ion for files in t en ded for v er y g en er a l dist r ibu t ion .

Whats NOT in Acrobats PDF Optimizer

Sca n n ed im a g e pr ocessin g (see t h e Docu m en t > Opt im ize Sca n n ed PDF a n d Docu m en t > OCR T ex t Recog n it ion m en u s). PDF St a n da r ds com plia n ce (see A dv a n ced > Pr eflig h t ). Color spa ce con t r ol (see A dv a n ced > Pr eflig h t ). Ot h er a dv a n ced pr in t pr odu ct ion con t r ols (see A dv a n ced > Pr eflig h t ).

Start with an Audit

It s a g ood idea t o beg in w it h a sen se of h ow t h e differ en t elem en t s of y ou r PDF docu m en t s con t r ibu t e t o t h e ov er a ll size of t h e files. Befor e look in g a t t h e Opt im izer fu n ct ion s, spen d a m om en t w it h t h e h a n dy A u dit Spa ce Usa g e t ool a t t h e t op-r ig h t of t h e Opt im izer w in dow . Y ou ll qu ick ly fin d t h a t im a g es a r e g en er a lly t h e big g est file-size cu lpr it s, bu t t h er e a r e ot h er ca ses w h er e fu lly em bedded fon t s or ot h er ex t r a n eou s da t a (w h ich t h e Opt im izer ca n oft en r em ov e) w ill com pr ise h a lf or som et im es ev en m or e of a files size.

Version Compatibility
Nex t , y ou n eed t o ch oose w h ich v er sion of A cr oba t or A dobe Rea der t o su ppor t . Not a ll u ser s ca n sim ply u pda t e t h eir com pu t er s t o t h e m ost r ecen t r elea sed v er sion of Rea der if a n d w h en t h ey feel lik e it , so for g en er a l dist r ibu t ion pu r poses, y ou n eed t o a llow for u ser s w it h older soft w a r e. Sin ce older v er sion s of A cr oba t a n d Rea der ca n t su ppor t som e of t h e n ew er ca pa bilit ies of PDF, select in g com pa t ibilit y w it h older soft w a r e r est r ict s cer t a in Opt im izer fu n ct ion a lit y . On e k ey r ea son t o a ddr ess v er sion com pa t ibilit y is t h e w a r n in g w h en open in g a n ew er file. If, for ex a m ple, PDF files a r e set t o A cr oba t 8 com pa t ibilit y , som eon e open in g t h e file in Rea der 6 w ill g et a m essa g e t h a t beg in s: T h is file a ppea r s t o u se a n ew for m a t t h a t t h is v er sion of A cr oba t does n ot su ppor t . User s m u st click Ok t o m a k e t h e m essa g e g o a w a y , ea ch a n d ev er y t im e t h ey open t h e file. It s con fu sin g a n d a n n oy in g . Som e or g a n iza t ion s st ill r equ ir e A cr oba t 5 (PDF 1 .4 ) com pa t ibilit y , a n d a few (som e in Big Ph a r m a com e t o m in d) st ill r equ ir e A cr oba t 4 com pa t ibilit y . How ev er , t h a t doesn t m ea n y ou sh ou ld select t h ese opt ion s. W h en pr epa r in g files for g en er a l dist r ibu t ion (i.e. in t en ded for a w ebsit e), ch oosin g A cr oba t 6 com pa t ibilit y is a r ea son a ble com pr om ise, a s it a llow s bot h JBIG2 a n d JPEG2 0 0 com pr ession v it a l if y ou a r e pr ocessin g sca n n ed docu m en t s a n d a ccom m oda t es t h e v a st m a jor it y of en d-u ser s.

The PDF Optimizer, panel by panel

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T h e Opt im izer s fu n ct ion s a r e a r r a n g ed in t o six pa n els, ea ch of w h ich m a y be t u r n ed off a n d on v ia a ch eck box . Im a g es Fon t s T r a n spa r en cy Disca r d Object s Disca r d User Da t a Clea n u p T h e Opt im izer in clu des t h e a bilit y t o sa v e a n y con fig u r a t ion fr om a ll of t h ese pa n els a s a sin g le pr eset . T h is is in v a lu a ble, sin ce on ce y ou v e fou n d a g iv en collect ion of set t in g s t h a t s r ig h t for y ou r t a sk , y ou ll w a n t t o sa v e t h a t con fig u r a t ion for fu t u r e w or k or for ba t ch pr ocessin g . Ea ch pa n el is br iefly pr ofiled below , a lon g w it h som e ba sic r ecom m en da t ion s on u sa g e.

Images
T h is pa n el m a n a g es t h e ou t pu t r esolu t ion a n d com pr ession of r a st er im a g es. T h e best a n d m ost con sist en t r esu lt s in t er m s of ba la n cin g im a g e qu a lit y w it h file size a r e a ch iev ed t h r ou g h m a st er y of t h is pa n el. For file-size sa v in g s on sca n n ed docu m en t s, ch eck ou t t h e a dv a n ced com pr ession opt ion s; JBIG2 (for bla ck -a n d-w h it e sca n n ed pa g es) a n d JPEG2 0 0 0 (for color g r a ph ics a n d ph ot og r a ph s). Som e Su ggest i on s Use a m in im u m color a n d g r a y sca le im a g e r esolu t ion of 1 4 4 dpi. A t low er r esolu t ion s, pr in t qu a lit y becom es ser iou sly com pr om ised. Low er t h e r esolu t ion t o 7 2 dpi on ly if a ll ot h er a t t em pt s a t file-size r edu ct ion h a v e fa iled. A s lon g a s y ou r color im a g es a r e m ost ly ph ot og r a ph s, y ou sh ou ld be ok . A v oid dow n sa m plin g m on och r om e im a g es t o less t h a n 3 0 0 dpi. Use lossy JBIG2 com pr ession in st ea d; it s g r ea t for r edu cin g t h e file size of bla ck -a n d-w h it e sca n s. For sca n n ed pa g es, con sider t h e Clea r Sca n con v er sion opt ion , n ew in A cr oba t 9 (Docu m en t > OCR Sca n n ed Pa g es).

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Fonts
T h is pa n el a llow s u ser s t o u n em bed a n d/or su bset fon t s t o sa v e file size. T h is ca n be pa r t icu la r ly r elev a n t in sm a ller docu m en t s, w h er e it s com m on t o see a v er y h ig h pr opor t ion of t h e file size (som et im es 3 0 per cen t or m or e) t a k en u p by fon t in for m a t ion . Iv e seen 6 4 0 MB CD-ROMs of PDF files t h a t in clu ded m or e t h a n 2 0 0 MB dev ot ed t o fon t s. Su bset t in g is a g r ea t w a y t o r edu ce t h e size of fon t da t a t o t h e m in im u m r equ ir ed for a ccu r a t e r epr esen t a t ion of t h e or ig in a l docu m en t . Be a w a r e, h ow ev er , t h a t t ex t displa y ed in a n u n em bedded or su bset t ed fon t ca n n ot be m odified in A cr oba t .

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T ransparency
Gen er a lly in t en ded for pr in t -pr odu ct ion pu r poses, t h is pa n el doesn t offer m u ch for bu sin ess u ser s of A cr oba t . If y ou t h in k y ou r PDF file con t a in s com plex v ect or g r a ph ics t h a t in clu de t r a n spa r en cy , g o a h ea d a n d a ct iv a t e t h is pa n el. Select t h e Mediu m Resolu t ion opt ion , a n d w it h som e PDF docu m en t s, y ou m a y see a file-size r edu ct ion .

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Discard objects
Select t h ese it em s w it h ca r e! T h er es v er y lit t le by w a y of file size t o be sa v ed u sin g t h e opt ion s on t h is pa n el, a n d it s possible t o do con sider a ble da m a g e if t h ese opt ion s a r e select ed. T h e t op t h r ee opt ion s a r e on ly u sefu l w h en y ou KNOW y ou w a n t t o a ffir m a t iv ely per for m t h ese a ct ion s a s pa r t of som e sor t of a r ch iv in g pr ocess, or if y ou don t ca r e in t h e slig h t est a bou t a n y liv e for m s or Ja v a Scr ipt su r v iv in g t h e pr ocess. T h e r est of t h e opt ion s ca n pr odu ce m in or r edu ct ion s in file size, bu t som e set t in g s sh ou ld be u sed w it h g r ea t ca r e. Disca r din g docu m en t t a g s, for ex a m ple, m ig h t t h r ow a w a y h ou r s a n d h ou r s of som eon es ca r efu l w or k t o en su r e a ccessibilit y . Book m a r k s, w h en pr esen t , a r e u su a lly pr esen t for a r ea son t h e a u t h or con sider ed t h em im por t a n t for n a v ig a t in g t h e docu m en t . Ev en em bedded pa g e t h u m bn a ils, w it h a dir ect cost on file size, som et im es h a v e a pu r pose, beca u se t h u m bn a ils pr ov ide a w a y t o qu ick ly n a v ig a t e specific t y pes of con t en t , a n d a r e som et im es em bedded for t h a t r ea son .

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Discard User Data

Now w e com e t o t h e m isn a m ed Disca r d User Da t a pa n el. It r ea lly sh ou ld be ca lled t h e Disca r d A u t h or Da t a pa n el, a n d it s m ost ly t ech n ica l a n d bor in g . T h er e a r e som e ex cept ion s. Lu m pin g Com m en t s a n d For m s t og et h er , for a st a r t , is ju st w r on g , bu t a t lea st n ow y ou k n ow t h a t y ou ca n k ill bot h for m fields a n d n ot es (u n der t h e h ood, t h ey a r e ju st t w o species of a n n ot a t ion ) w it h a sin g le ch eck box . W a n t t o delet e JUST t h e n ot es, a n d NOT t h e for m fields, or m a y be t h e ot h er w a y a r ou n d? T oo ba d. If y ou h a ppen t o be t h e docu m en t cr ea t or , ch eck in g Disca r d docu m en t in for m a t ion a n d m et a da t a w ill en su r e t h a t y ou r file is pu r g ed of a n y m em or y of y ou a s t h e a u t h or , plu s w h a t ev er ot h er m et a da t a y ou r a u t h or in g a pplica t ion in clu ded, or h a d been su bsequ en t ly a dded. T h in k a bou t it befor e y ou du m p m et a da t a . T h e file-size im pr ov em en t is m in iscu le, a n d t h e w or ld a lr ea dy h a s t oo m a n y PDF files w it h ou t ev en ba sic m et a da t a . Dist r ibu t ed PDF files sh ou ld con t a in a t lea st T it le a n d A u t h or en t r ies; a n y u ser s t r y in g t o fin d y ou r PDF u sin g a sea r ch en g in e w ill r ea lly a ppr ecia t e it .

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Cleanup
In t h is pa n el, object com pr ession opt ion s ch a n g e a ccor din g t o t h e select ed A cr oba t Com pa t ibilit y specifica t ion y ou ch oose for com pa t ibilit y . Requ ir in g A cr oba t 5 com pa t ibilit y w ill r est r ict y ou r com pr ession opt ion s. In g en er a l, ch oose Com pr ess t h e en t ir e file. Feel fr ee t o ch eck a ll t h e box es on t h is pa n el. T h e on e t h a t r ea lly m a t t er s is Opt im ize for Fa st W eb V iew . T h is opt ion a llow s PDF files t o be v iew ed in t h e br ow ser plu g in a s t h ey a r e dow n loa ded, per m it t in g r a pid on lin e v iew in g of ex t r em ely la r g e PDF files. Be su r e t h is is ch eck ed for a lm ost a n y PDF docu m en t . For PDF for m s, h ow ev er especia lly t h ose w it h lot s of Ja v a Scr ipt it s g en er a lly a bet t er pr a ct ice t o NOT opt im ize for Fa st W eb V iew .

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Conclusion
T h ese scr een sh ot s (PDF, 2 7 2 k b) sh ow g ood st a r t in g set t in g s for a lm ost a ll PDF files in t en ded for on lin e u se. Y ou r m ilea g e a n d pr efer en ces m a y v a r y . Beg in by a u dit in g som e of y ou r PDF files a h ea d of t im e so y ou u n der st a n d t h e r ela t iv e size of w h a t s in side a pa r t icu la r docu m en t . If y ou n eed v er y h ig h r esolu t ion or m in im a l com pr ession in or der t o con v ey a h ig h lev el of im a g e det a il, ch a n g e t h e im a g e set t in g s a ccor din g ly . Fin a lly , be su r e t h a t opt im izin g is t h e LA ST t h in g y ou do befor e secu r in g a n d post in g y ou r PDF files on lin e. A n y ot h er edit s or sa v es in A cr oba t 9 .0 m a y a u t om a t ica lly u pg r a de t h e file, ca u sin g u ser s w it h older soft w a r e t o see t h a t n a st y m essa g e a bou t t h e file bein g u n su ppor t ed. Good lu ck , a n d h a ppy Opt im izin g ! By Duff Johns on Originally pos ted on acrobatus ers .com . Clea r Sca n , Opt im ize PDF

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