Answered
Interactive pdfs are suddenly exporting as large file sizes
Since last week, pdfs exported from InDesign as Interactive are unexpectedly large – like 12.5 MB instead of 2-3 MB. I tried using the smallest resolution too, but previously I used the default Interactive specs and resolution size of 144 PPI and still had small files.
When I open and re-save them as “reduce file size” or “optimize" in Acrobat, the pdfs don’t get smaller. That has been my workaround in the past, but these pdfs can't be reduced in size more than 1MB.
This is happening across multiple InDesign projects, but I have one template I have used for years and been able to always save it out to a small size. There is nothing unusual or new with the content of the files that I can discern. The template file which I'm troubleshooting doesn't even have transparency and the placed images are either small vector files or compressed jpgs.
What I tried:
- I tried exporting from three InDesign versions.
- I installed the Adobe PPD and made the pdf the old-fashioned way with a Postscript dump and then Distilling it – that produced the expected 2.3MB file, but I lose all my web links and have to create them manually.
- I also tried saving the pdf out in parts to see if a specific section is a problem, and the parts were all equally large sizes.
Mac OS Mojave running newest CS apps.
Ideas?
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