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Participating Frequently
May 1, 2020
Question

adding form fields dramatically increases file size

  • May 1, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 4568 views

I have a Word doc that needs to be form fillable PDF.

 

Word doc = 24k

Converted to PDF using Acrobat DC = 44k

Added 5 text form fields = 1.2MB!!

 

That's a dramatic jump in file size from the original, unedited PDF.  Is there something that can be done about that?

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2 replies

JR Boulay
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 11, 2020

- Always make sure you always end the form with Save As, not just Save.

 

- This behavior is not "unreliable", on the contrary, it is perfectly predictable.

You should read this article about the "14 Standart PDF fonts": https://www.abracadabrapdf.net/ressources-et-tutos/js-et-formulaires-ressources/les-14-polices-standard-du-format-pdf/

Googol translate is your friend.

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
m_noreenAuthor
Participating Frequently
May 12, 2020

FWIW, I ALWAYS do Save As... every time. I have scores of v2, v3, v4... files in my work folder until I'm done and can delete all the intermediate versions!

 

I think Acrobat has some issues w/ it, I may call that unreliable or buggy or touchy... 

 

I have a Word doc, convert it to PDF.   First time in Acrobat, I do Save As Other, Optimized.  And I unembed any fonts there.  That always brings the file size back down.  Yet when I open that file up in Reader, go to Document Properties, Fonts... it always shows some leftover font (for example, Ariel), that never even showed up in the Unembed dialog as a choice when optimizing.  In my Word doc, I have no headers or footers.  I have done a Select All and set a specific font.  So where is Acrobat picking that up.  But that initial optimized version, even so, is ususally pretty small, let's say under 50k, even less if it's a simple one page doc.

 

Now let's say I make the cardinal sin of adding a form field and changing the Font to one of the non standard ones.  Save As.  There's the hit.  We're at 1mb file size.  Oh that's right, it's dealing with that font thing. Change the font on that form field back to Helvetica.   Go to Save As/Optimized and go to the Font page, there's nothing there to unembed.  I do the save anyway and of course it doesn't change the file size.   It's still huge.  Now I have to start completely over, from scratch.  If I had already done a bunch of edits and adding a bunch of form fields, all that work is gone because I have to start over.  (Or go back to one of my intermediate versions and pick up where I left off... because that's how I've learned to roll in Acrobat!)

 

I understand if I choose some custom font, it wants to embed it and that will cause the file size to go up.  But managing those fonts, that process, is the issue.  If I choose to not use the font, I should be able to unembed it.  That option is lost.  So yeah, I think it's unreliable.  That's my .02.

 

Legend
May 1, 2020

Start again, this time use the font from the top of the list, Helvetica.

m_noreenAuthor
Participating Frequently
May 1, 2020

OK, I can do that but... what if I need the font to match what the rest of the document is (and it's not Helvetica)? Since the rest of the text on the converted doc is all the same font as the form field textbox I was adding, I'm not sure I follow why that would cause such a dramatic change in file size.

Legend
May 1, 2020

Every font, except the few at the start of the list, has to embed the entire font file. Font files are often over a megabyte, so this is just what happens. You can decide is a tradeoff of font accuracy is the answer, or look for a font with a smaller font file (hard).