Giant file can't save, can't delete pages

[mollykitti]

I purchased a clip art bundle from a graphic designer, who despite being a gifted artist, doesn't seem to understand the tech side of it.  Rather than send individual images I can open as needed, she sent one giant 17,000 page .pdf.  I can open it, but it's too big to save on my computer.  I don't necessarily need the whole thing though.  I would like to delete the pages I don't need (probably at least 75% of them, if not more).  It would make the file size small enough to save and quicker to search through.  Unfortunately, Acrobat won't let me delete pages.  I keep getting a "one or more pages could not be deleted" error message.  I've tried deleting multiple ways, no go.  I've also tried extracting just the pages I need.  I get an error message with that as well.  I've reached out to the designer and she doesn't seem to understand my problem.  She did reluctantly agree to refund my money, but it seems like there should be some way to make this work.  Is there a way to delete pages, extract useful pages, break up the file, or optimize it without saving it?

[Bernd Alheit]

Can you extract pages?

[mollykitti]

As stated in my original post, no. I can't extract pages.

[Bernd Alheit]

What error message does you get when you extract pages?

[mollykitti]

"Unable to extract while page is in use". Is there a way to extract without the file being open or saved anywhere?

[Test Screen Name]

Acrobat should work with larger files than that. (I once made a million page file to test; it was creaky but it worked.).  What exact version of Acrobat do you have (not "latest" please). What is the actual file size?
What app would you wish to use these graphics with?

[mollykitti]

I have Acrobat Pro 10.1.16.  I'm not really sure about the file size since I can't save anywhere to check. I just know it's too big to save on my 1TB hard drive according to Acrobat. These are all journal layouts/pages, so I probably will ultimately use them in Acrobat. I just don't need all possible layouts and styles at once.  I need to break up the file without first saving it.

[Test Screen Name]

Ok, very old version, but it is entirely capable of handling huge files. So

1. You say you can't extract. But what exactly happens when you try to extract a few hundred pages? Please give EXACT error messages.

2. You say you can't save it but if it's open in Acrobat it's ALREADY on one of your disks, as far as I can see. Please use File > Properties and look under the General tab. It will tell you where it's saved, what it's called and the exact file size. 

Screen shots welcomed.

[mollykitti]

1. When I try to extract, or delete, a page the first error message I get is something about "unable to complete while page is in use", but that flashes on the screen for a second, then disappears. The second error message I get is "one or more pages were unable to be extracted" (or deleted if that's what I tried). As far as I know, the file has to be open for pages to be extracted or deleted, but I assume that has to do with the file not being saved anywhere.

2. No, the file isn't actually saved anywhere. The designer sent me a link to a file sharing site. When I try and download the file, it processes for a whole day - 8 to 10ish hours - then says it's unable to save because the file is too big. I tried searching to see if it partially saved, but I can't find it anywhere on any of my drives. The file sharing site does have a "preview" option which opens in Acrobat. I thought it was strange that it opened in Acrobat instead of Chrome for a preview, but that's what it did. I can look at the file and see that it's there, but apparently can't edit anything. It's not a secured file as far as I can find, but I'm guessing the fact that it is a preview is blocking it somehow? 

[Test Screen Name]

Ok, there's something very strange here, because if there isn't room to save it, then it CANNOT be open in Acrobat. It might, perhaps, be open in Adobe's online PDF viewer (not Acrobat, but the word may be used on screen to confuse us all).

But it also seems that this isn't the file, but a preview? It seems more and more as if you're viewing it on a web site. Take a look - is it in a window saying "Acrobat" in the window title? Maybe a screen shot will help us understand. If it is actually open in Acrobat, then please use File > Properties as I already described before and share the results.

[mollykitti]

It's not a website. It's Acrobat. Properties shows the file as 3.7kB which I'm pretty sure is impossible for a 17k pages/images file. The location line is blank. I'd love to show you screen shots, but complicating matters my computer dropped all internet connection 2 days ago. The normal workaround for that is to restart the computer, but with the .pdf that I'm unable to save I'm afraid I might not get it reopened if I close out now.

[Bernd Alheit]

How does you post this reply without a internet connection?

[Test Screen Name]

That is pretty remarkable, and I hope you'll find a way to send a screen shot. It sounds as if the download isn't properly there, and if so it's hardly surprising you can't delete pages or save it. Meanwhile - just how large was the full file you tried to download? And how much free space do you have on your C drive? And, what are the exact words, complete and unedited (since you can't screen shot) when you try to do a Save As in Acrobat?

[mollykitti]

I'm thinking it's a laptop issue. I rebooted it and got back to the link. I was able to save the file to a different file sharing site (Google Drive). Google Drive shows it as 1.74GB. The original site didn't say a file size. My laptop is brand new. The hard drive is 1TB and the only thing I've loaded onto it is the Adobe suite. Most of the 1 TB should still be available.  I can let you know in 8ish hours the exact error message when it finishes trying to save again.  I'm pretty sure the exact words were "unable to complete. Not enough available space." Also, I checked the saved to Google Drive version on another computer. I can now extract files, but I still get the same error message when I try to delete pages. And the file is no longer a fillable form. So, kind of a workaround, but might be a lot of work to fix.

[mollykitti]

I have a phone and a laptop. Don't you?

[try67]

A blank PDF file with one page and no contents is around 5KB, so what you're seeing is probably not a PDF file at all. Certainly not the one you've described.