Skip to main content
Sockratease
Sockratease
Inspiring
April 17, 2017
Answered

How To Resize Entire PDF In Acrobat X?

  • April 17, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 11600 views

Hi,

I'm in the odd situation of having to use a bunch of content for a website which is in PDF form, but was scanned decades ago.

The files are low resolution  (made for a 640 x 480 screen, I think), but the OCR work seems good.

My goal is to upscale as much as possible for modern computers without losing too much quality.

I have the Windows CS6 Master Suite, and thus Acrobat X Pro.

The threads I searched before posting were for Acrobat DC Pro and it's "Pre-Flight Tool" (which I do not seem to have in X - or I simply can't find it).

Is this a job for Acrobat X Pro, or would I do better with InDesign CS6?

Or should I export the pages as images, batch upscale in Photoshop with a tool like PhotoZoom Pro, and recompile as a new pdf with new OCR data  (or is it possible to keep the existing OCR data with the upscaled pages?).

I never used Acrobat for much of anything besides file conversion so am not familiar with it's capabilities.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading this, and for any help you may have to offer.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer try67

You would need Acrobat Pro DC to have this functionality built-in. Otherwise it can be done using a plugin or a script, like this one I've developed: Custom-made Adobe Scripts: Acrobat -- Scale PDF Pages

If you convert your file to images you would lose almost all of the good things about a PDF: Selectable and resizable vector text, metadata, form fields, comments, bookmarks, font information, etc.

2 replies

M
markt_a1b
Participating Frequently
April 17, 2017

Gilad,

The Web page you point to in your reply - Custom-made Adobe Scripts: Acrobat -- Scale PDF Pages  - states:

"... The scaling to these sizes preserves the original proportions of the pages, so it adds white space around them instead of distorting them...."

I have a 200-page PDF file, most of whose pages are 4.5" w x 7.0" h, with the rest being of varying, slightly smaller sizes.  However, the fully-justified text blocks of *all* pages are of consistent size; it is only the surrounding white space that varies - i.e., smaller than desired.  Does the above statement mean that your plug-in can increase the surrounding white space of a page to yield a consistent 4.5 x 7.0 size - *without* resizing the existing text block?

If so, can this plug-in be made to evaluate *all* pages in a document, in one pass, with only the white space of the under-size pages being expanded to the specified dimensions?

This may be a subject appropriate for a separate message thread, but in the meantime I also need to change the font color of the text in most of these 200 pages, from a dark grey to black.  Can Acrobat Pro XI do this?  Can your page-size plug-in do it?

In experimenting with changing the font color in a fully-justified three-column text document, in Acrobat Pro XI, I am having disappointing results.  The 9-point Times New Roman text is already solid black, but when I select an entire column of text and re-select the black color swatch, the text *slightly* changes size and completely re-flows itself - which not only leaves "orphan" en-dashes between syllables of hyphenated words, but also causes the document to lose its exactness of layout compared to the original.

Given our limited budgetary resources, $60 is a steep price to pay for a one-trick plug-in.

Is there something I am missing here?

Thanks!  Markt_a1b

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
April 18, 2017

If the original ratio of the page is not the same ratio as the target page size then white space will be added to make them the same.

If the page already has the same size as the target page it won't get affected by the tool.

Regarding the font color: You would need Acrobat Pro DC to do that, I think, and even then it's very tricky, as you've seen.

At any rate, my tool can't do anything about that.

If you wish to discuss it further, including running it on a sample file, please contact me privately.

M
markt_a1b
Participating Frequently
April 18, 2017

Thanks for the additional information, Gilad.  That is most appreciated.

As you request, I will contact you back-channel for further discussion of your PDF page-resizing plug-in, but in the meantime I still need more clarity about Acrobat Pro's capability, relative to the original message thread.  If I understand correctly, Acrobat Pro XI and X do not have the "Resize Entire PDF" functionality needed by the original poster and myself - but Acrobat Pro DC does.

If so, per my question above: can Pro DC "... be made to evaluate *all* pages in a document, in one pass, with only the white space of the under-size pages being expanded to the specified dimensions?"

Or, alternatively, does this process have to be applied one page at a time?

As to the described font color (and resizing/reflowing) issue, I will start a separate message thread on that subject.

Thanks again!  markt

try67
Community Expert
try67Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 17, 2017

You would need Acrobat Pro DC to have this functionality built-in. Otherwise it can be done using a plugin or a script, like this one I've developed: Custom-made Adobe Scripts: Acrobat -- Scale PDF Pages

If you convert your file to images you would lose almost all of the good things about a PDF: Selectable and resizable vector text, metadata, form fields, comments, bookmarks, font information, etc.

    Sockratease
    SockrateaseAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2017

    Thanks for the quick reply!

    I'll try the script.

    I think it is already images, just with OCR stuff somehow "behind" it.  Often, when highlighting text to copy, the highlight is not quite perfectly aligned and it's as if there is "hidden" text on the image page somehow.

    I say that because printing imperfections show, smudges and marks too.  But text can be copied.

    Strange files.

    But I only get strange jobs.

    And since I like fractals, I guess that makes me a Strange Attractor!

    But I digress...

    Thanks again for the advice.  I'll try all the options and go with what gives the best results.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices