I have 2 questions:

[Chuck M]

• I OCR-ed a pixel image and was delighted to see that the look of the image was unchanged, but that the PDF now had searchable, copyable text. And yet file size had decreased (I don't know why; a non-apparent reduction in res?). The question is: if that PDF is included on a webpage, will the Google and other search robots read that OCR-generated text? Will the originally "mute" image now deliver a message to the search engines?
• When I find say 18 images for possible use in illustrating a text document, I haven't had a good way to share those images with the client -- big enuf to see and easy to view. The Create > PDF from multiple files seems idea for my purpose. I'm taking an Acrobat course at the local tech college, and the multiple files PDF I made for the course worked fine. But when I added the 18 JPEGs to the multiple files window (wish Acrobat could work with PSDs) all went fine until I was ready to click Combine. Then all 18 images were labelled with the error icon (for an unknown error) and the PDF failed. I couldn't find the real reason nor could I recover, so  went for 3 new PDFs with fewer images in them. That worked fine. Though the client likely would prefer handling 1 PDF to 3. I'm unsure whether too many images was the core problem because the behavior wasn't fully consistent. Is the unknown error inside Acrobat? Or might it be my old Mac Book Pro running out of RAM (it has 8 gig)?
• Forum question: is there a way to get an email notification when my post has been replied to? (Handy but not essential.)
  
  

[Chuck M]

I'm guessing my first question may be off the beaten path in an Acrobat forum.

And my second question may sound parochial to my computer.

Plus, the email notice I received from the Dreamweaver forum answers (or invalidates) my third question.

Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to other things we go...  😉

[RebinTexas]

Hi,

This may not help with pdf's - but I can copy an image online and paste it into my WORDPERFECT software very easily. Then I fix to keep "Size" in dimension on the image and I can then re-size it to fit how I want on the page and where I want in relation to text. I've used WORD and WORDPERFECT both for years - and find wordperfect so much better and easier to do things...and my reports come out just right.

[Test Screen Name]

"will the Google and other search robots read that OCR-generated text"  it's important to realise that search engines aren't generic. Each one behaves in its own way, according to their own aims and abilities, hoping to get ahead of the other robots or serve their users better. But most robots are now capable of extracting text from PDFs. A few might even do OCR so you don't have to, but we have no way of knowing except to set up experiments.

combining problem - no idea what went wrong. But understand that combining JPEGs in this way is a very simple and limited way to work. For more control you'd make a multipage document in Word, InDesign, or whatever you like, and convert that to a PDF. Then you can add captions, put two or more small things on a page, or whatever. A collection of just images would seem to me a bit incomplete if I were a client. You can also combine PDFs with Acrobat. Bear in mind you should NOT directly email the result - too big, too prone to problems for which the client will blame you. Use a simple file sending site like wetransfer.com.

email notification - seems to be automatic.

[Chuck M · Accepted solution]

"combining problem - no idea what went wrong. But understand that combining JPEGs in this way is a very simple and limited way to work. For more control you'd make a multipage document in Word, InDesign, or whatever you like, and convert that to a PDF. Then you can add captions, put two or more small things on a page, or whatever. A collection of just images would seem to me a bit incomplete if I were a client. You can also combine PDFs with Acrobat. Bear in mind you should NOT directly email the result - too big, too prone to problems for which the client will blame you. Use a simple file sending site like wetransfer.com."

Not trying to argue. Just looking for pragmatism. Making a document like suggested is better but it's a LOT of work just to share image possibilities. What I have done previously is set the folder of possibilities to show previews or thumbnails, Clean by Name, doing one or more screenshots, and sending those. It works, barely, but the images are small, and the white space is too plentiful. In the PDF the images are circa 10X bigger. A lack of captions is a problem, howsoever the client dealt with it. And on the next attempt I thought I'd go back into the created PDF and try adding either text or comments. (In the Acrobat class adding text worked very well.) And because I was using web-sized JPEGs (sometimes the way they came and other times an extra step for me), the file size for the 18 image PDF wasn't at all a problem. Memory tentatively thinks it was about 2mb. The JPEGs ranged from roughly 400 px to 1000 px wide. If I recall, after making the combo PDF with web settings, I used Acrobat processing to get minimum file size. 

In sum, the PDF I made showed the images to better advantage, my intent, and for that I'm willing to accept some shortcomings. Time will tell if further experience makes me more competent, and perhaps avoids the errors encountered in the first one.

Your comment on search engines not being generic in behavior sounds spot on, even if it is inconvenient. Bet someone has done the experiments. Maybe the person who developed the technique of writing a graf or 2 of favorable text and then positioning it off screen. Folks are always looking for ways to get more out of any system.