Shrink large PDF files: The difference between ‘Save’ and ‘Save As’

If you’re finding that the size of files when using the Save feature in Nitro PDF Pro is on the large side, try using the Save As feature instead.

PDF files have something that is called incremental updates, where any changes that you make to a document is appended to the end of the file without doing a complete rewrite. This is why the Save feature is much faster than a Save As, and also why PDF files saved this way can be large. The Save As feature will rewrite the entire file and provide you with a smaller file size.

If you’re interested in learning more about incremental updates, I suggest you read section 3.4.5 in the PDF Reference available from Adobe’s website.

PDF Reference – http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html

Bookmark and Share

Related posts

This entry was written by Chris Dahl and posted on November 27, 2007 at 1:43 pm and filed under knowledge, tips. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
  • Fulgurator
    Thanks a lot! My PDF files are about 10 times smaller now!
  • A CHENCHUMOHAN
    THANKS A LOT. I was struggling to get my PDF Files (with attachments) within 2.5 MB requirement. When I removed some attachments, the file became larger. I thought some virus, and unneccessarily spent two hours trying to run anti-virus program.
    NOw I am able to stick to the limit without sacrefiling content.
    THANKS
blog comments powered by Disqus