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22:46, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Posted by Mad Mick
Mad Mick
member, 912 posts
The end
is in the beginning
Mon 30 Oct 2017
at 03:02
  • msg #1

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

With my GM's blessing, I recently created PDFs of archived threads in one of my games on RPOL.  The problem is the resulting PDFs are too large, totaling nearly 2.5 GBs.

Here's what I did:

I opened each individual thread and saved it as a PDF.  The resulting PDFs were blurry for some reason, but I found that if I printed them again, I could save them as clear images.  I used Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro for this, and there were three options for PDFs - a smaller file size that optimizes file size and compresses images using low-quality JPEG; the default size suitable for printing business documents that retains original file size and quantity; and a larger file size suitable for printing on desktop printers that retains original quality.

I chose the default size on both saving the PDFs and when I merged them to form volumes (the original files were too large to fit in one volume).  Originally, the resulting files were over 3 GBs in total, and I was able to shave off .5 GB by saving the merged files in the smaller file size.

Is there a better way to do this that doesn't result in gigantic PDFs?  The results are pretty but way too big.
LonePaladin
member, 661 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Mon 30 Oct 2017
at 03:53
  • msg #2

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

How much of these PDFs are images that aren't necessary? You might be retaining a bunch of extra graphics -- like the little bars under each post's title -- and that can take up a lot of space.

Also, trimming out the repeated thread titles "Re: Best way to..." might cut it down a bit. You could bring up the title line again if it gets changed in some way (though most game threads don't bother).
nauthiz
member, 543 posts
Mon 30 Oct 2017
at 05:21
  • msg #3

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Check the settings for your Adobe PDF "printer" in the relevant area of your computer's OS.

There, you should be able to change things like quality, compression, etc.  You might be printing at way too high of a quality, or printing the pages as images, or something odd like that.

I opened up an RPoL thread with 998 posts and "printed" it via Adobe X Pro and the total file size was 2.58 MB for 154 pages worth of posts.

Unless your threads have lots of additional media (like pictures and such), it's likely a setting issue that's causing Adobe to not do things efficiently for the purpose you're trying to use it for, when creating the individual PDFs.
Hunter
member, 1392 posts
Captain Oblivious!
Lurker
Mon 30 Oct 2017
at 05:25
  • msg #4

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

It will also depend on what format you save it.   I believe that there's a web page as well as a text option, the former would produce a lot more data.
Mad Mick
member, 915 posts
The end
is in the beginning
Mon 27 Nov 2017
at 04:59
  • msg #5

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

It must be something weird on my end.  When I print a 3-page thread with 43 replies as a PDF in Chrome, I get a 47-page PDF that's about 2 MB, but the type isn't clear.  It's readable but fuzzy.  Then I open up the PDF in Adobe and print it again from Adobe.  This time, the end product is legible although not as sharp as a webpage, but the new PDF is 19 MB.

I set the original PDF to print at 300 DPI.
nauthiz
member, 547 posts
Mon 27 Nov 2017
at 05:40
  • msg #6

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Sounds like you just need to up your DPI then.  600 is generally what's considered the baseline for "print" quality (something that's going to be physically printed/re-printed.  Since you're capturing "images" of 8.5"x11" (standard paper size), you might just be getting too much compression at 300 DPI, hence the fuzzy text.
pdboddy
member, 576 posts
Mon 27 Nov 2017
at 12:07
  • msg #7

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Hey, professional desktop dude here.

Are you printing them as images?  That will always produce bloated pdf files.  I can't speak to the blurriness, but I know that with default settings, Chrome outputs text as outlines, not as an actual font.  I can do some testing and see if I can get actual text from the webpage.

If you're up to trying it, perhaps Firefox may give better results?

Also, one way to reduce file size is to choose an Rpol layout that's not full colour?  Some of the layouts have images in the background, which will add to the file size.
This message was last edited by the user at 12:09, Mon 27 Nov 2017.
pdboddy
member, 577 posts
Mon 27 Nov 2017
at 13:03
  • msg #8

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

So yeah, I used the Adobe PDF settings, with the only change being the margins, and my OOC thread with 557 posts is 81 pages and a byte size just over 5mb.  However, the "background images" option is unchecked, meaning the background doesn't print.  It's also set for 1200 dpi.

At the same settings, but 300 dpi, I don't get any blurring of the text.  It's also very similar in size.

At the same settings as above, but with background images checked, it's only a few hundred kilobytes bigger.

With save as pdf, it's a few more pages (because the default settings have bigger margins than my margin settings in Adobe pdf), but without background images, it's 5kb shy of 2mb.  With background images set, it's 4kb shy of 2mb.

I'm using the 'reduced' colour scheme, that may play a big part of it.

Are you using Chrome's print dialog, or your system's print dialog (which you need to hit cntlctrl-shift-p to get to in Chrome)?
This message was last edited by the user at 13:05, Mon 27 Nov 2017.
pdboddy
member, 578 posts
Mon 27 Nov 2017
at 13:13
  • msg #9

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Okay, tested it with dark blue background, it adds maybe a few hundred bytes over the reduced color scheme.  I think there may be something else going on in your settings.
Mad Mick
member, 916 posts
The end
is in the beginning
Tue 28 Nov 2017
at 07:30
  • msg #10

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Thank you so much for your suggestions!  I'll check the settings and try Firefox to see if that creates a better PDF.
horus
member, 445 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Sun 25 Mar 2018
at 14:52
  • msg #11

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

Mick, Hi,

I don't know if you've ever used LibreOffice, but it has an Export to PDF function that may work better for you.

Import the archived text into a LibreOffice Writer document (an .odt file), and, from the File menu, select "Export as PDF".

Just as an example, I produced a 26-page illustrated double-column formatted Referee's Guide for a game I'm working on using LibreOffice, then exported that file to a PDF with a size of 2.6 MB.
Mad Mick
member, 946 posts
GURPS beyond measure,
outlander
Thu 26 Jul 2018
at 07:13
  • msg #12

Best way to create a pdf of an RPOL game's archived threads?

I think my main problem here was using Ctrl+P in Chrome rather than Shift+Ctrl+P. The latter method is much better. Thanks, everyone!
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