[MaineWebFX]

As a web designer for a newspaper, twice a week we post a PDF version of the print newspaper to a website. The PDFs are usually about 20 pages ranging in size from 2MB to 6MB each.
In Tiger, I used to use an automator action to combine the PDFs (which still works since upgrading to Leopard). However, in Tiger, I used to use the "Reduce File Size" option when saving the combined pages, which brought the overall PDF file size down to an acceptable downloadable size (usually about 15MB or so).
Since upgrading to Leopard, though, when I use this option in Preview, the color photos in the PDFs get reversed (they show up like a negative), and many times the pages actually get bigger, rather than smaller, when "reducing" the file size.
Could someone help me figure out why this happens in Leopard? Like I said, it worked without a hitch in Tiger each time. In Leopard, it never works correctly.
Thanks for any help, and if you need more information, please let me know.
Thanks.

[RogueCrew]

You didn't say what software you are using to create the pages initially, but let me assume that you have all the same print options and dialogs as other Mac software. I am also going to suggest a change in the work-flow, as follows.
- Try "printing" a PDF of each page as it is finished, but from the print dialog box, instead of choosing "Save PDF" from the menu, go down a little bit, and choose, "Compress PDF".
- I know, I know, that item in the print dialog is no longer available in Leopard, but some dear soul provided a fix to restore it to the menu. It's free, and you can get it here:
http://www.macupdate...ss-pdf-workflow

I have been doing this for a long time to reduce the size of large architectural drawing files for sending to clients, and I can't tell the difference in quality between the compressed file and the original, nor between it and a "Saved PDF," but the files sure do get a whole bunch smaller. Having said that, I am not a graphics professional, nor do I use photographs very often.

- Now, you have 20 files saved on your Desktop and you want to combine them as a single file. Instead of an Automator script, try the nice little utility, "Combine PDFs," which is also free, and allows you to add, delete, and rearrange files to your heart's content. It does work in Leopard, btw, though the website doesn't indicate it. Download here:

http://www.monkeybre...mbinePDFs.shtml
Let us know if that works for you.

[Brettcamp]

I'm reviving an old thread because it addresses the same issue I'm having. I'm trying to reduce the file size of a multipage pdf of a magazine article. When I use the "Reduce file size" function (via Save As => Quartz Filter => reduce file size), the text is unreadable. So, as described in MacWorld's article "Preview's Hiddne Powers," I want to use the "Adjust File Size" function described in the Help file pasted in below. But when I select all the pages of the pdf in the sidebar, as instructed, the "Adjust file size" command is greyed out. In fact, I can't find any way to make it NOT be greyed out. Is the problem that I'm trying to reduce a pdf document, not an "image"? What am I doing wrong?Thanks in advance for any help.


Reducing an image?s file size
You can reduce the file size of an image without reducing its dimensions, if you need to save disk space or download an image more quickly. The reduced image will contain less detail than the original.
To reduce an image?s file size without changing its dimensions:
Choose Tools > Adjust Size.
Select Resample Image.
Enter a smaller value in the Resolution field.
The new size is shown at the bottom of the dialog.
To resize multiple images at the same time, display the images in the same window, select them in that window?s sidebar, and then choose Tools > Image Size.

[CAPTJON]

Same problem, no solution yet. Original files scanned by Receipt Wallet, but later saved / converted to Preview. Looking into this too. Leopard 10.5.4.