Chief Architect X14 and PDF size


ChiefVeronique
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Hi all,

Is everybody experiencing the same issue? 
Each Chief Architect update made the pdf print size bigger, but now with X14, it’s unusable. 30MB the page!
Changing the dpi at export doesn’t even change the size, and trying to reduce them using Acrobat doesn’t even work considering that the issue is the content streams.
Don't know what to do!

 

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I have this issue when creating PDFs in other programs as well.  Settled on having Acrobat compress the files after they are created.  Typically a 30MB file will reduce to 3-7MB's

 

If you don't own acrobat, here are two online resources that you can drop your PDF into and it will return you a compressed file for free.

 

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Quote

 

Don't know what to do!

 

 

Please remember that X14 is currently available as a beta version.  This means that you may find some problems that were not in prior versions.  Please report all of these problems directly to our tech support team so that we can try to correct them prior to the actual release. 

 

Please remember that posting on Chieftalk is not the same as reporting problems to us.  Although Chieftalk is moderated by Chief Architect, it is really just a user forum where the majority of the content here comes directly from users.  While some employees may read and even comment on some posts, there is no guarantee that any given post will be looked at by an employee.

 

You can find out how to contact support here:

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/

 

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Thank you all!

 

I work on Mac, same as " buzzsaw204"  which seems to have the same problem. It may be unique to Mac users.

The same file exported with X13 is 113KB while exported with X14 is 32MB. No image is included, and Acrobat Pro can't reduce it.

I sent the request to the tech support as well.

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17 minutes ago, ChiefVeronique said:

Thank you all!

 

I work on Mac, same as " buzzsaw204"  which seems to have the same problem. It may be unique to Mac users.

The same file exported with X13 is 113KB while exported with X14 is 32MB. No image is included, and Acrobat Pro can't reduce it.

I sent the request to the tech support as well.

There is I believe two other posts in here about this same subject tested on many computers and reported by many users.  It is a bug in x14 which is a beta version and what they warned you about when you agreed to install it.  The other posts will point you to a solution in the meantime.

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If you are on a mac, there is a subscription to a series of 200 pps that have very useful tools. The subscription app  is called Setapp ($10/mo).

One of the best PDF file reducing apps I have used is included called PDF squeezer.

It typically reduces any PDF I put in there to around 75% less than it was originally.   You can play around with the level of size reduction until you're happy. At the medium setting, it has no visible reduction in quality in my opinion.

 

 

CleanShot 2022-05-03 at 14.09.55.png

CleanShot 2022-05-03 at 14.10.53.png

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it's a $3000+ software.  plus another $600 Annual Supp. fee.

 

you shouldnt to have pay another $120/yr have it to Print properly.

 

im sure this is just minor Bug in Beta. 

 

the Bug has been reported to CA, Im sure it will be patched up in Full Release.

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On 5/3/2022 at 9:47 AM, robdyck said:

I've had no issues with pdf file sizes. I've also been printing at 144 DPI in order to reduce file sizes. 

At 144 DPI the clarity is more than satisfactory (in my experience).

In 15 years using Chief I have never actually considered lowering the DPI.  I'll actually give this a try, thanks for commenting.

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6 minutes ago, AvoyeDesign said:

In 15 years using Chief I have never actually considered lowering the DPI.  I'll actually give this a try, thanks for commenting.

The only things that print below optimal crispness are curved lines used for circle callouts, makers, arrows, etc.

For all straight lines, fill, text, etc. you won't see a significant difference between 144 and 600 dpi.

If any images are used, they'll be fine as long as the original image is a fairly high pixel count.

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Unless it has changed recently , the PDF Module of Chief is the only Part of Chief done by a 3rd Party and they seem to need some time after Beta is released each year to get their PDF API working properly with the Latest Version.

 

M. 

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43 minutes ago, robdyck said:

For all straight lines, fill, text, etc. you won't see a significant difference between 144 and 600 dpi.

 

Funny you should say that... I tried it this morning on a commercial reno plan I'm working on and I noticed a big difference in lineweights between 144 and 600 DPI. At 144 DPI, all lineweights look the same to me. This is viewing the pdf on screen only – haven't printed this to see how it looks on paper.

 

1287131474_144vs600DPITest1.thumb.png.1ddf5b6c72f8dea77408336fa25ff246.png220821073_144vs600DPITest2.thumb.png.394cb6e73e0ea49a2632ebb8a3e0aed5.png

 

Something has definitely changed from X13 to X14, at least on the Mac version, because when I created the pdf for this plan this morning, constisting of:

- 11 pages 18x24"

- one rendering on the cover page (standard camera sent to layout as image, not live view)

- all the rest of the pages contain only plan views, plot line elevations, or schedules (no embedded pdf's)

 

At 600 DPI, the file is 33.4MB. Even at 144 DPI, the size only goes down to 30.6MB...:wacko: 

 

In comparison, another commercial plan I recently completed in X13, which had 26 pages of 24x36" (much larger building, with a couple embedded PDF's to boot), only resulted in a file size of 13.7MB at 600 DPI.

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