Why are publisher files so large?

[mattspace]

This is the same 236 page document, the InDesign version has linked layered tiff files (and all of the layout, text etc), many of them upto 500mb in size each. The Publisher version is linked pdfs of the pages spat out by InDesign, that are 20-40mb in size. Publisher is set to prefer linked for its file placement, and the files all show up as linked.

Does "linked" mean something different for Publisher - is it still keeping a full copy of the linked file within the document?

[Joachim_L]

What version of APu are you using? And why are you placing PDF in APu, when you have ID CS5 installed? And why are the PDF files so big?

[mattspace]

Publisher 1.9. The files are going through Publisher because Affinity Photo has a bug that prevents it rendering them properly, and I need to get them into png format for epub publishing. InDesign has no png output, and Photoshop CS5 can't have its opening of pdfs automated. So the process is render out the pages as pdfs from InDesign, they're all placed in a Publisher document, then Publisher outputs as png. That way, If I have to change the master InDesign document, I can then run the output script from that, then run an output pass from Publisher, and have my several hundred pngs.

[sfriedberg]

13 hours ago, mattspace said:

Does "linked" mean something different for Publisher - is it still keeping a full copy of the linked file within the document?

I seem to recall something to that effect, but cannot find where I (think I) read it.

[thomaso]

5 hours ago, mattspace said:

I need to get them into png format for epub publishing. InDesign has no png output, and Photoshop CS5 can't have its opening of pdfs automated. So the process is render out the pages as pdfs from InDesign, they're all placed in a Publisher document, then Publisher outputs as png.

It doesn't touch your topic but might be of interest: there are various tools converting PDF to PNG, some of them online and/or free, for instance https://pdf2png.com/

[mattspace]

5 hours ago, thomaso said:

It doesn't touch your topic but might be of interest: there are various tools converting PDF to PNG, some of them online and/or free, for instance https://pdf2png.com/

I recall having an automator script that did most of it at one stage, though I think I mothballed it because macOS Sierra had a native pdf rendering bug that put red and blue fringing on text. Thanks for reminding me of *why* I originally bought into Affinity - to get around that issue. I might dig that out and see if I can rework the process.

[garrettm30]

On 2/19/2021 at 12:16 AM, mattspace said:

Does "linked" mean something different for Publisher - is it still keeping a full copy of the linked file within the document?

 

I'm going to take a stab at this with an idea of one possible explanation. Do you have "Save History with Document" (under the File menu) active? That means all the resources that you previously used in the process of making the document must still be saved in the file in case you choose to undo.

To give an example:

1. I started a new document with a resource policy of prefer embedded.
2. Activated "Save History with Document"
3. Placed a 23.3 MB PDF and saved. Saved file: 24.9 MB.
4. Deleted the PDF and changed document image policy to prefer linked.
5. Placed the same PDF and confirmed it is linked via the resource manager.
6. Saved again. Saved file: 26 MB.
7. Unchecked "Save History with Document" and saved again. Saved file: 438 KB.

So to answer your original question, the entire linked file would not normally be saved in the document. If you had any embedded resources in the past, even if they are not there now, they would still be saved to the file if you have chosen to "Save History with Document." That is what is happening at step 6 in my example: there is nothing more than one linked PDF in my simple text document, yet the file size reflects that the PDF is still stored inside the document. That is because previously (step 3), there was an embedded copy of that same PDF, and it is saved along with the undo history in case I chose to undo all the way back to step 3. When I decided to discard the save history and save again (step 7), then the past embedded document is no longer saved inside the file.

"Save History with Document" can be helpful to use, but it is also good to understand that the file size will be increased, especially when it comes to resources.

I do not know if this is the cause in your case, but at least it is a good thing to be aware of.

[mattspace]

That's interesting, and I can see the logic to it, though the document was started with the preference to "prefer linked".

The point is moot now however - it seems the update from macOS Sierra to High Sierra fixed a bug I was experiencing in the system's native pdf rendering, which meant the core of the problem, rendering .pdf into .png was able to be done by an Automator action. So I don't need to involve Publisher, or Photo (just means I'll have to virtualise a system with CS5 in it, eventually).

cheers,