[Designer/Win] Some explanation about PDF handling

[Petar Petrenko]

Hi,

 

1. I've opened a PDF document in Designer previously created by InDesign (open.afphoto) with dimensions 123 x 236mm, but when I open "Document Setup" (document setup.afphoto) I see that dimensions are totally different and like the document is in a landscape mode.

 

2. When I select a picture, which is TIF/CMYK in PDF, I can't see what kind of format is in Designer. Is there any way I can see it?

 

3. It is great that I can see picture resolution in pixels and it's printing density (dpi), but can you add type and mode of the picture beside this information?

document setup.afphoto

open.afphoto

[Petar Petrenko]

Still no answer?

[MattP]

Still no answer?

Sorry, things have just been crazy busy since the release of Designer on Windows and we're struggling to respond to everyone...

 

Yes, I don't see why we couldn't tell the user what type of image they have placed :) The landscape/portrait orientation issue is more difficult - we'd need to see the original PDF in order to find out what's happening. Perhaps there's a tag we're not reading that doesn't get set by other applications, but InDesign is setting it?  (It's actually quite interesting that the PDF thinks it is 6 portrait pages - rather than one landscape page... are you certain that what's in the PDF is what you think it is?)

[Petar Petrenko]

Here is the PDF.

09. docna antika.pdf

[MattP]

Hi,

 

When I open the document, this is what I see:

 

 

I believe that's correct? With regards to the document dimensions, you're viewing the entire document's size in that dialog. Each artboard is the correct 357.2x669pt size (this is the same as shown by Illustrator if I open the same PDF). The DPI is inferred from the highest DPI image we come across in the PDF (as PDF does not have the notion of DPI in itself - it just assumes 72 at all times)

 

Hope that makes some sense?

Matt

[MikeW]

Hi,

 

When I open the document, this is what I see:

 

Screen Shot 2016-11-21 at 14.26.55.png

 

I believe that's correct? With regards to the document dimensions, you're viewing the entire document's size in that dialog. Each artboard is the correct 357.2x669pt size (this is the same as shown by Illustrator if I open the same PDF). The DPI is inferred from the highest DPI image we come across in the PDF (as PDF does not have the notion of DPI in itself - it just assumes 72 at all times)

 

Hope that makes some sense?

Matt

 

But...357.162 pts width x 6 artboards should equal 2142.99 pts.

[Petar Petrenko]

Hi,

 

When I open the document, this is what I see:

 

Screen Shot 2016-11-21 at 14.26.55.png

 

I believe that's correct? With regards to the document dimensions, you're viewing the entire document's size in that dialog. Each artboard is the correct 357.2x669pt size (this is the same as shown by Illustrator if I open the same PDF). The DPI is inferred from the highest DPI image we come across in the PDF (as PDF does not have the notion of DPI in itself - it just assumes 72 at all times)

 

Hope that makes some sense?

Matt

 

1. I can't see anywhere the artboard size.

2. All pictures are 300dpi, except the ones on the 1st and 2nd artboard which are 50dpi.

[MikeW]

You can select one of the artboards in the Layer's panel and see the dimensions in the Transform panel.

 

According to Acrobat, the image sizes are correctly (rounded) in AD. Page 1 & 2 are 50 dpi images. The rest are 300 dpi images.

[Petar Petrenko]

Thank you MikeW and MattP.

 

@MattP: I just don't know where you saw that images are 72dpi?

[R C-R]

But...357.162 pts width x 6 artboards should equal 2142.99 pts.

But the artboards are neither aligned edge to edge nor in a 6 row by 1 column layout, so as Matt said, the dialog shows the document's size, the width of which spans the left edge of page 1 to the right edge of page 4. Likewise, the height spans from the top of the first row to the bottom of the second one.

 

1. I can't see anywhere the artboard size.

 

The artboard size can be seen in the Transform panel when it is selected with the Move tool active, the same as for any other item in the Layer's panel.

 

Likewise, each image's size & dpi can be seen at the top left of the Context toolbar when it is selected with the Move tool active.

[MikeW]

Interesting, R C-R.

 

I wouldn't have expected the gap to be calculated in the document size and so didn't take that into account.

[R C-R]

I wouldn't have expected the gap to be calculated in the document size and so didn't take that into account.

If you display the rulers, this becomes more obvious. When you select an artboard or an object in one, the ruler values change so that the origin is the top left of that artboard.

[MikeW]

If you display the rulers, this becomes more obvious. When you select an artboard or an object in one, the ruler values change so that the origin is the top left of that artboard.

 

I did have the rulers displaying. And as you point out, the gap is not taken into account as the rulers being at the top left of each artboard. So I lack understanding of the why of the document dimensions taking the gap into account.

[R C-R]

I am just guessing but I suppose it has to do with the "container" object model of a document file: if the document contains gaps between artboards they (& anything partially or completely in them) have to be contained by something, so since the document is the top level container, what else could that something be?

 

In other words, the document itself is the top level container so it must always be large enough to enclose every lower level container, be it a layer, group, compound object, or whatever.

 

Does that make sense to you?

[MikeW]

That's what I figured, but thanks for a confirmation (as much as we users can do so).

 

While it makes sense one one level, it makes no sense on another. It really doesn't matter as long as output is unagfected, which it isn't as far as I can see. Which is the doesn't then make sense part.

 

Mike