Option to import pages from PDF

[JamesD]

Hi,

First I FINALLY got the Affinity Publisher beta installed (had to turn off NET 3.5 to do so) but all is good.

 

 

Second, I was working on a project when I tried to place a PDF into the project canvas, it was placed as a whole image instead of choosing pages. 

 

Adding the option to choose which pages from a PDF alongside what images would be a great feature for Affinity Publisher. This would allow for more flexibility when placing PDFs into a Publisher project.  

 

[spidermurph]

Yes we sure need this feature. Especially when you need to pull one page from a 100 page PDF.

[woefi]

wait, what? Yes this is needed.

Especially if I'm able to nest Publisher docs inside publisher docs, as they are usually multipage.

[TonyB]

When you place a PDF then you can choose the page shown on the context toolbar at the top. If you want multiple pages then you should load(File Open) the PDF into Publisher and choose the pages you want. We don't currently have a insert PDF/Affinity document that will merge multiple pages yet but we might add it later.

 

 

[Safetymannie]

The way current version of PagePlus imports PDF files as images would be really useful option for Affinity Publisher, control over image resolution, ability to skip pages etc, would be most useful. It's a great feature in PagePlus.

[Eugene Tyson]

Bit cumbersome on a 600 page PDF

Would prefer to have the option to see a preview of the page to place too. 

Just a little improvement required.

1. Preview Page
2. Choose Trim/Art/Bleed etc. settings 

Overall - it works great!

[Robin3]

Hello,

In the Affinity Publisher bèta you can now import a PDF with multiple pages, and preview all pages.

Select "open" then Load pages. When you insert a page number and click in the next field, the preview displays that particular page.

It would be nice if the preview shows the chosen page right after you insert the page number ...

Keep up your very good work!

[MEB]

Hi Robin3,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
This only works when opening PDF files directly in Affinity Publisher, not when placing PDF's in an existing document using File ▸ Place.... This might be added in a future version. See TonyB's reply above for details.

[Przemysław]

Hi,

It's quite old thread, but is there any news on importing multi-page PDF into Publisher? At the moment I need to extract pages as separate files in Acrobat and then import them into Publisher same way as multiple images.
We use it quite often at work (i.e. to add crop marks to artwork).

[Engineer]

+1 is there any news? Any timescale when this might be implemented in the future (within weeks, month or years?)

We need this feature so badly here. So far it's extremely unpractical that you can't import a PDF with multiple pages automatically! We usually have tons of pdf files (with sometimes 100+ pages) to import.

The best would be to just set the first page in the right position and with the right scale and then Publisher should create as much pages as the pdf-file has and fill the document with these pages, the same way like you set up the first page.

Almost everything else works so nice, that I would love to switch to Publisher. But without this feature it's practically impossible!

[MEB]

Hi Engineer,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Go to menu File > Open. It should import/open the PDF with all pages by default or you can select just a few (check the import dialog top left). What's not possible is to embed the whole PDF with all visible pages into a document. Maybe that's what you meant?

[Engineer]

Hi MEB,

thank you for your answer. But as you guessed I need to Import the PDF inside an existing document. In case it would be possible to merge pages from different Publisher files, this might be a workaround. But as far as I know this isn't possible as well.

[Johnny Chin]

How about import Affinity Designer files to your APu pages with linked and embedded?

[dominik]

On 9/4/2019 at 8:59 PM, Engineer said:

In case it would be possible to merge pages from different Publisher files, this might be a workaround. But as far as I know this isn't possible as well.

Hello @Engineer,

the latest beta version introduced exactly this feature: merge documents 

d.

[robynt]

Being unable to easily insert a pdf is a feature that makes affinity publisher difficult to use. I am publishing a magazine and the advertising copy is always sent as pdf. At the moment I have to muck around quite a bit to place these ads and damn...it is frustrating. I might have to look at MS publisher to see if that will do the job.

[Fixx]

1 hour ago, robynt said:

Being unable to easily insert a pdf is a feature that makes affinity publisher difficult to use.

New 1.9 beta has PDF passthrough. You might want to test it. I am worried how multiple PDF files with varying PDF levels behave in export.

[Art Plant]

Whoa, this non existing feature in earlier versions of Publisher made app unusable for us as we often put together publications with lots of external pdf's, which must remain intact  / not interpreted (misssing fonts, delicate content etc.)  Mayor feature for me, will download  new version ASAP.  

Edit: Ah, halfbaked feature IMO. Passthrough works only on export to pdf, while screen preview and printing to PCL printers still change missing fonts.  As there is no option to place multi page pdf's as embedded objects, we have to stay with our ageing version of InDesign. Pagemaker and Ventura Publisher were able to do that decades ago ...  

Edited September 23, 2020 by Art Plant

[garrettm30]

2 hours ago, Art Plant said:

Ah, halfbaked feature IMO.

I agree that it is "halfbaked," but this is as expected since we are in the first public beta for 1.9. You are welcome to join the discussion for feedback in the beta forum.

[Didier73]

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Posted September 4, 2019

Hi Engineer,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Go to menu File > Open. It should import/open the PDF with all pages by default or you can select just a few (check the import dialog top left). What's not possible is to embed the whole PDF with all visible pages into a document. Maybe that's what you meant?

 

Hello

This should have solve my request, but in my publisher 1.8.5.703 version, the pdf import option always place page 1 of a multi pages pdf document, despite other pages is chosen.

 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Didier73 said:

This should have solve my request, but in my publisher 1.8.5.703 version, the pdf import option always place page 1 of a multi pages pdf document, despite other pages is chosen.

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums.

I'm not sure what that screenshot is from. However, when Placing a PDF you will select the page you want from the Context Toolbar in Affinity after you Place the file. For example:

 

[Carlonike]

Importing PDF files into publisher destroys graphics ...  (on the left the imported PDF, on the right the original)

So it is really impossible to be able to do something decent!

Edited October 4, 2020 by Carlonike

[walt.farrell]

19 minutes ago, Carlonike said:

Importing PDF files into publisher destroys graphics ...  (on the left the imported PDF, on the right the original)

So it is really impossible to be able to do something decent!

Those look like issues with the fonts, related to the Affinity applications not having support to use the fonts embedded in the PDF file. This is a well-known issue.

1.9 improves that for Placed PDF pages by allowing Passthrough mode, where the PDF page is treated more like an image if you export the Publisher file to a new PDF. (It still looks wrong when viewing the Publisher file in Publisher, but should look correct when viewing the PDF you export from Publisher.)

[Art Plant]

Ah well ... it must be hard to implement one of the core uses of pdf's in DTP apps - uninterpreted pdf.  If only Publisher would be able to convert missing fonts to curves to maintain look of document - not to wish automatic placement of long pdf documents into publication ... But as it is now in v1.9, placed pdf's look ugly on screen because of missing fonts and are printed ugly on average PCL printer - if not exported to pdf and printed from Acrobat using Passthrough feature.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Art Plant

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Art Plant said:

If only Publisher would be able to convert missing fonts to curves to maintain look of document

You can't do that unless you can interpret the embedded fonts correctly. And if you can interpret them, you don't need to convert them to curves.

But yes, the current implementation of PassThrough in 1.9 does not help with printing, only exporting. And yes, the Placed PDFs are still ugly on-screen, which others have complained about.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Art Plant said:

not to wish automatic placement of long pdf documents into publication

No, you still can't Place PDF files except by Placing each page individually.

But you can use Document > Add Files from Document... to bring in multiple pages, or a complete PDF file, as new pages in Publisher. So, if you do not need it as a Linked PDF file, and don't need the PassThrough function, that might provide you a simpler way than doing multiple Place operations.