PDF shrinker

[John McWilliams]

Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.

The info says it was created on Word, and also shows this: *Mac OS X
10.11.6 Quartz PDFContext.* Others he's created are similar in content,
but under 1 Meg, and without the bolded info.

Or what might he have done to create such bloat?

[sms]

Are you sure that the text is not actually an image of the text?
Sometimes this is intentional to make it very difficult to edit a PDF.

[nospam]

In article <qqhp0f$mqs$2...@dont-email.me>, sms

<scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:

> > Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
> > that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
> > image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.
> >
> > The info says it was created on Word, and also shows this: *Mac OS X
> > 10.11.6 Quartz PDFContext.* Others he's created are similar in content,
> > but under 1 Meg, and without the bolded info.
> >
> > Or what might he have done to create such bloat?
>
> Are you sure that the text is not actually an image of the text?

given that it was created in word, clearly not.

> Sometimes this is intentional to make it very difficult to edit a PDF.

nope. to prevent editing, all that's needed is make it read-only.

[Your Name]

Or could be it uses a high resolution image that has been shrunk
on-screen to appear "normal size". Maybe even a background image that
wasn't mentioned.

[John McWilliams]

Yes, that could be the case of a hi res. photo, but the text is clearly
text.

I just created a test PDF from Pages, and it was large, so the full size
image seems to be the most likely suspect. I used Page's "Reduce File
Size" command, and it reduced it significantly. It looks like he may
have also involved Pages, as that seems to invoke the Quartz component.

In any event, is there an app to optimize the PDF after the fact?

And I apologize for using the wrong group here. Shoulda been in .apps.

[nospam]

In article <qqhuc4$pb1$1...@dont-email.me>, John McWilliams

<jp...@comcast.net> wrote:

> In any event, is there an app to optimize the PDF after the fact?

there are, and there are also apps that will show what's in the pdf
itself, which will tell you why it's as big as it is.

i don't know of any offhand, but a search will find them.

[John McWilliams]

Of course.

But I posted because I value the experience and opinions of many who
post here.

[sms]

On 11/13/2019 1:59 PM, John McWilliams wrote:

<snip>

> And I apologize for using the wrong group here. Shoulda been in .apps.

If it's the size of the image that's causing the large file size then I
suppose that you could use a PDF editor to remove the image, then reduce
the DPI in a program like IrfanView, and put the smaller image back into
the PDF.

[nospam]

In article <qqi00r$441$1...@dont-email.me>, sms

<scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:

>
> If it's the size of the image that's causing the large file size then I
> suppose that you could use a PDF editor to remove the image, then reduce
> the DPI in a program like IrfanView, and put the smaller image back into
> the PDF.

that would be an incredibly stupid way to fix it.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 11:25:20 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
> that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
> image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.

On the desktop, all the things you're being told are impossible, are easy.

You can search the permanent Usenet archives, e.g.,
<http://tinyurl.com/comp-text-pdf>
<http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-freeware>

I presume you want an iOS app (and where the usual set of conflicting
information has already been provided to you, since almost everyone on this
ng just guesses at everything, making their credibility no better than a
coin toss) - so if you can't use the desktop - listen to them instead of to
me - because most people are unsuccessful listening to them).
o Why do the Apple Apologists constantly send poor unsuspecting iOS users on wild goose chases?
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/ynh0PE9lK_I/QOiGP4_SFQAJ>

If, however, you want to "shrink" or "optimize" that PDF on the desktop, or
remove editing restrictions (all of which I've done numerous times), there
are plenty of apps (almost all free) on desktops which certainly do that.

Look at this non-iOS PDF desktop editing thread, for example, for starters:
o Please improve this listing of available freeware PDF functionality
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.comp.freeware/iB5aOor0-Kw/hzoJDDjADQAJ>

Other useful references:
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.text.pdf/PFL16-iOxEo>
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.text.pdf/rt6A1oSGo1E%5B1-25%5D>

Hope this helps [if you are OK with a desktop-based free PDF editor].
--
Usenet is where questions are asked for adults to share items of value.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:21:13 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> But I posted because I value the experience and opinions of many who
> post here.

Hi John McWilliams,

It always seems that the people who don't know anything are always the ones
who tell you to run a search (they should just shut up, obviously).

Again, if you're looking for iOS solutions, I can't help you simply because
I shrink/optimize PDFs all the time, but I do it with desktop software.

If you're stuck on iOS, I'll mention these supposed free "online" PDF
optimizers, where the disclaimer is that I would NEVER use an online source
(since I do it all the time on my desktops so I don't need them).

o Online PDF shrinkers/optimizers:
<http://pdfill.com/document_optimizer.html>
<https://pdfresizer.com/optimize>
<https://tools.pdf24.org/en/compress-pdf>
<https://pdfresizer.com/resize>
<https://www.pdf2go.com/compress-pdf>
<https://www.cleverpdf.com/compress-pdf>
<https://www.sodapdf.com/compress-pdf/>

Since it's so trivial to slide the files back and forth over USB to and
from your iOS device to and from a desktop (using the desktop's native file
manager), my suggestion, if it's palatable to you, is to use a free
desktop-based optimizer (you didn't mention your desktop preferences).

To that end, I opened a separate thread on the PDF-related groups:
o Desktop freeware to SHRINK (aka optimize) PDFs
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.comp.freeware/AFRQTB_UX9E>

Again, I repeat that I optimize & shrink & downsample PDFs all the time,
but I do it on the desktop, so if you "can" use a desktop, you're home
free.

I should also note that I use iOS as a read/write USB stick, where it's so
easy that I don't realize a lot of people can't just "slide a file over"
USB to and from their desktops, so that may be a limitation for you which
is off topic for this discussion.

Good luck.
--
Usenet is where adults gather at a potluck of purposefully helpful ideas.

[Alan Browne]

There are options in Word that greatly affect file size when there are
images in the file. That goes to Word docs saved as Word docs.

On Word (for Mac) that I have here there are two options respecting PDF
output. One outputs [exports] for printers (high quality) and the other
for "transmission" (lower quality).

Another issue is the 'path' that was used to gen the document. For
example a Word doc printed via a PDF conversion in the print chain can
have wildly different results. (Put another way, one PDF file is gen'd
by Word; the other is gen'd by Mac OS).

And finally, and least satisfying for you, I don't know of any utility
to take an existing PDF and lower its quality to affect file size.

--
"Even with the brain dead, the pig's heart keeps on beating...
sort of like ... pick a Kardashian."
-Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown

[Alan Browne]

On 2019-11-13 17:48, nospam wrote:

> that would be an incredibly stupid way to fix it.

Given who you're replying too, incredibly typical, I'd say.

[Alan Browne]

On 2019-11-13 20:30, Alan Browne wrote:
> On 2019-11-13 17:48, nospam wrote:
>
>> that would be an incredibly stupid way to fix it.
>
> Given who you're replying too, incredibly typical, I'd say.

DOH! "to".

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:37:46 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Again, I repeat that I optimize & shrink & downsample PDFs all the time,
> but I do it on the desktop, so if you "can" use a desktop, you're home
> free.

There are many solutions for the desktop, many of which are free.

If you need testcases, here are some PDF book samples that I happen to have
on my system that you (and others) can test the various optimizers with.

o Designing Analog Chips, by Hans Camenzind
<http://designinganalogchips.com/_count/designinganalogchips.pdf>

o Introduction to Programming using Python, by Y Daniel Liang
<https://doc.lagout.org/programmation/python/Introduction%20to%20Programming%20using%20Python%20%5BLiang%202012-01-12%5D.pdf>

o Building Blocks for Theoretical Computer Science, by Margaret M. Fleck
<http://mfleck.cs.illinois.edu/building-blocks/version-1.3/whole-book.pdf>

o Free to Choose, by Milton Friedman
<http://www.proglocode.unam.mx/sites/proglocode.unam.mx/files/docencia/Milton%20y%20Rose%20Friedman%20-%20Free%20to%20Choose.pdf>

o Advanced Vehicle Technology.pdf
<https://tinyurl.com/advanced-vehicle-technology>

(I optimized all these using Adobe Acrobat, the writer, on Windows.)
(It's trivial to slide files over to/from Windows to/from iOS via Linux.)

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 20:33:24 -0500, Alan Browne wrote:

>>> that would be an incredibly stupid way to fix it.
>>
>> Given who you're replying too, incredibly typical, I'd say.
>
> DOH! "to".

The proper pronoun is "whom".

--
You child-like apologists can't even insult using adult grammar.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 5:29 PM, Alan Browne wrote:
> On 2019-11-13 14:25, John McWilliams wrote:
>> Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've
>> received that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that
>> has but one image of normal size and one very small one, and then just
>> text.
>>
>> The info says it was created on Word, and also shows this: *Mac OS X
>> 10.11.6 Quartz PDFContext.* Others he's created are similar in
>> content, but under 1 Meg, and without the bolded info.
>>
>> Or what might he have done to create such bloat?
>
>
> There are options in Word that greatly affect file size when there are
> images in the file.  That goes to Word docs saved as Word docs.
>
> On Word (for Mac) that I have here there are two options respecting PDF
> output.  One outputs [exports] for printers (high quality) and the other
> for "transmission" (lower quality).
>
> Another issue is the 'path' that was used to gen the document.  For
> example a Word doc printed via a PDF conversion in the print chain can
> have wildly different results.  (Put another way, one PDF file is gen'd
> by Word; the other is gen'd by Mac OS).

That seems to be the case. My correspondent is not conversant with the
different modes.

>
> And finally, and least satisfying for you, I don't know of any utility
> to take an existing PDF and lower its quality to affect file size.

Adobe Acrobat does this neatly, but is now only for hefty monthly fees,
and I need to optimize a PDF only occasionally.

[nospam]

In article <qqibr6$16t$1...@dont-email.me>, John McWilliams

<jp...@comcast.net> wrote:

> > And finally, and least satisfying for you, I don't know of any utility
> > to take an existing PDF and lower its quality to affect file size.
>
> Adobe Acrobat does this neatly, but is now only for hefty monthly fees,
> and I need to optimize a PDF only occasionally.

apple preview will do it, along with third party apps and web sites.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 5:37 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:37:46 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:
>
>> Again, I repeat that I optimize & shrink & downsample PDFs all the time,
>> but I do it on the desktop, so if you "can" use a desktop, you're home
>> free.
>
> There are many solutions for the desktop, many of which are free.

I would not choose to do so via IOS. Desktop only, which I believe I
specified when I said "Mac".

>
> If you need testcases, here are some PDF book samples that I happen to have
> on my system that you (and others) can test the various optimizers with.

Thank you but I have plenty of test cases.
>
><< Snipped bits out >>

>
> (I optimized all these using Adobe Acrobat, the writer, on Windows.)
> (It's trivial to slide files over to/from Windows to/from iOS via Linux.)

Acrobat has always worked fine on my Mac, but now the version I bought
is s.o.l.—rather, I am— as they now want to rent me use.

And I would not do it via the net unless that was the only possible
solution.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:53:33 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Acrobat has always worked fine on my Mac, but now the version I bought
> is s.o.l.—rather, I am— as they now want to rent me use.
>
> And I would not do it via the net unless that was the only possible
> solution.

Hi John McWilliams,

I'm trying to be purposefully helpful for you, which you may or may not
appreciate (given you're an Apple poster to an Apple ng, you never know if
you're an adult or not until I read a few of your posts - so - for now - I
assume you own adult cognitive capabilities - and will continue to converse
with you as if you're an adult).

As I noted, there are so many ways to optimize and shrink PDFs on a
desktop, for free, that it's not funny. All those people who told you
otherwise either don't know how to do it, or, maybe the Mac _is_ brain dead
(since Windows & Linux has tons of ways to optimize/shrink PDFs for free).

Like you, I already have the Adobe Acrobat writer, which I've been using
for, oh, I don't know, maybe fifteen years to shrink/optimize PDFs.

So I haven't explored the MANY freeware avenues that are available to you;
but to help you out, I posted the question specifically about freeware on
the appropriate PDF & freeware & linux & windows newsgroups.

I'm not on the Mac for a huge bunch of reasons, but even so, when I posted
the question, I purposefully avoided the Mac newsgroup mainly because
they're mostly children there who always prove to be utter morons compared
to the Windows and Linux users who are adults, for the most part (not all
though).

As such, I've done a lot of work for you, where I hope you appreciate it,
and I hope you can leverage it, since I listed in the reference thread
about a dozen desktop-based free solutions for you.

Good luck.

[Your Name]

On 2019-11-13 23:57:00 +0000, Arlen Holder said:
> On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 11:25:20 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:
>
>> Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
>> that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
>> image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.
>
> On the desktop, all the things you're being told are impossible, are easy.

<snip>

Please ignore the know-nothing Arlen name-changing moron. He's this
newsgroup's equivalent of the village idiot. :-\

[Your Name]

There are quite a few iOS apps for optimising / compressing PDFs you
can see by searching the App Store, but I've never used any of them so
can't vouch for their quality. Some are free, others are free with
in-app purchases, and a few are pay-for.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:49:24 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Adobe Acrobat does this neatly, but is now only for hefty monthly fees,
> and I need to optimize a PDF only occasionally.

Again in suggesting purposefully helpful solutions, yet another option for
you (of many), if this is a one-time-only type situation, is to see if the
Adobe Acrobat Pro (i.e., the writer) payware free trial creates a suitable
PDF for you.

o Adobe Free Trials
<https://www.adobe.com/downloads.html>

o Adobe Acrobat Pro free trial
<https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/download/acrobat>

If you wish to do this often, then see the list of about a dozen free
desktop solutions already provided to shrink & optimize PDF files.

Yet another related option is to read this to see if you quality legally:
o Adobe releases Creative Suite 2 for free
<https://www.cnet.com/news/adobe-releases-creative-suite-2-for-free/>

That comes with "Acrobat 7.0 Professional", at least on Windows it does:
<https://www.techspot.com/downloads/4948-adobe-creative-suite-free.html>

Disclaimer: Yes, I know the child-like trolls will have a field day with
that last suggestion since they never have any real solutions, where this
suggestion is just another of a ton of ways for the OP to consider if he
qualifies (personally, I'd just use the freeware listed).
--
Usenet is where adults try to meet adults who solve their problems.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 15:14:20 +1300, Your Name wrote:

> Please ignore the know-nothing Arlen name-changing moron. He's this
> newsgroup's equivalent of the village idiot. :-\

Hi YourName,
Thanks for proving (yet again) you belong on this long-standing list of
known worthless trolls... easily proven by your utter lack of value.

o Alan Baker <nu...@ness.biz>
o Alan Browne <bitb...@blackhole.com>
o Ammammata <amma...@tiscalinet.it> (not an apologist, ignorant of fact)
o Andreas Rutishauser <and...@macandreas.ch>
o Beedle <Bee...@dont-email.me>
o B...@Onramp.net
o Chris <ithi...@gmail.com>
o Davoud <st...@sky.net>
o dpb <no...@none.net> (posts worthless drivel - but keeps it short)
o Elden <use...@moondog.org>
o Elfin <elfi...@gmail.com> (aka Lloyd, aka Lloyd Parsons)
o Hemidactylus <ecph...@allspamis.invalid>
o joe <no...@domain.invalid>
o Joerg Lorenz <hugy...@gmx.ch>
o Johan <JH...@nospam.invalid>
o John McWilliams <jp...@comcast.net> (doesn't comprehend adult topics)
o Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> (almost nobody is dumber)
o Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> (nobody is dumber)
o Lloyd <elfi...@gmail.com> (aka "Elfin")
o Lloyd Parsons <lloy...@gmail.com> (aka "Elfin")
o Meanie <M...@gmail.com> (not an apologist, just immune to fact)
o nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> (bullshitter par excellence)
o Panthera Tigris Altaica <northe...@outlook.com>
o Sandman <m...@sandman.net> (hates any and all facts about Apple)
o Savageduck <savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com>
o sms <scharf...@geemail.com> (not an apologist, but immune to facts)
o Tim Streater <timst...@greenbee.net> (always a child)
o Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> (about as dumb as a human can be)
o Your Name <Your...@YourISP.com> (never posts anything of value)
o et al.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 6:03 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 17:53:33 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:
>
>> Acrobat has always worked fine on my Mac, but now the version I bought

>> is s.o.l.¡Xrather, I am¡X as they now want to rent me use.

Thanks for the wishes, but your one track mind is tiresome.

[John McWilliams]

I have no interest in using Acrobat and am well aware of the trial
period, etc.
I am looking only for recommendations from people who have used such
software.

[Savageduck]

On Nov 13, 2019, John McWilliams wrote
(in article <qqic2v$2cm$1...@dont-email.me>):

You might want to invest $1.99 in PDF Tookkit +.

<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-toolkit/id545164971?mt=12>

--
Regards,
Savageduck

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:11:35 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Thanks for the wishes, but your one track mind is tiresome.

Hi John McWilliams,

Please plonk me, & certainly never waste my time ever again.

I'm not sorry I tried to purposefully help you, not for you, but because
the information will be available to others in the permanent Usenet record,
for us, and our children to see, in the future.
<http://tinyurl.com/misc-phone-mobile-iphone>

But you're a worthless child, and every post from you proved it.
o You do not have the cognitive skills to solve even this simple problem.

Since every single post from you seemed like it was from the mind of a
small child, I must apologize for not having realized that I had already
run into you in the past - where my own notes indicate your cognitive
abilities are lacking.

o Alan Baker <nu...@ness.biz>
o Alan Browne <bitb...@blackhole.com>

o Ammammata <amma...@tiscalinet.it> (not an apologist, but ignorant of

fact)
o Andreas Rutishauser <and...@macandreas.ch>
o Beedle <Bee...@dont-email.me>
o B...@Onramp.net
o Chris <ithi...@gmail.com>
o Davoud <st...@sky.net>
o dpb <no...@none.net> (posts worthless drivel - but keeps it short)
o Elden <use...@moondog.org>
o Elfin <elfi...@gmail.com> (aka Lloyd, aka Lloyd Parsons)
o Hemidactylus <ecph...@allspamis.invalid>
o joe <no...@domain.invalid>
o Joerg Lorenz <hugy...@gmx.ch>
o Johan <JH...@nospam.invalid>
o John McWilliams <jp...@comcast.net> (doesn't comprehend adult topics)
o Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com>

o Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies>

o Lloyd <elfi...@gmail.com> (aka "Elfin")
o Lloyd Parsons <lloy...@gmail.com> (aka "Elfin")
o Meanie <M...@gmail.com>

o nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> (bullshitter par excellence)
o Panthera Tigris Altaica <northe...@outlook.com>
o Sandman <m...@sandman.net> (hates any and all facts about Apple)
o Savageduck <savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com>
o sms <scharf...@geemail.com> (not an apologist, but immune to facts)

o Snit <use...@gallopinginsanity.com> (aka Michael Glasser)
o Tim Streater <timst...@greenbee.net>

o Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> (about as dumb as a human can be)
o Your Name <Your...@YourISP.com> (never posts anything of value)
o et al.

--
The problem with these child-like posters is they don't even realize how
dumb they really are - and yet - every post from them proves it for us.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:13:46 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> I have no interest in using Acrobat.

Hi John McWilliams,

Please plonk me, & certainly never waste my valuable time ever again.

[John McWilliams]

Bingo! That's about perfect for what I need.

Thanks, Duck.

[John McWilliams]

I've searched and searched Preview several times, but could not find the
trigger. Under what heading does the optimization tool get found?

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 8:25 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:13:46 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:
>
>> I have no interest in using Acrobat.
>
> Hi John McWilliams,
>
> Please plonk me, & certainly never waste my valuable time ever again.

No, I shall not plonk you. Your maniacal ravings are of clinical
interest to me.

You need professional help, far beyond the scope of this n.g..

>
> I'm not sorry I tried to purposefully help you, not for you, but because
> the information will be available to others in the permanent Usenet record,
> for us, and our children to see, in the future.
> <http://tinyurl.com/misc-phone-mobile-iphone>
>
> But you're a worthless child, and every post from you proved it.
> o You do not have the cognitive skills to solve even this simple problem.
>
> Since every single post from you seemed like it was from the mind of a
> small child, I must apologize for not having realized that I had already
> run into you in the past - where my own notes indicate your cognitive
> abilities are lacking.

Your "help" showed a remarkable lack of reading comprehension and
problem solving ability.

Your apology would be accepted but for its lack of civility.

Have a nice life! And do feel free to plonk me; I don't nym shift.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 8:24 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 19:11:35 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the wishes, but your one track mind is tiresome.
>
> Hi John McWilliams,

<< Snipped bits out >>

Duplicate post from "Arlen". Reply is to the other one.

[sms]

On 11/13/2019 11:25 AM, John McWilliams wrote:
> Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
> that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
> image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.
>
> The info says it was created on Word, and also shows this: *Mac OS X
> 10.11.6 Quartz PDFContext.* Others he's created are similar in content,
> but under 1 Meg, and without the bolded info.
>
> Or what might he have done to create such bloat?

When it's created, the author could have specified a very high print
quality. At least that what Adobe says when explaining how to shrink the
size using Acrobat.

You can also try <https://www.freepdfconvert.com/compress-pdf>. I have
used it and it's reduced the PDF size by a little more than half in the
uses I've tried.

But the biggest factor is not the text, it's the images that are
embedded in the PDF and the quality of those images. I used to be very
careful about image sizes on web sites and documents I created. On web
sites I would use thumbnails that had to be clicked on to see the full
size images. But that was back in the days of slow DSL. Nowadays I'm
less likely to bother to reduce the image quality in exchange for faster
loading, and I don't do thumbnails anymore.

[nospam]

In article <qqim1o$bcn$2...@dont-email.me>, John McWilliams

<jp...@comcast.net> wrote:

> >
> > apple preview will do it, along with third party apps and web sites.
> >
> I've searched and searched Preview several times, but could not find the
> trigger. Under what heading does the optimization tool get found?

export... or save as..., then choose reduce file size:
<https://www.igeeksblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Reduce-File-Size-
of-a-PDF-on-Mac.jpg>

or get fancy:
<https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/33702/compress-pdf-with-adjus
table-ratio>

[nospam]

In article <qqimcj$cvf$1...@dont-email.me>, John McWilliams

<jp...@comcast.net> wrote:

> On 11/13/19 PDT 8:25 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> > Hi John McWilliams,
> >
> > Please plonk me, & certainly never waste my valuable time ever again.
>
> No, I shall not plonk you. Your maniacal ravings are of clinical
> interest to me.
>
> You need professional help, far beyond the scope of this n.g..

and well beyond most professionals.

[Your Name]

Preview is a macOS app, not an iOS app.

nospam is just another of the local know-nothing village idiots. :-(

[nospam]

In article <qqinlc$10dn$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Your Name

<Your...@YourISP.com> wrote:

> >>> Adobe Acrobat does this neatly, but is now only for hefty monthly fees,
> >>> and I need to optimize a PDF only occasionally.
> >>
> >> apple preview will do it, along with third party apps and web sites.
> >>
> > I've searched and searched Preview several times, but could not find
> > the trigger. Under what heading does the optimization tool get found?
>
> Preview is a macOS app, not an iOS app.

no shit, and a macos app is exactly what he's looking for:

In article <qqic2v$2cm$1...@dont-email.me>, John McWilliams

<jp...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I would not choose to do so via IOS. Desktop only, which I believe I
> specified when I said "Mac".


>

> nospam is just another of the local know-nothing village idiots. :-(

no, that would be you.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:07:40 -0800, sms wrote:

> You can also try <https://www.freepdfconvert.com/compress-pdf>. I have
> used it and it's reduced the PDF size by a little more than half in the
> uses I've tried.

Hi Steve Scharf,

I realize you're again proving you are immune to facts, where, this isn't
the first, nor last time your suggestions turn out to be preposterous,
simply because it was covered, in detail, already, by others (including the
original poster and me - to which the original poster said clearly he
didn't want to use an online solution - which is a fact you're immune to).

This is yet another instance where you're completely immune to facts.
o Even facts that were posted more than once in this very thread.

You're immune to facts, Steve ... but please stop proving it.
O For your sake and for the sake of others who have to wade through this.

--
The problem with people immune to facts is that they remain ignorant.

[nospam]

In article <qqio8m$7t5$1...@news.mixmin.net>, Arlen Holder

<_arlen....@halder.edu> wrote:

> The problem with people immune to facts is that they remain ignorant.

you're clear proof of that.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:10:10 -0500, nospam wrote:

> and well beyond most professionals.

And yet, I do all the time, for free, what John McWilliams can't seem to
figure out how to do, for free (which is part of his request, in the OP).

Fancy that.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:24:33 -0500, nospam wrote:

>> The problem with people immune to facts is that they remain ignorant.
>
> you're clear proof of that.

[nospam]

In article <qqiol6$8de$1...@news.mixmin.net>, Arlen Holder

<_arlen....@halder.edu> wrote:

>
> > and well beyond most professionals.
>
> And yet, I do all the time, for free, what John McWilliams can't seem to
> figure out how to do, for free (which is part of his request, in the OP).

snipping to alter context yet again. tsk, tsk.

and you definitely *don't* do it all the time, because if you did, you
wouldn't have needed to ask how to do it in another thread.

[Savageduck]

On Nov 13, 2019, Your Name wrote
(in article <qqinlc$10dn$1...@gioia.aioe.org>):

John was looking for a solution for his Mac, not his iPhone.So in this case
Preview might work. I think that he has an appropriate, and affordable
solution in PDF Toolkit +.
<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-toolkit/id545164971?mt=12>

For iOS the are other affordable solutions such as Adobe Acrobat Reader for
PDF which is also an editor, but comes loaded with a bunch of in-app
purchases.

Then there is PDF Editor which has some affordable in-app purchase options.
<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-editor-pdf-book-reader/id1354910662>

...and PDF Expert 7 which also comes with a bunch of in-app purchases, and
upgrades for a cost.
<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pdf-expert-7-pdf-editor/id743974925>

--
Regards,
Savageduck

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:30:33 -0500, nospam wrote:

> snipping to alter context yet again. tsk, tsk.

I quote that which I respond to.
<http://www.rvelthuis.de/articles/articles-quoting.html>
"Do not overquote. "

<http://www.river.com/users/share/etiquette/#quotes>
"quote only those portions of the original message that are
relevant to the topic we're addressing."

"There is almost never any need to quote someone else's post in full.
As a matter of fact, full-quoting is usually considered quite rude."

> and you definitely *don't* do it all the time, because if you did, you
> wouldn't have needed to ask how to do it in another thread.

Hehheh ... nospam, your memory is rather short, is it not?
o You forget I have been shrinking PDFs for free for many years.

John McWilliams is too stupid to realize there's plenty of Mac freeware.
o brew install --HEAD pts/utils/pdfsizeopt
Where he proved it when he said he'll follow Savageduck's idiotic suggestion.

Usually when Adobe Acrobat fails to get a good size, ImageMagick wins:
o convert -density 200x200 -quality 60 -compress jpeg big.pdf small.pdf
o convert -density 200x200 -quality 60 -compress jpeg -resize 50% big.pdf small.pdf
o convert -compress Zip -density 150x150 big.pdf small.pdf
o <http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-options.php#compress>

If not, GhostScript works reasonably well on a lot of the PDFs.
o gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4 -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH -sOutputFile=small.pdf big.pdf
o gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4 -dPDFSETTINGS=/screen -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -dQUIET -sOutputFile=small.pdf big.pdf
o gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.5 -dPDFSETTINGS=/printer -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH -sOutputFile=small.pdf big.pdf
o gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.5 -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH -sOutputFile=small.pdf big.pdf
o gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4 -dDownsampleColorImages=true -dColorImageResolution=150 -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sOutputFile=small.pdf big.pdf
#!/bin/sh
gs -q -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -dSAFER \
-sDEVICE=pdfwrite \
-dCompatibilityLevel=1.3 \
-dPDFSETTINGS=/screen \
-dEmbedAllFonts=true \
-dSubsetFonts=true \
-dColorImageDownsampleType=/Bicubic \
-dColorImageResolution=72 \
-dGrayImageDownsampleType=/Bicubic \
-dGrayImageResolution=72 \
-dMonoImageDownsampleType=/Bicubic \
-dMonoImageResolution=72 \
-sOutputFile=out.pdf \
$1

But each PDF is different.

There are LOTs of solutions in my logs that I've done over the years.
o <https://github.com/pts/pdfsizeopt>
o pdfsizeopt big.pdf small.pdf
o pdftk big.pdf output small.pdf compress
o <https://mupdf.com/docs/manual-mutool-convert.html>
o <https://mupdf.com/docs/manual-mutool-create.html>
o <http://qpdf.sourceforge.net/>
o qpdf --linearize big.pdf small.pdf
o pdf2ps big.pdf huge.ps && ps2pdf huge.ps small.pdf
o ps2pdf -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook big.pdf small.pdf
o ps2pdf -dPDFSETTINGS=/printer big.pdf small.pdf
o pdf2ps big.pdf huge.ps && ps2pdf -dPDFSETTINGS=/screen -dDownsampleColorImages=true -dColorImageResolution=200 -dColorImageDownsampleType=/Bicubic huge.ps small.pdf
o ps2pdf -dDownsampleColorImages=true -dDownsampleMonoImages=true -dDownsampleGrayImages=true -dColorImageResolution=300 -dGrayImageResolution=600 -dMonoImageResolution=1200
o <https://www.windows10download.com/4dots-free-pdf-compress/> <- stinks
o <https://github.com/gugli28/PdfCompressor>
o <http://www.nicepdf.com/products.html> shareware
o <https://www.timedicer.co.uk/programs/help/pdf-compress.sh.php>
o Open big.pdf in Libre Office; export as pdf; set "jpeg compression quality" & "image resolution"
o etc.

In short, ImageMagick works when Adobe Acrobat fails.
But there are a score of solutions that work to varying degrees.

All this is too complex for John McWilliams
o Who already said he'd use Savageduck's idiotic suggestion.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 20:50:47 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Duplicate post from "Arlen". Reply is to the other one.

Given you're being a "genius" by following the moron Savageduck,
let us know how it works out for you AFTER you PAY for the tool.

HINT: You'll find out that optimizing PDFs is highly data dependent.
But then, you'll have wasted your money already.

Instead of using the many freeware solutions, some of which are great.
But you're too stupid, John McWilliams, to comprehend that concept.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 20:41:59 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Bingo! That's about perfect for what I need.

Hehheh...
Let us know how it works out for you John McWilliams.

HINT: Savageduck is a moron; you following him, makes you worse.

[nospam]

In article <qqjtu4$f7i$1...@news.mixmin.net>, Arlen Holder

<_arlen....@halder.edu> wrote:

> o You forget I have been shrinking PDFs for free for many years.

so have millions of other people, and with a lot less hassle than your
fucked up methods.

> John McWilliams is too stupid to realize there's plenty of Mac freeware.

no freeware or payware is needed, since it can be done *entirely* with
what comes with mac os itself, no third party anything.

> o brew install --HEAD pts/utils/pdfsizeopt

absurd.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:09:37 -0500, nospam wrote:

> no freeware or payware is needed, since it can be done *entirely* with
> what comes with mac os itself, no third party anything.

Hi nospam,

I agree with you that Savageduck's suggestion is absurd, and that John
McWilliams is likely to figure out, too late, that each PDF comes with its
own file-specific "shrinking issues", such that it's crazy to pay for a
solution unless you know, ahead of time, that it will work on your specific
files.

I also agree with you, wholeheartedly in fact, that there are LOTS of free
solutions on the Mac, where most of the Linux & Windows solutions I've
tested would work also on the Mac (as you're well aware).

Hence, let's stop this wasteful childish game you are playing.

The moment I figured out I was trying to help John McWilliams, who, long
ago, repeatedly proved to be immune to adult comprehensive logic, I wanted
to divorce myself from this ridiculous thread.

Moving forward, the permanent record will show that John McWilliams will
likely fail miserably following SavageDuck (there is really no other result
possible) - and yet - if John McWilliams follows YOUR advice, I suspect
he'll be ok.

You'll likely need to provide him with more than one working solution; but
we both know that plenty exist, simply due to the nature of the needs
between final result and original file - which I won't belabor as anyone
who hasn't done this before wouldn't have a clue how variable results can
be.

Let's leave this with YOU advising John McWilliams, since I already wasted
my precious and valuable efforts on someone who couldn't comprehend even
what you told him, let alone what I told me.

Let's just stop and save everyone the pain of reading this childish crap.
(I only responded to you because you doubted my claim.)

--
Usenet works best when adults are involved in the technical conversation.

[nospam]

In article <qqk8vv$5ds$1...@news.mixmin.net>, Arlen Holder

<_arlen....@halder.edu> wrote:

>
> > no freeware or payware is needed, since it can be done *entirely* with
> > what comes with mac os itself, no third party anything.
>
> Hi nospam,
>
> I agree with you that Savageduck's suggestion is absurd,

do *not* lie about what i said.

i *never* said his suggestion was absurd.

what i did say was that *your* suggestions are absurd, especially
needing to use brew to install something.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/14/19 PDT 11:13 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:09:37 -0500, nospam wrote:

<< Snipped bits out >>

> Let's just stop and save everyone the pain of reading this childish crap.
> (I only responded to you because you doubted my claim.)

Nah. You'll not be able to stop until long after the horse was flayed,
dead, and flayed some more.

[John McWilliams]

Almost certainly the author embedded a huge JPG and didn't himself
optimize. All done and dusted now. Thank you.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 14:24:41 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Almost certainly the author embedded a huge JPG and didn't himself
> optimize. All done and dusted now. Thank you.

I love it when John McWilliams fabricates imaginary success!

It's classic.

He doesn't mention a thing of how - which is because he failed.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 14:21:21 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Nah. You'll not be able to stop until long after the horse was flayed,
> dead, and flayed some more.

Every post from you, John McWilliams, is another proof in the permanent
Usenet archives, that you own the brain of a small child.

That's not even an ad hominem attack.

All I need to do is POINT to what you post - to prove this is a fact.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 14:29:55 -0500, nospam wrote:

> what i did say was that *your* suggestions are absurd, especially
> needing to use brew to install something.

Go play your silly games, nospam.
Play.

You, like all apologists, failed to comprehend the key point.

What you did was build your own idiotic strawman around the installation
method.

The key point was that "pdfsizeopt" was available on the Mac.

How you install it doesn't matter.

That you child-like posters focus on what doesn't matter - is telling.

There are PLENTY of options on the Mac.
Install them any way you want.

One of those many free options is "pdfsizeopt".

--
THe apologists always play their childish silly games.

[John McWilliams]

On 11/13/19 PDT 6:14 PM, Your Name wrote:
> On 2019-11-13 23:57:00 +0000, Arlen Holder said:

>> On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 11:25:20 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:
>>
>>> Is there a free or low cost app that will optimize a PDF you've received
>>> that's huge when it shouldn't be? I got an 14 Meg PDF that has but one
>>> image of normal size and one very small one, and then just text.
>>

>> On the desktop, all the things you're being told are impossible, are
>> easy.
> <snip>
>
> Please ignore the know-nothing Arlen name-changing moron. He's this
> newsgroup's equivalent of the village idiot.  :-\

Worse. He's simply a nasty person. Is he still foaming over my posts?

--
Coach: "Are you just ignorant, or merely apathetic?"
Player: "Coach, I don't know, and I don't care."

[John McWilliams]

PDF Toolkit for two bucks is perfect.

Thanks. Sorry I missed this one the first time through. Too many pest
posts!

[sms]

On 11/15/2019 12:41 PM, John McWilliams wrote:

<snip>

> PDF Toolkit for two bucks is perfect.
>
> Thanks. Sorry I missed this one the first time through. Too many pest
> posts!

I have the no-longer-available free version of PDF Creator, a very
useful program. You can print to a PDF and specify the quality of the
output, including the image quality. So I tried this, with a PDF with
some high quality images, specifying 25% of the image quality. Didn't
work. The resulting PDF was larger. It may have converted the original
PDF's text to a graphic, I'm not sure. What I like about that program is
that you can print to a JPG, which is often useful if you want to post a
short document to a social media site that allows images to be posted,
but not documents.

[Arlen Holder]

On Fri, 15 Nov 2019 12:36:19 -0800, John McWilliams wrote:

> Worse. He's simply a nasty person. Is he still foaming over my posts?

John McWilliams,

You don't appear to own the cognitive skills of a normal adult.

Neither does Savageduck, whom you appear to have followed like a puppy.

The fact remains you did not prove success by any adult measure.

In fact, my assessment of that fact, is simply: You're a liar.

If you _hate_ the fact that you're a liar, do not call that "foaming" over
your posts.

It's simply responding to your apparent brazen lies of imaginary success.

--
The main problem with people like John McWilliams isn't so much that
they're fantastically stupid; it's that they don't realize that they are.

[Arlen Holder]

Steve,

The fact is that John McWilliams is a moron, who is following the advice of
another proven moron - which means - almost certainly - John McWilliams
lied about being successful.

Now that's an ASSESSMENT of this single fact:
o John McWilliams did not provide even a single screenshot as proof of his
claims.

You can argue that we can take John McWilliams' claim of success as
sufficient proof; but I've been on this newsgroup far too long to believe
ANYTHING the Apple apologists claim, sans even a single shred of proof.

I'm convinced that John McWilliams failed miserably (IMHO).
o If he can prove otherwise - I'd be glad to change that assessment of
fact.

But the fact remains, John McWilliams merely "claimed" success.
o The fact is he provided absolutely _zero_ proof of success.

It's not hard to prove success, mind you, as I do it all the time.

--
The problem with the child-like apologists is that they incessantly lie,
such that not only are they no more capable than are small children, but
they're so incapable that they force themselves to incessantly brazenly lie
about their lack of capabilities.

[Your Name]

On 2019-11-18 19:04:25 +0000, Arlen Holder said:
>
<snip the usual brainless drivel>


Yet again the brainless asshole changes his name. X-(

[Jolly Roger]

Yet again the other brainless asshole shows how inept he is at basic
filtering by replying to the first brainless asshole.

Good work there, Bucky.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Arlen Holder]

On 19 Nov 2019 02:53:16 GMT, Jolly Roger wrote:

>> <snip the usual brainless drivel>
>>
>>
>> Yet again the brainless asshole changes his name. X-(
>
> Yet again the other brainless asshole shows how inept he is at basic
> filtering by replying to the first brainless asshole.

Hehheh... a bit of humor...

Adults on this newsgroup, yes, I know, they're extremely rare, must smile a
bit when someone as fantastically dumb as Jolly Roger always proves to be,
calls someone as dumb as Your Name also always proves to be, a "brainless
asshole".

There's Darwinian humor in these two duking' it out for who is dumbest.
o Your Name
o Jolly Roger

--
The main problem with Usenet is utter morons like Jolly Roger thrive in it.