Feature Request: "Current Page" Size Print Option

[PHK]

I am allergic to pages so I am constantly combining legacy pages that I get from outside sources so that I can have as few pages as possible, sometimes putting 1,000 legacy pages on one PDF virtual page. There are problems when I do that such as Bookmark destinations get messed up if I do a lot of Splitting and Merging Pages. However, these problems can be negated by using the PDF-XChange printer to create a new, clean page and then OCR-ing the new page and assigning 'good' desitinations to the Bookmarks that I have copied over from the page before I printed.

But obviously, these new pages can be a bit larger than any of the standard pages sizes that are under "Page Sizes" in Properties as below.

image.png

It is not too difficult to create a custom page size by inserting the page dimension values into the boxes for "Custom:" as I had done in the situation underlying this screenshot. But it would easier, and I don't think too bloaty or difficult to engineer, if there were a third Page Size option that was for the current page dimensions like the below.

image(1).png

Your kind consideration of this suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

[KD952]

Hello PHK!

Would be a nice option indeed.

I usually just set the page size to 2000x2000mm and cut it to size afterwards.

Kind regards,
Daniel

[PHK]

Hello PHK!

Would be a nice option indeed.

I usually just set the page size to 2000x2000mm and cut it to size afterwards.

Kind regards,
Daniel

That's another way of skinning the cat, Daniel!

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, everyone

Printing PDF to PDF is generally not advised because it can cause loss of some data (including, but not limited to the very items you are trying to strip from the document). We are unlikely to add features which help to make the process more accessible, as we want to dissuade people from this method in the first place.

@PHK I need to ask, Why choose to "print" the document specifically? If the issue is with relation to duplicated bookmarks or layers and such, you can simply open the related pane, and "select all > delete" those items, instead of going through the lossy process of printing the file, and the lengthy process of running OCR on it again after that (not to mention that OCR is not perfect and could still make mistakes).

Printing in this case, seems like a cumbersome workaround to an issue which does not really exist, and I am almost certain there are better options to resolve the specific issues where you would choose to print to "resolve".

Kind regards,

[KD952]

Hello Daniel!

Sometimes you want to lose some data.
Even if probably 95% of users would not know how to delete base content.

Kind regards,
Daniel

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, KD952

95% would definitely be an exaggeration, there are a few users who have trouble deleting items, but I have no doubt that most people are able to locate the "delete" key on their keyboard, and well over 50% of our users know where both the "edit" and "select comments" tools are, to begin those actions.
Multi-selection in Panes works identically to the windows file explorer, so that should similarly be rather accessible.

Kind regards,

[PHK]

...Printing PDF to PDF is generally not advised because it can cause loss of some data (including, but not limited to the very items you are trying to strip from the document). We are unlikely to add features which help to make the process more accessible, as we want to dissuade people from this method in the first place.

OK, forget about all my explanations of why I want it; why not just provide it on the off-chance it might be useful to some Users?

@PHK I need to ask, Why choose to "print" the document specifically?

I PDF-print to eliminate extraneous stuff in Content. Splitting and Cropping pages works fine superficially on the page images but not so well on content. Therefore, destinations for Bookmarks get scrambled, text in Content does not always agree with the text on the page image, all kinds of spurious content is still there. As Daniel says, "sometimes you want to lose data."

I find that if I want to create a destination for a Bookmark that the task is challenging. For instance, if I see text on the page image that I want to use to establish a Bookmark thereto I use the Select Text Tool. But sometimes, what shows as having been selected is wildly different from the desired image text; it can show horizontal or vertical bars all over the place that have nothing to do with the text.

If the issue is with relation to duplicated bookmarks or layers and such,

it's not.

you can simply open the related pane, and "select all > delete" those items, instead of going through the lossy process of printing the file, and the lengthy process of running OCR

I don't find it that lengthy, usually less than a minute.

on it again after that (not to mention that OCR is not perfect and could still make mistakes).

Won't it make the same mistakes it did when it was first OCR-ed?

Printing in this case, seems like a cumbersome workaround to an issue which does not really exist,

The reason I am doing it is because I find it the least cumbersome

and I am almost certain there are better options to resolve the specific issues where you would choose to print to "resolve".

Great! Bring on some better options! I do not enjoy printing and OCR-ing to get a large sheet image with perfect underlying content and I would rather not. And I respect your lack of enthusiasm for PDF-printing but I see no other way.

[KD952]

Maybe I just work in the wrong industry. You would not believe the amount of sensitive (businesses) information I get just "censored" with a white rectangle. Not even flattened, just an rectangle annotation.
Because it is not flattened the annotation even neatly displays the author who did it.

Kind regards,

[PHK]

Hello, KD952

95% would definitely be an exaggeration, there are a few users who have trouble deleting items,

I would put myself in that category

but I have no doubt that most people are able to locate the "delete" key on their keyboard,

I know where that is

and well over 50% of our users know where both the "edit" and "select comments" tools are, to begin those actions.
Multi-selection in Panes works identically to the windows file explorer, so that should similarly be rather accessible.

Kind regards,

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, PHK

Lets see what I can help address here today.

I PDF-print to eliminate extraneous stuff in Content. Splitting and Cropping pages works fine superficially on the page images but not so well on content. Therefore, destinations for Bookmarks get scrambled, text in Content does not always agree with the text on the page image, all kinds of spurious content is still there

For items like bookmarks/layers, this would be solved by either avoiding excessive splitting/merging of pages, or enabling the controls present in the split/merge dialog to prevent copying of them.
With regards to any base content external/invisible to the page because of cropping, that would be prevented by enabling the options in the Crop dialog to "remove "x/y/z" outside the crop area", long before you reach this step of the process.

image.png

Now, both of those were "preventative maintenance" options, so how do we fix these issues "reactively" after the fact?
If you have already reached this point, printing is an option, but you would need to perform the steps you have been so far to do so. Another option, and the method I would advise, is the manually remove the content you do not want to keep, this could be a few steps.

• If you have duplicate bookmarks, you can select and remove them.
• If you have been merging documents, than there should be a "root bookmark" with each documents name, so you can try to remove only the ones from the duplicate documents, to keep the other bookmarks in place.
• Another option is to delete all bookmarks and use the bookmarks from page text method to generate new ones, as you currently are after performing the print > OCR steps. But this cuts out the need for a re-print or OCR to occur.

Following that, If you need to remove extraneous base content and plan to OCR anyway, you can use the "rasterize pages" function, then run OCR on it, as you are now. Rasterize now offers separate controls for content types, so you can, if needed, leave existing comments or links in place, and only flatten the text and form fields.

on it again after that (not to mention that OCR is not perfect and could still make mistakes).

Won't it make the same mistakes it did when it was first OCR-ed?

Unfortunately no, the small changes that occur from printing, rasterizing etc, are enough to cause a discrepancy. It will not be super common in your case, but it is far from impossible.
A slight change DPI for example could result in an I being recognized as an l, or an h and a b getting confused. 0 and O are common mistakes as well, and the list goes on. That is before we consider the differing resources at the time of OCR. Since the OCR uses your locally installed fonts to try and find a good match, there is the chance that a windows/font update that occurred since the last time you performed OCR will cause a different font to be used for some characters. There are more, but these ones are the easiest to summarize.

In summary, preventative options are better than reactive ones, and while there are alternative options for the current file, their usefulness really depends on how you wish to proceed. Going forward, if you ensure to use the best practice tips above when splitting/merging/cropping files, you should be able to avoid this issue in future documents.
With all that said, I do think your zeal in converting your files to a "non-single-page" styling, may be causing you more work than it is worth. It is fair to say that adhering to the older "page layout practices" is not strictly necessary anymore, however... There are certainly times when very large sheets are beneficial, and I am not certain that this is one of them.

Maybe I just work in the wrong industry. You would not believe the amount of sensitive (businesses) information I get just "censored" with a white rectangle. Not even flattened, just an rectangle annotation.
Because it is not flattened the annotation even neatly displays the author who did it.

Oh yes, dont worry, you are not alone there, I also see the same on a daily basis!
There is however, a difference between mistakenly assuming that one action which visibly seems to give the desired result is the same action, and being completely unaware that other options exist.
For that particular example, trying to manually "delete" certain things can be cumbersome, and humans are prone to cut corners even when they do know the proper way to accomplish something. A simpler option for them would be to use the "redact tool", which can be activated a few ways (including as part of a search-annotation action) but is more obscure, and it is much easier to overlook or be unaware of than the two primary tools an application offers, and a key on your keyboard nearly every application uses.

Kind regards,

[PHK]

Thanks for the elaboration, Daniel, a few reactions follow.

I am doing "this" frequently on legal opinions, motions, judgments, etc., that do not typically have layers or comments so those areas are not concerns of mine. I almost never want to excise or redact image text. But often these documents come with huge left and right vertical margins and repeated headers and footers that I don't want on my single canvas/page. Therefore, I am not worried about ticking or unticking the Remove Outside boxes for Comments or Fields because they are largely empty.

They do sometimes have Bookmarks which I usually want to retain and/or edit but again that is not a problem for me. I copy those Bookmarks and paste them into the new printed Bookmark pane which is simple enough. And then I usually set the destinations for those Bookmarks in the active document view. Again, not a huge deal.

So, what I usually do is to use the Split Pages Tool, with Remove the content outside the crop box ticked, to trim out these unwanted margins thus reducing the content pages to the bone. And frequently I will do further splits to divide major sections where a new section appears mid-page and to weed out empty areas of the pages. I do not delete split-off empty pages until I am happy with the content pages in case I inadvertently trimmed off something I should not have. Then, I will Merge Pages vertically for the major sections and Merge Pages horizontally for all the pages to creat the rectangular canvas of all pages sometimes re-splitting and re-merging vertical pages to fit better. At this stage, I find that the base content does not always match the image content; I suppose all that splitting and merging is the cause. All the while, I am actually learning the shape of the document and developing an improved mental image of what the document is all about without getting too bogged down in detail, so this time it takes is not entirely wasted. When that is all done, and I am happy with it, I PDF-print it. There is much less spurious, irrelevant base content, it seems to me, if I scrub the file by PDF-printing.

I take what you say about OCRing but I am not too fussed about that. I think all OCRing needs to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak, and the User needs to be ready to make some adjustments. I use a high graphic resolution in Printing Properties to give the OCR machine the best chance of doing its job. it is good enough for me.

One of my (many) personal defects that PDF-XCE has helped me learn about myself is that the legacy page format interferes with my reading ability! My mind is distracted by the page-turning activity and my concentration is momentarily broken. My reading speed and comprehension is greatly improved if my eyes can roam freely over all the content of a subject, mentally zooming in and out and back and forth as appropriate. This has been a lifetime deficiency of mine which I am now able to overcome using PDF-XCE.

But even if you guys don't like what I'm doing, I still think you should consider adding my Current Page suggestion as a size option.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, PHK

I see, thank you for the explanation of your process, this makes a bit more sense to me now.
Regarding the print size request, the Dev team is looking into it, but they were not particularly enthusiastic about it, so as before I cannot promise anything there.

Kind regards,

[nickcoffee@gmail.com]

I'm not sure if this is helpful but I work in the construction space so we deal with a lot of varied sized drawings. I have created a python script that will separate the pages out to different folders by page size. If you'd like a copy drop me a message.

[PHK]

I'm not sure if this is helpful but I work in the construction space so we deal with a lot of varied sized drawings. I have created a python script that will separate the pages out to different folders by page size. If you'd like a copy drop me a message.

Not for me, thanks, Nick, as I am usually the one creating these varied sized pages. But may we assume that you would welcome a Current Page print option?

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, PHK

Im choosing to classify this as another vote in favor of the request
Sadly, I don't know that it will change much, but I am keeping track.

Kind regards,

[PHK]

Thank you, Daniel.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]