PDF XChange Forum

I use an accounting program that allows me to save invoices as a pdf. It saves perfectly, but I always get an error message in pdf editor, saying - errors detected in the XREF table. When I re-save the pdf and re-open the message is gone.

Can you advise what causes it as I do not get this error message in Acrobat Reader or in Nitro. I have uploaded a sample zipped pdf file.

Thank you.

Hello Dalacor,

This error message is presented when we have detected any potential errors in a document that we know how to fix. Generally speaking these issues are often minor, but if left unresolved can lead to larger issues within the document, such as file corruption and data loss.

Unfortunately, if you always see this after creating a document from this accounting program, it seems that it does not create the PDF's perfectly. Some applications do not attempt to detect these errors, and some, like Adobe, will usually catch them and fix them automatically without user intervention. We on the other hand believe that users should be aware when an issue is present in the document so that they have a chance to figure out what the cause could have been.

Kind regards,

Hi Daniel,

Thank you for explaining why the issue occurs with pdf xchange but not other programs. The developer of my accounting program would be happy to improve his product to address any issues caused by creating pdf's from within the program.

You are correct. The accounting program is probably not creating something as the issue always occurs when I create a pdf from the accounting package but does not happen when I open most other pdf's. Are you able to identify what the program is missing - from the file that I have sent you which has not corrected the errors yet. If so, he could fix the pdf creation in his program.

Thank you

Hello dalacor,

unfortunately, I cannot personally discern what exactly is incorrect in this document, not being an expert programmer myself. They can likely find what is wrong by using some document comparison application, such as WinMerg to see what aspects were changed between our fixed version, and their original version.

Kind regards,

Hi dalacor.
Problem is very simple - XRef stream has incorrect /Index entry. File has only one XRef section, which describe all objects in file, so this entry is optional. /Size entry is correct, since document has objects with maximum number 185, but /Index entry say that it has only 185 records instead of 186 required, and XRef stream itself does not contain record about last object (185, XRef stream itself). Normally this does not prevent PDF files to be opened by most readers, but does not conform PDF specification.
HTH.

Thanks to both of you. I have passed that information onto my accounting developer. Regards Robert