Deleting pages doesn't reduce file size

coffent · Post by **coffent** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 8:05 pm

I have a 414-page pdf stored as a 22 MB file. I've deleted all but 20 pages of it, yet saving that version still results in a 22-MB file. Are the supposedly deleted pages still there, but just not visible? How can I completely get rid of them?

Willy Van Nuffel · Post by **Willy Van Nuffel** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 8:53 pm

Hi,

Can you please verify if the option "Always use Incremental Save" is turned OFF in File (or Edit) > Preferences > Documents ?

If NOT, the file size will not be reduced when saving after deleting one or more pages.

See similar topic : https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=32729

Best regards.

Post by **Paul - Tracker Supp** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:28 pm

Thanks Willy.

coffent · Post by **coffent** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:02 pm

I checked - it is turned off. Just to be sure I wasn't misunderstanding, I turned it on and saved the file, then turned it off again and again saved the file. No matter which way it's set, the file size isn't reduced.

Finally, I deleted all the remaining pages except for one. That single page still took 23 MB when saved.

One more thing, probably not related: Lately when I start PDF-X it takes a very long time to load - I timed it at 24 sec! My computer isn't that slow and other apps open quickly.

Post by **TrackerSupp-Daniel** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:49 pm

Hi, coffent

Thank you for the added details. Can I ask you to please send us copies of each of these (the before and after deleting pages) documents? There should definitely be some change in size, though depending on the exact document content, it is not always unexpected for some pages, or even the first page, the be the "heaviest" of the bunch.

If we can take a look at the original file you had, and the output after deleting the pages, we can dig into them and see why this has occurred.

Kind regards,

Willy Van Nuffel · Post by **Willy Van Nuffel** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:27 am

In the meantime:
- verify if there are one or more embedded files (View > (Other) Panes > Attachments)
- verify the version of PDF-XChange Editor (latest is V8.0.343.0)
- work-around: extract the pages that you like to keep to a new document (Document (or Organize) > Extract Pages...)
- about the long time to load: a very long History list ?

Regards.

Post by **TrackerSupp-Daniel** » Wed Jan 13, 2021 8:06 pm

Hi, Willy and coffent,

Coffent, I have recieved your email, and do see the issue here. It seems that the data which should be deleted is instead being moved into the "document overhead". As possible temporary workarounds, Willy's suggestion is good, extracting may work; alternatively running the file through "save as optimized" is able to clear that out and reduce the file size to an appropriate level.
I have also created the following ticket to track this issue. While you cannot look it up yourself, you can ask me for updates on it in int he future, here.
RT#5422: Deleting pages does not reduce file size

Now, as for the other issue, with slow opening, AS willy mentioned, there is a know issue caused by a bloated "Recents list" in the Editor. If you are finding the app slow to open, please try the following, as it may likely help.
1. Open the Editor and click on File > recent files
2. Scroll to the bottom and locate the "history and recents options" button, click this
3. in the window that appears, reduce the "max number of items" to something more manageable (for example I have mine set to 50 items)
4. Finally, click the "clear" button, and configure the options by "last used time" (or remove everything if you do not need this list currently)
5. Click OK, then allow the list to be cleaned up, and try restarting the Editor.

Kind regards,

coffent · Post by **coffent** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:15 am

Hi Willy & Daniel,

Thanks for the help.

I checked and there are no embedded files shown.

I "saved as optimized" using the defaults and it reduced the 20p file modestly, from 22.3 to 21.6 MB, still far bigger than it should be, given that the full 414p document is 22.4 MB. Perhaps changing some of the defaults would help.

However, extracting worked beautifully! I extracted all 20 pages from the 20-page document, and the saved file now takes only 1.4 MB. I hadn't used "extract" before, but it's much easier as well than the way I've been operating - deleting all pages but the few that I wanted.

Regarding the slow loading, I checked and discovered there were some 1400 "recent" files! I reduced to 30 and the loading is now much faster.

So you've solved both my problems - thanks!

Willy Van Nuffel · Post by **Willy Van Nuffel** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:49 am

Good to know that extracting pages is a possible workaround for now and that a cleanup of the history accelerates the startup of the application.

Can I ask you to run the following test:
Extract 'all' the pages of your 414p document to a new document. After this, delete pages in the new document and save it.
I wonder if you will see a difference in file size, with other words, should that filter the problem.

Best regards.

coffent · Post by **coffent** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:09 pm

I did as you suggested, and deleting pages from the 414p extracted document to produce a 20p document resulted in a much-reduced file size, 1.5 MB.

Willy Van Nuffel · Post by **Willy Van Nuffel** » Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:09 pm

Thanks for testing that @coffent.

That's another addition to our knowledge for now.

Post by **TrackerSupp-Daniel** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:52 pm

coffent · Post by **coffent** » Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:35 am

[Found an answer - ignore/delete this post.]

Mon Jun 13, 2022 11:04 am