PDF Files download but have empty content

[Reader777]

Hi

I am having trouble with downloading pdf files to the ipad 2. Although I can download them, when I go to open them there is no content on some. The blank pages are there but no text. I find that google books pdfs come up okay and of the rest its a lottery as to which appear and which are blank. Can anyone anvise this newbie to Ipad whats going wrong ???

John
England

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

OK - you asked this same question in another thread. What app are you using to read the PDF? Is this in Safari or iBooks or GoodReader or another dedicated PDF app. If you're using Safari, its PDF capabilities are somewhat limited and you might need a dedicated app if the PDF is complex. Can you read those PDFs on a PC using Adobe Reader?

Tim

 

[Reader777]

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I have both iBooks and PDF Reader Pro on my ipad and the same thing happens if I put these pdf files on either app. I can open and read all of my pdf files on the PC both inside and outside ITunes and they come up as 'Adobe Acrobat 7.0 document' on the file type. Any advise you can give would be most appreciated.

John

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

OK - over the last few months there have been several Members who have reported similar problems and, in one case, they even emailed me the PDF to see if I experienced the same problem - which I did. It appears that some of the more esoteric features of PDF documents are not supported by the iPad PDF apps and, in some cases, the document simply appears blank - as it did in the case of the document I had emailed to me. That document, too, would display fine using an up-to-date version of Adobe Reader but not using some earlier versions. PDF is an evolving standard so documents that use the latest version of PDF need the latest version of Adobe Reader in some cases too. It's clear that the iPad apps - not being Adobe - are lagging somewhat behind in incorporating the latest features of the PDF standard.

Tim

 

[Reader777]

Many thanks Tim. I thought it was me doing something stupid. I suppose its up tothe people that develop the ipad apps to get up to date. Its a pity you cannot contact them directly to explain whats going wrong.

Cheers
John

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

In most cases you can. If you go to the App Store and to the app that you want to contact the Developer for, there's usually a support link there.

Tim

 

[twerppoet]

Some online PDF files use extremely efficient compression methods that the iPad is not able to work with. This is native to iOS, so it affects all PDF apps. The usual fix for this is to download the PDF to a computer first and open it, and then export (not Save As). Preview on the Mac does this well, and members have also had success with CutePDF (a free program) for Windows.

The problem PDF files seem to come from college text book providers mainly, though a recent real estate brochure also had this problem.

 

[Reader777]

Hi twerppoet

Unfortunately Adobe Acrobat 7 doesnt have an option to 'export'. I downloaded CutePDF which doesnt appear as a program but opens a web page which instructs you to print to it from the document. It then takes ages to 'flatten' the document, then you get a save option, and then , in the case of the two 500 od page books I tried it with, produced files of over a GB in size which I cannot open and in any case would soon fill up the ipad memory. Thank you for trying to help but this option seems not to be a workable answer. Perhaps its ok for smaller files.

 

[twerppoet]

It does seem unlikely to work with that large a file. I might manage it in Preview on the iMac, but don't know of any free PDF readers for Windows that offer compression. Sorry.