Certain PDF files that I import, after the text/curves and font substitution dialogs fail to import due to a "The file is corrupted." error:
I don't have much hope that the issue will be corrected in the source application so I'm hoping there may be some possibility of Corel fixing this. I had hoped it would be fixed in X7 but it wasn't.
I've included an example at this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vkbz9j97njtm1ct/AAD13tCkHPoU-1Ui5-Etwz-Ja
The original file can't be imported into CorelDraw but works fine in every other application I've tried it in such as Adobe Acrobat, Firefox and Chrome (using their native PDF readers), Windows 8.1 preview app, Android PDF readers, etc.
While it's likely there is something non-standard in the original file, CorelDraw is the only application to make a fuss about it and clearly there is enough information in there for proper rendering so I just need CorelDraw to ignore whatever error it's encountering.
I've found that loading and re-saving such files in Acrobat Pro does not fix them - they still cannot be imported. However, if I load them in Acrobat Pro and save using the "Optimize" option, the resulting PDF can be imported without error. Examples of these 2 re-saved files are included in the link above.
While the save Optimized is a suitable workaround, I sometimes have to work with many such files at the same time and since there does not appear to be any way to automate or run through the command line the save Optimized procedure in Acrobat I have to do so for each file individually which is slow and tedious. I'd love to see this issue fixed in CorelDraw.
I also wonder if there is any way to make font substitution choices persistent so that they are automatically applied without confirmation through a dialog every time I import a PDF. Similarly for the text/curves dialog. There are very few cases were I'd want to import text as curves so I'd much rather be able to set a default and have PDF files imported without interaction with an option somewhere to restore the dialogs when I need them. Again, for a few imports this is not a big deal but when I have to import many it would save me much time and frustration if I could just drag a stack of files to CorelDraw and have them all import automatically without pestering me further.
Thanks.
Magriite said:While the save Optimized is a suitable workaround, I sometimes have to work with many such files at the same time and since there does not appear to be any way to automate or run through the command line the save Optimized procedure in Acrobat I have to do so for each file individually which is slow and tedious
Actually, there is a quick and easy way if you use Corel Fusion Batch Conversion! Simply open all the corrupt files simultaneously via the Batch Converter and Corel Fusion automatically optimizes and saves to a new file name. You can then drag and drop one or all into CorelDraw.
I'm sure the free trial will allow this.
It's most definitely caused by the program generating the pdf file. I have a choice of 2 drivers but one does a better job of supporting special characters (such as the unicode greater than or equal sign in the attached pdf) but is also the one that generates files that CorelDraw has a problem with. Also, it only tends to have a problem with files that contain special characters, so maybe it has something to do with font encoding or font meta data.
The issue has been brought up with no solution from other users so I have no optimism that a solution will come from the generating program's side. At least not any time soon.
That being said, since CorelDraw is the only program that seems to have an issue with these files, I think it is an issue that should be addressed by Corel. In principal CorelDraw should be able to import a PDF that every major PDF reader can read. To label these files "corrupt" and give up seems to be the wrong approach. It's more likely the file is a little non-standard but it seems to me that CorelDraw should still try to import as best it can - which would most likely be perfectly in this case.
Frankly, CorelDraw has the best PDF importer I've come across -- it surprisingly works much better than Adobe's own importer in Illustrator, for instance. (Surprising that Adobe's is so poor.) That doesn't mean there's no room for improvement, though.
thanks.
As I've been writing on this thread it's occurred to me I can batch optimize by combining all the files into a single acrobat file in Acrobat Pro (which I'm already paying for) then saving as an optimized multi-page file which I can import to a multipage coreldraw file. That's a reasonably efficient workaround.
However, the fact that Corel's own Fusion can open these files (assuming it can - my work computer is administered by IT so I can't just install a trial to test it) just adds to my resolve that this is something Corel shoud fix in CorelDraw. If necessary, they could just include Fusion code to open and optimize PDFs prior to import in order to improve compatibility with a wider source of PDF files...
One other thought, Magriite, do you have Ghostscript installed on your system? It is used by CGS in translating pdf's and PostScript files. The current version, if you do not have GS installed, you could run a Modify in the CGS installation menu, and then select GhostScript to be installed. Or you could go to the GhostScript web site and download the latest version (9.14) from there.
Hugh Johnson said: One other thought, Magriite, do you have Ghostscript installed on your system? It is used by CGS in translating pdf's and PostScript files. The current version, if you do not have GS installed, you could run a Modify in the CGS installation menu, and then select GhostScript to be installed. Or you could go to the GhostScript web site and download the latest version (9.14) from there.
I do have Ghostscript installed but it's version 8.64. In fact when I installed X7 the option to install Ghostscript was greyed out because it was already installed. I don't know if X7 comes with a newer version. Do you think a newer version would help?